Learning New Words While WordGirl Saves the Day!

Word Girl makes it fun to teach new words to preK-2 learners.  In this recently released DVD, Miss Power, along with her sidekick, Colonial Giggle Cheeks, is new in town.  Is she a friend or a foe?  She uses mean words against others and is certified bully!  Will Word Girl be able to defeat Miss Power without sinking to her level and save the city?

Bonus: “A World Without Wordgirl.”  The video introduces 16 new vocabulary words. You can borrow “The Rise of Miss Power” (I.D. 2255) for a month by clicking here .

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New teacher survey shows digital resources support classroom learning

PBS LearningMedia’s new survey of teachers found that teachers are embracing digital resources to propel learning in the classroom.  Check out this inforgraphic with some really interesting findings.

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Spring Professional Development from PBS TeacherLine

PBS TeacherLine online professional offers busy teachers a robust collection of professional development courses.  And it’s a sure sign of spring when  PBS TeacherLine graduate courses start on March 27!  Visit our course catalog for a full list of courses or to learn more about the following:

SOST507 – America’s History in the Making: A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
45 Hours | Enroll Now  Enrich your knowledge of American history and learn how to bring history to life in your classroom through the integrated use of video, text, classroom activities, and Web-based interactives.

TECH325 – Searching and Researching on the Internet
30 Hours | Enroll Now
Learn how to help your students develop their researching skills through responsible Web use, and explore ways to integrate primary resources into the classroom learning environment.

Here are two new PBS TeacherLine courses available for graduate credit and open for spring enrollment:

MATH527: Mathematics Illuminated: A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
Grade Level: Kindergarten-12th | Hours: 45 | For course description and details, including full Syllabus, check out the course details page.

TECH575: Leveraging Smart and Social Digital Media in the Classroom
Grade Level: 1st-12th | Hours: 30 | For course description and details, including full Syllabus, check out the course details page.

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World of Water half day Teachers’ Conference – April 5

Join WGBY and Wilbraham & Munson Academy for a special half-day conference aimed at the professional development of teachers and professors in the area. Learn how to incorporate water and economics into your classroom.  A keynote lecture will be delivered by Fabien Cousteau, grandson of Jacques Cousteau.

When: Friday, April 5, 2013  •  8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Where: Athletic Center  •  Wilbraham & Monson Academy

Cost: $20 Admission (includes lunch)

Participating teachers will receive 10 PDPs for participation with completion of short follow-up classroom work.    Teachers would also be welcome to bring their classes to the event for additional activities.  To register, visit the GEM conference website.

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Free Professional Development Resources from PBS LearningMedia

PBS is eager to support your efforts both inside and outside of the classroom.  At PBS LearningMedia you can explore hundreds of free professional development resources.  Here is just a sampling:

Reading Buddies: Anna  (For K-2nd grade teachers / Video / Reading fluency)
Watch as an older student models fluent reading with a kindergarten-aged English language learner (ELL). Notice strategies such as page-turning prompts that make the experience more effective.

Setting Up a Book Corner  (For PreK-2nd grade teachers / Video / Classroom) In this teacher training video, Theo the Lion interviews Kimberly Triplett of the Early Childhood Institute at Mississippi State University who describes how successful book corners have been set up in learning environments, childcare centers, and home daycare facilities.

Benefits of Curriculum Mapping   (For K-13+ / Video  / Video Sequence)  With this resource group, teachers can explore the benefits of curriculum mapping. This group includes a review of how curriculum mapping can influence a school, a video example of a horizontal curriculum map, and a video example of the optimal group configuration for the read-through of a curriculum map.

Build a Rubric  (For 9-13+ / Video)  Rubrics provide students with clear expectations and consistent feedback. Build a customizable rubric that can be used for any writing activity your class might be completing.

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New Courses from PBS TeacherLine

With the potential challenges of winter weather, online courses can be the best way to meet your professional development needs.  Offering courses with the quality you expect from PBS,  TeacherLine’s Winter Term begins on January 23rd. You can explore the full catalog of online courses to discover what courses will serve your teaching practice.  In addition to the many courses that educators continue to value, here are two new ones:

MATH522: Teaching Math (Grades K-2): A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
For K-2nd grade teachers | 45 Hours | Syllabus | Sign Up
This inquiry-based course offers math teachers a deep-dive into the NCTM process standards. During the course, teachers will explore ways to expand their practice, and develop lesson plans for each of the five standards.

SCIE572: The Habitable Planet: A Systems Approach to Environmental Science-A Special Collection from Annenberg Learner
For 9-12th grade teachers | 45 Hours | Syllabus | Sign Up
This course helps to provide a background for understanding and discussing the different Earth systems: geophysical systems, the atmosphere, the oceans, and natural ecosystems. Examine the unique characteristics that make our planet habitable and investigate the effects of human activity on different natural systems.

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Space-Themed Resources from PBS Learning Media

Investigate the Solar System, peer into distant galaxies, and show students how astronauts, scientists, and astronomers interact with their environment using PBS LearningMedia’s classroom-ready, standards-based resources.  Here are just some of those resources:

Building Curiosity: Rover Rocks Rocker-Bogie
Grades 9-12 | Video + Support Materials | Space Research
Take your students behind-the-scenes with a NASA Mobility Engineer to observe the development of a Mars rover and consider the decisions behind its intricate construction.

Hubble’s Expanding Universe
Grades 6-12 | Video + Support Materials | Space Research
Inspire curiosity in your classroom around the topic of the Cosmos by exposing your students to Edwin Hubble’s discoveries.

Scientist Profile: Galactic Astronomer
Grades 4-6 | Video | Astronomy, Careers in Science
See how Marianne Takamiya’s girlhood fascination with the sky led her to a career as an astronomer. Use this video to compliment a lesson on careers in science and for insightful commentary on the study of galaxies.

Gabriela Talks to an Astronaut
Grades PreK-1 | Video | Astronauts, Careers in Science
Show your young students what astronauts do and how they train for space travel with this animated clip from Sid the Science Kid. Your class will hear from an astronaut who helps build and fix objects in space.

If you’ve yet to sign up for this vast digital resource that’s free to teachers, you can register now for the full collection of space-themed resources or to explore additional subject areas.

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Good Tidings from PBS TeacherLine

Over 1000 teachers in our region have taken PBS TeacherLine online professional development courses, offered in a wide range of content areas for preK-12 teachers.  To help spread the good tidings of the holiday season, PBS TeacherLine is offering a $30 discount off most graduate-level courses to all alumni and registered users.

To receive this discount on winter courses that begin on January 23, 2013, you must register by December 31, 2012.  For a special promo code that must be used for registration, please contact me  in WGBY Education and Outreach Department:  bkapetanis@wgby.org 413.781.2801, ext. 292.

Here’s just a sampling of PBS TeacherLine winter courses, all of which you can view by going to the online catalog:  UNST125 Building Critical Thinking Skills for Online Research (Grades K-12); MATH410 Seeing Math:  Linear Functions (Grades 6-12); RDLA157 Teaching Phonemic Awareness and Phonics (PreK-3); SCIE564 Structure of the Earth System – Special Edition: Teachers’Domain, Produced by WGBH Boston (Grades 5-12); SOST502 Bridging World History:  A Special Collection from the Anneberg Foundation(Grades 9-12).

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Apply for the PBS Teachers Innovator Awards

The PBS Teacher Innovator Awards recognize innovative PreK-12 classroom educators, media specialists, technology coordinators, and home-school educators who use digital media to enhance student learning. Entrants submit a short video or PDF with text and images that showcases their work. Entries can be a demonstration of a unique teaching technique or the outcome of influence on a student work.

Maximum award: all-paid, week-long “Innovation Immersion Experience” at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan in August 2013; free professional development from PBS TeacherLine.

Eligibility: preK-12 classroom educators (public, private, or charter school), library media specialists, technology specialists/coordinators, home-school educators, and Head Start or licensed daycare teachers.

Deadline: December 12, 2012.

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Educator Workshop Series: Teaching the Holocaust

The Teaching the Holocaust educator workshop series at the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History is designed to introduce and promote the Springfield Museums’ new Holocaust school program.  The program is based on a local survivor exhibit that was donated to the museums when the Hatikvah Holocaust Education Center closed in 2010.

There’s still time to register for the first workshop, a survivor panel discussion, on October 22 when you’ll join local survivors and experts as they examine Springfield’s connection to the Holocaust and how the Holocaust’s legacy continues to affect us all today.  For more information about each workshop in the  series and registration details, you can call 413.263.6800, ext. 322, or visit the Springfield Museums’ website.

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