Kellen Abston, known on stage and to his listeners as “Klassik,” was born and raised in Milwaukee. He honors the family members and mentors who have guided him as he channels his creativity into making electro-soul-infused hip-hop music that takes the pulse of his life in the city.

This resource is part of Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin; a collection of educational media resources from PBS Wisconsin Education and Wisconsin School Music Association. These resources can be used to explore connections between music, identities, cultures, and emotions. The collection includes video interviews with Wisconsin musicians, performances, audio files, and educator guides designed to help activate the media with learners in grades 4-8.

Kindness in the Classroom is a multi-part video series designed to give educators insight into the positive impacts of teaching mindfulness. The series focuses on implementing the Kindness Curriculum; a free 24-lesson mindfulness guide designed for early learning classrooms, researched and developed by the Center for Healthy Minds at UW-Madison.

The Kindness Curriculum introduces techniques to help students self-regulate and improve peer relationships. Participation in the curriculum has been linked to academic achievement and increased performance in areas that predict future success.

The Kindness in the Classroom series provides insights from educators and a guided mindfulness exercise. On the project website, you can watch the series, download the Kindness Curriculum, view the learning standards met and explore research behind the curriculum.

Every teacher wants school to be a safe space for all students. A space where students can be who they are and express their ideas in an open, collaborative way. For kids who are bullied, that feeling of safety is removed. Until aggressors of a bullied student are stopped, that safety cannot be regained. When we talk about the bullying of LGBTQ+ students, however, it isn’t as simple as addressing aggressors alone.

Discover what Wisconsin educator, Patty Zemke has to share about how the bullying of LGBTQ+ students is more than just an aggressor-victim conflict, and demonstrate ways you can create a welcoming space for students of all identities in a short video in the post on the aka Teacher blog.

Hosted by PBS Wisconsin Education, and created with and for Wisconsin educators, the aka Teacher blog offers a space for exploring the many hats educators today wear, and the topics that aren’t covered in teacher preparation programs.
Blog posts include videos featuring educators around the state, and resources you can share with learners and use to continue your own learning.

The Lady Thunderhawks varsity basketball team is a source of pride for the Oneida Nation. Learn how Jessica House, a captain of the team, infuses cultural heritage and discipline in her leadership role.

This resource is part of The Ways, a collection of educational media resources for middle and high school classrooms from PBS Wisconsin Education.

Explore the full collection: https://pbswisconsineducation.org/theways/about/

The Petersons are part of a long tradition of commercial fishing among Lake Superior tribes. Learn how members of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa have a treaty-retained right to hunt, fish, and gather in ceded territories and Lake Superior.

This resource is part of The Ways, a collection of educational media resources for middle and high school classrooms from PBS Wisconsin Education.

Explore the full collection: https://pbswisconsineducation.org/theways/about/

Language apprentice Arlene Thunder Blackdeer believes it is essential to keep Ho-Chunk Nation traditional knowledge alive by passing culture and language from elders to younger generations. Learn how she keeps the language alive.

This resource is part of The Ways, a collection of educational media resources for middle and high school classrooms from PBS Wisconsin Education.

Explore the full collection: https://pbswisconsineducation.org/theways/about/

Lavanyaa Surendar grew up in a family of artists who performed Indian classical music and dance. She learned how to tell ancient stories and show emotions through those traditions. She now continues the legacy by sharing her knowledge with others.

This resource is part of Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin; a collection of educational media resources from PBS Wisconsin Education and Wisconsin School Music Association. These resources can be used to explore connections between music, identities, cultures, and emotions. The collection includes video interviews with Wisconsin musicians, performances, audio files, and educator guides designed to help activate the media with learners in grades 4-8.

Take a deep dive into maritime mysteries with this point-and-click adventure game! Learners will use critical thinking and historical inquiry skills to recover the real treasure—the stories of shipwrecks inspired by real Great Lakes history.

Dive into the game, and explore the educator guide at pbswisconsineducation.org/emerald.

Getting his start at an early age, this music industry innovator from Waukesha made some serious sound waves with his inventions.

Resources available for exploring this story include:
- A short animated video with captions and transcripts in English and Spanish
- A short biography book accessible as a slide deck, with per-page audio for listening along, and maps of key locations in the story
- Questions that can be used for conversation, reflection, and connection with the story
- A historical image gallery full of primary and secondary sources to explore
- A guide for activating the media with learners that includes story stats, extension activity ideas, and standards supported

This story is part of Wisconsin Biographies, a collection of educational media resources for grades 3-6. Explore the full collection at pbswisconsineducation.org/biographies.

The Look Back is a series made for learners in grades 4-6 that explores eras from Wisconsin’s history through artifacts. The series is hosted by historians who model an inquiry process: sharing artifacts, asking questions, visiting archives and museums to learn more, telling the story of their findings as they go, and making connections to our lives today.

The series is a collaboration between PBS Wisconsin Education, the Wisconsin Historical Society, the Rebecca M. Blank Center for Campus History, University of Wisconsin–Madison Libraries, Wisconsin educators and learners, and museums and historical preservation and interpretation organizations throughout Wisconsin.

© 2024 Wisconsin Educational Communications Board and The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System

Funding Provided By
Timothy William Trout Education Fund a gift of Monroe and Sandra Trout
Eleanor and Thomas Wildrick Family
Focus Fund for Education
Friends of PBS Wisconsin

Maa Vue is a singer/songwriter based in the Wausau area of Wisconsin who creates music in the Hmong language. In her journey as a musician, she draws from her emotions while celebrating her culture and challenging expectations.

This resource is part of Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin; a collection of educational media resources from PBS Wisconsin Education and Wisconsin School Music Association. These resources can be used to explore connections between music, identities, cultures, and emotions. The collection includes video interviews with Wisconsin musicians, performances, audio files, and educator guides designed to help activate the media with learners in grades 4-8.

This community builder made Milwaukee his home, and brought people together by building the first mosque in the area open to all.

Resources available for exploring this story include:
- A short animated video with captions and transcripts in English and Spanish
- A short biography book accessible as a slide deck, with per-page audio for listening along, and maps of key locations in the story, available in English and Arabic
- Questions that can be used for conversation, reflection, and connection with the story
- A historical image gallery full of primary and secondary sources to explore
- A guide for activating the media with learners that includes story stats, extension activity ideas, and standards supported

This story is part of Wisconsin Biographies, a collection of educational media resources for grades 3-6. Explore the full collection at pbswisconsineducation.org/biographies.

Fred Ackley Jr. is from the Sokaogon Chippewa Community of Mole Lake. He harvests and processes manoomin, or wild rice. Learn how his relationship with nature informs his approach physically and spiritually to the harvest.

This resource is part of The Ways, a collection of educational media resources for middle and high school classrooms from PBS Wisconsin Education.

Explore the full collection: https://pbswisconsineducation.org/theways/about/

Marcya Daneille is a jazz vocalist based in Milwaukee. Her music, which she describes as “classically-trained, jazz-influenced, and soul-inspired” is infused with improvisation.

This resource is part of Re/sound: Songs of Wisconsin; a collection of educational media resources from PBS Wisconsin Education and Wisconsin School Music Association. These resources can be used to explore connections between music, identities, cultures, and emotions. The collection includes video interviews with Wisconsin musicians, performances, audio files, and educator guides designed to help activate the media with learners in grades 4-8.

Unlock the potential for your learners to think critically about their roles as media consumers and creators by becoming a PBS Media Literacy-certified educator!

Offered in partnership with KQED and Digital Promise, the PBS Media Literacy Certification allows educators to earn 8 microcredentials connected to teaching media literacy in the classroom. PBS Wisconsin Education offers an annual guided cohort to offer additional support and peer networking for Wisconsin educators pursuing certification.

Visit the Media Literacy pages on PBS Wisconsin Education's website to find more details about applying to be part of the next cohort, explore examples from previous cohort educators' portfolios, and see how credentials and Wisconsin Standards for Information and Technology Literacy are aligned.

Meet the Lab is a collection of educational resources made for middle school science classrooms. The collection connects learners to relevant real-world issues, cutting-edge research, and the human element: people working together to research, innovate, and solve problems using science. ​​Visit the Educator Resources page at https://pbswisconsineducation.org/meetthelab/educator-resources/ for a guide to each lab, with standards supported, guiding questions, and more.

This courageous justice seeker’s path would take her from Milwaukee to Germany, where belief in equal rights would lead her to join the resistance working against Hitler and the Nazis.

Resources available for exploring this story include:
- A short animated video with captions and transcripts in English and Spanish
- A short biography book accessible as a slide deck, with per-page audio for listening along, and maps of key locations in the story
- Questions that can be used for conversation, reflection, and connection with the story
- A historical image gallery full of primary and secondary sources to explore
- A guide for activating the media with learners that includes story stats, extension activity ideas, and standards supported

This story is part of Wisconsin Biographies, a collection of educational media resources for grades 3-6. Explore the full collection at pbswisconsineducation.org/biographies.

When this problem-solver learned that a landfill in her Sauk County community was closing much earlier than it should, she got to work. Her activism and effort ended up making big changes in the world of plastics recycling.

Resources available for exploring this story include:
- A short animated video with captions and transcripts in English and Spanish
- A short biography book accessible as a slide deck, with per-page audio for listening along, and maps of key locations in the story
- Questions that can be used for conversation, reflection, and connection with the story
- A historical image gallery full of primary and secondary sources to explore
- A guide for activating the media with learners that includes story stats, extension activity ideas, and standards supported

This story is part of Wisconsin Biographies, a collection of educational media resources for grades 3-6. Explore the full collection at pbswisconsineducation.org/biographies/about.

Meet the Nervous System Engineers—a team of scientists at the Ashton Group who make nervous system tissue to find treatments for nervous system diseases and injuries.

Resources available for learning about this lab include:
• Interactive cards designed to introduce students to scientists in a more personal way
• A video with a personal story that explains why the lab's research matters in real life
• Questions to consider that will spark connection, reflection, and conversation
• An interactive video experience where you can ask questions of scientists in the lab and learn about their research
• An inquiry-based activity that focuses on doing science, using some of the same science practices that the lab uses
• An educator guide with information about standards alignment, curriculum connections, and tips for using the media resources

These resources are part of Meet the Lab, a collection of educational resources for middle school science classrooms.

How can a sculpture shape ideas about a well-known leader and the ending of slavery?

After Thomas Ball learned that President Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated in 1865, he decided to make a statue in his honor. His work helped form Lincoln’s legacy as ‘The Great Emancipator,’ but a closer look at the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation and responses to the sculpture help shape a more complex story about the freeing of enslaved people.

This episode is part of The Look Back, a series made for learners in grades 4-6 that explores eras from Wisconsin’s history through artifacts. The collection is hosted by historians who model an inquiry process: sharing artifacts, asking questions, visiting archives and museums to learn more, telling the story of their findings as they go, and making connections to our lives today.