Elementary
October 30-November 5, 2013

Find the latest educational resources from Iowa Public Television.

Halloween Spooky Science Special
Grades: PreK-1

Using this resource group, students learn about Halloween related science topics. The kids investigate how bats are helpful creatures that catch mosquitoes, spiders are expert engineer web builders, cats are leaping aerial acrobats, and skeletons help hold up our bodies! At the Halloween party, the kids also investigate how to make icky, gooey green slime. Susie then ends the day with a special "Halloween Parade" song so the kids can march around and show off their spooky and scientific costumes!

Haunted House: The Tuhhhh
Grade Range: 1-3

Mummy and Werewolf have a hard time figuring out Bat's instructions and they make a mess of the bathroom. The goal for this segment is letter sound -t-.

Comparing Fractions: Bubble Gum Blowing Contest
Grade Range: 3-5

This interactive activity adapted from Annenberg Learner's Teaching Math Grades 3-5 invites students to be the judge of three bubble gum blowing contests. To determine the winner of the contests-Class A or Class B-students have to create and then compare fractions based on how many students blew bubbles and the size of each class. These numbers vary from contest to contest. Students use the activity to plot the fractions on number lines, which provides them with the comparison. The winning class will have a larger part of the number line filled in.

Multiplying Bigger Numbers
Grade Range: 3-6

In this video segment from Cyberchase, every time Delete sneezes he creates three clones of himself. The CyberSquad uses their knowledge of multiplication to figure out how many clones exist after Delete sneezes 103 times.

Baseball and Social Change: The Story of Roberto Clemente
Grade Range: 5-8

In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn about baseball legend Roberto Clemente, his early years in the United States during segregation, and changes in the 1960s that made the U.S. culture more open to Clemente's Latino culture. Students develop their literacy skills through a social studies focus on how culture shapes individual identity and how a culture changes when new groups of people enter it. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.

The Powers of Government
Grade Range: 5-8

In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students learn about the three branches of the United States government. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on the powers that the Constitution assigns to each branch-legislative, executive, and judicial-and how the three branches work together. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.

Writings of the Ancient Maya
Grade Range: 5-8

In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students are introduced to the ancient Mayan civilization through their writings. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on the destruction of many Mayan writings by the Spanish and what archaeologists have learned from the writings that remain. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through a video and interactive activities.

Art in the Muslim World
Grade Range: 5-12

In classical Islamic art, forms of art such as calligraphy, architecture, and decorative arts are celebrated. Through the materials presented in this lesson, students will explore basic elements of Islamic art, learn about the origin and styles of the specific art of Islamic calligraphy, and create their own piece of artistic calligraphy.

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