This pair of DVDs is designed for classroom use with grades seven and up. Each program contains four to five 12-minute episodes on a single topic, for example, on the United States disc,
Independence Hall, Monticello, the Statue of Liberty, and the
Grand Canyon, and for Canada,
Quebec, Lunenburg, Head-Smashed-In (southern Alberta),
Anthony Island, and the
Canadian Rockies. Each video provides beautiful cinematography coupled with a narrative detailing each site's history. From the main menu, viewers can access discussion questions on topics ranging from the Founding Fathers to the evolution of the Rockies. Each discussion question allows you to review the video segment or corresponding image that supports the question or answer. A "Languages" option changes the video narration from English to Spanish but doesn't translate the discussion questions into Spanish. A brief teacher's guide has summaries of each video, vocabulary, follow-up discussion questions (different from those on the disc), suggested extra activities, and additional suggested Internet and print resources. Recommended for school libraries.
Copyright 2008 Library Journal. Used with permission.
Close