Frontline: The Holocaust’s Last Living Survivors

In the most recent of his critically-lauded autobiographical films, Never Forget to Lie,  Marian Marzynski explores for the first time his own wartime childhood and the experiences of other child survivors.  The filmmaker teases out their feelings about Poland, the Catholic Church, and the ramifications of identities forged under circumstances where survival began with the directive “never forget to lie.”

Airing on WGBY on Tuesday, May 14 at 10:00pm, Never Forget to Lie chronicles the poignant, painful recollections of other child survivors. The film rescues haunting pieces of the past while exploring the conflicting feelings about national, cultural, and religious identity that mark many survivors.

Watch a preview, where you can also learn the latest about Marzynski’s documentary.  At the Frontline Teacher Center you’ll find new classroom activities with streaming video, downloadable lesson plans, and web-exclusive resources to accompany FRONTLINE programs in the classroom.

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Venom: Nature’s Killer from NOVA

From Emily Dickinson’s poem “Narrow fellow in the grass” to the story of Adam and Eve, snakes are likely to get our attention as they will this Wednesday, May 8, at 9:00pm when WGBY airs NOVA’s Venom:  Nature’s Killer. 

Over the millennia, thousands of creatures have developed that most sophisticated of biological and chemical weapons: venom. These complex chemicals can scramble our brain signals, paralyze muscles, puncture blood cells, even begin digesting us from within. But nature’s most potent toxins might also contain the keys to a new generation of advanced drugs to help doctors treat serious illnesses such as heart attacks, cancer and diabetes.

Follow NOVA crews as they join scientists on a dangerous quest to track down and capture the world’s most venomous animals—to find out both how they can kill us, and how they can save us. Watch a preview.

You can find classroom resources on venom and snakes at NOVA’s Beta site for teachers and at PBS LearningMedia.

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The Wisdom of Fred Rogers During Times of Tragedy

Just as adults struggle to understand the devastating explosions at the Boston Marathon, children also need help to deal with the frightening news they see and hear from various sources.  Fred Rogers long ago understood the best ways to nurture healthy young people during good times and bad , and he left a legacy that supports educators and parents today.   Thanks in part to the assistance of UNC-TV, North Carolina’s public television network, and public television station WTVI Charlotte, a  booklet entitled  Helping Children Deal with Tragic Events in the News:  Timeless wisdom from Fred Rogers for parents, caregivers and teachers is available to you.

In it you’ll find information about what children fear at times such as these, how to make them feel more secure, how to talk and listen to them as well as other helpful hints.  The booklet also shares the story Fred Rogers often told about his mother’s words to him as a boy when he watched frightening news:  “My mother would say to me, ’Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’  Teachers have always been among the world’s helpers, and we hope you’ll find this wisdom from Fred Rogers helpful.

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Lesson Plan Feature: Cycling Water Through the Environment

With the spring thaw, here’s a lesson  for grades 3-5 from PBS LearningMedia to teach students that water is a crucial ingredient for life on Earth.  They’ll also come to see that the water cycle is Earth’s natural mechanism for transporting, cleansing, and recycling water between the surface and the atmosphere. In this lesson, students recognize the different forms that water takes and learn about where it exists in the environment. Through class discussion and experiments, students model the water cycle and explore how it can be used to create fresh water.

Objectives

• Understand that water exists in the environment in different forms
• Identify the ways that water moves through the environment
• Recognize that most of Earth’s surface is covered by water but that only a small amount is fresh water
• Produce fresh water from salty water by distilling it

Resources include great images of Water Phases (for grades K-5) and an interactive on Global Water Distribution (for grades 3-12) as well as  many short, engaging videos.

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National Robotics Week: Lesson Plans and Other Resources

Celebrate National Robotics Week (April 6-14) by bringing the incredible world of robots, rovers, and bots into your classroom! Let PBS LearningMedia support your efforts with this collection of featured resources:

What is a Robot? (Lesson Plan, Grades 3–5) Customize this 3-part lesson plan to deepen students’ depth of knowledge as it relates to the world of robots.

Wearable Robots  (Video, Grades 5-13+)Although the idea of wearable robots is not new, students will be fascinated to see how far this technology has advanced.

 Newton’s Third Law:  Action-Reaction (Blended Lesson, Grades 7-8)  Astronauts constantly use robots and robotic tools to assist with tasks.  Find out how they use them in this online lesson for blended learning from the Walmart Middle School Literacy Initiative.

 Robot Race (Video, Grades 3-12) Follow 2 teams of engineers as they put their robots to the test in a 132- mile race through the Mohave Desert.

 The Intelligent Robot (Video, Grades 6-12)  Invite students to hear from NASA researchers as they discuss the Mars Rover and demonstrate its ability to learn.

RoboSnail (Video, Grades 6-12)  See how this MIT students used a snail’s movement as inspiration for a new machine.

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Lesson Plan Feature: PBS Teachers Activity Packs

Explore educational resources and activities from PBS with their library of Activity Packs. Each one focuses on a curricular theme and includes links to great PBS resources and supplemental activities.  Packs are available for The Arts, Health & Fitness, Reading & Language Arts, Science & Technology, and Social Studies.

Check out this list of packs in the Science & Technology unit:

• Breakthroughs in Medical Research
• Development & the Environment
• Earth Day
• Forensic Science
• How’s the weather?
• Innovation & Invention
• Oceans
• Technology & Ethics

Check them out today!

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Classroom Tools: Engineer with Design Squad Nation

Design Squad is a reality competition series where eight teenagers learn to think smart, build fast, and contend with a wild array of engineering challenges. With Design Squad Nation, engineer co-hosts Judy and Adam travel across the country, working side by side with kids and using engineering to turn kids’ dreams into reality. On the Web, Design Squad provides students with a forum to brainstorm, submit project ideas, and respond to the ideas of others through sketches and real world prototypes.  Check out this clip below in which a cast member designs, prototypes, and completes a working pulley.

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Inspiring Interviews and Inspiring Educator Award Nominations

Especially since March is Women’s History, MAKERS.com  is a great site to visit.  Part of the unprecedented digital video and broadcast initiative responsible for the documentary “MAKERS: Women Who Make America,” which aired on WGBY in February, MAKERS.com has numerous interviews that the New York Times described as “often fascinating.”

Whether for you or students, these short, inspiring videos include each woman sharing the most meaningful advice she every received.  Among the many interviews are those of Marian Wright Edelman, founder of Children’s Defense Fund, which includes her experiences surrounding the death of MLKing, and Ophelia Neal, World Health Care Advocate and daughter of actress Partricia Neal and children’s author  Raul Dahl, discussing her mother’s strength during great adversity and her own work in Haiti.

And at MAKERS.com you can also help honor women who are innovating the classroom and developing the next generation of MAKERS by nominating a teacher for a $10,000 grant!

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Lesson Plan Feature: “Earth Days: Conveniences and Consequences”

In this lesson, students will consider both the benefits and the hazards of technology in today’s world through the lens of the environment. Students will realize that, while human inventions have made our lives infinitely more healthy, convenient and enjoyable, they have also introduced new threats, such as toxic pollution, that affect both human health and the health of our environment. The challenge confronting our society – and our students – is identifying the proper use of technology to improve our lives while still protecting the quality of the natural world.

This lesson is appropriate for grades 8-12 and requires 2-3 class periods; a portion of activity three will be completed as homework.

Objectives: 
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:

• Consider how technology has both improved our lives and created new threats to environmental and human health.
• Consider how we can maximize the benefits of technology while minimizing the associated harm, largely by applying the “Precautionary Principle” to new technologies.
• Reflect on how modern electronics are changing how we relate to the natural world.

View the full lesson plan at the American Experience website.

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Women’s History Month: PBS LearningMedia Digital Resources

Celebrate Women’s History Month by teaching students about the bold and adventuresome women that have helped to expand the role and perception of women throughout history with PBS LearningMedia resources such as:

Single Women Homesteaders
Grades 3-7 | Video | Trailblazers
Use this resource with students to highlight the role that single women played in the settlement of the Dakota Territory following the 1862 Homesteading Act.

Women’s History
Grades 4-13+ | Video | Icons and Symbols
Introduce students to the fascinating history behind women in the visual arts by investigating symbols from the Suffragist Movement.

Ella Es El Matador: The Struggle for Equal Opportunities for Women
Grades 6-12 | Video | Equality of Women
Invite students to consider the historic and modern-day barriers that impact women. Use this collection of videos to illustrate the story of two women in search of success in the male-dominated world of Spanish bullfighting.

19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
Grades 6-13+ | Document | Women’s History
Use this primary source document to support lessons on the 19th Amendment and women’s voting rights.

Empowerment
Grades 9-12 | Video | Women’s Rights Activists
Encourage students to consider the role that women play in the peace building process around the world

You can register today to tap into PBS LearningMedia’s full collection of interviews, documentaries, and character profiles!

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