Events

Get excited to go back to school with your friends from PBS Wisconsin Education! Join us for a FREE webinar on August 25, from 4-5 p.m. for ideas, resources, and activities to help create a positive classroom culture and community from the very first day of the new school year and beyond.

Enjoy rich discussion, engage with improv games and mindfulness techniques, and experience real-time community-building among educator colleagues while experimenting with new approaches to student community-building and personal intention-setting for the school year.

This webinar is open to all educators, regardless of grade level or content area. Just register to get the Zoom link ahead of the meeting. All participants will be mailed a package of PBS Wisconsin swag and classroom supplies after the webinar concludes!

Explore the background and intentionality behind the making of Molly of Denali and the PBS Wisconsin The Ways collection. Both provide enriching bilingual resources that offer early learners opportunities to develop media literacy skills and discern informational text while featuring environmentally sustainable and economically prosperous rural communities.

Learn about the perspectives of historical and contemporary Indigenous Alaskan people in Molly of Denali, as well as tribal members of Wisconsin’s First Nations, and recognize similarities and differences regarding rural communities.

PBS Wisconsin Education hosts a cohort of Wisconsin PreK-12 educators working toward PBS Media Literacy Educator Certification by KQED each academic year. In this informational webinar, we will explain the requirements for the certification and the benefits of participating in our cohort. Learn more and access the application for the 2022-2023 school year. Applications are open through July 20, 2022.

Join PBS Wisconsin Education, the Asian American Pacific Islander Coalition of Wisconsin, and 2022 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, Kabby Hong for this 90-minute webinar to help build your background knowledge and explore educational resources that illuminate the wide range of contributions AAPI people have made in our state and beyond.

In January, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards passed a resolution encouraging schools to develop curriculum to teach the history, culture, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to the economic, cultural, and social development of Wisconsin and the USA.

Attend to learn about:

• AAPI/Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities
• How the increase in anti-Asian hate is affecting all our communities in Wisconsin and nationally
• High-quality, current, free resources to use in your classroom
• Impact and legacies of people from diverse AAPI communities

Join PBS Wisconsin Education, the Door County Maritime Museum, and Door County educator, Mike Scoville for an April 23 kick-off event including a museum tour and a behind-the-scenes look into the making of our new video game, The Legend of the Lost Emerald.

Learn about strategies for activating the standards-aligned game to engage students in historical inquiry and maritime archaeology and to learn about shipwrecks inspired by real Great Lakes history! Content presented is for upper elementary and middle grades teachers, library media specialists, and tech integrators, though all are welcome to attend. 

The event is FREE for Wisconsin educators, with a limit of 60. Registrations are first-come, first-served, and include museum admission and lunch, so sign up today!

Join PBS Wisconsin Education and the Building for Kids Children’s Museum for the Curious Educators EdCamp! Learn about PBS KIDS resources that support social and emotional development and STEM skills. Connect with educators facing similar challenges, learn new tips, and share ideas. Leave energized and inspired! Dinner is provided along with time for museum exploration. 

Join WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin curriculum writers as they share insight, lesson ideas, and resources that go beyond the materials originally provided in the engagement guides.

Wisconsin Native American instruments and music have been heard throughout the state for thousands of years. In this virtual workshop, Kathy Bartling shares how one Menominee composer and performer relates this through his music of today through the Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin project. FREE – Registration required.

Join WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin curriculum writers as they share insight, lesson ideas, and resources that go beyond the materials originally provided in the engagement guides. 

Lucy Sieber shares ideas and resources to expand your and your students’ Hmong cultural experiences. Lesson planning ideas, as well as resources for your classroom, will be shared during this virtual workshop.  FREE – Registration required.

All children’s cultural identities deserve to be affirmed in early learning classrooms. In this workshop, learn about strategies for embracing various cultures within your classroom as well as how to engage families in an inclusive, culturally responsive way, utilizing PBS KIDS digital media content such as Molly of Denali, Daniel Tiger, and Alma’s Way!

Participants will also learn about the PBS KIDS model for playful, hands-on learning and family engagement, which empowers educators to serve the whole child, within and beyond the classroom.

Join WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin curriculum writers as they share insight, lesson ideas, and resources that go beyond the materials originally provided in the engagement guides. 

Gather new ideas with Katherine Miller on adding SistaStrings to your music curriculum. Lesson ideas from the educator engagement guides in Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin in addition to other ideas will be shared during this virtual workshop. FREE – Registration required.

Join WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin curriculum writers as they share insight, lesson ideas, and resources that go beyond the materials originally provided in the engagement guides. 

How can we use a microscope to help stop a virus? How can we teach a computer to help us grow better crops? Digital interactives from PBS Wisconsin’s Meet the Lab collection can help your students explore these questions while learning about cutting-edge research happening right here in Wisconsin. You’ll go home with real-world, relevant activities you can use tomorrow!

Join PBS Wisconsin Education and three Wisconsin science educators to learn how they are using the Virus Investigators: Superpowered by Electron Microscopy lab in their middle school science classrooms. The standards-aligned educational media includes a “why research matters” video, “meet the scientist” digital cards, “ask a scientist” videos, and interactive media to learn how scientists use microscopes to track down viruses.

Whether rural or urban, Wisconsin communities are increasingly multicultural and multilingual, with nearly 30 languages spoken around the state. Schools play an integral role in building community with all families, within and beyond school doors. In this webinar, you will learn about steps school administrators and educators can take to make cultural inclusivity a priority,  ways schools can engage families from all backgrounds in a meaningful way, and ideas for strategizing with local or statewide organizations to achieve these common goals. 

Are you interested in using media in your classroom? Wondering where to look for media content? Earn Registry credits and join us on May 22nd, along with the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association for Playful Learning with PBS KIDS: Tips for Being a Media Mentor in the Classroom. Discover research-based guidelines and practical tips for using tech with young learners. Come ready to learn, play, connect, and leave with a new toolbox of activities! Come ready to learn, play, and connect with other early childhood educators near you!

Digital tools ranging from Edpuzzle to Nearpod to Jamboard have become ubiquitous during the COVID crisis while teachers and students have relied on them to enhance instruction and student attention. This session, the first in a series, will feature tech-savvy educators leading interactive introductory demonstrations of Flipgrid and Nearpod, and showcasing how you can integrate these apps with free resources on PBS LearningMedia from GBH and PBS Wisconsin. There will be ample time for hands-on practice and Q & A. This session is a collaboration between GBH Education, PBS LearningMedia and PBS Wisconsin.

The classroom community reaches far beyond the classroom walls as students’ families, community members, and the natural environment are all part of their identity. Valuing students’ communities, families, and cultural funds of knowledge in the classroom also helps build a more inclusive classroom community. This panel of Wisconsin educators will share stories of working cross-culturally with diverse families and communities and offer insights to create more welcoming environments for all of our students.

Unearth PBS digital resources you can use to expand Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) history into your classroom. This brief lunchtime webinar will be divided into two groups: elementary resources and middle-high school resources. Walk away with digital resources you can use in your classroom the next day!

Expand your classroom bookshelf to include new children’s and young adult literature by and about people of color. PBS Wisconsin is proud to host Madeline Tyner, a librarian at the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as they share brand new books from 2020 and early 2021. 

The CCBC is dedicated to diversity and education. They document the number of books they receive annually that are by and about Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Beginning in 2018, they began documenting the content of every book they received around other aspects of diversity and representation in children’s and young adult literature as well, including LGBTQ+, disability, and religion.

Join the Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin performers as they share their joy of music, growth as performers, love of culture and heritage, and challenges faced as they share music throughout their work in our state. In this workshop, Schuyler Pietz encourages the use of LatinX music in your classroom with the Re/Sound educator engagement guides she created.

With Wisconsin being at the national forefront of racialized educational disparities between Black and white students, many educators seek strategies for dismantling existing barriers. This leads many educators to ask the question: what does race-based equity look like in a variety of learning spaces? From early childhood classrooms to afterschool settings and college lecture halls, join our outstanding panel of Wisconsin education leaders to learn about their own experiences and strategies for developing equitable learning spaces.

Join the Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin performers as they share their joy of music, growth as performers, love of culture and heritage, and challenges faced as they share music throughout their work in our state. In this workshop, curriculum writers, Katherine Miller and Lucy Wrenn, share ideas and resources provided in the Re/Sound educator engagement guides for sharing Hmong music in your classroom.

Unearth PBS digital resources you can use to expand Black History Month in February and throughout the year. This brief lunchtime webinar will be divided into two groups: elementary resources and middle-high school resources. Walk away with digital resources you can use in your classroom the next day!

Join the Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin performers as they share their joy of music, growth as performers, love of culture and heritage, and challenges faced as they share music throughout their work in our state. Discussion will be based on submitted questions and topics chosen by the performers.

Join PBS Wisconsin Education to learn how to activate our newest content, Meet the Lab! This collection introduces students to relevant real-world issues, cutting edge research, and the human element—the people working together to research, innovate, and solve problems using science. Learn more about how to use this content in your classroom and hear about upcoming opportunities for you and your students to engage with STEAM content.

Session: You, Your Students and Your Community with the WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Re/sound Project

WSMA and PBS Wisconsin Education’s project, Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin can help you and your students explore the connections between music, identities, cultures, and emotions. Hear from those involved in the process – what they personally gained and what you and your students can learn about yourselves and each other through use of the Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin resources.

Teaching While White’s Co-Directors, Jenna Chandler-Ward and Elizabeth Denevi lead a discussion about talking about race and making whiteness explicit in school communities.

Join nationally recognized education researcher, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings and PBS Wisconsin to learn about the four factors that have led to the educational disparities that exist between Black and White students in the U.S.. Dr. Ladson-Billings will also share her vision for culturally relevant teaching in a post-COVID-19 world.

Wisconsin Biographies is a collection of free, educational, online media resources that tell the stories of notable people in Wisconsin history whose contributions to society continue to resonate today. This webinar explores the animated videos, text biographies, image gallery, interactives, and teaching tips. Wisconsin Biographies is intended for use in grades 3-8.

An introduction to using PBS KIDS’ Molly of Denali to enrich American Indian studies, literacy, and social-emotional learning lessons. Our Education Engagement Specialist, Mouna Algahaithi discusses how to leverage the additional resources that accompany the show’s episodes to help your students grow their skills!