PBS has launched Ken Burns Classroom on PBS LearningMedia, a comprehensive online hub offering free educational resources inspired by the acclaimed documentaries of Ken Burns. This initiative provides 6-12th grade educators across the nation with a wealth of materials designed to enrich history lessons and engage students in deeper learning experiences through Pbs Media Learning.
For over four decades, Ken Burns has captivated audiences worldwide with his distinctive documentary style, bringing historical events to life using documents, images, and video footage. Now, educators can leverage this powerful storytelling in their classrooms with Ken Burns Classroom. This platform offers a curated collection of content that not only complements Burns’s films but also encourages students to develop critical thinking skills by prompting them to ask insightful questions and consider diverse perspectives.
According to Ken Burns, “It’s wonderful to see how educators across the country are using our films in their classrooms. By presenting them alongside interactive tools and lesson plans, PBS LearningMedia is helping students better understand the connection between historical events and the present.” He further expressed his hope that these pbs media learning resources will “further interest young people in the power of history and help them better understand the complexity of issues we face today, including the connection to the past and their relevance to the future.”
Ken Burns Classroom is packed with hundreds of readily available pbs media learning assets, including video clips, meticulously crafted lesson plans, engaging activity suggestions, thought-provoking discussion questions, downloadable handouts, and interactive tools. These resources are designed to seamlessly integrate Ken Burns’s documentaries into classroom instruction, covering significant historical events, influential figures, and pivotal moments. Topics range from global conflicts and the Roosevelt family’s legacy to the transformative Industrial Age. The initial launch features resources related to documentaries such as “Country Music,” “The Vietnam War,” “The Central Park Five,” “The Dust Bowl,” “The West,” “The Civil War,” “Jackie Robinson,” “Lewis & Clark,” “Prohibition,” “The Roosevelts,” and “The War,” with continuous additions planned for the future, ensuring an ever-expanding library of pbs media learning content.
Sara Schapiro, Vice President of Education at PBS, highlighted the inspiring feedback from educators regarding the use of these films in classrooms. “We’re thrilled to be working with Ken Burns to offer these important, carefully curated resources on PBS LearningMedia,” she stated, emphasizing the value of this pbs media learning initiative for the educational community.
David Olson, a high school social studies educator and PBS Digital Innovator, praised the impact of Ken Burns’s documentaries: “Ken Burns documentaries are fantastic. They bring difficult to understand moments in history to life in a way that other classroom methods can’t.” Olson further emphasized the practicality and usefulness of the online resources, noting, “The interactive tools and lesson plans in the Ken Burns collection on PBS LearningMedia are indispensable. They help me create hands-on teaching moments and allow my students to more easily grasp the intricacies of American history.” This testimonial underscores the real-world benefits of pbs media learning tools in enhancing classroom engagement and comprehension.
PBS LearningMedia, a collaborative effort between PBS and WGBH, serves as a central online platform providing educators with free access to a vast array of resources from PBS stations and partners nationwide. Reaching nearly one million unique users monthly, PBS LearningMedia is a vital source for high-quality, classroom-ready materials. Since its inception in 2011, it has consistently adapted to meet the evolving needs of educators, ensuring the provision of relevant and valuable pbs media learning content at no cost.
Educators interested in leveraging these resources can freely access all materials within Ken Burns Classroom by visiting PBS LearningMedia at https://pbslearningmedia.org/kenburns. This initiative, partly funded by The Better Angels Society, represents a significant contribution to pbs media learning, making high-quality documentary-based educational content readily available to teachers and students across the country.
