WVPB Education

Calling all budding authors Kindergarten through Grade 5.  Time to write and illustrate an original story and enter it into the WVPB Annual Writers Contest.  Winners at each grade level will have their stories published on our web-site and win great prizes.  Prizes are awarded to the first 3 places at each grade level.

It is that time of year again.  The 2019 Writers Contest is on! Writers grades K-5 send us your best story and you might just be a winner. Contest runs through March 31. Not sure where to start? Our Writers Contest booklet will walk you through the process.  Deadline to enter is March 31st.  Click Here for entry form and rules. See last year's winners.

In September StoryCorps came to Charleston, WV to record scores of oral history stories.  Those who particpated shared stories of their lives with each other, they were recorded and preserved for the National Archives in the Library of Congress.  Over the next few months we will be sharing some of those stories over the air and on our web page.

Picture 500 grade school children decending upon a college campus eager to engage in reading and literacy  events and you have an image of SUPER DAY (Students Using their Powers to Engage in Reading.)  For the third year Marshall University College of Education and Professional Development has sponsored an event to encourage area students to enjoy reading.  And, for the third year WVPB's Education staff, incuding The SUPER WHY team have been a part of the day. 

Congratulations to all the writers who submitted entries this year.  Thanks too, judges.  Marshall University Education Majors took their judging job seriously as they counted words and discussed the merits of the stories entered.  They were impressed by all the stories submitted and that made their job even more difficult.  Please find this year's winning entries.  We hope you are thinking about what tale you will tell for next year's contest.

Bring science alive for the youngest of learners.  Nature Nuggets are short, minute-long videos drawn from NATURE, one of the most watched documentary film series on public television.  Included with these short videos are discussion questions and activities for students.

American Graduate: Getting to Work

Public Media Initiative to Advance Education and Career Readiness

Today 2/6/2018 is Safer Internet Day. Organizations around the world are working with children to help educate them on best practices. Here are 4 lessons from Common Sense Media that can help parents and teachers navigate the new frontier.

Sid the Science Kid is about to head to Minnesota to celebrate the holidays with his family.  He is a reluctant traveler as he knows the weather will be cold and different from his home.  Sid, like any curious kid, with the help of his friends sets about exploring what temperature is and what it means.

For the second time in about a month we hear of another horrific shooting.   This time it is in a church in Texas. This is not the place to dig into the why, but rather to provide some resources to help parents and caregivers talk to the children.  We need answer our little ones' questions as best we can, it is important that children can feel safe and loved.

A West Virginia middle school science teacher has been honored as one of the nation's top educators.

Winfield Middle School teacher Erika Klose received a $25,000 Milken Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation on Monday. The award was given to 45 teachers nationwide.

Great public media resources at your fingertips.  West Virginia LearningMedia is free digital library with over 118 thousand pubic media resources from over 200 content providers.  Resources are suitable for pre-K through adults and are searchable by grade level, content area and type of resources. 

Sesame Street in Communities expands with a new initiative to help children overcome traumatic experiences and address difficult feelings like anxiety, grief, and anger. These bilingual resources present universal coping strategies that help children feel safe and become more resilient in a range of situations, and give caring adults the tools they need to foster nurturing connections.

Planning your Halloween decor? Carve your favorite PBS Kids characters on that pumpkin. 

Check out the possibilities:  Print out your favorite and begin to create a work of art!

Today the news is filled with the incidents in Las Vegas, what can I tell my young child?

Listen and talk with your child. When upsetting public events occur, children often pick up information about them at school, on TV or the Web, or from adult conversations. Children may feel scared, worried, upset, or confused by what they hear.

West Virginia's U.S. senators say $4.6 million will be awarded to two programs to continue Head Start programs providing nutrition, health and education services to young children and their families.

According to Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, funding includes $1.5 million to the Kanawha County Board of Education and $3.1 million to the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council.

WVPB PBSKids 24/7 Channel

Movie Night for the younger set! 

Grab some popcorn and make a date with your favorite PBS Kid and join us for Movie Night throughout the summer. 

Send us a picture of your summertime fun #SummerAdventurePBS

This Summer Join in the Fun!        

They are in!  The winning entries for the 2017 Writers Contest have been published.  Check out and see stories submitted from around the state and surrounding viewing area.  We salute all the young writers and encourage them to keep writing. 

Fifth Grade Winners:

Sandy Wiseman, a Librarian at Woodsdale Elementary School, Ohio County, is named as one of 52 educators from across the country selected for the fifth annual PBS Digital Innovators Program. The program recognizes classroom changemakers: educators who skillfully approach education with a bold and fresh perspective, and who integrate digital media and resources into their classrooms in a way that sparks a love of learning for their students.

Congratulations to the following schools for their participation in the STEAM power WV Challenge. 

3rd Grade 

Lakewood Elementary School,  Kanawha County

Teacher: Jodi Ballard

My students had a blast with these activities. We love hands on learning and STEM activities.

This challenge gave them the opportunity to incorporate both of those things and let them work collaboratively. They loved it!

4th Grade      Paw Paw Elementary School, Morgan County

Teacher: Cortney Kile

On Friday, March 17, 2017, in an event sponsored by WOWK and the Clay Center, Senator Joe Manchin joined students from across West Virginia to Skype with NASA astronauts, who are aboard the International Space Station.

Senator Manchin was thrilled to be a part of this opportunity.  He mentioned that it was an out of this world career day fair and went on to encourage students to be curious and learn.

Astronauts Shane Kimbrough  and Dr. Peggy Winston fielded questions from students across southern West Virginia.

WVPB and Gilmer County Public Library teamed up to screen the newest PBS KIDS Dinosaur Train Movie.  On Saturday, February 25,  30 youngsters showed up to watch the new movie, A Journey to the Center of the Earth, and participate in an archeology dig in the library. The dig was a sand box full of dinosaurs, marbles and precious rings unearthed by eager participants. 

WVPB education participated in a community book festival at Mountain View Elementary School on Saturday, February 18.  Over 400 parents and children turned out for a day filled with books, stories and family activities.  

In WVPB's session clips were shown from the newest PBS KIDS show, Splash and Bubbles, about fish friends who explore themes of friendship and life in the deep ocean.   As a part of the learning session, children created their own deep sea creatures. 

Marshall University Education Majors spent the day with WVPB Curriculum Speicalist, Margaret Miller, exploring ways to make learning more relevant in this digital world.  Student Teachers are digital natives and easily take to integrating media into their lesson planning.  With the plethora of resources out there, WVPB shares West Virginia PBS LearningMedia, a free digital library with hundreds of thousands of safe video clips, interactive lessons and full length programming.

STEAM power WV

If you are looking to add some STEM lessons into you classroom take a look at this creative challenge.

It's here!  The WVPB PBS Kids 2017 Writers Contest is calling all West Virginia students in grades Kindergarten through 5 to sharpen their pencils and bring out their crayons to write and illustrate a story.  Winning stories will be published on our website.  The contest  runs January 1 through March 31.  All applications must be submitted by March 31, 2017.

Your source for Writers Contest info here!

• Find out the latest details on the Writers Contest
• Read 2016 Winning Entries

WVPB Read for the Record!

On Thursday, October 27 as part Jumpstart’s Read for the Record, a national campaign launched over a decade ago to address the educational inequities that leave too many children unprepared for kindergarten, WVPB board members, staff and friends spread out around the state, to learn, laugh, and read this year's campaign book, The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach, as part of the world’s largest shared reading experience.

Civic Engagement & The Power of Listening

Next week, we elect the 45th President of the United States. In this particularly divisive and emotionally charged election season, listening to one another is as important as ever.

Engage your students in meaningful conversations around this election, StoryCorps is here to help.