Martha Speaks

February 20th 11:30am

Martha Speaks kicks off its fourth season on Monday, February 20 with an action-packed two-part episode guest starring real-life Hollywood couple Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Jennifer Westfeldt (Friends with Kids) - and their real-life dog, Cora.

Part I, Cora! Cora! Cora! features a traveling production of Antony and Cleopatra, a case of mistaken identity and a troupe of circus dogs. Helen’s family friend Kit Luntanne, voiced by Jennifer Westfeldt, is upset that she’s had to leave her lovable dog, Cora, at home while she travels with her acting troupe. Martha tries to help by visiting Kit at the theater to give her authentic dog support. Backstage, Martha meets Ham Johnson, voiced by Jon Hamm, an actor who admires Kit and wants to impress her. Together, they hatch a plan to reunite Kit with Cora.

In part II, Cora Encore!, confusion ensues as Martha and Ham cross paths with a troupe of circus dogs who all look exactly like Cora. Can Martha and Ham find the real Cora before she’s sent off to perform on the high wire? Or before Kit finds out about the mess they’ve made?

Here's some clips

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"Weather Week" on Dinosaur Train

"Weather Week" on Dinosaur Train

February 6-10th

10:30 Am on PBS

“The Earthquake”
Monday, Feb. 6, and Friday, Feb. 10

The kids go on a playdate with Tank Triceratops to the desert where they meet Tank’s distant relative and experience their first earthquake. Mom and Conductor have prepared the kids with excellent advice about what do to in an Earthquake, so everyone does fine.Afterwards the kids visit the new nursery train to watch eggs hatch and try to guess which hatchling goes with which parents.

“The Forest Fire”
Tuesday, Feb. 7

When a forest fire comes to the woods not far from their home, the family takes the Dinosaur Train to an area where the fire already has been. It’s here that the kids see how new life is growing back after the devastating fire.When they get back to the train, they find that the train has added an aviary car where they find a lost bird who was displaced by the fire.

“Dry Times at Pteranodon Terrace”
Wednesday, Feb. 8

When the dry times leave Pteranodon Terrace without water, the family goes on a camping trip to Big Pond to wait out the drought. Don doesn’t want to leave his home – even temporarily – so he works to perfect his “rain dance.”The family then takes the train to the Big Misty Sea, where they cheer for their dad in the annual fishing contest.

“Hurricane at Pteranodon Terrace”
Thursday, Feb. 9

When the rain returns to Pteranodon Terrace, it grows into a hurricane. The family – and their friends and neighbors – take shelter in a cave nearby. In the morning, they work together to rebuild the nests damaged by the storm.During the cleanup, the kids discover a turtle and a mammal who have washed up after the storm. They take the Dinosaur Train to get the two refugees back to their home in Appalachia.

Check out some Dinosaur Train Lesson Plans

Images of Arizona

2/10/12

9:00pm

Experience some of Arizona's most spectacular locations through the eyes and lenses of three renowned photographers. Join the photographers as they lead Arizona Highways workshops and see Arizona as it has never been seen before. Explore Navajo country and the magical landscape of Monument Valley with one of America's greatest living landscape photographers, David Muench. Get an insider's view of the vibrant Navajo Nation Fair and see the extraordinary beauty of Canyon de Chelly with award-winning Navajo photographer LeRoy DeJolie. Raft the Colorado River, explore isolated side canyons, and view hidden waterfalls with Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jack Dykinga. Check out the Trailer! http://www.azpbs.org/arizonacollection/az_collection.php?id=14

Barry Goldwater: Photographs and Memories

2/8/2012

11:30pm

He is known worldwide as a politician and statesman, but this is the story of the man behind the camera and the passion for photography and Arizona that shaped his life. Narrated by Hugh Downs, the program features photographs taken during the 1930s and 1940s as Goldwatertraveled throughout Arizona capturing images of indigenous people and landscapes. It showcases Goldwater's photography, which has been exhibited in galleries from Milan to Tokyo, and recalls a life in Arizona that is gone forever.

Here's the trailer!

http://www.azpbs.org/arizonacollection/az_collection.php?id=12

Kolb Brothers: Grand Canyon Pioneers

2/3/2012

9:00pm

In the early 1900's, a young man by the name of Ellsworth Kolb arrived at the Grand Canyon to seek adventure. He saw beauty that he had never seen before and was joined by his brother, Emery, within a year. They founded a photographic studio at the Bright Angel trailhead. It started out as a cave, then over a couple years was transformed into a two story structure. They filmed their many adventures, including rafting down the Colorado!

http://www.azpbs.org/kolb/

Their Art Exhibit

http://www.grandcanyon.org/kolb/currentexhibit.asp

WordGirl, My Hero!

 

One of my favorite super heroes of all time has entered the scene just in the last decade -- WORD GIRL!  She battles horrible grammar but in the form of ugly crime ridden punks like Lady Redundancy Woman and Nocan the Contrarian.   She knows EVERY word in the dictionary and appears out of no where to save the day by pausing the clock, wreaking havoc to crusade for justice and save the day!

This holiday season, WORDGIRL premieres a new It's a Wonderful Life-inspired episode "A World Without WordGirl" on PBS KIDS GO!.  Blowing out her birthday candles after one too many superhero interruptions, Becky wishes for a world without WordGirl. She realizes her wish has come true and Chuck has become a king who has imposed strange rules. Will Becky find the last piece of enchanted birthday cake so that she can wish for the return of WordGirl and make things go back to how they were before? "A World Without WordGirl" premieres on Friday, December 16 at 3:30 pm on Channel 8!

Dig deeper with your students in PBS Learning Media by searching for national and common core state standards based activities to support your curriculum to continue to the good fight!  WordGirl and Captain Huggie Face will be ready and armed with fantastic resources to assist. 

Create your FREE account on PBS Learning Media and do a keyword search for wordgirl to find various interactives and videos similar to the one  above designed to reinforce definitions, pronunciations, syllabications and parts of speech of the vocabulary words used in the show in sentences.   

Contact asset@asu.edu for more information and free professional development on on this online collection of over 17,000 videos, lesson plans, interactives, and other resources for educators with local outreach efforts generously supported in Arizona by CenturyLink.

"Nature Trackers Week" on Dinosaur Train

“Nature Trackers Week”

November 14-18^th on Dinosaur Train

Four New Episodes!

Get outside, get into nature and make your own discoveries! That’s the ideas behind an exciting new nature Trackers initiative launching as part of season two of Dinosaur Train on PBS Kids. In the first of four new episodes, premiering the week of November 14, Buddy and his sibling build a beachside clubhouse. Shiny thinks that a clubhouse needs a club, and the “Nature Trackers” club is born!

The Jim Henson Company is also encouraging real life kids to join the club! Beginning in November 2011, the Dinosaur Train website at pbskids.org/dinosaurtrain will feature a downloadable Nature Trackers activity book kids can do with their families. Once the activities are completed, kids can send in proof of their participation to The Jim Henson Company and receive a free dinosaur Train Nature Trackers reward in the mail celebrating their outdoor achievement! Families can also sign up to receive a Nature Trackers e-newsletter with a new outdoor activity challenge each month.

Check out some lesson plans