March 30 | Grades 4-8

March 26, 2020

Programming Highlights

Africa’s Great Civilizations | Origins
In his 6-hour series, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. takes a look at the history of Africa, from the birth of humankind to the dawn of the 20th century. This is a breathtaking and personal journey through two hundred thousand years of history, from the origins, on the African continent, of art, writing, and civilization itself.

The Great American Read | Fall Kick-Off
The search for America’s best-loved novel hits high gear as votes roll in.

Nova | Apollo’s Daring Mission
Apollo astronauts and engineers tell the inside story of the first manned mission to the moon.

At-Home Learning Tips

Make Home Routines Educational
Encourage your kids to take breaks from watching television to engage in other activities, such as helping you cook, sorting and folding laundry, or playing a board game. You can turn everyday home routines into educational conversations about measurement, sorting, classifying shapes and counting.

Daily Program

6:30 a.m.	NOVA: Apollo’s Daring Mission Rocket Engine Design Problem – Teaching Tips The Design Process – Interactive

7:30 a.m.	History Detectives: Amelia Earhart Plane Aviator, Record Breaker and Activist – Lesson Plan Amelia Earhart Letter Archive – Video

8:30 a.m.	Africa’s Great Civilizations: Origins Mitochondrial Eve and Homo Sapiens in Africa’s Great Rift Valley – Document Create a Timeline – Activity

9:30 a.m.	Breakthrough: The Smartphone Turn Your Smartphone into a Science Lab – Video Can You Call a Cell Phone in a Microwave? – Video

11:30 a.m.	The Great American Read: Fall Kick Off Does Fiction Exist? – Video The Importance of Chicano Representation in Bless Me, Ultima – Discussion Guide

Additional Resources

The City of Great Zimbabwe | Africa’s Great Civilizations
The Great Enclosure of Great Zimbabwe is the largest pre-colonial structure in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa. Learn why it was a statement of majesty, power, wealth, and architectural genius.

An Illustrated History of Aviation in Southern California (Part II)
After the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States entered a period of heightened antagonism. From Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech in 1946 to the first successful manned space flight in 1961, innovations in flight and rocketry where evolving at a break neck speed as the two world powers struggled to stay ahead of the other.