Media Specialists
February 12, 2014 - February 18, 2014

Find the latest educational resources from Iowa Public Television.

U.S. Olympic Hopefuls Take Their Marks as Sochi Spotlight Shifts to Competition

Grades: 7-12

The Winter Olympics have officially opened in Sochi, Russia, and organizers hope to shift the focus away from controversies over human rights and corruption to the celebration of athletic competition. This resource includes a video from PBS NewsHour with warm up and discussion questions.

Women and Children Evacuated from War-torn Syrian City

Grades: 7-12

Hundreds of civilians seeking to flee the besieged Syrian city of Homs were evacuated on Sunday. In total, more than 600 were evacuated from Homs, but Al-Jazeera, citing the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said five were killed by mortar shells and two from gunfire. The evacuation was part of a three-day ceasefire that began Friday between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and armed rebels.

What Sounds Like What: Reggae

Grades: 3-6

Learn to identify different Reggae instruments by their sounds! Chuck Vanderchuck's 'Something Something' Explosion is designed to help children ages 6 to 9 understand music and music composition by teaching basic musical concepts and performance skills through the study of popular song styles from around the world.

Designing Parachutes: Applying Science Knowledge
Grade Range: 3-5

In this professional development video from Engineering is Elementary, teacher Jean Facchiano has her fourth grade students perform tests on models while controlling variables. The lesson shows students working on Performance Expectations in Engineering Design as well as Engineering Practices from the NGSS.

First Ladies' Service
Grade Range: K-13+

First Ladies in the United States do community service and public outreach for many worthy causes. First Ladies in recent years have taken up campaigns ranging from literacy to children's health to the drug epidemic. In this media gallery, we see the First Ladies at various events advocating for children, animals, health, and women's rights, both at home and abroad.

Wind Powered Vehicles

Grade Range: 3-5

In this activity from Engineering is Elementary, students design, build, and test small vehicles that are powered by puffs of air. The activity is useful for introducing components of Engineering Design (ETS) from the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in grades 3-5.

A Black Writer in the South
Grade Range: 9-12

In this video, Alice Walker shares stories from her childhood that highlight the strong female figures in her family, particularly her mother who stood her ground

against a white landowner and insisted on an education for her children. These experiences inform her viewers on what it means to be a Southern black writer.

Vowel Combinations: L Blends
Grade Range: 1-3

What's 100,000 times thinner than a strand of hair? A nanometer. Learn about how researchers are working to unlock the potential of nanoscience to battle global warming and disease.

Fitness Charades
Grade Range: K-5

This Kindergarten through 5th grade version of charades helps students get up and moving while putting a fun twist on the classic game. The teacher calls out various acts

in different sports such as swinging a golf club, batting a baseball and serving a tennis ball. As each is called out, the students act them as if they were in that sport. This video engages students with psychomotor and cognitive skills.

Meerkatcher: Multiply Fractions with Unlike Denominators
Grade Range: 6

The rascally meerkat gang is eating all the food in the zoo. Multiply fractions to feed the animals and catch those 'kats! In this activity, students will focus on multiplying fractions, starting with single-digit denominators and working up. This activity will include explanations of how the formula works.

Dunk Tank: Area of Squares & Rectangles
Grade Range: 5-6

An interactive game to explore key concepts about area of squares, rectangles and composite shapes, including measuring with unit squares and using the formula A = L x W. Students play Polygon-athon"to create simple polygons and find their areas; watch a comic video about using a non-standard unit of measure; and answer other questions designed to promote deeper understanding of area. This resource is part of Dunk Tank, a collection of interactive math-themed games.

I <3 Math: Percent as a Rate
Grade Range: 6

This episode of I <3 Math presents multi-step ratio and percent problems to illustrate the concept of percent as a rate. The video uses real-world comparisons to convert rates into equivalent percentages.

Curious George: Build a Wall

Grade Range: PreK-1

In the video Keep Out Cows, Curious George tries to build a wall to keep the cows from munching on a flowerbed. He uses newspapers attached to a clothesline, but will they be strong enough to keep Leslie Cow and her friends away? Students explore various building materials as they plan, construct, and then test out their own walls.

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