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Website
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Philo Farnsworth

For Students 9th - 10th
Crack open a present day television today and it may not be as apparent, but every television designer is aware of the name Philo Farnsworth. Find out about the man behind the first all electric television among the 299 other patents...
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Handout
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Invention of the Week: Lee De Forest

For Students 3rd - 8th
This website provides information on the life and inventions of Lee DeForest, the man who invented the audion tube, which made commercial radio broadcasting practical.
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Article
Other

Museum of Broadcast Communications: Ed Sullivan Show

For Students 9th - 10th
An article discussing the history of the Ed Sullivan show.
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Article
Other

Museum of Broadcast Communications: Ed Sullivan

For Students 9th - 10th
Article provides a very thorough review of the life of variety show host Ed Sullivan (1902-1974 CE).
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Interactive
Other

Kaept'n Blaubaer

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This site from the German TV show Kaept'n Blaubaer includes games, contests, and basic learning activities.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Iconoscope 1923

For Students 9th - 10th
American inventor Vladimir Zworykin, the "father of television," conceived two components key to that invention: the iconoscope and the kinescope.
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Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Timeline of Electricity and Magnetism: 1940 1959

For Students 9th - 10th
Defense-related research leads to the computer, the world enters the atomic age and TV conquers America.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Land of Television

For Students 5th - 8th
The advent of increased television programming helped create a national popular culture. Read about the many kinds of television programs offered in the 1950s.
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Article
Famous Scientists

Famous Scientists: John Logie Baird

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about John Logie Baird in this article that discusses his life and contributions.
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Website
Other

Children Now: Talking With Kids About Tough Issues: Tv News

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This resource provides helpful information for parents and adults to talk with children about what they see on television.
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Activity
Other

Federal Communications Commission: Organizational Charts of the Fcc

For Students 9th - 10th
Federal Communications Commission provides a chart to show how the FCC is organized.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: A History of Tv

For Teachers 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about how televisions have changed throughout the years. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Inventions: Then and Now

For Teachers 2nd Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about how the telephone, calculator, television, and clock have changed since they were invented. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in comparing and contrasting.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Turn It Off

For Teachers 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about the effects of watching too much television and the challenge of TV-Turnoff Week. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in author's purpose.
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Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Ernst F. W. Alexanderson

For Students 9th - 10th
This site honors Ernst F. W. Alexanderson for his invention of the high-frequency alternator radio and his pioneering efforts in developing picture transmission for television.
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Handout
National Inventors Hall of Fame

National Inventors Hall of Fame: Vladimir Kosma Zworykin

For Students 9th - 10th
This site honors Vladimir Kosma Zworykin for his invention of the cathode-ray tube. Content includes a brief biography of the inventor, as well as a look at how his invention has impacted our society.
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Website
Other

The Association of Moving Image Archivists

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of what the Association of Moving Image Archivists is, and what they do. Links to information about scholarships available to students intending to pursue careers in film archives.
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Activity
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Cnn Debuted as the First Television News Network in 1980

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
These lesson plans relate to the gathering and production of news and creating a visual timeline. There are links to other lesson plan ideas, as well as web links, and a brief bibliography. SL.11-12.2 Eval&Integrate sources
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Lesson Plan
Media Smarts

Media Smarts: Teaching Tv: Television as a Story Teller Lesson

For Teachers K - 1st
This lesson plan will help young students explore how television can be used to tell stories.
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Lesson Plan
Meadowbrook Press

Giggle Poetry: "Out of Control" Poetry Theater

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
In "Out of Control," students will participate in a poem in eleven voices. Adapted from the poem by Bruce Lansky in If Pigs Could Fly, And Other Deep Thoughts, students will dramatize a poem about a remote that mysteriously flips through...
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Activity
Meadowbrook Press

Giggle Poetry: "Turn Off the Tv!" Poetry Theater

For Students Pre-K - 1st Standards
In "Turn Off the TV!," students will participate in a poem in three voices. Adapted from the poem by Bruce Lansky in My Dog Ate My Homework, students will dramatize watching television with their parents.
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Website
Other

Who Is the Inventor of Television?

For Students 9th - 10th
Evidently, this is not an easy question to answer! The television seems to be the international product of a series of discoveries and inventions. Here is an interesting summary of inventors and events leading up to the actual television...
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Activity
American Psychological Association

American Psychological Association: Violence and Youth

For Students 9th - 10th
Looking at school shootings, this article posts questions regarding whether some kids are prone to violence and how soon we need to do something about it.
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Interactive
Other

National Geographic Channel: Rule the 90s

For Students 9th - 10th
Expand your trivia knowledge, and explore the news, culture, music, television and film of the 1990s.