PBS LearningMedia: Online Media Educational Resources for Educators

PBS LearningMedia is an online educational service offering media resources appropriate for PreK-16 curriculum, for use in classrooms, homeschool, and informal educational environments, such as after-school, community facilities, and museums.

Every season, family activities tend to follow a common thread, dictated by changes in weather and routine, the foods that are in season, and the activities that kids are participating in. Life has a way of presenting learning opportunities to kids that easily relate to the things they’re experiencing, and if the opportunities don’t present themselves, kids are quite skilled at finding ways to satisfy their own curiosity. However, their ability to do so is dependent on the resources available to them. There are endless books available from libraries, and the out-of-doors offers a plethora of possibilities, but some topics are difficult to learn about without digging deeper.

PBS Learning Media provides a wide variety of educational resources to help curious families expand their learning! The extensive content, presented in the form of videos, still images, games, audio clips, rich text, and lesson plans (which can easily be adapted for use at home!), covers almost every possible topic and is designed to reach kids from pre-K through 12th grade…

The content is all completely free to educators, but users ages 13 and older are required to create an account in order to use the resources (you can test out your first resource account-free, though).

One topic for families to explore this summer might be graphic art and animation. The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA is offering a special exhibit and event series focused on the original Walt Disney animated film, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” After visiting the exhibit and/or attending one of their educational event, families can utilize PBS Learning Media resources to learn more about the history of animation and the process that animators use in order to create short videos, commercials, films, and more. For older students, try, “The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics,” a video about the development of animation as a means of storytelling since the dawn of film. The video introduces film-related vocabulary, and focuses on animation as a sophisticated art form, teaching the viewer about the many principles that dictate animated art.

Another topic that can be explored using PBS Learning Media resources is invasive species. Learn to identify a few that can be found locally, and make sure to point them out whenever you see them on summer adventures. The site offers lots of plant- and animal-related resources for learning about invasive species – for younger students, try the video, “Frogs,” which addresses the issue of releasing household pets into the wild. The video is geared towards younger students, and uses animation, jokes, and silly sound effects to teach kids about the dangers of a species takeover.

The possibilities for learning are endless – search the site to find some more gems, and feel free to share your favorites with us!