Social Studies Series Impacts Students -- THE Journal

Social Studies Series Impacts Students

05/01/97

Video Experiences: Social Studies is a package of 25 video lessons on either videotape or videodisc that attempts to show students the relevancy of social studies. ìFor every subject . . . our creative people had to answer the questions, ëWhy study this? How d'es it have meaning for students?íî said Richard Leffingwell, vice president of product development at Optical Data.

Aimed at grades 3-6, each five-minute video segment is designed to support a 40-minute class period with viewing, class discussion and follow-up activities. There are 10 lessons for Grade 4, five of them for the national curriculum and five for the Texas state curriculum. The set of five videos per grade level comes complete with lesson plans.

Examples of videos include Secret Train to Freedom, a video in the Grade 5 package, detailing how the Underground Railroad actually worked. One of the Grade 4 package videos features Sounds of the Southeast, a video that highlights the social origins of blues, jazz and R&B.

Video Experiences uses primary sources including diaries, letters, newspapers, and original songs to impact students with the reality of these accounts. Optical Data Corp., Atlanta, GA, (800) 524-2481, www.opticaldata.com.

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