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College Behind Bars On-Demand

A four-part documentary film series that tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees.

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia and Peabody-Award winning filmmaker Lynn Novick has directed and produced a new documentary series, College Behind Bars, that reveals the transformative power of higher education through the experiences of incarcerated men and women.

This 4-part series is available in its entirety as well as in short issue videos with lessons and discussions for social studies and civics classes via PBS Learningmedia.

Watch Full Program & Find Education Resources

Raising the Future, The Child Care Crisis On-Demand

PBS NewsHour presents an indepth look at how the lack of affordable, quality child care is affecting American families. The COVID-19 pandemic transformed life for millions of parents and pushed the nation’s childcare system to the brink of collapse. A heated debate has emerged over what can be done to better meet the needs of parents and children. In this hourlong documentary, PBS NewsHour explores the burden costly childcare places on families, travels to cities and states experimenting with new ways of providing childcare, and delves into the political battle brewing over the idea of federally funded, universal childcare.

Local Childcare Challenges: 

Listen to childcare challenges in our region from these two WXXI News Connections shows

Sesame Street: Songs, Activities & Videos

Want to have even more fun with your Sesame Street friends? Try listening to a Sesame Street playlist of music or watching some fun video shorts!

It’s not secret that we love Sesame Street – who doesn’t!? Here are some songs and short videos that you can have fun with wherever you may be. Listen to some Sesame Street songs in your car, on your phone, at home, in school – anywhere using Sesame Street’s Spotify channel. And access even more Sesame Street videos on their YouTube – have a Sesame Street dance party or sing-along with your favorite Sesame Street friends. Our WXXI Education team pulled together some of their favorite playlists too!

Please note: All of the resources listed below and available through Sesame Street are designed for co-viewing, co-learning, and co-participation – meaning that to create the most meaningful experience and takeaways, adults and children should use them together.

Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel
Sesame Street’s YouTube Channel is FULL of fun short videos – songs, dances, silly moments, and lots of learning.

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Sesame Street playlists:

Sesame Street’s Spotify Channel
Is it music you’re looking for? Sesame Street’s Spotify channel is full of your favorite new and classic music! Click the link above or image below to head to the Sesame Street Spotify Channel:

WXXI Education Favorites
Here are a few of our favorite Sesame Street music playlists:

Sesame Street Websites: Games, Printables and More

SesameStreet.org

PBSKIDS.org/Sesame

Sesame Street in Communities provides hundreds of bilingual multi-media tools to help kids and families enrich and expand their knowledge during the early years of birth through six, a critical window for brain development. Sesame Street’s resources engage kids and adults in everyday moments and daily routines—from teaching early math and literacy concepts, to encouraging families to eat nutritious foods, to serious topics such as grief and food insecurity. Through ongoing collaboration, training experiences, and local partnerships, the Sesame Street in Communities initiative evolves and helps make a difference. Sesame Street in Communities provides different topics, each with resources that help kids (and parents!) with what matters most in young lives. All are critical to children’s healthy development and together they build the foundation for a happy, healthy life. To learn more about Sesame Street in Communities visit https://sesameworkshop.org/resources/

Remembering Pearl Harbor Electronic Field Trip On-Demand

In the WYES and The National WWII Museum Electronic Field Trip geared to grades 5-8, REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR—HOW STUDENTS LIKE YOU EXPERIENCED THE DAY OF INFAMY, student reporters hear first hand from eyewitnesses who were 11-20 years of age during the time of the surprise attacks. Also sharing their stories are military survivors who were at Pearl Harbor during the attacks. These recollections will bring the experience to life and serve as an excellent primary source in teaching students.

Students Julia Bresnan from Hawaii and Eliana de Las Casas (2016 winner of “Chopped Teen” on the Food Network) report from The National WWII Museum in New Orleans as well as on location in Hawaii.

The video is is approximately 50 minutes in length.  Additional Resources from WYES

Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.

Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage

Injustice At Home: Classroom Collection On-Demand

See a series preview example above. Watch the 3 collections and curriculum designed for classroom use. A study of Executive Order 9066 and the resulting internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the failure of political leadership to protect constitutional rights, the military experience of Japanese-Americans during WWII, and examples of discrimination and racial prejudice the Japanese American community faced before, during and after WWII. Also visit the Japanese American Incarceration Collection on PBS LearningMedia

Overcoming Discrimination And Adversity (Elementary)

Stories of Frank C. Hirahara, Kazuko Sakai Nakao, Kaz Yamamoto, and Fred Shiosaki. As survivors of Japanese Incarceration Camps during WWII, the powerful stories of these survivors reveal the damaging nature of racial discrimination upon the Japanese American community before, during, and after war.

The Japanese American Experience Of The World War II Era

An exploration of Executive Order 9066 and the resulting internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, the failure of political leadership to protect constitutional rights, the military experience of Japanese Americans during WWII, and examples of discrimination and racial prejudice the Japanese American community faced before, during and after the war.

Resilience And Resettlement: WWII And Beyond (Secondary)

A study of the resettlement of Japanese Americans after WWII and the ongoing hardships and discrimination they experienced in the postwar years.

Injustice at Home Curriculum Overview

An overview of the educational videos and educator lesson plans for Injustice at Home: The Japanese American Experience Of The World War II Era.

Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage

Asian American Stories of Resilience and Beyond On-Demand

Watch Full Playlist of Videos Above or At Full Collection of Short Videos below. While Asian Americans have faced a double pandemic of COVID-19 and anti-Asian racism, the rise of solidarity efforts within Asian American and other BIPOC communities gives us moments of joy, resilience, and hope as we rebuild our lives. The series of seven documentary shorts move beyond the pandemic and reflect the complexities of Asian American experiences in this critical moment.

Watch Collection of Video Shorts
Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage

Roadtrip Nation: Being You On-Demand Career Exploration

Watch the Trailer of Being You above. 1 in 5 individuals in the U.S. struggles with math, writing, focus, and organization—but many people with learning and attention issues feel alone. They don’t have to. Follow three young people with learning and attention issues as they travel the country to seek advice from TV host Howie Mandel, ice sculptor John Rodrigues, and many more who have harnessed their differences for success. 

Watch the Full Film

About the Episode: Being You follows the transformative journey of three young people—Stephanie, Noah, and Nicole—as they travel cross-country to find others who, like them, learn differently and have used that difference to build lives doing what they love.

Stephanie, 22, is fresh out of college in San Francisco, a feat people told her she’d never accomplish. Diagnosed with nonverbal processing disorder as a child, she felt isolated from her peers; it wasn’t until college that she realized there are other people like her, and discovered the power of her unique perspective. Eighteen-year-old Noah just graduated from high school in Baltimore, and heads to college next year, where he wants to major in computer science. He’s never been very vocal about his dyslexia and ADHD, and he’s looking for mentors who can help him see that the world beyond high school is big and full of possibilities. Nicole, a 23-year-old from Pittsburgh who loves video games and eSports, has been hard at work in an office job since getting her degree in business, marketing and digital media. She recently quit her 9-to-5 job and wonders whether it’s possible to work in a field that truly interests her.

Diagnosed with dyspraxia and dyslexia, she wants to get past labels and be free to be herself. Along their journey, they meet with diverse individuals living with LAIs, including entertainer Howie Mandel, Eye to Eye co-founder and chief empowerment officer David Flink, and Attention Deficit Disorder Association president Evelyn Polk Green, and discover that these individuals are not only coping, but thriving. Also watch on the PBS App.

Hiding in Plain Sight On-Demand

Watch the Trail above from a new documentary explores the mental health crisis among American youth. Click the button below for the full documentary.

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness, a film presented by Ken Burns and co-produced by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers, is a documentary about the mental health crisis among youth in America.  The two-part, four-hour film is part of Well Beings, a national campaign from public media to demystify and destigmatize our physical and mental health through storytelling. 

Watch Full Film
Related Resources
More From Well Beings

Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness features first-person accounts from more than 20 young people, ranging in age from 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as parents, teachers, friends, healthcare providers in their lives, and independent mental health experts. The film presents an unvarnished window into daily life with mental health challenges, from seemingly insurmountable obstacles to stories of hope and resilience. Through the experiences of these young people, the film confronts the issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence, and, in doing so, help advance a shift in the public perception of mental health issues today. 

The film includes the following individuals with lived experience of mental health challenges:

  • A teenager who surrenders to addiction at the age of 15
  • A young Native American woman who feels so isolated she contemplates suicide
  • A transgender teen who goes through periods of profound joylessness and substance abuse
  • A high school freshman whose childhood hallucinations intensify after a series of assaults
  • A 14-year-old boy who is plagued by intrusive thoughts and withdraws into his own world

The documentary Hiding in Plain Sight is a central part of Well Beings, the multi-year, multiplatform health campaign including other feature-length documentaries, short-form original digital content, user-generated storytelling, a digital and social media campaign, community events, and educational curriculum created by WETA with support from a broad coalition of national and local partners.

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