NPT partners with MNPS & TN Dept. of Ed for ‘At Home Learning’

At Home Learning with NPT

Nashville Public Television has curated an “At Home Learning” block of programming to assist students who are now engaged in distance learning activities. The new daytime schedule begins Monday, March 30, and the featured programs will change each week.

“We’re supplementing our educational content for younger kids that starts at 6 a.m. each day with additional educational programs aimed at older audiences,” said Kevin Crane, NPT’s president and CEO. “From 10 a.m. to noon we’ll be broadcasting programs that middle school students can enjoy, from noon to 2 p.m. will be for high school students. But really anyone can enjoy and learn from these PBS and NPT programs.”

“Nashville Public Television is an essential partner in our city-wide strategic effort to support student learning,” said Dr. Adrienne Battle, MNPS Director of Schools. “We are grateful to NPT for working with us to broadcast additional educational programming targeted to each of our age groups with relevant enrichment content.”

As of April 6, NPT will incorporate instructional programming from the Tennessee Department of Education.

Here’s an overview of NPT’s “At Home Learning” programming schedule (a searchable version of the station’s schedule is available at wnpt.org/schedule):

6 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Children’s programming with favorites such as “Sesame Street,” which offers literacy skills and social emotional learning; and “Molly of Denali,” a show that stresses using and understanding informational texts. “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” also provides social emotional learning. “Let’s Go Luna” has a social-studies based curriculum, and “Nature Cat” and “Wild Kratts” help children explore the natural sciences. Note: children’s programming resumes each weekday from 2 to 5 p.m. In addition, NPT3 PBS Kids will continue to offer 24/7 children’s programming at 8.3 over-the-air, Comcast 242, Charter 189 or 192 (depending on area) and Google Fiber 87 and online at wnpt.org/npt3.

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Programming suitable for middle and high school students incorporates math and science in “NOVA” series “The Planets” and “Breakthrough: The Ideas that Changed the World.” Literature and language arts are the topics of “The Great American Read”; while history is covered by NPT’s own “By One Vote: Woman Suffrage in the South” and “American Experience” series like Ken Burns’ “The Roosevelts.”

Many of NPT’s programs are available to stream via video.wnpt.org and the PBS Video app. However, not everyone has a fast internet connection, so broadcast is the best way to reach everyone, Crane said. “We want to make sure that all parents have access to educational programming for all ages,” he added.

Additional resources

Ideas for distance learning, with suggestions for both educators developing curricula and parents with children at home, is available at wnpt.org/health-wellness/parents-teachers. This page includes information drawn from PBS Learning Media, a website offering free lesson plans and video clips; as well as links to information and videos tailored to adults and children about staying calm during crises. Parents may also sign up for a new PBS Kids newsletter for ideas and activities delivered each weekday.

A general information page wnpt.org/health-wellness, includes links to reliable sources for COVID-19 updates, along with videos and other resources about talking to children. The page also features a list of related national and NPT-created programming – some on-air, some via streaming – that offers information, tips and historical perspective.

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16 Comments

It’s a stupid idea, no one is going to pay attention to this besides maybe the little kids but middle and high schoolers couldn’t give less than a [bleep] to put it on.

Is there a way to live stream the at home learning for middle school on an iPad or laptop… we are without home internet or tv access because we just moved? We can use a hotspot, but I cannot find the middle school shows to stream. Please email.

“ 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Programming suitable for middle and high school students” is a different statement than what Williamson County sent out today. It said that starting April 6, that 10am-12pm would be for content geared towards 1st-7th graders with different days and times deducted to certain grades. Has something changed?

Yes, as referenced in the blog post, the TDOE programming started April 6, so the content of the At Home Learning block changed accordingly. We are posting the schedules on our schedule page (https://www.wnpt.org/schedule) once we receive them from TDOE.

Over the Air – 8.1
Comcast – 8 and 1008
AT&T – 8 and 1008
Charter – 8
Direct TV – 8
Google Fiber – 8

We can only stream the NPT online learning or watch posted videos. Are there any streaming options? We have searched and searched, and neither the WNPT nor the TN Department of Education have any related videos on their YouTube channels. HELP!

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