Explore all PBS Wisconsin Education has to offer!

Did you know PBS Wisconsin Education has a digital newsletter? Stay up to date on all the resources they offer and see what ideas you can incorporate into your programming!

This is their most recent edition:

Infuse More Perspectives Dear educators, When you include diverse historical perspectives in what you're teaching, you open students' minds to new ideas and help them connect learning to their lives. Enrich your curriculum with standards-aligned resources like:  A new episode of The Look Back on Indigenous copperworking traditions A lesson about the experiences of Black patriots during the Revolutionary War Activities to explore the impacts of historical Black Americans Then, celebrate Wisconsin students competing in the Madison Symphony Orchestra's Bolz Young Artist Competition. Finally, don't forget to register for the America at 250 Educator Summit. Spaces are filling up! Happy exploring!   Your partner in education, Tawny Morrison, Education Marketing Specialist     Indigenous copper The western Great Lakes are home to one of the world's oldest copperworking traditions! Join Taylor and Kacie as they learn from experts around the state about why copper was used starting thousands of years ago and what it can tell us about the lifestyles and traditions of the area's cultures. (Grades 4-9)     Black Americans and the Patriot cause Explore the life and legacy of James Forten to better understand why he (and other Black Americans) chose to support the Patriot cause during the American Revolution with this lesson and media clips from Ken Burns in the Classroom. (Grades 6-12)     Learn about Black leaders Introduce learners to historical figures like Zora Neale Hurston and James Washington Carver with this collection of mini biographies and activities from Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. Available in English and Spanish. (Grades 1-2)     Wisconsin-made music Watch four musicians perform with the Madison Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin Young Artists Compete: The Final Forte at 7 p.m. March 17 on PBS Wisconsin. Then, bring the spirit of the symphony to your classroom with performances from musicians like SistaStrings in Re/Sound: Songs of Wisconsin. (Grades 4-8)     Behind the scenes with PBS Wisconsin Education Garden & Green Living Expo Producer Kylie Compe and Executive Producer Ryan Hendricks joined Field Notes on Climate host Ami Eckard-Lee and entomology professors Claudio Gratton and James Crall at the PBS Wisconsin Garden and Green Living Expo to share a sneak peek of the new series and share tips for making pollinator-friendly spaces at home.         Visit Our Events Page   Subscribe to This Newsletter   PBS Wisconsin Education creates and curates free-to-use, standards-aligned, Wisconsin-focused educational media for grades PreK-12, including videos, games, interactive content, and educator guides.

Indigenous Place: Reclaiming our Relationship with the Land Webinar

Indigenous Place: Reclaiming our Relationship with Land

Presenter: Lois Stevens, Ph.D., (Oneida Nation), Assistant Professor

Monday, January 27, 2025

4:30 pm -6:00 pm

Pre-registration required:

  First Nations Studies 2024-2025 Webinar Lecture Series

Image -Marge Loch-Wouters

In this free webinar, we will explore the connection between Indigenous stories of Place and our interactions the land. Emphasizing the importance of the relationships we build with land and our responsibility to those relationships. Participants will gain insights how our land is currently being threatened by human impact, how Indigenous Knowledge of Place challenges the dominant narratives of land use, and how to foster sustainable practices rooted in relationship. Together, we will reflect on our individual and collective impacts on the earth, discovering actionable ways to align our lives with values that support ecological balance and honor our ancestral knowledge systems. LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

About the Lecture Series
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) - American Indian Studies Program in partnership with CESA 12 is offering a unique opportunity to participate in a series of webinars to continue your journey of personal and professional development around First Nations Studies. These monthly 1.5 hour webinar lecture series workshops will begin in November 2024 and continue through June 2025. The lecture series will feature various Native American scholars in the fields of history, literature, education, among other academic content areas. At each session, you will have the opportunity to hear from and learn from Indigenous authors and speakers. 

NOTE: You must be present during the advertised date and time(s) to participate and watch the webinar. The webinars will NOT BE RECORDED. Additionally, participants do NOT have permission or authorization to record either via video or audio the contents of the session attending.

American Indian 2023 Youth Titles

Scholar and blogger Debbie Reese has released her year-end review of recommended titles on her blog American Indians in Children's Literature.

Dr. Reese writes: "American Indians in Children's Literature is pleased to share our annual year-end list of books we want you to know about. We'd like multiple copies of them to be in every classroom, school, and public library. 

Our emphasis is books by Native writers and illustrators whose Nations are on the continent we know as North America. Most are ones that came out in 2023. In some way, they've touched our hearts as parents of Native children or as former school teachers who want children to have accurate and honest books about Native peoples."

Click here to access the blog post, the complete list of titles and a downloadable pdf. [AICL'S Year in Review 2023. Reese, Debbie. American Indians in Children's Literature blog. November 28, 2023.]

Indigenous Reads Rising: a new resource!

As seen in the IFLS Youth Services Round-up newsletter, 11/15/23

Thanks to Kathy Larson from River Falls for sending this to me.  Indigenous Reads Rising is a new resource from We Need Diverse Books.  There is a wealth of great stuff on here, including a wonderful collection of booklists of recent and upcoming releases for Young Adults, Middle Grade, and Picture Books, including books divided by subject/genre (graphic novels, adventures, speculative, family stories, and more).  You can also find some excellent resources for teachers and librarians, including best practices, learning about Land Acknowledgements, state-by-state resources, and an excellent FAQ section. 

- Leah Langby

Free Indigenous Voices Virtual Conference

Following the successful 2021 debut of this conference subtitled: "Authentic Children's Literature in the Classroom and Library," Dr. Debbie Reese shared in a recent ALSC blog post news about this year's conference. Scheduled on May 24 and 25, the conference features a stellar group of Native writers.

Dr. Reese writes: "Indigenous Voices 2021 and Indigenous Voices 2022 reflect what I view as a new moment in children and young adult literature. In some ways it feels like we’re on the cusp of no longer having to say “we are still here.” I’m so grateful to people like Jonathan Hunt at San Diego County Office of Education, and Joely Proudfit (Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians) at CICSC for making the 2022 event happen.

Sign up for this free two day event! Register at https://sdcoe.k12oms.org/900-215459. And encourage your friends and colleagues to sign up, too. And make sure you get and promote books by Native writers." 

Stop here to read Dr. Reese's post. [Indigenous Voices: Authentic Children's Literature in the Classroom an Library. Reese, Debbie. Ph.D. ALSC blog. April 7, 2022.]

Just Wondering - Tracking Authenticity

This month's column by Manitowoc (WI) Public Library Youth Librarian Susie Menk explores questions about how far we go in our research during book selection to determine authenticity in content. And she's wondering....what do you think? 

Pixabay image

Recently, I received a box of books to preview from a new book vendor.  I have always appreciated being able to actually look at the books when making decisions about ordering.  It’s so much more satisfying that just reading reviews and hoping you are picking something that your patrons will love.  

This particular box happened to have several books on Native Americans.  Having taken several classes and workshops about diversity and inclusion, I was more thorough about looking these books over and evaluating whether their representation is authentic or not.  As I looked through the book I was struck by the credit statements in the front pages that the images used came from stock photos on the internet. As I continued to look through the end pages, there were very few resources listed in the bibliography as well.  Immediately my antennae went up!  I decided to do some digging into the author.  As I searched the American Indians in Children’s Literature (AICL) site, I couldn’t find the author listed or the titles of the books.  I also checked the CCBC Diversity Book Finder and there was nothing there. More red flags went up!

Then I looked for more information on the author..  The author had no visible ties or any information listing that they identified as a Native American.  While I know that authors can write on a variety of topics, there were just too many red flags for me to ignore–lack of resources, stock photos, and an author not identifying as Native American.  These red flags led me to question the authenticity of the material and eventually I decided not to purchase the book.

So my question for you is—how much time do you spend looking carefully at the books you order to determine if the book is authentic?  In this particular case, I could do a more in-depth search since I had the book in front of me.  What happens when you are just reading a review?  Most reviews are short paragraphs.  How does a reviewer cover everything they need to share about a book in such a short amount of words?  How do you balance taking time to verify a book’s authenticity and getting other projects or work done in a timely manner?  Do you rely heavily on the written reviews or do you have specific reviewers that you use whose judgment you trust?

Cool Collaborative Effort Produces Escape Games

School and public libraries working together can create powerful content for their communities. A recent example that benefited not just the participant's community but also YOU was recently cited in the Department of Public Instruction's WI Libraries for Everyone blog in a post titled: LSTA Subaward Recipient Update: Breaking Out in the Menominee Nation. 

They write: "The S. Verna Fowler Academic Library, Menominee Public Library, Keshena Primary School, and the Menominee Indian Middle School worked together to create a series of escape games for elementary and middle school age children using STEM skills with a cultural focus on maple sugar, sturgeon, and wild-rice. In escape games, teams use inquiry, problem-solving, and knowledge to solve puzzles with the purpose of answering an overarching quest in a set period of time. 

Although the original intention was for all the games to be played in physical environments using BreakoutEDU, the team shifted their work, creating some of the games to be played in a digital environment, which made them more accessible during the pandemic. The work was truly a community effort, enlisting the help of librarians, teachers, and students to create an engaging way to learn."

Stop here to read the full post and access the three games: Bake Sale Blunder (middle school); Lost in the Woods (upper elementary) and Missing Maple Mystery (elementary).