Media Specialists
February 19, 2014 - February 25, 2014

Find the latest educational resources from Iowa Public Television.

Teaching Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Design Through Media

Grades: K-12

Teaching Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Design Through Media is a collection of activities and professional development resources drawn from programs such as WGBH's Design Squad Nation and the Engineering is Elementary� project at the Museum of Science, Boston. These media-based resources illustrate and deepen teachers' understanding of Next Generation Science Standards and help them bring engineering alive for students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Victoria Garcia: Aerospace Engineer

Grades: 4-8

Victoria Garcia is an aerospace engineer at NASA's Virtual Environments Lab in Huntsville, Alabama. In this video from Design Squad Nation, she demonstrates how she uses virtual-reality tools to design an effective deep-space habitat. Victoria, who is deaf, also talks about how she doesn't consider being deaf a barrier in her work.

The Catapult Project

Grades: 5-12

Join 7th grade integrated science and math teacher, Zara Acosta, as she leads her students through a six week catapult design project. Students learn about the laws of motion and forces, probability, and engineering design, and then apply these principles to design their own catapult. Multiple firings of the catapult over the six weeks give students practice with data analysis, with the goal of improving the catapult's accuracy.

Designing Parachutes: Applying Science Knowledge

Grade Range: 6-12

What will the future bring, and what will it be made of? In

NOVA's popular series,

Making Stuff, technology reporter David Pogue takes viewers on a fun-filled tour of the material world we live in, and the one that may lie ahead. Get a behind-the-scenes look at scientific innovations ushering in a new generation of materials that are different than anything we've ever seen. The media resources below enable educators to get an inside look at the field of materials science and encourage a better understanding of the scientific innovations that are developing materials that will shape our future. For additional classroom resources, download the Making Stuff Activity Guide, which contains four materials science activities that can be used in after school or out-of-school programs, or other settings.

Curious George: Sort It Out!
Grade Range: PreK-1

When Curious George invites a group of dogs home from the dog show, he has to figure out a way to sort them so that he can count them correctly. After watching the video, students learn about classifying objects that have common attributes and then practice by doing a variety of sorting and grouping activities.

Pedal Power 04: Mentor Moment

Grade Range: 5-8

Seeing women who have succeeded in STEM helps inspire and motivate girls, especially when they can relate to these mentors as people with lives outside of their job. The SciGirls work side-by-side with their mentor and rely on her expertise as a mechanical engineer to help them troubleshoot their bike-powered ice cream maker design.

Vast Inequality in Arts Education Exists Across N.C. Elementary Schools

Grade Range: 7-12

Use this PBS NewsHour video report to help students understand the importance of

arts education, and how standardized tests shape what they learn.

Learn the Address

Grade Range: K-12

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, documentarian Ken Burns, along with numerous partners, has launched a national effort to encourage everyone in America to video record themselves reading or reciting the speech. The collection of recordings housed on this site will continue to grow as more and more people are inspired by the power of history and take the challenge to learn the address.

Recess Helps You Think, and Other Reasons to Get Up and Move
Grade Range: 7-12

Help students understand why physical activity is important for both the body and the mind. Amidst a national focus on testing and raising academic performance, a

different kind of movement is catching on. Use this PBS NewsHour video report from February 2014, to understand how active learning incorporates strategies like dance and play to help students concentrate better, navigate social situations and practice leadership and patience. Teachers and administrators who create the right balance of academics and play report promising results in their classroom.

Russia and the Olympics Background

Grade Range: 7-12

Political tensions and human rights are in the spotlight as athletes gather in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, Russia for the 22nd Annual Winter Olympics.

More Than A Month - Film
Grade Range: 5-13+

Should Black History Month be ended? That's the question explored by African American filmmaker Shukree Hassan Tilghman as he embarks on his cross-country campaign. Both amusing and thought provoking, More Than a Month examines what the treatment of history tells us about race and power in America.

Barack Obama (2009-Present)
Grade Range: K-13+

This media gallery features images of President Barak Obama from the official White House photographer, Pete Souza.

Robert Smalls: From Slavery to Politics

Grade Range: 9-12

This video from Slavery and the Making of America explores the life of Robert Smalls. From the middle to the late 19th century Smalls, a former slave, went from decorated solider in the Union Army to becoming a landowner and eventually a powerful politician during the period of Reconstruction.

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