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.

News from KLRN Education

Let's Write in 2012
Yvonne Yates

Director of School Services, KLRN

William Wordsworth said, “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” Every New Year’s Eve many of us make a list of our goals, plans and resolutions for the new year. We write them down and post them somewhere around the house and if you are anything like me by March they are nowhere to be found. This process of writing down our ideas and forgetting about it is much like the dozens of stories that students begin to write and then forget about. Many times these wonderful ideas start in a draft but are not taken through the full writing process.

In the last few decades, the written word has been lost to some extending with the coming of age of text messaging and emails. Laugh out loud is LOL and back in five has been shortened to BI5. My last year in the classroom this change in our use of language became apparent when a student wrote “BION I BIOMN.” My curiosity got the best of me and I called the student over and asked her what this meant. She said in a very matter a fact voice, “Duh, Ms. Yates. It’s “Believe it or not I blow it out my nose.” This made sense as she was talking about drinking milk while her sister told her a joke. I explained to the student that we needed to write out all the words. She did not like that she would have to take an extra few seconds to write out every word. I drove home that day with a smile on my face as I thought of how unhip I was at 31.

Writing has been the word on the street here at KLRN because at the start of the year we kicked off the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest. This contest is open to students in kindergarten to third grade. We're on the lookout for stories written and illustrated by kids in these grade levels. Everyone who enters receives a certificate with top place finishers in each grade eligible for great prizes such as laptop computers, digital cameras, and e-readers!

The contest began January 1 and ends on April 2, 2012. Look for complete rules, including entry forms and more information at klrn.org/writerscontest.

Get those students writing and start sending in your stories. Can’t wait to read them all!

Resources from KLRN Education

KLRN PBS Learning Media Clips to use:

Reasons to Write (Grades PreK-2) This video segment from Between the
Lions features a motivating, kid-friendly song that celebrates the reasons
to write in everyday life.

Advice for Aspiring Writers (Grades K-8) Grace Lin shares her advice
for becoming a children’s book author.

Knowing Poe Interactive Timeline (Grades 6-12) Examine
turning points that shaped Edgar Allen Poe’s life and literature with this
interactive timeline.