Discovery Channel School

For the Sumerians, the Tigris River served as an important early trade route. They used it to obtain scarce commodities, such as metal and wood, in exchange for their grain. See how they traveled by river and over land to trade with India and Egypt. Then examine how technological advances, such as the cart, facilitated transporting people and goods.

Explore the agricultural practices and technological devices that led to the rise of civilization in Mesopotamia. Meet the nomadic people who became farmers, and see how they established city-states, developed specialized work skills, and advanced organized religion.

Segment 1: Geologic Time (6 min.) Learn how absolute and relative times help scientists examine the Earth's age, as well as prehistoric life forms. Segment 2: Prehistoric Life (4 min.) Discover how fossils are formed and see the clues they give scientists to learn details about prehistoric life and the history of our planet.

Explores the causes and consequences of World War I. Featuring four live-action segments, the program explores a history of Czarist Russia and the birth of Communism in Russia, as well as the life on World War I battlefields and the story of the Red Baron. Rise of Nationalism explores the rise of nationalism in the early 20th century, specifically oppression in Czarist Russia.