Grade levels: Primary (1-3)

With the help of Wanda students learn what a farm is, how we get food from farms, and what it would be like to live in a farm community. She shows us what it is like to be a farmer and the many things they do throughout the day and through the changing seasons. We go back in time to see what farming was like before modern equipment was developed. Next, we learn about the many special kinds of farms around today, see where milk comes from, go to an orchard and a vineyard, see how nuts and vegetables are grown, visit a poultry farm, and even visit a fish farm. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.

With a little help from Wanda students are taken to communities located by the water to learn about the people who live, work, and play there. Tour the many different kinds of houses located by oceans, lakes, rivers and, streams. See some of the many jobs you could have working around the water and experience the different seasons in these environments. Recognize that plants, fish, and other creatures live in and near water, and understand the importance of taking care of these watery habitats. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.

Wanda helps us understand what a city is and that it is a place where people live, work, and play. We visit some of the neighborhoods and learn about the different cultures that make up a city. We take a ride on the subway and see the many ways people and goods move around the city. We learn about the skyscrapers and the people working in them, and we see the many different kinds of homes that people live in. Lastly, we see how people have fun in the city. We visit museums, go to the theater, watch a sporting event, and even see the many different places to eat in the city. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.

With help from Wanda and her friends students learn that the woods are home to many kinds of plants and animals. They recognize that the woods provide jobs and products and they identify recreational activities associated with the woods. Lastly, students learn that all people can help and care for wildlife and that people can take responsibility and make a difference in caring for the woods. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections: (1) Song and Introduction (2) What are the woods? (3) Plants in the woods (4) Animals in the woods (5) Fun in the woods (6) Jobs in the woods (7) Seasons in the woods (8) Review.

People earn, save, and spend money to satisfy their needs and wants. Making the right choice between the two is not always easy. In this charming movie, two friends wake up and find themselves on a desert island where the ‘Genie of Wise Choices’ lives. While there, the genie helps the children understand the importance of making good choices as they are faced with the difficult task of choosing between an essential need or a desired want. Water, food, clothing, shelter, and clean air are all introduced and discussed as your students learn about the difference between a need and a want. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections: (1) Introduction (2) Wants and needs (3) basic needs (4) water (5) food (6) clothing (7) shelter (8) clean air (9) Money (10) review and conclusion.

Learn about the workers who serve our communities and the services they provide – police officers, fire fighters, sanitation workers, grocery clerks, and others. Discover that providing a service means doing something to help someone else. Hear simple explanations of the terms goods and services, consumers, and income, and learn why people work. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections: (1) Work (2) Good and Services (3) Why do people work (4) Needs and wants (5) Public Service workers(6) Private Service workers (7) Volunteers (8) Review and conclusion.

Learn about the people who make or grow the goods we need – production workers. See how these workers make trucks and houses and grow food for the community. Understand simple explanations of the terms goods and services, consumers, income, and learn why people work. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections: (1) Introduction (2) People work to earn money (3) Products that workers make (4) Homes are products (5) Artists are production workers (6) People choose their work for different reasons (7) Cooperative companies (8) Review.

Discover that clothes are needed to retain body heat and to protect against the sun. Learn about the materials that make clothing, how cloth was made in the past with a spinning wheel and loom, and how it is made today in automated cloth mills. See how clothing has changed throughout the ages and how people wear different clothes as needed – bathing suits for swimming, special clothing for fire fighting, etc. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.

Food is one of the four basic needs of families. Everybody needs food whether they live in an arid desert or a snow-covered forest, and what they eat is largely determined by where they live. Learn that food doesn’t magically appear in a supermarket but comes from farms, ranches, the sea, etc. and that halfway around the world a “supermarket” might be an open-air marketplace without refrigeration where people must buy food daily. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.

Understand that shelter is one of the four basic needs of families, and witness dozens of human shelters – igloos to mansions – from equator to poles and sea to mountaintop. Learn how shelters protect families from the elements and how shelters are often built with materials that are available locally. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.