Lois Spangler
National Science Teachers Association Recommends
05/21/2007
This DVD includes graphics that are clear and well-sequenced, making them suitable for most elementary and middle school students. The graphics and movie clips will enable students to develop a deeper understanding of concepts such as day and night (The Earth’s Rotation), the year (Earth’s Revolution), seasonal changes, solstices, and equinoxes. Periodic discussion questions are provided through out the DVD with a final review at the end. The set contains a teacher’s guide with a video script, objectives, and an answer key to student worksheets. It also contains student assessments in the form of pre- and post-tests and a video review. Additional reproducible pages include science activities worksheets, information about Nicholas Copernicus, and vocabulary worksheets. This program conforms to National Science Education Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Information about the alignment is provided in the teacher’s guide. This set would be an asset for differentiated instruction, high school special education classes, and elementary and middle school classroom teachers. It would also be helpful to curriculum coordinators as they assist and mentor new teachers who are not comfortable teaching these science concepts.