High

Social Studies (X) - High (X)

The Vietnam Wars

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An historic tableau of wars in Vietnam from 208 BC to 1975 is presented. Periods covered are the Chinese wars from 208 BC to 1428, the French colonization of Vietnam from 1627 to 1941, Vietnamese involvement in World War II, the independence movement against the French and the war with the US.

Tod Olson, “The Vietnam Wars,” Scholastic, February 24, 1995, 16–20.

Forgotten Ship: A Daring Rescue as Saigon Fell

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Joseph Shapiro and Sandra Bartlett, “Forgotten Ship: A Daring Rescue as Saigon Fell,” transcript, National Public Radio, August 31, 2010.

I Have a Dream...

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'I HAVE A DREAM ..."

(Copyright 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King
At the "March on Washington"

Gettysburg Address - Nicolay Copy

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Abraham Lincoln, Draft of the Gettysburg Address: Nicolay Copy, November 1863; Series 3, General Correspondence, 1837-1897; The Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division (Washington, D. C.: American Memory Project, [2000-02]), http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html.

New Arts for Old: Medieval Music 1100-1480

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Copies: 1

Explore the early domination of Gregorian chant, the flowering of love poetry in France, and much more. The liberal use of musical examples helps to convey the extrovert boldness and excitement of Medieval music. Hosted by Dr. Christopher Page, the founder and director of Gothic Voices, the first professional vocal ensemble to specialize in Medieval secular music.

Music Credits

Musick's Feaste: Music of the Renaissance 1480-1600

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Copies: 1

Follow the musical renaissance in Europe and England, tracing the spread of the Flemish School through France to Italy. Hosted by Anthony Rooley, Director of the Consort of Musicke and founder of the Early Music Centre in London.

PART ONE:

"A Pearl Distorted": The Baroque Period 1600-1750

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Copies: 1

The complex period known as Baroque embraced many different types of music and covered a large geographic area. An examination of opera, considered the great dramatic spectacle of Baroque entertainment, is also included. Hosted by Michael Oliver of the BBC Radio program Music Weekly; and Christopher Hogwood, Musicologist, broadcaster, and Director of the Academy of Ancient Music.

PART ONE:

Instruments Around the World

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Copies: 1

This is truly world music—an international collection of musical instruments, including the koto (a Japanese zither), the duda (a Hungarian bagpipe), mbira (a linguaphone from Zimbabwe), and hardanger fiddle (a folk violin from Norway). Author and composer Andy Jackson talks to Jim Smith, editor of the Sussex Tapes Music series and Director of Music at the Royal Grammar School, Worcester, U.K.

Fahrenheit 451

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Ray Bradbury's best-selling science fiction masterpiece about a future without books takes on a chillingly realistic dimension in this film classic directed by one of the most important screen innovators of all time, the late Francois Truffaut. Julie Christie stars in the challenging dual role of Oskar Werner's pleasure-seeking conformist wife, Linda, and his rebellious, book-collecting mistress, Clarisse.

Grade Level: 
Middle
High
Length: 
01:53
Fahrenheit 451

The Girl from the Tar Paper School

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Copies: 7

Before the Little Rock Nine, before Rosa Parks, before Martin Luther King Jr. and his March on Washington, there was Barbara Rose Johns, a teenager who used nonviolent civil disobedience to draw attention to her cause. In 1951, witnessing the unfair conditions in her racially segregated high school, Barbara Johns led a walkout—the first public protest of its kind demanding racial equality in the U.S.—jumpstarting the American civil rights movement.

Lexile: 
1100L
The Girl from the Tar Paper School

The Skull in the Rock

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Copies: 7

In 2008, Professor Lee Berger--with the help of his curious 9-year-old son--discovered two remarkably well preserved, two-million-year-old fossils of an adult female and young male, known as Australopithecus sediba; a previously unknown species of ape-like creatures that may have been a direct ancestor of modern humans. This discovery of has been hailed as one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. The fossils reveal what may be one of humankind's oldest ancestors.

Lexile: 
1140L
The Skull in the Rock

The Breadwinner

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Copies: 5

Parvana felt the shadow before she saw it, as the man moved between her and the sun. Turning her head, she saw the dark turban that was the uniform of the Taliban. A rifle was slung across his chest as casually as her father's shoulder bag had been slung across hers...

The Talib kept looking down at her. Then he put his hand inside his vest. Keeping his eyes on Parvana, he drew something out of his vest pocket.

Parvana was about to squish her eyes shut and wait to be shot when she saw that the Talib had taken out a letter.

He sat down beside her on the blanket.

Author: 
Lexile: 
630L
The Breadwinner

How the States Got Their Shapes

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Copies: 1

Learn about how our state borders were created and what is behind their definitions. This historical novel is an engaging and informative look at the geography of the United States of America.

Find the companion DVD here: How the States Got Their Shapes DVD

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How the States Got Their Shapes

An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793

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Copies: 1

It's 1793, and there's an invisible killer roaming the streets of Philadelphia. The city's residents are fleeing in fear. This killer has a name—yellow fever—but everything else about it is a mystery. Its cause is unknown, and there is no cure.

Author: 
Lexile: 
1130L

Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi

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Copies: 7

In 1964, Mississippi civil rights groups banded together to fight Jim Crow laws in a state where only 6.4 percent of eligible black voters were registered. Testing a bold new strategy, they recruited students from across the United States. That summer these young volunteers defied segregation by living with local black hosts, opening Freedom Schools to educate disenfranchised adults and their children, and canvassing door-to-door to register voters.

Lexile: 
980L
Freedom Summer: The 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi

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