June Learning Calendar with DVD Resources
by Diane Flynn Keith
Author of Carschooling
There are historic and important events to commemorate nearly every day of the
year. This Learning Calendar will help you note events and people that impact our
lives with recommendations for DVDs, CDs, books, and websites to further learning
and boost your student's knowledge of the world. All of the DVD, CD, and book
recommendations are available through our affiliation with Amazon.com -- just
click on the links to make a purchase that allows us to continue to provide this
resource for free.
Homefires' June Learning Calendar
- Brigham Young, one of the founding leaders
of the Mormon Church, born 1801. The recently released DVD of the
1940 movie, Brigham Young,
tells the true story of the famous Mormon leader and the hardships Mormons faced
as they crossed the Rocky mountains to settle in Salt Lake City. You can also get
the Biography Channel's Biography: Brigham Young - Architect of Faith,
a 1995 depiction of the remarkable life of this famed pioneer from his childhood
in New England to his stands against the federal government.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- President Grover Cleveland exchanged wedding
vows with Frances Folsom at the White House. The 49-year-old president's
bride was 21-years-old and became the youngest first lady in U.S. history. Get to know
all of the Presidents by watching PBS' acclaimed series,
The Presidents Collection.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Hernando DeSoto, Spanish explorer, claimed
Florida for Spain in 1539. Watch some FREE QuickTime movies of
DeSoto's exploration of Florida.
The Florida Museum of Natural History also offers a FREE film about DeSoto.
Students ages 9-12 may enjoy reading, "Hernando De Soto: A Life Of Adventure."
Older students will find,
The De Soto Chronicles: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539-1543,
very facinating.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving
women the right to vote passed by Congress in 1919. You can watch FREE
movies on the history Women's Suffrage at Brain Pop. Students
ages 9-12 may enjoy reading
The 19th Amendment,
by Michael Burgan from the "We The People" book series.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Robert F. Kennedy shot by an assassin after winning
the California presidential primary election in 1968. He died the next day.
The Biography Channel offers RFK: His Many Sides
that explores his life and times through rare archival footage and interviews with those
who knew him best.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- W.W.II Allied troops landed in Normandy on D-Day, 1944.
To learn about the events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view, watch the
acclaimed 1962 film The Longest Day.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- French impressionist painter, Paul Gauguin, born 1848.
The DVD Ambient Art: Impressionist Art Gallery
allows you to turn your television screen into an art gallery featuring the
artwork of Gauguin,
Van Gogh, Renoir, and more. There are 350 masterpieces to enjoy, while learning about the
artists who painted them.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- American architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, born 1867.
The PBS documentary Frank Lloyd Wright,
by Ken Burns explores Wright's architectural achievements that included over 800 buildings, that
changed the way we live, work and see the world around us. His success was often overshadowed by
the turbulence of his melodramatic life that was constantly embroiled in scandal. With exquisite
live cinematography, fascinating interviews and rare archival footage, this documentary brings
Wright's unforgettable story to life for middle school and up.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Cole Porter, prolific Broadway musical composer and lyricist
born 1891. The Classic Musicals Collection presents the
The Cole Porter Gift Set
that provides an overview of the songwriter's witty lyrics and well-known melodies through five MGM musicals including
"Broadway Melody" of 1940 featuring Fred Astaire and Eleanor Powell. Also included are "Kiss Me Kate"
the 1953 musical adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew," and High Society starring Bing Crosby,
Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra in a musical update of The Philadelphia Story.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Maurice Sendak, children's author of Where the Wild
Things Are, born 1928. Watch the beautifully animated classic,
Where the Wild Things Are...and Other Maurice Sendak Stories
by Scholastic Storybook Treasures, featuring: Getting to Know Maurice Sendak.
Your preschoolers will love it!
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Jacques Yves Cousteau, marine explorer, conservationist, and co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung, born 1910.
The Jacques Cousteau Odyssey (The Complete Series) is a 6-pack DVD gift set
that includes all 12 episodes from the TV series "The Cousteau Odyssey," that covers Cousteau's
marine explorations including shipwrecks, mystery islands, the Nile River, and more.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Baseball Hall of Fame dedicated in Cooperstown,
New York, 1939. The DVD,
Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns
relates the history of baseball through old-time photos and illustrations depicting the
games early years, while newsreels and video clips highlight more recent developments.
Players and participants speak in their own words, and sports writers and broadcasters
offer commentary on the sport and events they witnessed.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Alexander the Great, who conquered most of the Middle
East and India dies after overindulging in food and drink at a banquet at the age of 33 in 323 B.C.
Watch the History Channel's
The True Story of Alexander the Great.
You'll learn that Alexander was tutored by Aristotle, witnessed his father's assassination,
and became a brilliant pioneering tactician, conquering the known world and sealing his
legacy as one of history's most remarkable rulers by the age of 25.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Flag Day. Commemorates the adoption of the U.S. flag
by the Continental Congress in 1775. Betsy Ross is credited with making the
country's first flag. You can take a FREE virtual tour of her home.
Children 4-8 may enjoy reading
Betsy Ross: Designer of Our Flag,
by Ann Weil.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Magna Carta (Latin for "Big Letter") signed by King
John in 1215, limiting the power of the King of England, and forming the basis
for the concepts of "due process" and "no taxation without representation."
You may enjoy reading 1215: The Year of Magna Carta,
by Danny Danziger and John Gillingham. It's an entertaining and historical account about the
document and it also depicts life in the year of 1215.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Soviet Cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, became the
first woman to travel into space aboard Vostok 6, in 1963. The Cold War gave
a boost to the U.S. space program. The movie,
The Right Stuff,
is based on Tom Wolfe's book and depicts the history of the U.S. Space program. It covers
the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager to the Mercury 7 astronauts, and reveals
that those in charge were fairly clueless about how to run a space program or how to select
people to be in it.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Watergate Break-In. In 1972, five men
were captured installing "bugging devices" at the Democratic National Committee
Headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C. The incident led to the resignation
of President Richard M. Nixon. Watch the DVD,
All The President's Men,
that tells the story based upon the best-selling book by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. For
high school ages and up.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo
in Belgium by the Duke of Wellington, 1815. This event signaled the end of the
Napoleonic era in Europe. Watch
Napoleon (TV Miniseries).
From the campaign that transformed the Corsican outsider into a French hero to his bitter,
final defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon charts the course of the man who defied centuries of
tradition and forced his will upon a continent.
The great commander
is rendered as a figure whose military triumphs masked a troubled personal life. His marriage
to Josephine was tumultuous and his fanatical work habits and temper made him a difficult
personality. His defeat at Waterloo led to exile on a desolate island.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- First baseball game with set rules was played in Hoboken,
New Jersey, 1846. The DVD,
Baseball: A Film by Ken Burns,
relates the history of baseball through old-time photos and illustrations depicting the games
early years, while newsreels and video clips highlight more recent developments. Players and
participants speak in their own words, and sports writers and broadcasters offer commentary
on the sport and events they witnessed.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Boxer Rebellion begins in China, 1900.
A movement by Chinese nationalists to counter foreign encroachment upon China's social, political
and fiscal affairs. The PBS DVD
American Experience: America 1900
presents a comprehensive picture of what life was like in the United States at the turn of the
century, including information about U.S. involvement in The Boxer Rebellion. Use the
"Teacher's Guide" to explore key themes with
students.
Also, look for the movie "55 Days at Peking" at your local library.
It's a dramatization of the Boxer Rebellion told from a colonial point of view.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Martha Washington, the first First Lady of the U.S.,
was born in 1731. She was the wife of President George Washington, the first
U.S. President. Get to know all of the Presidents by watching PBS' acclaimed series,
The Presidents Collection.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- WWII Battle of Okinawa ends in defeat for Japan in
1945, and signals the turning point toward the end of the war. The History
Channel's, "The Okinawa: The Last Battle"
depicts the final engagement of World War II.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Empress Josephine, consort to Napoleon, born 1763.
Watch Napoleon (TV Miniseries).
The epic story tells of Napoleon's rise to power, his military triumphs, his marriage to Josephine,
and his defeat at Waterloo.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Pablo Picasso, father of Cubist art movement,
has first major exhibition of work in 1901 in Paris at the age of 19.
Watch the two-part video series titled
Picasso: The Man And His Work.
It contains over 600 of the artist's works. This
comprehensive anthology
uses intimate and exclusive home movies, interviews and photos, to create a truly
historic document of
comprehensive anthology.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- General George Custer of the U.S. Cavalry lost his
"Last Stand" against the Sioux Indian Nation at the Battle of Little Big Horn in
1876. Watch the Biography Channel's
George Custer: Showdown at Little Big Horn,
a revealing examination of the ill-fated life of this notorious commander through rare photos,
dramatic re-enactments and the commentary of leading historians. Trace his exploits in the
Civil War and follow him west to a point-by-point examination of the battle of Little Big Horn
where Custer led 264 men to death and secured a unique place in American history.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Pearl Buck, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the novel,
"The Good Earth," about the life of a Chinese peasant family, born 1892.
Watch the Oscar-winning 1937 movie
The Good Earth
based on Buck's highly acclaimed book.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Helen Keller born in 1880. Born deaf
and blind, Helen Keller overcame her physical challenges and was known and admired worldwide
for her work on behalf of blind people. Watch
The Miracle Worker,
a beautiful and timeless film starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke in their Oscar-winning
portrayals of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan. This drama is appropriate for the
entire family.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria caused
the outbreak of World War I, 1914. Watch
The First World War: The Complete Series.
"This definitive ten-part series offers insight and analysis to provide a coherent and strategic
military narrative of the worldwide conflict that changed history.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- The Globe Theater, where most of Shakespeare's plays
debuted, burned down on this day in 1613. Enjoy Shakespeare in your home theater
with the BBC's Shakespeare Comedies Gift Box.
It includes 5 complete theater presentations including The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest,
A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, & As You Like It.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
- Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind, was
published in 1936. Over 25 million copies of the book were sold that told the
fictional love story of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler amidst a historical depiction of the
antebellum South and the Civil War. It is one of the best-selling novels of all time and was
made into an Oscar-winning movie in 1939 with the same title. Learn more, watch
The Greatness of Gone With The Wind.
Further the Learning with These Resources:
More June DVD Selections
Do you have young children?
Check out the Preschool Learning Calendar!
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