Happiness — For a Bhutanese Child and Seattle Teens

Tonight at 10:00 WGBY airs Independent Lens Happiness, which looks at how television may affect Peyangki, a Bhutanese child, when his remote village is connected to electricity.  How will the images coming from access to 46 television stations for 13 hours every day shape him?  A PBS NewsHour classroom resource looks at how poetry Continue reading

Calling All Soccer Fans

Did you know that the The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is the world’s most widely watched sporting event? Now through 7/13 — or anytime — you can share these NEW PBS LearningMedia resources from PBS NewsHour to immerse your local educators and students grades 7-12 in the education opportunity of the 2014 finals tournament, putting it in context to history and current events.  Continue reading

The Kennedys – Triumph and Tragedy

John F. Kennedy made an indelible mark on the American presidency. Here is an in-depth look at him as a person and as a president, and how America’s course was altered by his assassination. This album contains a two-part documentary on the Kennedy family and a short film about Lee Harvey Oswald. Also contained in the album is a booklet and a packet of memorabilia, Continue reading

West Springfield Educator is 2014 PBS Digital Innovator

2014 Digital InnovatorMark Vasicek, a local teacher, has been named one of this year’s national PBS Digital Innovators.  He left engineering to care for a child who was seriously ill and today teaches at West Springfield High School, where he can feel the impact he’s making in others’ lives. Continue reading

The Great Gatsby Curve Lesson Plan

Whether The Great Gatsby or economics are part of your curriculum, students can benefit from this video and the lesson from which it’s taken.  The lesson introduces a new economic theory to students through the classic novel and its latest film version.  Additionally, it provides a simulation where resources are not equally distributed and students have an authentic opportunity to experience inequality. Continue reading

The Nature Works Everywhere Collection

eng06_int_biomimicry.jpg.resize.710x399Students can explore amazing ways in which nature works to make our lives cleaner and healthier every day with the Nature Works Everywhere collection from The Nature Conservancy.  The collection shows how all types of environments, plants, and animals play crucial roles in maintaining our global ecosystem and how we can help play a role in a more sustainable future. Continue reading