Jackie Robinson, Leonardo da Vinci, and American Sign Language - April 15

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Today is Anime Day, Jackie Robinson Day, McDonald's Day, ASL Day, Laundry Day, Rubber Eraser Day, Take a Wild Guess Day, Titanic Remembrance, Tax Day, and World Art Day.

Today's Birthdays
Songs of the Day
Poem of the Day - April is National Poetry Month
Today's Theme: Jackie Robinson and American Sign Language

ON THIS DATE

• 1755 - Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language is published.
• 1817 - Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.
• 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln dies the day after being shot by John Wilkes Booth.
• 1912 - The Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., less than three hours after striking an iceberg.
• 1947 - Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• 2013 - Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon,  killing three and injuring 264
• 2019 - The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is damaged by a large fire.

BIRTHDAYS

• 1452 - Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci
• 1741 - Painter Charles Willson Peale
• 1843 - Novelist Henry James
• 1894 - Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev
• 1894 - Singer and actress Bessie Smith
• 1959 - English actor Emma Thompson

SONGS OF THE DAY 

• Natalie Cole - Did You See Jacky Robinson Hit That Ball? - LISTEN
• Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues - LISTEN
  
• Nat King Cole - Mona Lisa - LISTEN

POEMS OF THE DAY 

• Robert Frost - Nothing Gold Can Stay
• Walt Whitman - Oh Captain! My Captain!

THEME:  JACKIE ROBINSON

• Grades 3-7 - PBS LearningMedia - American Icons - Jackie Robinson: Athlete and Activist Video (4:06)  - VIEW
• Grades 3-7 - PBS LearningMedia - American Icons - Jackie Robinson: Athlete and Activist Lesson - DO
• Grades 6-12 - PBS LearningMedia - Ken Burns Baseball - Crossing the Color Line: Jackie Robinson’s Early Career (10:25) - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Jackie Robinson (Full Program and Extras) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Breaking Barriers - Jackie Robinson as a Player on the Montreal Royals (6:43) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Metrofocus - How Jackie Robinson Impacted More Than Baseball (5:47) - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Metrofocus - The Other Boys of Summer (6:00)  - VIEW
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - PBS NewsHour - The Long Influence of Jackie Robinson, On and Off the Field (7:42) - VIEW

THEME:  American Sign Language

• PreK-K - PBS LearningMedia - Circle Time At Home - Learning Sign Language for "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (2:57) - VIEW and DO
• PreK-K - PBS LearningMedia - Sesame Street - Sign the Sing-A-Long Song (0:42) -VIEW and DO
• PreK-1 - NHPBS Video - Reading Explorers - Sigh Language ABC (26:09) - VIEW
• PreK-1 - NHPBS Video - Learning to Read - Sigh the Alphabet and Colors (1:04) - VIEW
• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street - Signing Exercise  (1:25)  - VIEW
• Grades PreK-3 - NHPBS Video - Full-Time Kid - Sign Language Alphabet (2:37) - VIEW
• Grades 3-12 - Gallaudet University - ASL for Free - VIEW and DO
• Grades 4-6 - PBS LearningMedia - DragonflyTV - Sign Language Translator Glove (2:37) - VIEW
• Grades 4-6 - NHPBS Video - Learning Live - ASL: Language & Community - Amy Andersen - Fifth Grade (55:26) - VIEW
• Grades 4-6 - NHPBS Video - Learning Live - Signing with Ms. Somer - Somer Stanley - Fifth Grade (57:15) - VIEW

THEME: Leonardo da Vinci

• Grades PreK-1 - Sesame Street- Leonardo da Crunchy's "The Muncha Lisa" - VIEW
• Grades K-3 - PBS KIDS - Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum - Drawing with Leonardo da Vinci - DO
• Grades: K-3 - PBS LearningMedia - Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum Leonardo da Vinci booklet - View, READ, DO
• Grades K-3 - Louvre Kids - The Theft of the Mona Lisa (2:47) - VIEW
• Grades: 3-6 - Kimball Art Center - Leonardo da Vinci: Sketches and Inventions Lesson Plan - DO
• Grades: 6-8 - EDSITEment - Leonardo da Vinci: Creative Genius Lesson Plan - DO
• Grades 6-12 - NHPBS Video - Nova - Decoding da Vinci (53:31) - VIEW
• Grades: 6-12 - NHPBS Video - PBS Newshour - The Uncommon Mastermind Behind Mona Lisa’s Smile (8:17) - VIEW
• Grades: 6-12 - Louvre - Mona Lisa - VIEW
• Grades: 6-12 - National Gallery of Art - Ginevra de' Benci  - VIEW and READ
• Grades: 6-12 - Museum of Science, Boston - da Vinci the Genius - VIEW and READ
• Grades 7-12 - PBS LearningMedia - KenBurns in the Classroom - Leonardo da Vinci - VIEW, READ, DO
• Grades 7-12 - NHPBS Video - Ken Burns - Leonardo da Vinci - VIEW

Pressroom Contact

Carla Gordon Russell
Director of Communications
crussell@nhpbs.org
(603) 868-4339