New Releases

The following titles were added to the English Educational Video Collection in 2007. They, and all programs in the Collection, are available free of charge to schools in Québec’s English-language school network.

Camping trips can be lots of fun, as well as great learning experiences. The skills children acquire while living in the great outdoors can remain with them the rest of their lives. This video program shows young viewers how many of the craft items associated with camping are made.

Société GRICS, through BIM-Grics has prepared a very useful Learning Evaluation Situation (LES) called “Day Camp” which accompanies this video. To obtain a copy of “The Day Camp” LES contact our office at the address listed below.

2. The Bully Proof Kit (4 x 15 min. DVDs, Plus Student Fact Sheets and Teacher Guide.) Cycles 2 -3

Every day, thousands of kids are afraid to go to school because of bullies. A bully is someone who intentionally hurts another person by using abusive words, by excluding others or by using physical threats or violence. Studies show that bullying causes major problems for children, including depression, low self-esteem and truancy. Without intervention, bullies also suffer. As adults, they require more support from government agencies, have more court convictions, use more mental health services and are more prone to alcoholism.

As serious and damaging as bullying is, most victims do not report it. Even those who report it run the risk of being disregarded. Many adults do not know how to intervene in bullying situations.

Clearly, there is a strong need for bully prevention education. Teachers, support staff, parent groups, student councils and administrators must join together and take action to stop bullying. This kit, consisting of four illustrative videos, student fact sheets and a teacher guide is designed to provide the insights and tools to help eradicate this problem.

The two teen hosts explain that there are many ways to be a bully besides physically threatening or actually harming others – for example through words, intimidation or exclusion. After seeing a number of dramatic examples the hosts asks viewers the central question: Are you a bully?

The program presents three reformed bullies, who share their past personal stories of bullying behaviour – spreading gossip (Denise), excluding others from his sports team (Nicky), and inventing mean nicknames (Lacey) The program ends with the former bullies reminding viewers that they can change if they have been bullies in the past.

This program introduces viewers to five different methods for dealing with a bully, each illustrated by a dramatic vignette. The program closes with an on-screen text reminding viewers of the five strategies and assuring them they have the power to stop a bully.

Jasmine, Steffi, Robbie and Kyle explain to viewers that standing by and doing nothing is just as bad as being bullies themselves. Each shares a way to stand up to a bully by telling his or her own story.

3. Life Skills 101 (Media Wise) (1 x 15 min. plus Buy Me! Learning Evaluation

Media Wise opens with the "Life Skills 101 Song." Then, in a classroom, the teacher, Mrs. Peterson, greets the children. She indicates that the topic for the day is television commercials. Learning to make choices about what you buy is an important Life skill. And that means understanding more about how commercials work. With this she turns to a video featuring Slim Goodbody.

Media Wise helps young students analyze the messages and tactics the media uses in print advertisements and television commercials. Engaging host Slim Goodbody and friends explore the concept of bias and show how music, language, and even product packaging can be used in very persuasive ways. The program's overarching theme--promoting well-educated decision making--helps inform everyday choices about spending money and living a healthy life.

Media Wise is a program in the Slim Goodbody series “Life Skills 101.” The entire series, including Media Wise is available on VodZone Education.)

Société GRICS, through BIM-Grics has prepared a very useful Learning Evaluation Situation (LES) called “Buy Me!” which accompanies this video. The “Buy Me!” LES, and information on VodZone Education, are available from our office at the address listed below.

The two world wars of the twentieth century thrust Canada on the world stage while demanding possibly the supreme sacrifice of those in uniform. These programs offer insights into these wars and what they meant for the country and its citizens.

This program tells the story of Canada’s role in World War One, both overseas in the trenches of the Western Front and on the home front. While this global conflict forged a new sense of nationhood in the British colony, the cost to Canada in killed and wounded was high. This history is recounted using archival footage, photographs, posters, songs from the period and soldiers’ letters home.

This program provides a brief overview of the Second World War, on the seas and battlefields as well as on the home front. Descriptive narration, period film and photographs and eyewitness accounts build up a compelling portrait of Canada’s war effort.

The Poetry Lounge in Los Angeles is a free, multicultural open forum for self-expression, inspiring young people to find their own voice. Hosted by award-winning Def Poets Shihan and Poetri, the "Lounge" has become the largest weekly open-mike forum in the United States.

This program of five live performances features accomplished young poets performing an array of percussive, fast-paced, emotionally charged poetry. The live setting affords viewers the chance to witness audience reaction, an integral part of the spoken-word exchange. Interspersed with the performances are clips of the poets discussing their inspirations, objectives, and writing processes.

Online and DVD extras include extended interviews with the poets, as well as a guidebook and lesson plan for educators.

3. Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Bullying Violence (1 x 22 min. plus teacher Guide which includes Student Fact Sheets)

In the last ten years, a series of school shootings in North America have prompted many urgent questions from parents, teachers and students: Are our schools safe? What can be done to protect our young people and the adults who work in schools? And the underlying question: What drives a teen to bring a gun to school and open fire upon his classmates?

Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Bullying Violence weaves together several dramatic strands, creating a unique and candid view of how bullying directly correlates to the rise of school violence in schools. In one strand, viewers follow a fictionalized story of a confused teenager toting a backpack as he rides a bus to school. Through his narration we learn of his inner frustrations. It becomes increasing clear that he is armed and prepared to use his concealed weapon. In another strand, we witness real teens videotaping and questioning their peers about the devastating effects of bullying and violence in their schools. Viewers experience the Columbine disaster, through live voice recordings of parents, teachers and students talking to 911 operators as the disaster unfolds. Finally, viewers hear from experts and students about the best ways to combat bullying and school violence while the story of the armed young man riding the bus takes a surprising twist.

A detailed teacher's resource book provides activities, work sheets, fact sheets and resources to further prepare viewers for discussions on changing the alienating culture of high school, stopping bullies and making school a safe and supportive pace for all.

The gradual warming of our planet – one to four degrees in the years to come – is causing glaciers and ice caps to melt at an unprecedented rate. The Vanishing Ice explores the nature and function of glaciers, giving viewers regional, national, and international perspectives on these gigantic storehouses of fresh water.

This series provides interesting insights into the increasingly-important issue of water management, both within Canada and abroad. This series shows the role that cutting-edge research plays in supplying safe drinking water to communities across Canada, and illustrates how this knowledge is helping other countries cope with their urgent water needs.

Canada, blessed with an abundant share of the world’s supply of fresh water, still faces challenges to safeguard this precious resource. This video examines these challenges, from both a national and an international perspective. It investigates the role of climate change in triggering major floods in Quebec and in Manitoba. It also provides insights into Canada's role abroad in helping other countries cope with their water needs.

The St. Lawrence River begins at the eastern end of the Great Lakes and is joined by the Ottawa River 200 kilometres into a journey that eventually ends at the Atlantic Ocean. The water flowing above Montreal is generally clean. Unfortunately, the city’s sewage and runoff from roads and factories degrade this vital water supply. This video also looks at the heavy concentration of agricultural pollutants flowing in from tributaries below Montreal.

Football (soccer in North America) is arguably the most popular sport in the world. This program follows the French football club Lorient as, inspired by a knowledgeable coach, the individual players come together to form an efficient and winning team.

Throughout the program the camera cuts away from the Lorient players to scientists who explain important contemporary concepts such as such as systems thinking, collective intelligence, and emergence. These concepts are illustrated by spectacular examples from nature such as the integrated movements of large schools of fish and flocks of birds – and by football players who rise above their individual efforts to function as a cohesive unit.

The benefits of learning to work with others in teams are so obvious as to be taken for granted. Football: Collective Intelligence invites viewers to go beyond paying lip service to this competency, both by providing spectacular examples of teamwork from animal and human life and by causing us to reflect on our own understanding of this important social skill.

The English version of Football: Collective Intelligence includes an English-language narrative track and subtitles.

This documentary, through interviews with current and former teachers as well as by presenting statistical evidence, reveals a serious problem in our schools: violence against teachers by students and parents. In fact, violence against teachers is a growing if still too often overlooked issue. It must be confronted if we are to restore our classrooms to the learning environments that both students and teachers deserve. This program, along with the Société GRICS resource kit, can help teachers realize that they are not unique with their problems, and that they can have recourse to legal and other forms of assistance

3. Videos to Support Parent and Community Involvement in Education (3 x 15-25 min.)

These video programs were produced by the Institute for Responsive Education (IRE), a Boston-area foundation whose mission was to promote the benefits of greater community and parental involvement in children’s education. IRE resources, including the videos in this series, provide administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community members with the knowledge they need to develop, implement, and sustain partnership initiatives that support educational improvement.

In this video, parents, teachers and administrators of the Jeremiah E. Burke High School and the Patrick O’Hearn Elementary School in Boston share their experiences developing partnerships with families and the community. The video highlights activities that improve family-community-school partnerships.

A Tool for Improvement documents the successes of three principals in the Boston area to form outstanding connections with families and communities. The principals talk about their strategies for success and offer advice to administrators who want to improve and deepen their family and community engagement efforts.

This program profiles principals who have built outstanding family and community engagement programs. They share their strategies for success and offer advice to other administrators.

Entrez dans la réalité de madame Croze, de monsieur Lallier et de monsieur Couture. Leur état de santé ainsi que le contexte dans lequel ils évoluent sont très différents. À vous de déterminer le niveau d’assistance nécessaire afin de les aider dans leurs déplacements :

À vous d’analyser si les soignants respectent bien les PDSB dans leurs manœuvres. Bonnes études de cas!

Visitez le site www.pdsb.info pour en savoir plus. Guide du formateur et cahier de l’élève disponibles en ligne.