Wednesday, Dec. 5
8-9 p.m. E/P

Discovery Channel

Subjects: US History

Middle and High School

"Rise of the Videogame: Level Three"

In this episode of the latest documentary miniseries investigating the history of videogames, they go 3-D, but the details they capture in the new virtual worlds are both awe-inspiring and disturbingly realistic. Critics begin to question if games are becoming too real, too violent, too addictive. Game designers begin wrestling with ethics. Rated TV-14-V (for violence)

Log on http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/video-game/video-game.html

Wednesday, Dec. 5
9-10 p.m. E/P ? check local listings

National Geographic Channel

Subjects: US History

Middle and High School

"How It Was: Attack On Pearl Harbor"

It was an event that devastated the U.S. Pacific Fleet killing thousands of American servicemen and thrusting America into World War Two. The story has been told many times, but the essential reality of that day can only be found on the edges of history. Anchored by dramatic eyewitness accounts, expert testimony, forgotten artifacts and rarely seen images, this documentary presents an American nightmare as never seen before from the decks of U.S. battleships to the cockpits of Japanese airplanes to the propaganda campaign triggered by the attack to the tangible, physical scars that still exist today. Rated TV-14 ? V (for violence)

Thursday, Dec. 6
9-10:30 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: US History and Geography

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Great Scenic Railway Journeys: Celebrating North America's Steam Railroads"

This documentary visits 17 of North America's most historic and scenic tourist steam railroads. It is a journey steeped in the history of a land where steam trains provided raw power to blaze new trails and build the United States and Canada. The film also chronicles the efforts to preserve and restore the relics of the era of steam. Grammy Award-winning musician and storyteller David Holt hosts. TV-G

Friday, Dec. 7
10-11 p.m. E/P

PBS

Subjects: Science

Elementary, Middle and High School

"The New Brain Fitness Program"

This documentary presents a workout to help viewers get their brains in better shape. The Brain Fitness Program is based on neuro-plasticity, the ability of the brain to change and adapt - even rewire itself. In the past two years, a team of scientists has developed computer-based stimulus sets that drive beneficial chemical, physical and functional changes in the brain. Dr. Michael Merzenich of the University of California San Francisco and his colleagues around the world have been leading this effort; he brings the research findings, along with a scientifically based set of brain exercises, to PBS viewers in this innovative and life-altering program. Peter Coyote narrates. TV-G

Saturday, Dec. 8
1-2 p.m. E/P

Animal Planet

Subjects: Science and Geography

Elementary, Middle and High School

"Natural World: Bear Man Of Kamchatka"

This documentary tells the story of the man who's devoted his life to the grizzly bears of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. Rated TV-G