March 2012

Action, Young Arkansas Filmmakers!

Hello, Teachers!

Please encourage your imaginative, motivated, and film-loving students to showcase their cinematic talents for the chance for broadcast on AETN, screening at the Little Rock Film Festival, and the opportunity to receive scholarship funds in The Arkansas Educational Television Network’s 6th annual Student Selects: A Young Filmmakers Showcase 2012.

Students in grades K-12 are eligible to submit student-filmed documentaries, narratives, music videos, and any other imaginative and creative work.

High School Seniors* get the chance to compete for a $2,500 Young Filmmaker Scholarship provided by the THEA Foundation in the areas of Screenwriting, Directing, Cinematography, and Editing.

Selected films and scholarship winners will screen at the Little Rock Film Festival and students can participate in the LRFF Youth! Program to be involved in hands-on-learning workshops and presentations from industry professionals on June 2-3, 2012

Mark your calendars! The deadline is coming up fast… All submissions must be postmarked by APRIL 6, 2012

For more information and submission forms visit:
www.aetn.org/studentselects

For a toolkit to help you publicize Student Selects at your school, visit
http://www.aetn.org/studentselects/toolkit

For specific questions, contact:
Casey Sanders – Project Director – csanders@aetn.org
or
Joseph D. Rowland – Project Associate Producer – jrowland@aetn.org
(800) 662-2386

*Arkansas public or private high school seniors, GED, and home school students are eligible

Cat in the Hat-a-Thon Friday, March 2 at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. celebrates Dr. Seuss' birthday and reading!

Tune in to AETN for the Cat in the Hat-A-Thon, a two-hour event premiering on PBS KIDS March 2 at 7 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. The Cat in the Hat-A-Thon celebrates the National Education Association's Read Across America initiative, an annual motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. The two-hour marathon features four episodes of "The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!"

The celebration will continue online and on mobile. Video clips from all four episodes featured in "The Cat in the Hat-A-Thon" will be available for free online at www.pbskids.org/video and on the PBS KIDS video app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Kids will also be able to engage with the Cat and friends through games and video content online and on mobile devices, and parents will be able to enjoy a new Birthday Party Builder Tool on the PBS KIDS Shop website beginning March 1.

Arkansas Studies

"American Experience: Clinton"
"American Experience" takes an in-depth look at the Arkansas experiences of William Jefferson Clinton. http://video.pbs.org/video/2195106954

Arkansas History Resource Hub Available Online

The Arkansas History Hub is described as an interactive tool that assembles resources from history institutions across the state into a centralized, easy-to-use website.It allows teachers to exchange ideas, enhance their lesson plans and download classroom materials about Arkansas history. http://www.arhistoryhub.com/

This short video at will introduce you to the Hub.

Art And Music

Mystery Of A Masterpiece
How does an art collector go about proving that his latest purchase is a previously unknown work by Leonardo da Vinci? Follow the steps and discoveries. http://video.pbs.org/video/2189483449

Counseling

Helping Children Feel Secure During Economic Struggles
Help families help their children during economic uncertainty. Economic challenges may involve cutting back on spending, relocating to a more affordable living situation, or taking on additional jobs. Find tips for making the best of difficult situations and preserving family time. http://www.pbs.org/parents/familiesstandtogether/
Source: PBS Parents

Early Childhood

PBS Children And Media
Just as a child grows — intellectually, emotionally and physically — so, too, does the ability to use media. This age-specific guide is designed to help parents encourage children to use media in new and creative ways. Select the age of the child and click to find out more. http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/

Help For Parents To Help Their Children

Parents can select programs from the list below to help their children learn basic concepts. If a seven year-old child is having trouble with reading and writing, the list will show "Arthur", "Between the Lions", "Electric Company", "Martha Speaks", "Super WHY", "Word Girl" and "Word World" as appropriate resources. By going to the program Web sites, parent and child can play the games, do the activities, color the activity pages and explore the world of reading together.

Programs By Focus Areas

Child Development Tracker

A child's development is unique and complex. Although children develop through a generally predictable sequence of steps and milestones, they may not proceed through these steps in the same way or at the same time. A child's development is greatly influenced by factors in his or her environment and the experiences he or she has.

The information provided by this tool is considered by experts as a representation of "widely-held expectations" for what an average child might achieve within a given year. Please consider this in the context of your child's unique development.

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/

Source: PBS Parents

Grants, Awards And Scholarships

"PBS Kids Go!" Writer's Contest
Eligibility: K-3 students
Deadline: March 30, 2012
Tablets and more for winning K-3 students.
Find out more at http://pbskids.org/writerscontest/

Grant Resources

• Arkansas Department of Education grant listings http://arkansased.org/programs/grants.html
• Technology grant information at http://www.vernier.com/grants/fulllist.html
• Forecast of Finding for the U.S. Department of Education  http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html
• Pen Weekly Newsblast http://www.publiceducation.org/newsblast_grants.asp  This site includes grant opportunity, Web links, deadlines, eligibility and maximum grant amounts
• EducationMoney.com
• Federal Grants http://grants.gov allows you to search by category, you do not need to register to search for grant opportunities
• http://grantsalert.com/
• These sources will help locate foundation, government and other grant opportunities. It's best to start when you have some time to invest, because one thing frequently leads to another link.
• FREE makes it easier to find teaching and learning resources from the federal government at  http://www.free.ed.gov/.

Grant Writing Tips and Tools

• If you want factual information about grant writing and samples, be sure to visit the Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal by S. Joseph Levine, Ph.D., Michigan State University, at http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal.
• "Show Me The Money: Tips & Resources For Successful Grant Writing" http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml

Health, Safety And Fitness

Super Fab Lab Investigation: Get Up And Move
This site clearly explains what we are going to do and why we need to do it, tells us what we will need, and provides activity descriptions.
http://www.pbs.org/parents/sid/activities.html?getupandmove
Source: PBS Parents

Influenza 1918
"People didn't want to believe they could be healthy in the morning and dead by nightfall." What made this flu a killer of more than 550,000 Americans? How could the need to quarantine and the need to send soldiers overseas to fight in World War I be reconciled? This resource-rich site provides materials for classroom use.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/influenza/

History And Social Studies

Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trips Schedule

http://www.history.org/history/teaching/eft/eft_upcoming.cfm

Teach American history with the new Electronic Field Trip season. This year's live, interactive lessons explore the ratification of the US Constitution, Westward expansion, The War of 1812, slavery, as well as the rights of women and youth.

"Remember the Ladies": March 15, 2012
In 1776, Abigail Adams requested that her husband, future president John Adams, "remember the ladies" when establishing the government and laws of the new nation. Examine the roles, responsibilities, and daily activities of early American women.

"Rights of Youth": April 19, 2012
Imprisonment, whipping, forced transportation, and even death were some of the punishments that courts sentenced children to in the eighteenth century. Witness how justice was administered at a time when criminal laws and sentencing guidelines made few or no exceptions for children.

Colonial Williamsburg online Teacher Community: http://www.history.org/history/teaching/index.cfm

Library, Literature And Reading

Viewer Favorites Return to Masterpiece Classic
Downton Abbey Season 2: January 8 to February 19, 2012
Downton Abbey season 2 resumes the story of aristocrats and servants in the tumultuous World War I era. The international hit is written by Julian Fellowes and stars Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, and Hugh Bonneville, plus a drawing room full of new actors, portraying the loves, feuds, and sacrifices of a glittering culture thrown into crisis.

Great Expectations: April 1 & 8, 2012
Widely considered one of the greatest novels by Charles Dickens, Great Expectations tells the story of Pip the battered orphan boy, who rises from blacksmith's apprentice to gentleman under the patronage of a mysterious benefactor, who assures him of "great expectations

The Mystery of Edwin Drood: April 15, 2012
An adaptation and completion of Charles Dickens' last novel left unfinished at the halfway mark at his death, The Mystery Of Edwin Drood is a psychological thriller about a provincial choirmaster's obsession with 17-year-old Rosa Bud and the lengths he will go to attain her.

Birdsong: April 22 & 29, 2012 at 9pm

An adaptation of Sebastian Faulk's novel about lovers torn apart by World War I. Eddie Redmayne (The Pillars of the Earth) plays Stephen Wrayford, whose pre-war affair with Isabelle Azaire (Clemence Poesy, Harry Potter films) has an enduring effect on him as he fights in the trenches.

40 Years Of Masterpiece Locations:
From the majestic Highclere Castle used as the setting for Downton Abbey to the untouched village of Lacock, featured in Cranford and Return to Cranford, Masterpiece has showcased some of the most splendid locations in Great Britain and around the world. Now, for the first time, explore some of the most beloved and intriguing Masterpiece locations and add your own comments and travel tips.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/locations/index.html

Math And Science

Ice Age Death Trap
What could explain the large number of mastodon bones at the bottom of a basin in Colorado?  Explore the theories of scientists working to salvage these bones. Try this experiment in your own classroom. http://video.pbs.org/video/2191520252

Professional Development

Online Arkansasideas Course Catalog:
The IDEAS staff adds courses weekly. An updated version of this catalog can be found at http://ideas.aetn.org/catalog.