Monday, September 5
9-11 p.m. E/P

History Channel

Subjects: Science and World History

Middle and High School

"Rome: Engineering an Empire"

For more than 500 years, Rome was the most powerful and advanced civilization the world had ever known, ruled by visionaries and tyrants whose accomplishments ranged from awe-inspiring to terrible. One characteristic linked them all - ambition. And the love of power that all Roman emperors shared fueled an unprecedented mastery of engineering and labor. This documentary special chronicles the spectacular and sometimes harsh history of the Roman Empire from the rise of Julius Caesar in 55 BC to its eventual fall around 537 AD, detailing the remarkable engineering feats that set Rome apart from the rest of the ancient world. Featuring extensive state-of-the-art CGI animation, and exclusive never-before-seen footage shot on a diving expedition in the water channels underneath the Colosseum.TVPG

Log on http://www.historychannel.com/rome

Tuesday, September 6
7-8 p.m. E/P

History Channel

Subjects: Science and Social Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Modern Marvels: Bible Tech"

Using as a source what is probably the most influential book ever written - the Bible - this documentary provides a glimpse into the origins of ancient technology and its use to withstand the elements, build great structures, wage war, and conserve precious water. It examines the technological plausibility of biblical structures and machines--including the Tower of Babylon, the Temple of Jerusalem, ancient bronze and iron forging, and shipbuilding skills that might have been employed to build Noah's Ark.

Tuesday, September 6
8-9 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: Science

Middle and High School

"NOVA: Origins - Where Are The Aliens"

This episode of NOVA's "Origins" series explores the latest news in the search for extraterrestrial life and asks: Given that our universe is broadly compatible to life, where is everybody? Though scientists have been scanning the skies for radio traffic from ETs, they have not yet found any signals. Hosting the series is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, director of the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. The program examines where rudimentary life might be hiding out in our solar system. And Tyson reports on one of astronomy???s most exciting recent breakthroughs: the discovery of the first planets to be found outside our solar system. Detecting more than 100 of these brand-new planets over the last few years, astronomers have developed an ingenious technique worthy of Sherlock Holmes for deducing whether or not they might be suitable for life. TVPG

Log on http://www.pbs.org/nova/origins

Tuesday, September 6
10-11:30 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: English

Middle and High School

"The Hobart Shakespeareans"

This is a documentary about how one teacher's commitment and resourcefulness have opened up worlds of opportunity for his "disadvantaged" students -- and perhaps have demonstrated a way forward for America's beleaguered public education system. Teaching in Los Angeles at one of the nation's largest inner-city grade schools, Hobart Elementary, Rafe Esquith leads his class of fifth graders through an uncompromising curriculum of English, mathematics, geography and literature. At the end of the semester, every student performs in a full-length Shakespeare play: in this case Hamlet, with advice from actors Ian McKellen and Michael York. Despite language barriers and poverty, these "Hobart Shakespeareans" move on to attend outstanding colleges, motivated by a teacher honored with a National Medal of Arts.

Log on http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/hobart to read more about the Hobart Shakespeareans.

Wednesday, September 7
9-10:30 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: English

Middle and High School

"American Masters: Willa Cather: The Road is All"

This is a biographical documentary about author Willa Cather. In 1883, as a young girl, she was moved from her luxurious home in Virginia and dropped into the tall grass prairies of Nebraska. It was an experience that terrified but exhilarated her, and became the force behind all of her great novels: O Pioneer, The Song of the Lark, My Antonia, Death Comes for the Archbishop and the Pulitzer Prize-winning One of Ours. Her life remains mysterious - she destroyed much of her personal correspondence and insisted upon specific restrictions concerning her work - and seductive, because she ignored every cultural obstacle in her path. She was educated and well-traveled, she smoked and she talked tough, she did not suffer fools and she often dressed like a man. She has been a great inspiration to women writers and a great hero to women readers, rediscovered in every decade for the past 100 years.

Log on http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/cather_w.html

Thursday, September 8
8-10 p.m. ET, 5-8 p.m. PT (Check local listings)

TCM - Turner Classic Movies

Subjects: American History, Social Science

Middle and High School

"Salt Of The Earth"

This classic movie, based on an actual strike in New Mexico, deals with the prejudice against the Mexican-American workers, who struck to attain wage equality with Anglo workers in other mines and to be treated with dignity by the bosses. The film is also about of feminism, because the wives of the miners play a pivotal role in the strike, against their husbands wishes. In the end, the greatest victory for the workers and their families is the realization that prejudice and poor treatment are conditions that are not always imposed by outside forces. Many of the performers, particularly those whose dialogue is in Spanish, are people who participated in the actual strike. The film has been recognized as important cultural work, having been included on the Library Of Congress' National Film Registry.

For information about this film on the Library Of Congress National Film Registry log on http://www.loc.gov/film/filmnfr.html

Friday, September 9
8-9 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: Arts and Social Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast"

PBS is participating in the Friday, September 9, collaborative effort to raise funds for those impacted by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. ??Complete program details available at www.pbs.org.

Satuday, September 10
8-9 p.m. E/P

Discovery Channel

Subjects: Science and Social Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Anatomy of a Collapse: Lessons of 9/11"

On the occasion of the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, this documentary explores the history of how twin towers were built, survived one major terrorist attack, and then came down seven years later when the second attack occurred. CGI graphics, eye witnesses and expert interviews unravel the events of September 11th, 2001.

Sunday, September 11
9-11 p.m. E/P

Discovery Channel

Subjects: American History

Middle and High School

"The Flight That Fought Back"

This docudrama provided a well researched account of the heroic and tragic events aboard Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 It follows the story of the passenger's "first strike back at terrorism" right up to today to show the power of the legacy of that dramatic and terrible flight. The program will air without commercial interruption.

Log on http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/flight/flight.html