Media Specialists
October 24-October 30, 2013

Find the latest educational resources from Iowa Public Television.

So Many Parts
Grades: 4-6

In this game, learners are challenged to balance their oxygen and fuel use carefully as they don a spacesuit and encounter Newton's Third Law of Motion while using a jetpack on a spacewalk mission to fix parts of the space station.

Dunk Tank: Liquid Volume

Grades: 5-6

In this interactive game, learners explore key concepts about liquid volume, including standard units of liquid measure and how to convert between them. Activity segments include "Fill It Up" -- a game that challenges students to apply conversion of liquid units; a comic video about the importance of measuring carefully with when baking; and answering volume questions in a quiz-show format. This resource is part of Dunk Tank, a collection of interactive math-themed games.

Super Readers Challenge

Grades: PreK-1

Play this Super WHY! game, Super Readers Challenge, to practice the alphabet, rhyming, reading, and spelling based on letters and sounds. Students are able to complete four different challenges, and with each, potentially earn a super letter towards the creation of a word. Each of the activities allows the student to work on a different aspect of reading and spelling.

Government Shutdown Ends
Grade Range: 7-12

This update on the Government Shutdown helps students to understand how, after 16 days, a bill was passed that not only ends the shutdown, but has increased the government's debt limit.

Killer Clams
Grade Range: PreK-12

Giant clams are no myth. In the Pacific, some of the clams are as big as a suitcase! In this video filmed in Micronesia, Jonathan goes in search of Giant Tridacna Clams and examines the gross anatomy of a "killer" clam. These clams are so big that people used to think they caught people...and it almost looks like they could. It turns out that the actual problem is too many people are eating the clams. In the accompanying lesson plan, students will be introduced to the problem of overfishing and work in teams to learn how to catch fish sustainably while learning about the food web and the economics of fishing.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

Grade Range: 6-12

This video segment from A Walk Through Harlem features Arthur Mitchell, the artistic director and former dancer who founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In 1968, the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King had a profound impact upon Miller who decided to return to his old neighborhood to teach dance, thinking the discipline, focus and technique would energize African American children in their everyday lives. Often considered to be an excellent classical ballet dancer, Mitchell was also thought of as an exception to the rule. He believed, however, given the opportunity, African American dancers could also excel in classical ballet. The school now has more than 1000 young people of diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultures.

Mixed signals: Why is the USDA Promoting Nutrition and Pushing Cheese?
Grade Range: 9-12

In November, 2010, The New York Times reported that an organization called Dairy Management - which reports to the U.S. Department of Agriculture - gave Domino's Pizza millions of dollars to develop and market a new line of extra-cheesy pizzas. Nutrition experts howled that the new pies were nearly the opposite of the low-fat food that the USDA usually promotes. Are there other examples of the USDA working at cross purposes with ... the USDA? Sure enough, Need to Know found that this isn't the only case of the government sending mixed messages when it comes to the food we eat.

Walter White: Reporting the Crime
Grade Range: 9-12

This video from the The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow presents experiences from the life of Walter White. This unsung hero was an African American man who put his life in danger passing for a white man while working as the chief investigator of the crime of lynching for the NAACP. White was successful on countless occasions in documenting the crime and even collecting and publishing the names of perpetrators.

Global Warming: The Developing World
Grade Range: 6-12

Thanks to technology, the world is changing faster than ever before. Unfortunately, many of these changes are probably having a negative impact on the global climate. This video segment adapted from NOVA/FRONTLINE takes a look at what the future might hold for the environment as a result of the expanding use of technology.

Slavery in the North
Grade Range: 8-11

In this video segment from the PBS series Finding Your Roots, an overview of the little-discussed existence of slavery in the North is provided. Kevin Bacon learns that his Quaker ancestor, Samuel Atkinson, owned slaves. Bacon is surprised to learn his ancestor owned slaves because of his residence in the North, but he is especially surprised because of Atkinson's religion-he was a Quaker.

Character Change: The Diary of Anne Frank
Grade Range: 5-8

In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students examine what Anne Frank's writing and a video dramatization of her diary reveal about her character and how it changed while she was in hiding. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore an English language arts focus on character change. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.

Summarizing: Modeling
Grade Range: 9-13+

Adult education instructor Kay Combs models reading and summarizing a text for better comprehension.

Ten More Little Words
Grade Range: PreK-1

In this video segment from Between the Lions, a large dinosaur puppet teaches a class of monkeys about ten little words through a song. These words promote reading fluency and include: I, he, they, with, was, his, are, on, as, and for. This video segment provides a resource for Fluency and Phonological Awareness.

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