Cherokee Language and Nature

The Cherokee believe everything in the environment, from crops and animals to creeks, mountains and even the wind – all have an intelligent spirit and play a central role in daily life. The Cherokee do not view themselves as separate from the environment. Rather, they see themselves as part of it. Their language reflects that. 

“Language is the core to any culture because it is what that culture expresses itself with and it is the dynamic mechanism through which that culture continues,” says Tom Belt, Coordinator of the Cherokee Language Revitalization Program at Western Carolina University. 

Cherokee Syllabary

In this lesson from UNC-TV, students learn about the link between Cherokee language and culture, how it was almost lost to history, and how Western Carolina researchers are working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee to study, preserve and grow the language once again. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1LYh823

Frankenstein Comes Alive

"It's alive!"
That memorable line was in Frankenstein the movie, but it wasn’t in the book. 




I prefer this version.

And many think of Frankenstein as the stiff-armed, fabricated monster, but that was actually the doctor’s name.

Boris Karloff as the monster

 In this episode of “Crash Course,” John Green introduces your class to Mary Shelley's famously frightful novel. Students will learn about the Romantic movement in English lit, of which Frankenstein is a GREAT example, and how Frankenstein might just be the very first SciFi novel. As it often does, literature comes down to just what it means to be human. John will review the plot, take the class through a couple of different critical readings of the novel, and discuss the final disposition of Percy Shelley's heart. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1RhBa7E

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BRRRAAAAIIINS!

Why is it important to protect the brain? Are boy’s brains different than girl’s brains? How does your brain interact with your body? 

Zombie wants to know this : Why are brains so yummy?

Your students can explore these and other important discussion questions as they probe the power and mystery of the brain. In this video from The Human Spark, Alan Alda talks with Dr. Todd Preuss on the subject of the brain and how it functions. Preuss studies the brain with the help of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI machines, which reveal the sophisticated circuitry of the brain’s cortex. 

Students will learn how the cortex differs in individuals and how those differences could relate to how people think or act. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1j60gf5

The Eyes Have It

Humans, like most other mammals, are primarily sight oriented, which means that our eyes are our dominant sense organs. The reason we rely so heavily on vision most likely lies in our evolutionary history. Millions of years ago, the way of life of the ancestors of Homo sapiens favored those with good vision and selected against individuals who could not see as well. 

Nice eyes!

Frightened eyes

Alice Cooper eyes

What the heck???

In this lesson based on NOVA’s "Mystery of the Senses: Vision,” students explore how their eyes receive visual information from the world around them, and how our brain makes sense of it. This lesson pieces together the components of human visual perception, and includes a fun and engaging classroom activity that allows your class to view optical illusions and further investigate the human visual system. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1M15DXU

Hispanic Heritage Month at PBS

Who were the people that lived here before Europeans first explored America? In this episode of Crash Course, students get an enlightening U.S. history lesson presented by John Green, who talks about the Native Americans who lived in what is now the U.S. prior to European contact. Green starts the lesson by shedding light on the established way of life of American Indians prior to colonization, and later, discusses what life was like during the first sustained European settlement in North America by the Spaniards. As Green describes, the Spanish have a long history with the natives of the Americas, and not all of it was positive – they were not known to be peaceful colonizers. Green then teaches students about early Spanish explorers, settlements, and what happened when they didn't get along with the indigenous people. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1L3FclF

Antiques Roadshow Teaches Me History

I don't watch tv.  

Wait--that's not true.  I watch Dr. Who, and that's it.

This is my Doctor.

Wait--that's not true either. Sometimes I will pretend NOT to watch Antiques Roadshow when my husband is watching it, but we both know better.  I don't care about the ugly paintings people bought at garage sales, although I still catch myself exclaiming, "Ten thousand DOLLARS??? For that ? WHAT???" before going back to mindless clicking games on my computer.  What I do enjoy are the stories.  There are so many fascinating histories made personal with a trinket or a spoon or a chair.  Sometimes you catch a doozy of a story:

During the Civil War, Union soldier Fernando Robbins was captured by the Confederates and imprisoned. Robbins kept a diary while in prison, writing about the conditions he faced and the people he met. He collected numerous other artifacts during his time in the South, including a small Confederate flag, a stencil of his name, and several pieces that he carved while in prison. These items were passed down through the Robbins family, along with a photograph that shows him in uniform. 

Share this video from Antiques Roadshow with your class as they examine some of these artifacts alongside appraisers. This “unique archive” offers an illuminating historical glimpse into the experiences of a Union solder who served time as a prisoner of war. WATCH: http://to.pbs.org/1JBI2Hp

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I'm not a Biologist, but I Can Blog about Marine Biology and Ecosystems!

Whales fascinate me.  I've always thought about how graceful they are despite their size.  Ever since seeing the crew from Star Trek use George and Gracie, two humpback whales, to save Earth, I have yearned to see a whale in the ocean.

:

This summer my family visited Boston, and we booked a whale-watching trip.  It was incredible!  We found two humpback whales, and for at least half an hour we watched them blow water and air, fluke, and dive right next to the boat.  It was a very moving experience for me.  My kids thought I was insane when I brushed tears from my eyes.

On August 31, I was lucky enough to catch PBS's video of a blue whale returning to a part of the ocean where there hadn't been whales in many years.  I could explain what that was like for me to watch and for the host of the show to witness, but instead I'm just going to share the link with you.  See for yourself! 

Did you cry?

I loved how the host explained how the whales were just starting to come back because the ecosystem was healing.

In healthy island ecosystems, living things and the natural resources surrounding them are in balance. This balance creates resilience. A resilient island has a greater ability to bounce back when forces outside its control, including climate change, disturb it; however, if an island’s ecosystems have been weakened because of harmful human activities, the balance is lost, which has a negative effect on living things and makes it much more difficult for them to recover.

In this interactive activity, students explore Pacific high island and atoll ecosystems, learn about the threats to island resources and residents, and discover how communities are preserving their future. They also learn about the services these ecosystems provide and how they become compromised by change. EXPLORE: http://to.pbs.org/1L9Xlxm

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