Gr 3-7-The series presents history with a different slant than the usual documentary style video. These technically excellent videos provide students with some sense of what life was like at each of the three historical sites. All the videos open with a young student in the present day who is transported back to the colonial period to learn what life was really like at that place and time. Costumed reenactors with distinctive accents give a brief view of daily life in each village. The information in St. Augustine will probably be the most surprising to students because American history courses often don't even mention the Spanish settlements that predate the English ones at Jamestown and Plymouth. The coverage here is excellent. Viewers learn that the spice trade was necessary to make rancid foods palatable, and that the fort in St. Augustine was built to protect the settlement from the English. These videos provide a wealth of information on everyday colonial life from dress, to accents, to food and its preparation, to occupations, to the relationships with the Indians and other countries. Although the series is targeted at intermediate grades, these fine videos will find a place in many high school media centers because of their excellent presentation of cultural history.
Copyright 1998 School Library Journal. Used with permission.
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