From a multi-media history lesson to a modern approach to tinytype portraits, explore tales from history’s battlefield with these PBS LearningMedia videos. These videos tell stories of soldiers and veterans from across the country and through the ages. PBS LearningMedia is the free public media digital library with trusted quality standards aligned resources for teaching and learning. Sign up for a free account to save resources, download videos and build interactive media experiences for the classroom.
Photographer on a Mission | Video | Grades 6-12+
Ed Drew's tintype portraits of his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan evoked the timelessness of war. Once he returned to the United States, Drew turned his lens toward an organic garden project that's empowering at-risk youth. Drew takes the best portraits when the students are relaxed. Before every pose, he chats with them, finding common ground and creating a bond that will help him tell their stories. He hopes casting their images within the context of fine art may help dispel negative stereotypes.
Last Days of Vietnam | Videos | Grades 9-12
Experience the moral dilemmas facing both U.S. and South Vietnamese soldiers as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on Saigon in April 1975 in this video adapted from American Experience: Last Days in Vietnam. Also learn about the decision to evacuate Americans and South Vietnamese from the U.S. embassy and about the experience of a South Vietnamese Army lieutenant who stayed behind. American Experience: Last Days in Vietnam premiers 4/28.
Joan Ganz Cooney Recites the Gettysburg Address | Video | Grades K-12
Watch Joan Ganz Cooney, Elmo, and Murray recite the Gettysburg Address as part of Ken Burns' challenge to all Americans to learn the address. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, filmmaker Ken Burns, along with numerous partners, launched a national effort to encourage everyone in America to video record themselves reading or reciting the speech.
The War of 1812 | Lesson Plan | Grades 2-4, 13+
This lesson plan, to be used with the program The War of 1812, gives students background information about the diverse perspectives of those groups involved in the war: Americans, British, Canadian Colonists, and First Nations.