Saturday, March 6, 2010,

8-9 p.m. E/P

National Geographic Channel

Science

Elementary, Middle and High  School

“Dangerous Encounters: The Wild West” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

In this documentary the host,  Brady Barr,  ventures into America 's Wild West in search of the region's toughest creatures. He'll partner with conservationists to track and collar the elusive puma, narrowly escape the venomous bite of a western diamondback rattlesnake, come face-to-face with a bison and research the migration habits of the iconic golden eagle, and its giant talons. To determine the wildest animal in the West, he'll rate each of these awesome creatures on three criteria: how they symbolize the Wild West spirit; their powerful weaponry (claws, horns, fangs); and the danger they pose to people.

Sunday March 7, 2010,

 8-11 p.m. ET, 5-8 p.m. PT

ABC

Arts and Economics

Middle and High  School

“Academy Awards”Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

This is a live telecast of the 2010 Academy Awards ceremony.  This year’s  Best Picture nominees  (Avatar , The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, A Serious Man. Up,  Up in the Air)  raise  issues  being covered in school classes this year.

Nominee info at http://oscar.go.com/media/2010/html/print10.html?cid=10_oscars_landingCallout_nominations

In many Oscar nomination categories there are family-friendly, educationally worthwhile films being brought to public attention. For a list of examples of this type log on http://www.commonsensemedia.org/oscar-nominated-flicks-families?utm_source=newsletter03.04.10&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=feature2.

Monday, March 8, 2010,

 8-10 p.m. E/P

CNBC Channel

U.S. History and Economics

Middle and High  School

“Tom Brokaw Reports: Boomer$”Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

This is a documentary about Americans born between 1946 and 1964, a vast and prosperous group of Americans who lived through the Cold War, Vietnam , Watergate and the housing bubble.  Raised during a time of unprecedented affluence, they exhibited extraordinary optimism and faith in the future.  Now, as the oldest among them approach the age of retirement, they face a world of new challenges and opportunities they never anticipated or dreamed possible.  Reporter Tom Brokaw introduces viewers to everyday boomers and their children -- real people who have lived through unprecedented prosperity and now find themselves facing significant financial, physical and social challenges.   After experiencing historic wealth, many boomers now find themselves likely to outlive their money.  Brokaw captures the stunned disbelief of a downsized generation that never saw it coming and that now confronts rising unemployment and dashed dreams of retirement.  He also examines the boomers’ unique and unyielding quest to preserve their youth, leading one writer to describe these children of Woodstock as, “Generation Ageless.”

For more information including web extras and  video clips, log onto http://www.cnbc.com/id/34840866

Monday, March 8, 2010,

10-11  p.m. E/P

National Geographic Channel

Science and Economics

Middle and High  School

“Aftermath: World Without Oil ” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

What would our world look like if we ran out of oil? The lifeblood of our high-tech, highly mobile world won't last forever. This documentary presents one scenario of what happens when one day oil does run out. How might our world change and how would we adapt? Aftermath follows the chaotic days and months after this catastrophic event through dramatic re-creations and  computer  generated  Find out how we might cope as food disappears, electrical power fails and winter turns the big cities into isolated pockets of concrete and glass. What will be more important to our survival — the technology to develop new sources of energy, or a change to a more sustainable way of life?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010,

 8-9 p.m. E/P

Science Channel

Science

Middle and High  School

“The Human Timepiece ” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

This documentary describes the workings of the human body's clock over the course of 24 hours. Ticking away inside us  every one of our major organs has its own individual timepiece. Beating out their daily, seasonal and annual rhythms over the course of our lives. TV-PG

Wednesday, March 10, 2010,

 4-6 p.m. E/P

History Channel

World History

Middle and High  School

“The Dark Ages” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

The Roman  Empire , in decline by 400 A.D., lay open to barbarian warriors. Europe was beset by famine, plague, persecutions, and a  persistent state of war  The era is remembered today as the Dark Ages. This documentary shows that beneath this cloak of darkness were people like Charlemagne, St. Benedict and the Empress Theodora who helped to bridge the gap of civilization between Rome and the Renaissance. Ultimately, these points of light would illuminate the darkness, and Western Europe would rise from the Dark Ages to a level of cultural and political power unseen for a thousand years.

Thursday, March 11,   2010,

8-9 p.m. E/P

History Channel

Science and Economics

Elementary, Middle and High  School

“Modern Marvels: Beans” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

This documentary explores our most abundant and versatile bean...the soybean.  Follow the soybean from field to refinery with CHS, Inc. as they convert billions of soybeans into vegetable oils, flour, and soy meal.  These products, in turn, end up in salad dressings and margarines, baked goods, animal feed and even bio-fuel and plastics.  Pay a visit to the Kelley Bean Company which cleans 80,000 pounds of dry beans per day in Western Nebraska .  B & M Baked Beans stirs up some New England tradition by baking beans in steel kettles and brick ovens.  Then, Italian chef and bean lover Cesare Casella whips up a few bean dishes using rare heirloom beans, some of which cost $35 per pound.  For dessert, Japanese pastry makers prepare traditional bean-based confections with the azuki bean.  Fry up some falafel and puree some beans into a paste called hummus with the most widely consumed legume in the world...the chickpea.  Last but not least, the makers of Beano explain how Beano works to prevent that unfortunate bean byproduct: gas.

Friday, March 12, 2010,

5:30-8 p.m. E/P

AMC Channel

U.S. History

Middle and High  School

“Jeremiah Johnson” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

This is a  historical movie about the American West during the early period of settlement by  non-native peoples. The story is partly based on the book “Mountain Man”,  by Vardis Fisher. The story is set around 1850, following the U.S. war with Mexico,  as an  ex-soldier Johnson (Robert  Redford) decides that he would rather live alone as a mountain man in Colorado than deal with society's constraints. He strives to live as peaceably as possible in the rugged environment, trading with the native Crow tribe, adopting a boy (Josh Albee) after his family is massacred, and even marrying the daughter (Delle Bolton) of a Flathead chief in order to avoid confrontation. He settles into a mountain home with his family, but the U.S. cavalry,  accompanied by a puritanical Reverend, interrupts his life and compels Jeremiah to lead them over the mountains and through a Crow burial ground to rescue white settlers. After the Crow kill his own  family in retaliation, Jeremiah's frenzied moment of payback precipitates a long-running vendetta, turning him into a legendary Indian killer at the expense of his original ideals, on the way to a final moment of grace.  The story questions  both  “white colonialism” as well as  the mythologizing  of “the man of nature”.

Further information about this film http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Johnson

Saturday, March 13,  2010,

8-9 p.m. E/P

National Geographic Channel

Science

Elementary, Middle and High  School

“Kingdom of the Blue Whale” Next PrimeTime AiringNext PrimeTime Airing

Blue whales are the largest creatures to ever inhabit the earth -- yet despite their size, we know precious little about them. In an effort to understand these behemoths and help protect them, an international team of scientists supported by the National Geographic Society set out on an expedition to unlock the secrets of the blue whale and investigate why they are dying. In Kingdom of the Blue Whale experts explore the little-known wintering grounds of these elusive gentle giants, chart their migratory paths and identify where this population produces their young vital information if they are to be protected. The team also documents the youngest blue whale ever photographed underwater at the Costa Rica Dome. Stunning HD underwater cinematography, CGI of the developing whale fetus, satellite imaging and insight from experts all help tell this new chapter in the story of the blue whale.