Activity
PBS

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat: Flash Card Games

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Expand the vocabulary of young readers with this series of five activities based the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. From playing bingo to group storytelling, a variety of different approaches are...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Breaking it Down

For Teachers 4th - 12th
After challenging themselves to correctly choose the form of erosion and length of time required for a given landform to develop, earth science class members model mechanical and chemical weathering with various lab demonstrations over...
Activity
PBS

Exploring Earthquakes: Earth Foldable

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Geology junkies will make a foldable that covers a lot of ground regarding Earth's internal structure, its position in the solar system, and an explanation for its seasons. Templates and a printable page of instructions are included....
Handout
PBS

The Elements

For Teachers 5th - 12th
An attractive handout displays the periodic table of elements in full color. Each group has its own color, and each element is represented by its name, chemical symbol, atomic number, and atomic weight. What makes this periodic table...
Activity
PBS

Adventures With The Fish Pond: Population Modeling

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
Build up from the previous activity where your learners charted the population growth and decay of a fish pond with M&Ms®. Have them look at the data from that activity and create a Now-Next, or recursive equations, to predict the...
Activity
PBS

Population Simulation with M&M's

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Math and M&Ms® go great together when introducing a modeling activity. Allow your learners to simulate population growth and decay of fish in a pond and share their reasoning for the change in fish. With such an impact we have on our...
Activity
PBS

What We Do Adds Up

For Teachers 4th - 7th
With so many tons of trash going into landfills each year, your environmentalists can calculate how much the average person is tossing away. This activity has a series of questions not only requiring math, but a conscious thought of how...
Activity
PBS

A Little Recycling Goes A Long Way

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Every time you purchase something from the store, it goes into a bag, but what happens to the bag? This lesson encourages your learners to think about what happens to those plastic and paper bags and their effect on the environment. Use...
Lesson Plan
5
5
PBS

An Attack on Syria- What Would You Do?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Has United States military intervention in the conflicts of other countries always been warranted? After reviewing a brief background on contemporary US conflicts and reading articles describing the civil war in Syria, your learners...
Lesson Plan
1
1
PBS

The Chrysalis or Pupa

For Teachers K - 3rd
What is one of the most exciting parts of a butterfly's life cycle? When it emerges from its pupa and dries its wings! This is a great activity little ones will love. They discuss what happens during the pupal stage of the butterfly life...
Lesson Plan
1
1
PBS

The Butterfly or Adult

For Teachers K - 3rd
Now that your class knows about the life cycle of a butterfly, it's time to discuss how an adult butterfly survives in the wild. The class diagrams and labels the parts of a butterfly, discusses how butterflies survive, and then make a...
App
PBS

Pass the Past

For Students 6th - 12th
Prepare your class members for history and geography exams with an educational game that not only tests content knowledge, but also requires students to demonstrate their reading comprehension skills.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Twelfth Night Act 2 Sc 5 Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As part of their study of Twelfth Night, Act II, scene v, class members examine the character of Malvolio, Olivia's letter, and the themes developed in the scene. In addition, pupils use an online link to the Shakespearean Insult...
Lesson Plan
PBS

U.S. Agricultural Subsidies and Nutrition

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Most young people don't spend a lot of time thinking about why some foods cost less than others. This resource uses clips from the documentary, Food, Inc. to explore the impact of agricultural subsidies on nutrition, health, and the...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Lesson Plan: “Seeing the Way: A Brief History of Cataract Surgery”

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
After looking at the history of cataract surgery techniques, your high schoolers will have a new perspective on medical and scientific advances. Kids alternate between watching short video clips, class discussion, and computer research....
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Impact of Genetically Modified Seeds

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What is all the fuss about genetically modified foods? PBS provides this resource designed to supplement the documentary Food, Inc. to help learners investigate the benefits and controversies of genetically modified foods...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Exploring Parent-Child Relationships Through Letter Writing

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The PBS film, Bronx Princess, launches a study of complex parent-child relationships. Using the provided reading guide, viewers respond to clips from the film and compare Rocky and Yaa’s relationship to other parent-child relationships....
Lesson Plan
PBS

Exploring Selected Haiku by Issa

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
If your class doesn't know what a haiku is, show them two examples from the Japanese poet Issa (both included here), and have them make some observations. How long are they? What is the structure? A video and a list of questions help...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Blue Ribbon Readers: Determining Important Ideas

For Teachers K - 5th
Brenda Z. Guiberson’s nonfiction book, Cactus Hotel, launches a series of activities that model for readers how to determine the main idea in a passage.  Class members engage in an online interactive game to test their...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Blue Ribbon Readers: Questioning

For Teachers K - 6th
Model for your class how to become a better reader through questioning. After conducting a picture walk that introduces prediction strategies, learners play an interactive questioning cube game. Complete directions for the game and...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Patterns to the Rescue!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Track down the Cyberchase episode that this lesson plan is associated with. Using a worksheet that is embedded in the plan, learners must find the next two numbers and shapes (a double pattern). Once these have been discovered, pupils...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Cardboard History

For Teachers 3rd - 11th
A PBS clip focused on collecting sports memorabilia launches this research project lesson. Class members then read Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me in which Wagner’s baseball card is used to time travel. The lesson ends with researchers...
Lesson Plan
PBS

From Patterns of Input and Output to Algebraic Equations

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Watch video clips titled, "Frog Hops Part I" and "Frog Hops Part II," then discuss patterns demonstrated in the videos. Learners will complete an algebraic expressions and equations handout and discuss the answers. They will be able to...
Lesson Plan
PBS

The History and Use of Sampling Methods

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young mathematicians define population, draw convenience sample from the population, draw quota sample from the population, and draw random probability sample from the population. They explain why a random probability sample usually...