Boosting Student Performance — It’s About Relationships

By Meris Stansbury, Associate Editor, eSchool News, May 8, 2013 — “Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like,” says Rita Pierson, a veteran educator and recent TED Talks Education speaker. According to Pierson, connecting with students on a real, human level is the key to improving student performance.

Pierson, who’s been a professional educator for 40 years, has worked at every level of the public school spectrum from elementary through high school. Having been in education for such a long time, she says she’s witnessed many changes, all aimed at school improvement and boosting student performance.

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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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PBS LearningMedia: New Content Collections

We hope you like the new look and feel of the PBS LearningMedia site ! You can also view it on your tablet or phone for an optimized experience and explore great new content collections like these:

Freedom Riders

NOVAscienceNow

NOVA: Making Stuff

Between the Lions

Environmental Public Health

Thanks for your patience if you notice bugs with this enhanced site, which PBS is working hard to fix.  And when you find a classroom resource or want to share your experience with PBS LearningMedia,  please leave a comment.  We appreciate hearing from you!

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Happy Valentine’s Day from WGBY and PBS KIDS!

Happy Valentine’s Day from WGBY!

Today at 11:00am -11:30am, WGBY will air the national premiere of “You Are Special,” an all-new Valentine’s Day episode on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, the new, highly rated pre-school series inspired by the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Known to be a great fan of Fred Rogers, singer-songwriter Jason Mraz will sing the opening and closing songs – “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” and “It’s Such a Good Feeling” – with their messages of happiness, love and acceptance.  At Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood website you can find games, video and printables, and at the teachers’ site, more about early childhood activities and the show’s learning goals.

At an older and much beloved program, Arthur, what better way to open children’s eyes to a celebration of love than poetry?  There’s a Valentine’s Day poem by Eloise entitled It’s Valentine’s Day at Fern’s Poetry Nook as well as Happy Valentine’s Day episodes and fun activities .  And Arthur’s Poetry Club has even more with poetry videos, poems and activities for writing poems.

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Celebrating 50 Years of Clifford and His Big Ideas

To celebrate Clifford the Big Red Dog’s 50^th anniversary, WGBY held a January birthday party for 80 Clifford fans at the YMCA of Greater Springfield.  Before the celebration, children helped to make a BIG Clifford birthday card that you can view for a while on WGBY’s website.  Among the party festivities, children wore red Clifford ears that they made, listened to a story about Clifford and his owner, Emily Elizabeth, and danced to his lively theme song.  The pre-schoolers also viewed an episode of the big, red, loveable dog that helped them learn the importance of how to “Work Together,” one of Clifford’s 10 Big Ideas.

At Clifford’s parent and educator site, you’ll find lots of activities, many built around his big ideas, such as a Heart Stamp to learn how to “Be a Good Friend,” a Handy Reminder to remember to “Be Responsible,”and Share-a-Sock Puppets to practice how to  “Share.”  In addition, a Guide to Online Activities provides printable hints for each activity and game on the Clifford site to help you help a child get the most from the experience!

All children can celebrate Clifford’s birthday with their families by watching “Clifford’s Really Big Movie,” which will air on WGBY in February!

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Careers in Science

What better time to discuss careers and goal setting with your students than on the cusp of a new year? This month, PBS LearningMedia features a collection of resources focused on STEM careers that’s both motivating and insightful.  Here’s a sampling of what you’ll find from PBS’s digital media library for preK-13+ educators:

I Want to Be A Scientist!  (PreK-1, Video Group) Inspire curiosity around careers in science as your early learners follow Sid and his classmates on a trip to the Science Center where they meet a real-world biologist, a chemist, an engineer, and an astronaut.

Scientist Profiles (Grades 4-6, Videos): Robotic Life Scientist Inspired by “Star Wars,” this MIT professor works on the development of robots that display personality. Take a look at this fun, high-tech career (Spanish version also available.)  Game Designer:  Do your students love video games and sports? So does David Ortiz. Show them how computer science, design, and math influence his work as a video game designer.

 Designing a Roller Coaster  (Grades 5-12, Video and Discussion)  Introduce your students to roller coaster designer, Chris Gray. Learn how the forces of gravity and potential energy impact his work as an engineer and help him manufacture a thrilling roller coaster experience.

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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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!Colorin Colorado!: A Bilingual Site for Educators and Families

The bilingual site ¡Colorin Colorado! , for families and educators of English language learners, is a rich resource from the PBS station WETA in Washington, D. C.  The site is filled with useful information, strategies, activities, and resources, whether for the ESL teacher or a content area teacher with one or two English learners in class. Although many of the activities have been designed for children in PreK-3, most can be adapted for children in upper elementary, middle school, and high school, including the Reading Tip Sheets for Educators.  And while information was developed with Spanish-speaking students in mind, many strategies are applicable to all students, no matter what their primary language.

The Educators’ Section, a collaboration between WETA’s Reading Rockets and the American Federation of Teachers, shares the exciting but sometimes difficult challenge of teaching English, literacy skills, and academic content.  The site also offers Hispanic heritage booklists organized by topic and genre, that focus on the experiences of Latinos and Latin American youth for grades 4-12.  Main areas in the educator section include:

• Reaching Out to Hispanic Students and Families
• ELL Resources by Grade
• ELL Placement and Assessment
• Reading and Writing Instruction for ELLs
• Content Instruction for ELLs
• Technology in the ELL Classroom
• Bright Ideas
• Achieving Success: From the Heart

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PBS LearningMedia: Teaching About Tornadoes

With the number of tornado warnings in our region this summer, students’ curiosity might be ripe to learn about these formidable forces of nature when they return to school.  Here are a few of the PBS LearningMedia resources on tornadoes to engage children of all ages:

Home-grown Self Esteem (Grades PreK-2)  With Clifford the Big Red Dog, preschoolers can develop self esteem and a feeling of accomplishment with activities they can do at home, such as plant and care for an indoor plant and practice fire/tornado drills for emergencies.

Air is Matter  (Grades K-5) This collection of still images assembled for Teachers’ Domain illustrates some of the many ways that air, which can be quite powerful, affects our lives.

Tornado Model (Grades 4-6) In this video segment from DragonflyTV, Sullivan and Alexa engineer their own tornado model to explore the forces that produce a tornado.

How Do Tornadoes Form? (Grades 6-12) This video segment adapted from NOVA describes the challenges of studying tornadoes and shows how computer simulations are helping researchers observe what they can’t possibly see in a real storm.

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Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Premieres!

If you love Fred Rogers and his life’s work on behalf of children, families and educators, then you’ll be delighted that Daniels Tiger’s Neighborhood, the new preschool series inspired by the classic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, will premiere on Monday, September 3, at 11:00am and 1:30pm on WGBY.

The program features Daniel, the son of Daniel Striped Tiger, as a shy but brave and imaginative four-year-old tiger who lives in the Neighborhood of Make Believe with the next generation of original characters from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.  Each episode integrates music and includes two stories that focus on common early learning themes.

Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood interactive website features educational online games and activities such as a ride through the Neighborhood of Make Believe on the always popular Trolley.   At its teachers’ site you can watch a premiere, meet the characters and see the show’s learning goals.  The parents’ site also offers great resources, including Fred Roger’s Timeless Wisdom.

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