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Greetings, TV viewers!
Some broadcast and cable programs
contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized
exams. Here are home-viewing suggestions for March 28-April 3, 2005.
The topic for this week's Media Hour is tsunamis. How much do you understand about what happened three months ago? How did it affect you -- not only emotionally, but also in how you understand how the Earth works?
Tuesday's NOVA special on PBS really gets into it, so please watch it if you possibly can. Don't forget to set your VCR, to share with your other Whyville friends or teacher, or if you'd miss the show otherwise!
But it doesn't end with the TV show. We can all also log on to http://www.pbs.org/nova/tsunami
to see an interactive world map, learn about nine different tsunamis that have happened in the past, and read about where the next one could strike.
PLUS, on Thursday you should definitely log on to http://www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline to discuss the program with Thomas H. Heaton, Professor of Engineering Seismology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on Thursday, March 30 at 2 p.m. ET. Anyone who goes to this will be welcomed down on the stage to tell us about what they read; it could also lead to a good report for the Whyville Times, it's well-written.
Think you've got the smarts to answer a few trivia-type questions? You'll need to watch the shows and read the websites to be sure! I really want to give out clams to folks who know a lot about the topic, and who help others in the room learn and ask good questions!!!
Remember to come to Saturday's Media Hour prepared. It's all about an open discussion, with everybody pitching in on a good topic -- bounce off of what other people say, too, and talk amongst yourselves while I'm down there! Explore what everyone thinks and remind us to think about what was in the shows and on the websites. The more you help others discuss things (and the more you know about the shows), the better your chances of getting on stage, or even earning clams.
What's the Media Hour? Watch the show(s)-of-the-week, jot down some ideas, then
come and talk about them with me and other citizens (including other City Workers,
if they're available). We get together at the Greek Theater (next to
City Hall), every Saturday morning at 9 a.m., Whyville Time. You'll find that
discussions are easier in the Theater, since everyone's chat bubbles overlap
a little less than in other rooms, and City Workers are able to direct people's
movement and behavior, when we need to.
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Monday, March 28
9-11 p.m. E/P
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History Channel
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American History
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Middle and High School
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"Conquest of America: Southwest/Southeast"
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These are the initial two episodes
of four specials about the early explorers of North America. (???Northeast/Northwest"
will air tomorrow, March 29, at the same time.) They each investigate
the history of a different geographic region of the continent, focusing
on the primary early European explorers of that territory. Re-enacting
the expeditions of Francisco de Coronado in the southwest, Pedro Menendez
and Jean Ribault in the southeast, Henry Hudson in the northeast, and
Vitus Bering in the northwest, the series depicts their bravery and ingenuity,
and the destruction they caused. Each episode draws upon historical records,
journals and diaries of these explorers, bringing the dramatic inner-workings
of their journeys to life as they are described in their own words. (The
entire series repeats April 3rd.) Rated TV-PG
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| Log on http://www.pbs.org/amex |
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Monday, March 28
9-10:30 p.m. E/P
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PBS
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American History
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High School
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"American Experience: Emma
Goldman"
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This is a documentary portrait
of the young, brilliant Russian immigrant once called "the most dangerous
woman in America," and expelled from the United States 34 years after
she arrived. At the time, she was considered a radical terrorist because
of her advocacy of worker???s rights in the early 20th Century.
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| Log on
and browse Emma Goldman's complete arrest record -- http://www.pbs.org/amex/goldman |
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Tuesday, March 29
8-9 p.m. E/P
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Travel Channel
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Economics and Social Studies
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Elementary, Middle and High School
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"Inside The World???s
Mightiest Bank???
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This program about the Federal
Reserve Bank explains what it is doing to control an unprecedented global
demand for U.S. dollars. Also it shows how ???The Fed??? undertakes
to control digital-age counterfeiting and how the U.S. economy is preparing
for a paperless future.
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Tuesday, March 29
8-9 p.m. E/P
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PBS
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Science and Geography
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Middle and High School
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"NOVA: The Wave That Shook
the World???
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On December 26, 2004, at 7:59
a.m. local time, an undersea section of the Earth's crust slipped along
a 700-mile-long fault off the coast of Sumatra, setting in motion a train
of destructive waves called tsunamis that left well over 250,000 people
dead or missing. This program explains exactly what happened and why.
After the NOVA show, watch ???Krakatoa???
at 9-10:30 p.m., which describes the event that led to the Indian Ocean's
previously most-devastating tsunami, the 19th Century eruption of the
volcano Krakatoa. The eruption reduced the island of Krakatoa to a third
of its former size and sent waves that reportedly topped 100 feet high
crashing onto Asian shores, killing 36,000. Viewers will also find out
how the resulting tsunami destruction is connected to the December 26,
2004 tsunami.
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Log on http://www.pbs.org/nova/tsunami
to see an interactive world map; learn about nine tsunamis and see where
the next one could strike.
Plus, log onto http://www.washingtonpost.com/liveonline to discuss the
program with Thomas H. Heaton, Professor of Engineering Seismology at
the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on Thursday, March 30
at 2 p.m. ET.
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Wednesday, March 30
9-10 p.m. E/P
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History Channel
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World History
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Middle and High School
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"The Conquerors: William
the Conqueror"
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This story begins in Northern
France with the beginning of the reign of William of Normandy in 1035.
Over the next 30 years, he solidified his rule through marriage, diplomacy,
battle and intrigue. He built castles and cathedrals in Normandy to legitimize
his rule, while laying claim to the Confessor and the throne of England
on the other side of the Channel with the support of the Pope. What followed
was the first D-Day, but in reverse of the more recent WWII one: William's
invasion of England from France. Rated TV-PG.
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Thursday, March 31
8-9 p.m. E/P
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CNBC
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Prehistory and Archaeology |
High School
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"CNBC On Assignment: God
And Money"
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The topic of this special on
the CNBC financial news channel is the interlocking interests of religious
institutions and financial institutions. The program repeats on April
4 at 9 p.m.
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Friday, April 1
8-9:30 p.m. ET, 5-6:30 p.m. PT
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National Geographic Channel
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Economics and Social Studies
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Middle and High School
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"Search for the Ultimate
Survivor "
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New evidence has come to
light that our prehistoric ancestors did not walk the earth alone. From
giants of unmatched size and strength to prehistoric ???hobbit-like???
people half the size of today???s human, scientists are reconstructing
images via computer to find many different species competing for survival
at the same time back then. This program explains why we - that is, our
particular version of human beings -are the ultimate survivors.
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Saturday, April 2
8 p.m. - midnight E/P
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History Channel
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American History
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Middle and High School
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"Conquest Of America: Southwest/Southeast
& Northeast/Northwest???
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This series of programs
contains such a wide range of material - aligned to curriculum standards
and therefore likely to appear on exams - that it warrants a special repeat
recommendation this week. Here???s more description: In 1540, Francisco
Vazquez de Coronado, the young governor of a province in northern Mexico,
mounted the largest expedition of conquest yet assembled in North America.
The series begins with the story of Coronado's quest, which would lead
him to the Grand Canyon and take him into present-day Kansas in search
of riches. Then, Old World rivalries spilled over onto the unexplored
sands of Florida when France sought to gain a foothold and Spain was determined
not to let any country trespass on its claims. By 1560, the Spanish had
yet to establish a colony in North America and France decided to make
a bid for land. The series covers the story of the race between France
and Spain to be the first to colonize the area now know as Florida, and
the war they waged in the New World. The series then covers one of the
great intellectual debates of the Age Of Exploration: ???Was there
a northern sea route to the East Indies???? Henry Hudson, chosen by
an English merchant company, lead what would be the first of four epic
voyages in search of a northern passage. But Hudson's obsessive search
and his ultimate failure lead to something far more significant--the conquest
and colonization of Northeast America. Then, by 1725, Russia was the only
major European nation that had not yet taken part in the conquest of the
New World. Peter the Great was interested in knowing whether or not Asia
and North America were connected at any point so he selected Danish sea
captain Vitus Bering to lead an expedition. This set the stage for the
Russian colonization of Northern California. The episodes are all rated
TV-PG.
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| Log on http://www.historychannel.com/conquest. |
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Sunday, April 3
7-8 p.m. E/P
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CBS
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History and Social Studies
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Middle and High School
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"60 Minutes"
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The main feature in this
newsmagazine is an interview with Jane Fonda about her new book, ???My
Life So Far???, and her current activities. The program examines her
controversial and defining involvement with the Vietnam War, and her winning
of Academy Awards. She then produced 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio
recordings, and 5 best-selling books. She now focuses her time on activism
in such areas as adolescent reproductive health, pregnancy prevention,
school reform through arts, and building resiliency in girls and boys
by addressing destructive gender stereotypes. In 1995, she founded the
Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), which she
chairs. In 2002, she opened the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive
Health at Emory University's School of Medicine.
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Sunday, April 3
9-10 p.m. E/P
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DIY Channel
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Technology and Vocational Studies
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Middle and High School
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"Trade School"
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This is the premiere episode
of a new series about what goes on in the classrooms of trade schools
- where students learn auto mechanics, carpentry, metalworking and plumbing,
among other skills and crafts. The episode features an auto body student
who is restoring a 1975 Jeep CJ-7. Viewers get a run through of the most
basic to advance body repair techniques - no out-sourcing - finishing
up with racing stripes, of course.
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The majority of the text in these descriptions come from the television stations
and production groups that produced the shows; the MediaWiz and Numedeon, Inc.
claim no copyright over the text itself.
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