Literacy, Languages, and the Arts
September 18-September 25, 2013 |
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Find the latest literacy, languages, and the arts resources from Iowa Public Television.
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Trail of Tears: The Cherokee Fight Against Removal
Grades: 5-8
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students are introduced to the Cherokees' struggle to remain on their land in the early 1800s. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a social studies focus on the assimilation strategy of the Cherokee Nation and its eventual impact on their fate. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.
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Vocal Coaching
Grades: 6-12
Broadway actor Leslie Odom Jr., one of the coaches and mentors for the annual National High School Musical Theater Awards competition, comments on what he has learned as a performer and coach, in this video from the Broadway or Bust website. Odom notes that different performers need different kinds of guidance. He also explains that he tries to inspire his students to take risks during their college studies and not pigeonhole themselves as a certain kind of performer.
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Teens for Safe Cosmetics
Grade Range: 6-12
In this video adapted from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative, meet Jessica, a high school student and leader for Teens for Safe Cosmetics. Learn about toxic chemicals in cosmetics and how the industry is unregulated in the United States. In addition, hear about how the teen girls educated people about dibutyl phthalate, a toxic chemical used in nail polish, and lobbied for Senate Bill 484, also known as the California Safe Cosmetics Act of 2005.
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The Road to Emancipation
Grade Range: 5-12
In this video from the PBS series Looking for Lincoln, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and historian David Blight examine President Abraham Lincoln's mixed motivations for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. They conclude that while Lincoln ultimately recognized the moral righteousness freeing the slaves, his first and primary concern was strategic: it was the best way to rally the North and strike at the heart of the South's economy. Gates and Blight then join a round-table discussion of Lincoln scholars debating the legal authority of the Proclamation and its special meaning for African Americans.
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The Druk White Lotus School - Ladakh
Grade Range: 9-12
See how local cultures can sustain their way of life while also utilizing technologically advanced methods. Ladakh is one of the most remote places in India with one of the harshest climates on earth, and has long been isolated from the modern world. Now, caught in the political and cultural crossfire of neighboring countries and amidst religious strife, His Holiness the Twelfth Gyalwang Drukpa saw his people and their future at risk. Under increasing pressure to modernize and engage with the 21st century, His Holiness, one of the four core leaders of Tibetan Buddhism, envisioned the Druk White Lotus School. The objective was to equip Ladakhi children to function in a modern world, while also embracing the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Guided by the vision of His Holiness, Jonathan Rose and his team of architects and engineers at ARUP London designed a school that utilizes modern technology and knowledge to preserve and respect the Ladakhi culture and environment.
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The New West: Interactive Map
Grade Range: 9-13+ 
The Old Rocky Mountain West had been a wild, untamed place. But with late 20th-century technology and population growth, it seemed that a smaller, more accessible "New West" had arisen. Was the "New West" still a distinct region or just another place in a homogeneous American landscape?
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Butterflies
Grade Range: K-8
In this video from Vegas PBS, host Brian Wignall and two butterfly experts discuss butterfly species commonly found in the Nevada wilderness. Among the topics they talk about are the best time of year to see butterflies in Nevada, the means by which they protect themselves from predators, how weather conditions and daylight affect their flight, their longevity, and the distances some travel to and from their wintering grounds.
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Rosa Parks
Grade Range: 3-12
This interview with civil rights activist Rosa Parks describes her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her refusal sparked a massive bus boycott that lasted 381 days, ending on December 21, 1956, after the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation on city buses was unconstitutional.
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Think Garden: The Product in Produce
Grades: 3-5
This video from KET's Think Garden collection illustrates how gardening is a a way of life for many people. Follow students visiting Oxmoor Farm as they learn about the business of agriculture by planting, harvesting, cooking, and eating fresh produce. Learn about all the products that are connected to gardening, from seeds and plants to fresh fruits and vegetables to compost. Finally, learn more about the growing business of organic gardening.
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Unit Conversion: Water Use
Grades: 5-8
In this blended lesson supporting literacy skills, students watch videos and complete interactive activities to learn how much water various activities use and explore ways that they can conserve water resources. Students develop their literacy skills as they explore a mathematics focus on using fractions to convert units of measurement. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and interactive activities.
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