StationBreak
May 2012
May 2012
Writers Contest Winners Announced
Building on the success of the 15-year Reading Rainbow Young Writers and Illustrators Contest, the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest was launched last year in an effort to continue to encourage young children in Grades K-3 across the country to illustrate and write their own stories.
http://www.aetn.org/kids/writerscontest
Arkansas Studies
Park Visitors Can Explore Outstanding Museum Collections and State-of-the-Art Exhibits in Park Visitor Centers at No Charge
http://www.arkansasstateparks.com/news/for-media/display.aspx?id=1990
In addition to experiencing unique natural and historic sites preserved in Arkansas's state parks, visitors can also explore outstanding museum collections and see state-of-the-art exhibits in park visitor centers. According to State Parks Director Greg Butts, "At many Arkansas State Parks museums and several exhibit galleries in park visitor centers, we previously charged a small admission fee.
Beginning this year, admission fees will no longer be charged for access to state park museums and exhibit galleries." He noted that museum admission fees were dropped at Arkansas Post Museum, Hampson Museum, the 1872 Courthouse at Jacksonport State Park, Lower White River Museum, and the 1886 Frisco Depot and Frisco caboose at Mammoth Spring State Park. And there will no longer be a fee to see the exhibits at Parkin Archeological State Park, Plantation Agriculture Museum, Powhatan Historic State Park, the Battlefield Museum at Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park, and Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park.
New Vistas Revealed after Hurricane
http://watch.aetn.org/video/2219340065
The post-hurricane clean-up has provided broad new vistas of Lake Ouachita. Join Chuch Dovish on the moderate to strenuous 4-mile loop trail. Chuck will also take you on the West-Northwest Scenic Byway.
The Clinton Years: An Arkansas Perspective
http://watch.aetn.org/video/2200304609
This discussion hosted by Steve Barnes explores the impact Bill Clinton made to Arkansas and U.S. history. Also available for viewing online, American Experience President's Series "Clinton." You may view the program at http://video.pbs.org/video/2195106954.
Arkansas History Resource Hub Available Online
http://www.arhistoryhub.com/
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.
A short video at http://player.vimeo.com/video/27878665?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=1 will introduce you to the Hub.
Art And Music
Art through Time: A Global View
http://www.learner.org/courses/globalart/
13-part educational series for high school and college students explores some of the most commonly recurring themes that come up again and again across the history (and contemporary practice) of art. "Art through Time" tries to isolate some of the universal concepts addressed through human creativity and brings them up to the current day, going into working artists' studios to see how those ideas are being worked out in our current age.
The Role of Fantasy in Art
http://video.pbs.org/video/1281753428/
Jeff Koons shares his thoughts and techniques to art. You will share in the process, take a behind-the-scenes look at the creation process, and visit exhibits.
Counseling
National Resources Help Anti-Bullying Efforts
http://www.stopbullying.gov/
The government has embarked on an expanded anti-bullying campaign. At this site, you will find videos, practical advice, ideas that work and other resources educators can use to combat this threat to our children.
Early Childhood
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
| PROGRAM | AGE | FOCUS |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur | 6-9 years | Reading, writing, social skills |
| Between The Lions | 4-7 years | Reading |
| Caillou | 3-6 years | Social skills |
| The Cat in the Hat | 4-6 years | Social skills |
| Clifford the Big Red Dog | 4-7 years | Social skills |
| Curious George | 3-5 years | Science, engineering, math |
| Cyberchase | 8-12 years | Math |
| Dragon Tales | 2-7 years | Social skills |
| Electric Company | 6-9 years | Reading |
| Fetch with Ruff Ruffman | 6-10 years | Social skills, problem solving |
| Martha Speaks | 4-7 years | Reading |
| Maya & Miguel | 6-11 years | Spanish language, social skills |
| Mr. Rogers | 3-5 years | Social skills, self-esteem |
| Sesame Street | 2-4 years | Reading, math, social skills |
| Sid the Science Kid | 3-6 years | Science |
| Super WHY! | 6-8 years | Reading |
| Word Girl | 6-8 years | Reading |
| Word World | 6-8 years | Reading |
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
Partnership for Transition to Teaching Grant
http://uca.edu/transition
The College of Education at UCA seeks individuals with math and science backgrounds interested in becoming licensed math and science teachers. Special funding by the U.S. Department of Education is offering up to $5,000 to help highly qualified mid-career professionals or recent graduates make the transition into the classroom with a Master of Arts in Teaching from the College of Education. Funding will cover the actual costs of the total program.
This program is designed for individuals without teaching credentials but wish to become a teacher in an expeditious way. In just five semesters, students can earn a Master of Arts in Teaching and secure a position in one of UCA's partnership school districts, Little Rock School District or North Little Rock School District.
For more information, please contact Dr. Carolyn Williams, at transition@uca.edu or by phone, 501.450.3627.
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education: Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs
http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do?mode=VIEW&oppId=163053
Eligibility: LEAs
Award Ceiling: $400,000
Total Number of Grants: 61
Closing Date: May 25, 2012
The purpose of the Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs is to support efforts by local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish or expand elementary school and secondary school counseling programs.
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
- Grants Alert 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
New App Promotes Nutrition through the Arthur Characters
PBS and WGBH announced the first app from the PBS KIDS GO! series ARTHUR -- D.W.'s Unicorn Adventure for iPhone and iPod touch, available now on the App Store. Funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and produced by WGBH, D.W.'s Unicorn Adventure encourages nutritious snacking for kids ages 4-6, and ARTHUR fans of all ages. In the app, players have the opportunity to help Arthur's little sister D.W. save a lost unicorn using the power of healthy foods.
Reconstructing Black Death Microbe
http://video.pbs.org/video/2153265761
What have scientists discovered in the restoration of DNA from Middle Age corpses of the Black Death? Scientists seem comfortable that current tetracyclines could successfully bathe this plague.
History And Social Studies
Finding Your Roots Series
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/
Each episode in this 10-part series hosted by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. features a different grouping of celebrity guests, who are bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link, whether it is through friendship, long-lost relatives, or even through a common ancestral past. You can watch episodes online on the "Video" section of the Finding Your Roots website .
Finding Your Roots Lesson Plans
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/finding-your-roots/for-educators/
The series combines history and science in a fascinating exploration of race, family, and identity in today's America. Each hour features a different grouping of celebrity guests, who are bound together by an intimate, sometimes hidden link, whether it is as old friends, through long-lost relatives, or even through a common ancestral past.
Lesson plans available at this site include: Tradition and Identity; The Quest for Religious Freedom; Slavery in the North; Sources of History; Crescent City Gumbo – Race and Jazz in New Orleans; Faith in Change – John Lewis.
Search for the Lost Maya
http://video.pbs.org/video/2216399796
Scholars have long believed the civilization began with refugees fleeing warfare in 500 B.C.at the dissolution of the Southern Maya Empire. This program traces the origins and ends of the Maya domain. Underground discoveries provide new insights into this history. Paintings in this cave date back to 100 B.C., long before the accepted date for Maya development. Did the northern civilization actually predate the Southern Kingdom? These sites disclose what may be the first middle class. Did drought, political unrest or a complex combination of factors cause the destruction of this advanced civilization?
Surviving the Dust Bowl
http://video.pbs.org/video/1311363860
People were completely unprepared for the draughts and dirt storms that attacked the land and the people of the plains. What responsibility did people's desire for profit play in this shift into a wasteland? Static electricity provided another destructive force. After ten years of lack, the rains finally came to the Dust Bowl bringing their own challenge – would man learn the limits of the land and how to live in harmony with it?
Library, Literature And Reading
"Barnes and...A Conversation with..." Premiers Four New Shows in May
Abigail Disney
Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve Barnes talks with filmmaker, philanthropist and scholar Abigail Disney at the Arkansas Department of Education, as she discusses her film that premiered on PBS in October 2011, "Pray the Devil Back to Hell". The film tells the extraordinary story of a small band of Liberian women who came together in the midst of a bloody civil war, took on the violent warlords and corrupt Charles Taylor regime, and won a long-awaited peace for their shattered country in 2003.
Kenneth C. Barnes
Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve Barnes visits with Kenneth C. Barnes, a professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas at the AETN studios to discuss his book "Journey of Hope: The Back-to-Africa Movement in Arkansas in the Late 1800s." Kenneth Barnes explains why a number of African Americans from rural Arkansas, particularly Conway County, immigrated to Liberia between 1879 and 1899. He also shares accounts of his visit to Monrovia, Liberia in 1998 where he interviews descendants of the emigrants.
Melissa Harris-Perry
Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve sat down with Dr. Melissa Harris- Perry, one of the speakers of the "Bless The Mic" lecture series hosted by Philander Smith College. Dr. Harris-Perry is host of her new weekend program, "Melissa Harris-Perry" on MSNBC. She has authored two books, most recently "SISTER CITIZEN: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America", and her first book "Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought".
In addition, she is a columnist for The Nation, a magazine, and a Political Science professor at Tulane University where she is the founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. The interview took place in the Kendall Center at Philander Smith College. During the interview they talked about the stereotypes of women referring to her most recent book, President Obama and Black America, post racialism, and Election 2012.
Ernie Dumas
Thursday, May 25, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Steve Barnes is joined by Ernie Dumas, a columnist for the Arkansas Times at the AETN studios to talk about his most recent book "Dearest Letty: The World War II Love Letters of Sgt. Leland Duvall". Dumas, a longtime friend and colleague of Leland Duvall now deceased, discovered a collection of love letters written by Duvall to his sweetheart, Letty Jones. The letters were organized and edited by Dumas.
"Read Fresno" Helps Empower Parents
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=JnppU3X2hTQ
This video from the U.S. Department of Education explores the "how-to" tips from "Read Fresno" for children ages 0 to 5.
Fun Facts from the Dinosaur Train One-Hour Special
The 60-minute Dinosaur Train "Dinosaurs from A to Z" special will air on AETN Monday, May 14, 8-9 a.m. What other fun facts can you and your children find about dinosaurs?
| A | Did you know Apatosaurus weighed as much as 4 elephants? |
| B | Did you know that scientists believe that the crest on the Brachiosaurus' snout was used to show off to other dinos? |
| C | Did you know that Corythosaurus means "helmet lizard"? It was named after the shape of its crest? |
| D | Deinonychus had large toe-claws on each hind foot -- its name comes from the Greek words "terrible" and "claw." |
| E | Did you know that Einiosaruus lived in large groups or herds to protect them from predators, much like many modern-day animals? |
| F | Did you know that Fabrosaurus was a small animal, only about 3 feet long, that moved around on its hind legs? |
| G | Gallimimus belongs to a group of theropods called ornithomimids, which look a lot like ostriches living today. |
| H | Did you know that Hadrosaurus was the first dinosaur to have its skeleton mounted in a museum? |
| I | Did you know that Iguanodon was one of the first dinosaurs discovered? |
| J | Did you know that Jaxartosaurus had a big crest that was probably used for showing off, making noise, or recognizing others? |
| K | Did you know Kentrosaurus had a tiny brain, one of the smallest known for a dinosaur? |
| L | Scientists think that Lambeosaurus used its crest for long distance communication to tell how far away others were. |
| M | Did you know that Megalosaurus grew to about 30 feet long? Its name means "Great Lizard." |
| N | Did you know that Nodosaurus was covered in bony armor from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail? |
| O | Ornithomimus, with its small head, long neck, and long, powerful legs, looked like an ostrich with a long tail. |
| P | Parasaurolophus had a narrow beak, and was a selective grazer, able to pick and choose the plant parts it wanted to eat. |
| Q | Qantassaurus lived close to the South Pole. It's large eyes may have helped it see better during months of darkness each winter |
| R | Did you know that Rhabdodon was similar in size to a modern-day deer? |
| S | Did you know that Stegosaurus might have had one of the smallest brains of all the dinosaurs that have been discovered? |
| T | Did you know that T. rex replaced its teeth constantly? Each tooth might have been replaced every few years. |
| U | With its long, running legs, and a huge claw on each foot, Utahraptor would have been an excellent predator. |
| V | Did you know that Velociraptor's name comes from the Latin words for "quick" and "robber"? |
| W | Wannanosaurus grew to be just over 3 feet long, which makes it one of the smallest dinosaur herbivores known. |
| X | Did you know Xenotarsosaurus means "strange-ankle lizard," because its ankle bones are different from most theropods? |
| Y | Did you know that some Yangchuanosaurus grew to be over 30 feet long? |
| Z | Even though it grew up to 50 feet in length, Zigongosaurus was only medium sized for a sauropod! |
Math And Science
Mid-America Science Museum in Hot Springs Launches New Teen Volunteer Program
http://www.midamericamuseum.org/content.php?id=38
Application Deadline: May 14, 2012
Mid-America's Science Museum is looking for 4-5 teens, ages 13-16, who want to grow, build confidence, improve communication skills, and increase creativity. These teens will be instrumental in helping with the new Tinkering Studio. The Tinkering Studio is an immersive, active, creative place where museum visitors can slow down, become deeply engaged in an open-ended experiment, and make something that represents their ideas.
Teen volunteers will be called Tinkering Studio Innovators (TSIs) and their role will be to help guide and foster the tinkering process. TSIs will need to commit to one 4 hour shift per week from the week of June 13 through the week of August 4. This is a competitive program; only 4-5 teens will be selected.
Why Ships Sink
http://video.pbs.org/video/2223857670
The sinking of the Costa Concordia happened almost 100 years after the sinking of the Titanic. Changes to ship design, metal strength, and ship technology have made significant changes in ships. What changes still need to be made to save lives and ships?
Professional Development
Common Core Geometry Workshop, June 18-21; 25-28, Includes Paid Stipend
http://www.hsu.edu/uploadedFiles/Partnership_Programs/Math_and_Science_Center/Geometry%20Transformed%20-%20flyer.pdf
Level: Geometry Teachers
Professional Development Hours: 48
Cost: $100.00
Stipend Provided
The new Common Core State Standards in Mathematics requires teachers to rethink how and what they are teaching in geometry. This professional development which is partially funded by NCLB funds addresses these changes, both in content and pedagogy. Participants will attend intensive, high energy sessions for eight days in order to extend their knowledge in geometrical concepts and adapting teaching styles to fit the new standards. All lessons covered in the sessions will also connect geometry to real-world situations.
Each participant will be paid a stipend of $250 a day and will be required to attend two follow-up sessions during the school year.
Sessions will be taught by Ms. Carrie Barber, mathematics specialist at the SAMSSC, Dr. Debra Coventry, mathematics instructor at Henderson State University and Ms. Debbie Propps, mathematics specialist with the Southwest Educational Service Center. In addition to the stipend, participants will receive instructional manipulatives and other materials to further ensure student understanding in geometry. Lunch will be provided each day.
Hot Springs Technology Institute (HSTI) June 18-21, 2012
http://hsti.hssd.net/about2012.html
This is the technology for education conference designed by educators for educators. With its long history of state-of-the-art technology professional development, is an opportunity to participate in a variety of sessions, share with your peers and ask the questions that are important to you. Be sure to attend.
Online ArkansasIDEAS Course Catalog
http://ideas.aetn.org/catalog
The IDEAS staff adds courses weekly. An updated version of this catalog can be found at this site.
