News from KLRN Education

Fiesta Gives Back
Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

This month has flown by and as I look at my calendar, I notice downtown bustling with Fiesta spirit. Looking out the window of our building on Broadway and McCullough, I see Fiesta signs up and the assembly of the parade bleachers. I can taste the chicken on a stick and the oyster shots.
Last year I gave you a brief history of Fiesta San Antonio but did you know that many of the 100 Fiesta member organizations give scholarships? My alma mater, St. Mary’s University, holds the annual Fiesta Oyster Bake, which opens Fiesta, as a way to raise funds for scholarships. The University of the Incarnate Word's Cutting Edge Fiesta Fashion Show is another example of a Fiesta event hard at work to help students receive a higher education.

Other organizations involved with Fiesta give back in different ways. For example, the Alamo Exhibition Bird Club takes exotic birds to schools for a Rainforest Education program. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Alamo Couriers Chapter (Children’s Texas History Forum) sponsors free living history programs for San Antonio-area schools.

These are just a few of the many charitable contributions that organizations in our fair city do during Fiesta. With the STARR on the horizon for many and the school year coming to a close in less than two months, take some time to have fun and challenge your students to research other organizations and see what ideas they have to give back to our city during this 11-day celebration. As I wrote you last month, in 2010 Fiesta San Antonio started to make strides to make Fiesta GREEN. What a great way to talk about Earth Day and Fiesta San Antonio.

"Be the change you want to see in the world" -- Mahatma Gandhi

Visit fiesta-sa.org/about-2/community/ to see a list of organizations that are giving back.

Resources for KLRN Education

KLRN PBS Learning Media Clips to use:

Kid Musician: Mexico Guitar Town (Grade K-5)
Visit with Andres during fiesta time at Paracho Michoacán, Mexico’s “guitar town.”

Water Conservation: Mexico (Grades 3-12)
This video segment adapted from Last Oasis shows the challenges Mexico City faces in providing enough water for its growing population. As a result of over pumping of its ground water, some parts of the city are sinking 12 inches a year.

We are the Music: Mexicans (Grade 3-4)
In this “We are the Music” segment, learn about the 700-year history of the Mexican culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

News from KLRN Education

Water, our planet and us
Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

There are about 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water that can be found on our planet. This water evaporates from the ocean, travels through the air, rains down and then flows back to the ocean. About 70 percent of the planet is covered with oceans.

According to an article from How Stuff Works, ninety-eight percent of the water on the planet is in the oceans, and therefore is unable to be used for drinking because of the salt. About 2 percent of Earth’s water is fresh, but 1.6 percent of the planet's water is locked up in the polar ice caps and glaciers. Another 0.36 percent is found underground in aquifers and wells. Only about 0.036 percent of the planet's total water supply is found in lakes and rivers. That's still thousands of trillions of gallons, but it's a very small amount compared to all the water available.

It is a chilling thought to think about the amount of drinkable water that makes up our earth. Benjamin Franklin said that “when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.”

As spring approaches, my mind drifts to thoughts of lunch by the river, Earth Day (April 22nd), and Fiesta San Antonio (April 19-29th). All three of my day dreams have a link to the conservation of water and natural resources. In 2010 Fiesta San Antonio starting to make strides to make Fiesta GREEN. Our wonderful Riverwalk expanded, and went through a growth spurt in 2011 to extend to The Pearl. Talk to your students about the importance of water and what they can do to help conserve water. It is up the educators of our community to not only teach the core subject but also civic and social awareness to students. Visit SAWS Education Website and check out the resources that PBS has to offer. Don’t forget to get your free KLRN Connect account today, too.

Resources for KLRN Education

KLRN PBS Learning Media Clips to use:

Same Old Water (Grades K-2)
Conduct an experiment to investigate different techniques to clean water. Create reminders to reduce water consumption.

The Water Cycle (Grades 3-5)
Discover how water is created in nature and the path it takes to reach our rivers, streams and taps. Conduct an experiment that simulates the water cycle.

The State of the Planet (Grades 6-8)
Research water issues, the threat of food shortages, human population growth and global warming. Examine how these issues are likely to have a significant impact on the future well-being of Earth's environment. 

Got Water? (Grades 9-12)
Discover what delivering clean, fresh water to citizens around the world involves. Consider how water relates to politics, economics, technology and international relations, and explore the issues regarding Turkey's dams.

News From KLRN Education

And the Award Goes To ...
Yvonne Yates
Director of School Services, KLRN

I have often told people that I work in my dream job. Not only do I get to work with teachers, students and community partners but I work for PBS. When people realize that I work for KLRN they often tell me their favorite children’s program and what PBS has meant in their lives. The sparkle in their eye when talking about PBS programs always brings a smile to my heart.

February is a month when many things are celebrated, including Presidents Day, Valentine’s Day, Responsible Pet Owners' Month, and, of course, Oscar Night. I have always had a love of film and Academy Award Night is like my Super Bowl. Tis the season of awards and I wanted to shed light on all the honors that PBS has received. With such a wide range of programs for all ages, it's no wonder that the PBS family has over 130 awards and nominations in the 2011-2012 awards season.

Here is just a snapshot:
- 12 Daytime Emmy Awards, including eight for Sesame Street and The Electric Company who received three awards, including Outstanding Children’s Series.
- 14 Primetime Emmy Awards including six for Masterpiece Classic “Downton Abbey,” three for American Experience "Freedom Riders" and two each for American Masters and Great Performances.
- 1 Golden Globe Award for Masterpiece Classic “Downton Abbey."
- 3 Academy Award nominations for Independent Lens “Hell and Back Again,” POV "If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" and POV "The Barber Of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement."

These are just a few of the awards and nominations that PBS has received, for the full list, visit http://www.pbs.org/about/awards/

My task for you this month is to explore the PBS content and find a new award-winning show to share in your classroom.

Can you guess what I will be doing February 26th?

Resources for KLRN Education

KLRN PBS Learning Media Clips to use:

Film Festival (Grades K-2)
Create a paper filmstrip of a favorite story by illustrating several scenes and taping the pictures together in a continuous strip. Retell the story as you pull the “filmstrip” through a cardboard box “viewing screen”.

Film Shoot: Day 2 (Grades 3-6)
In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad is shooting a film and they have a limited number of snelfus to spend on food, film stock and the crew. As they work, they make a budget for each day of filming.

Billy Wilder: Film Noir Inventor and Genius (Grades 6-12)
Learn the influences of Billy Wilder as a means to deconstruct film as an art forlm, understanding the underlying social and moral messages of film and analyze stereotypes in media.

Film Scoring: Living a Creative Life (Grades 9-12)
Learn how music is used in film and advertising to influence our perceptions and emotions

Crock pot chicken and rice soup

Tried this recipe on pintrest and loved it! Everyone in my family liked it, and it is made with chicken, brown rice, and 8 cups of hidden vegetables! The only thing I changed in the recipe is that I put the chicken in frozen, and then I pulled it out before serving and put it in my mixer with the paddle attachment on low for 30 seconds to make it shredded chicken. I guesstimate that this soup has about 120 calories per 1 Cup (for the moms and dads that want to look good in a swimsuit in a couple of weeks for vacation;). Click on the link for the website I got this recipe from.

The Ingredients.

--2 boxes of chicken broth

--1 cup of uncooked brown rice

--1 cup of water

--1 cup cooked, shredded chicken

--1 1/2-2 cups almost purreed vegetables (I used celery, carrots, brocolli, cauliflower, a red bell pepper, and green onion). Just fill up your vitamix to the top with veggies. Then puree into a mush and put the muss in the crockpot.

--1 t herbs de provence (sounds fancy)

--salt and pepper to taste after cooking

The Directions:

using a food processer, blender or hand chopper, chop up all the vegetables into whatever sized pieces your family likes.

I don't have a food processer, so I used the Vita Mix.

Then cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 5 hours (I am just guessing).

Serve with a whole grain loaf of bread and a little butter and jam.