Learn about actor Courtney B. Vance’s ancestor, an enslaved man named John Janey, who ran away to freedom and later fought on the Union side during the Civil War in this video from Finding Your Roots. Through newspaper archives, Underground Railroad chronicles, and military records, a dramatic story begins to unfold about the epic life of a true American hero.

John Quincy Adams spent his entire life serving his country, but only managed to become President through a corrupt bargain. Find out the juicy details and how his rivals responded.

Dense populations of some microscopic algae (phytoplankton) in ocean waters can contaminate seafood, resulting in serious health problems for humans. Satellite data displayed in an online tool help fishermen monitor and avoid these harmful algal blooms.

In this Cult of Pedagogy podcast, Jennifer Gonzalez defines three different approaches to designing rubrics to assess student work and provides examples of each, while discussing the benefits and drawbacks of the different models. Teachers may find these resources useful as they consider how they use their rubrics for response to and/or assessment of student writing.

At the end of an arduous 6 month, 1600 mile trek northward to Spain's new colonial capital of Santa Fe, Spanish colonists faced one last hurdle, the La Bajada Mesa. Noted archeologist Michael Marshall walks us through the trail as it travels up the mesa. Historian Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez shares his thoughts on the significance of the Camino Real.

Generational poverty is passed down from parent to child as an afterthought not by intentional means. Without intervention, each subsequent generation will lose additional means and opportunities. Not every person lacking education is in extreme poverty, but many of the extremely poor are lacking education. Properly run STEM programs, with the right perspective, have the unique opportunity to inspire, encourage, and introduce concepts that will change the trajectory of a generation aimed for poverty.

Focusing on state curriculum for elementary school students, this collection of educational materials features video segments from Idaho Public Television’s Lewis and Clark: Moments in Time series, which is based on excerpts from the journals of Lewis and Clark.

Is there a cause so great you would sign a document knowing if the cause did not prevail, you could be hung? The Liberty Boys in the thirteen colonies thought so, and the signers of the Declaration of Independence did just that. A ranger at Wormsloe Plantation, Joe Thompson, explains what the Stamp Act meant to the colonists and how the Liberty Boys meeting at Tondee's Tavern reacted.

Patrick Henry's impassioned plea at the Second Virginia Convention in 1775, "Give me liberty or give me death," defined the American Revolution. This one-hour documentary-drama captures this seminal moment in American history by balancing experts' commentary on the events preceding the Second Virginia Convention with dramatic re-enactments of the historic moments that followed.

The search for Lincoln’s parent’s marriage certificate proved to be challenging due to developing county parameters at the time.

This 2 an 1/2 min video addresses the question of "What were slaves doing during the Civil War?"

As ice retreats and energy resources along Alaska's North Slope become more accessible, diverse stakeholders consider potential futures and develop a science-informed view of the implications of development in the region.

Best known for her novel Little Women, learn about the impact of the abolitionist movement on Louisa May Alcott’s life and writing and her experience working as a nurse during the Civil War in this video from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind ‘Little Women.’ Engage students with discussion questions, a close reading of passages from Alcott’s book Hospital Sketches, connections to the PBS show Mercy Street, and research about other abolitionists.

Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil disobedience, intuition, the importance of nature, and knowing oneself, transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau left a permanent mark on American identity and values. Alcott spent much of her life surrounded by deep thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau and echoes of their influence can be found in her writing and the way she lived her life. Engage students with discussion questions, a close reading of quotes from Emerson and Thoreau, and connections to the movement in popular culture today.

Over the past 40 years, some lobstermen in South Thomaston, Maine, say that they could "set their watches” by the start of the lobster shedding event each season. In 2012, though, extreme warm ocean temperatures—an ocean heat wave—combined with early and repeated lobster shedding. The obvious changes in lobsters during this event galvanized many lobstermen to take the impacts of climate change seriously.

In the Arizona desert, farmers depend on an ample supply of irrigation to grow their crops. As climate changes, irrigation managers face a host of issues to keep the water flowing.

Dr. Mudd claimed not to recognize the two men who appeared at his home the morning of April 15, 1865. See the evidence that disproved his story and sent him to prison.

Discover why most of the Mayflower's male passengers signed an historic agreement, in this video adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE: The Pilgrims. In September 1620, religious dissenters, called "Separatists" by their detractors, were joined aboard the Mayflower by other English colonists recruited by the project's financial backers who did not share the Separatists' religious zeal. After making landfall 66 days later and with tensions threatening to divide the passengers, a social compact was drafted and signed in which all signers agreed to submit to the government created, officers elected, and laws drafted.

Engage with important themes from the Civil War era with content from the new PBS drama Mercy Street, along with our webseries Time Capsule from the producers of PBS Digital Studios The Good Stuff.

In the face of a changing climate, the Tribe is building capacity—and climate resilience—through forestry management, habitat protection, and an innovative approach to healthy eating.