Elementary
October 9-October 15, 2013

Find the latest elementary resources from Iowa Public Television.

Promoting School-wide Literacy at the Elementary Level I

Grades: PreK-5

Principal Dewey Hensley discusses the literacy initiatives that have dramatically improved the scores-as well as the culture-in what was previously a low-performing school in a high-poverty area of Louisville, Kentucky.

�Arte y M�s! Singing the Colors (Cantando los colores)
Grade Range: PreK-3

Se�ora Alicia and Susana greet each other and sing the song, Colores. Inviting students to sing along, Se�ora Alicia, Susana, and students sing it again adding marr�n (brown) and rosado (pink) to the end of the song.

This video was adapted from �Arte y m�s!, originally produced by KET as a complete curriculum for primary-level Spanish based on arts and humanities content. Spanish teachers can use these resources in traditional or online instruction to reinforce language acquisition and teach about Latin American culture.

Finding the Intersection
Grade Range: 4-8

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad is looking for a lost Transformatron. Matt can see it along one line, while Jackie says she can see it along a different line. Digit and Inez try to figure out how this is possible, and they discover that one point can lie on two different lines.

Ma Family History
Grade Range: 2-12

In this video segment from Faces of America, musician Yo-Yo Ma learns about his ancestors in China. Historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr. also travels to China to meet with Yo-Yo Ma's distant relatives to talk about the Ma family history and more specifically, how it has been preserved in traditional Chinese texts. Gates articulates the details surrounding these texts and describes information Ma's ancestors felt necessary to preserve, such as essays, linage rules, moral guidelines, poems and short biographies.

Abraham Lincoln, Attorney at Law
Grade Range: 1-12

In this video segment excerpted from the PBS series Looking for Lincoln, Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin examine Lincoln's years as a "prairie" lawyer on the Illinois circuit, and discuss how they honed and polished Lincoln's confidence, sense of fairness, and social skills.

Ratio and Proportional Reasoning: Food Labels
Grade Range: 5-8

In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch videos and complete interactive activities to learn how to use fractions to interpret food labels and make healthy eating choices. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a mathematics focus on proportional reasoning. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.

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