Each minute, all over the world, a baby is born. An everyday occurrence, yet each birth is the culmination of one of nature’s most complex, mysterious, and seemingly miraculous processes. A dramatic breakthrough in science and cinematography, The Miracle of Life takes you on an incredible voyage through the human body as a new life begins. World-renowned Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson presents a spectacular look at a microscopic world of beautiful colors and forms deep inside ourselves. Special DVD features include: Access to the award-winning NOVA Web site; chapter search; English audiotrack; subtitles.
Grade levels: Upper Elementary (4-6)
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Building Big DVD Box Set
Explore large structures and what it takes to build them with this new five-part series. Hosted by David Macaulay, the award-winning author and illustrator of The Way Things Work and other books, each one-hour program focuses on a type of construction integral to modern life: bridges, tunnels, dams, skyscrapers, and domes. Discover the stories behind famous structures and their builders, plus how engineers today are building bigger than ever before. Each DVD also includes a short vignette featuring kids doing a simple hands-on engineering activity. (5 x 60:00)
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Bridges
Bridge the world and meet the brilliant designers who dared to extend roads and railways with ingenious, but sometimes flawed designs. From the Golden Gate to the Brooklyn Bridge, to some of Europe’s groundbreaking spans, students explore dozens of monumental engineering feats. Includes bonus hands-on building activity designed for kids. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, scene selections and closed captions.
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Dams
See how changing the course of rivers changed the course of history. From the massive Aswan, to the top of the Hoover Dam, students meet courageous and ambitious builders, relive deadly disasters, and discover little-known personal triumphs and tragedies through spectacular film footage, fascinating facts and authentic recreations. Includes bonus hands-on building activity designed for kids. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, scene selections and closed captions.
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Domes
Tour the world and trace the 2000-year history of domes. From the Houston Astrodome to Rome’s St. Peter’s Cathedral, to the geodesic domes of Buckminster, this program introduces ingenious designers, recounts rarely told heroic stories, and reveals amazing triumphs. Includes bonus hands-on building activity designed for kids. Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators, scene selections and closed captions.
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Skyscrapers
Travel to some of the world’s most incredible skylines and discover the amazing stories of skyscrapers – from gothic French stone cathedrals, to Chicago’s record-setting Sears Tower, and get a futuristic look at the towers of tomorrow. Tour the world and trace the 2000-year history of domes. From the Houston Astrodome to Rome’s St. Peter’s Cathedral, to the geodesic domes of Buckminster, this program introduces ingenious designers, recounts rarely told heroic stories, and reveals amazing triumphs.
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Tunnels
How do tunnels travel under water? How do engineers bore through mountains of solid rock? Who dug the first tunnels? Go underground – from ancient Rome, to deep below New York’s Hudson River, to the remarkable Channel Tunnel that connects France and England – for an amazing look at tunnels. Meet the courageous engineers, relive deadly disasters, and discover little -known personal triumphs and tragedies through spectacular film footage, fascinating facts and authentic recreations.
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The Railway Children – DVD
Set at the turn of the 20th century, three Edwardian children and their mother move to a country house in Yorkshire after their father is mysteriously taken away by the police. However, their mother refuses to inform the children of the circumstances surrounding their father’s disappearance. The children become fascinated by a nearby railroad, and they faithfully wave to passengers daily. Their kindness helps them make friends with some important travelers, one old gentleman in particular. Can he help solve the mystery of their missing father? Special DVD features include: Cast list; Masterpiece Theatre poster gallery; access to The Railway Children Web site featuring essays, an interview with leading actress Jenny Agutter, biographies and photos of Golden Age authors, and more; scene selection; English audiotrack; and closed captions. (1.75 hrs. on 1 disc)
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How to Write a Report and a Personal Letter
Students learn that writing is a process that involves at least four steps; prewriting, drafting, revising and editing. They understand that the writing process helps them write clear, thoughtful pieces that communicate their ideas to others in a clear and concise manner. The five parts of a personal letter; heading, greeting, body, complimentary close and signature line are also introduced and discussed. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.
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Rules of Punctuation
Using good punctuation helps us write clearly, makes our writing easier to read, and helps our readers understand what we mean. Exciting graphics and video footage combine with the rules of punctuation as students learn about period usage, the exclamation point, question marks, commas, the apostrophe, quotation marks, the colon, semicolon, and parentheses. DVD features include on-screen teacher’s guide and vocabulary plus chapter selections.