Crash Course Kids
Character Traits Explained (King and the Dragonflies): Crash Course Kids Literature #2
New ReviewHow do characters make a story? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we’ll investigate the traits of characters from “King and the Dragonflies” by Kacen Callender and uncover the ways they relate to each other. Topic:...
Crash Course Kids
Understanding nonfiction: Crash Course Kids Literature #4
New ReviewIf you want to learn about a new topic, where do you start? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we synthesize information from two nonfiction books about a woman with an eye for insects: Maria Merian. Topic: Synthesizing...
Crash Course Kids
What is an inference? (Charlotte’s Web): Crash Course Kids Literature #1
New ReviewReading books can be fun, but there’s so much more to discover beneath the surface. In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we’ll use our background knowledge and story evidence to make inferences about E.B. White’s novel,...
Crash Course Kids
Character Traits Explained (King and the Dragonflies): Crash Course Kids Literature #2
New ReviewHow do characters make a story? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we’ll investigate the traits of characters from “King and the Dragonflies” by Kacen Callender and uncover the ways they relate to each other. Topic:...
Crash Course Kids
How to find themes (A Wrinkle in Time): Crash Course Kids Literature #3
New ReviewWhere do you find a theme? Deep in the characters, under the setting, entwined in the plot? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we travel through the universe with the characters in “A Wrinkle in Time” to discover its...
Crash Course Kids
Understanding nonfiction: Crash Course Kids Literature #4
New ReviewIf you want to learn about a new topic, where do you start? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we synthesize information from two nonfiction books about a woman with an eye for insects: Maria Merian. Topic: Synthesizing...
Crash Course Kids
Poetry explained (Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhhà Lại): Crash Course Kids Literature #5
New ReviewRoses are red, violets are blue… What on Earth CAN’T a poem do? In this episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we dive into the poems that make up Thanhhà Lại’s verse novel, “Inside Out and Back Again” and the figurative language that...
Crash Course Kids
How to compare and contrast (Little Red Riding Hood): Crash Course Kids Literature #6
New ReviewFairy tales aren’t just “once upon a time…” and “happily ever after.” They can connect us to people across the world! In our final episode of Crash Course Kids Literature, we compare and contrast different versions of “Little Red Riding...
TED-Ed
The murderous medieval king who inspired "Macbeth" | Benjamin Hudson
Of all Shakespeare’s plays, perhaps none is stranger than “Macbeth”— a parable on power rife with supernatural elements. But according to texts from the 11th century, this tragedy has its roots in reality. What’s more, other accounts...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The curse of the monkey's paw | Iseult Gillespie
Sergeant-Major Morris regaled his friends with epic tales from faraway lands— until one asked about an artifact the Sergeant had alluded to. Slowly, he produced the object: a mummified monkey’s paw. He explained that a holy man had...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: What really happened to Oedipus? | Stephen Esposito
When Queen Jocasta of Thebes gave birth to Oedipus, a grim air seized the occasion. Her husband, King Laius, had received a prophecy from Apollo's oracle foretelling that he would die at the hands of his own son. Determined to escape...
TED Talks
TED: A street librarian's quest to bring books to everyone | Storybook Maze
As a self-proclaimed radical street librarian, Storybook Maze makes books appear where they're scarce. Through initiatives like free, public book vending machines and street corner story times, she eliminates book deserts — or areas with...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Red-Headed League | Alex Rosenthal
One day in the fall, you called upon your friend, Sherlock Holmes, and found him in conversation with Jabez Wilson. Wilson had been working for the mysterious League of Red-Headed Men. Today, he arrived at work to find the group had...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: The dark history of werewolves | Craig Thomson
Stories of werewolves have existed for thousands of years and continue to live on today. They're especially prominent in European literature and folklore, and often found in cultures where the wolf is the largest natural predator. Over...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: Why is William Faulkner so difficult to read? | Sascha Morrell
William Faulkner is considered one of America's most remarkable and perplexing writers. He confused his audience intentionally, using complex sentences, unreliable narrators, and outlandish imagery. His body of work is shocking,...
Crash Course
Federal Theatre and Group Theater: Crash Course Theater #42
The 1930s in the United States were pretty bad for employment in all industries, and the theater was no exception. As part of Roosevelt's New Deal, the Works Progress Administration created a division called the Federal Theatre Project....
Crash Course
Crash Course Theater and Drama Preview!
We're back! This year Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about theater and drama. Are you in drama club? Want to know about the history of theater? Maybe learn some theater history? Have a lot of fun? This is the series for you! Over the next...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most banned books of all time | Mollie Godfrey
In 1998, a school district removed one of American literature's most acclaimed works from its curriculum. Parents pushing for the ban said the book was both "sexually explicit" and "anti-white." The book at the center of this debate was...
TED-Ed
TED-Ed: One of the most "dangerous" men in American history | Keenan Norris
In 1830, David Walker sewed a pamphlet into the lining of a coat. The volume was thin enough to be hidden, but its content was far from insubstantial. At the time, many members of the US government considered this pamphlet to be one of...
PBS
Poet writes slam-dunking kids' novel
How do you get reluctant readers to fall in love with a book? Writer and literacy activist Kwame Alexander says you have to offer them something relatable. In "The Crossover," basketball is the hook to persuade kids to pick up a novel...
PBS
Why 'Doctor Zhivago' Was Dangerous (Book Conversation) (July 8, 2014)
When Boris Pasternak finished his novel ÃDr. ZhivagoÓ in 1956, Soviet authorities refused to publish the tale of an individualÂs struggle amid the Russian Revolution. A new book, ÃThe Zhivago Affair,Ó tells the story of how...
PBS
Isabel Allende's Newest Historical Novel Tells Familiar Story Of Refugee Life
"A Long Petal of the Sea," a new historical novel by renowned writer Isabel Allende, draws upon events spanning from the Spanish civil war to the 1973 coup in her native Chile -- and with resonance for the experience of refugees today....