PBS American Portrait is a national storytelling project that invites individuals to participate in a conversation about what it really means to be an American today. To answer this question, PBS and its partners are collecting photos, videos, and text submissions from across the United States to capture the state and spirit of the nation.
This collection is a toolkit to help educators bring American Portrait into their classrooms, virtually and otherwise. Please learn more and share your story here: https://www.pbs.org/american-portrait/ Additionally, accompanying resources can be found here: https://klrn.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/american-portrait/.
We would love to collaborate with you on some possible dates for our team to provide a special guest speaker opportunity especially for your school. During this virtual presentation, students will be introduced to the American Portrait platform and learn how they can tell their story. A special author guest speaker will encourage students to tell their stories around the American Portrait prompts and provide a Q&A for students.
Please consider the following topics and guests for a presentation geared especially for your school. As a reminder, all of our presentations are free of charge.
- American Portrait: We Are Creators with Special Guest Daniela Lee, Author of the Son of the Sea Wolf book series. Daniela began writing at age 14, creating the first book in a series of exciting adventures. Daniela is currently a sophomore at Cornell University. Daniela continues to write, creating new stories and inspiring fellow writers.
- American Portrait: We are Helpers with Special Guest Rayma Peterson, Artist, Educator, and Author of Very Fine Art Projects for Artists and Educators. Rayma has taught art in school and has written a book which includes lessons that can be done in school or at home. Rayma continues to draw and paint botanical artwork, motivated by the beauty in nature.
- American Portrait: We Are Listeners with Filmmaker and Owner of Odyssey Creative Entertainment. Rogelio has been creating films since 1997. His works include music videos for international artists, short films, and a feature film. Rogelio continues to make enlightening and thought-provoking films.
For a preview of submissions to the American Portrait Storytelling Project view some of our communities’ local submissions here.
We are also glad to guide teachers on using any of the free resources that KLRN offers on a monthly basis, such as using PBS Learning Media, our blog posts for PreK-2nd teachers, our educator blog post for 3rd-12th grade, and our monthly newsletters for parents and educators. These and more helpful resources can be found on our KLRN Learning at Home Page. More training sessions can be found on our KLRN Events Page, and we are certainly glad to schedule special virtual training sessions for your school campus around any of the topics that are most pertinent to your individual school.