DVD/Educational Supplement Package meets CLRN school standards

The California Learning Resource Network, an agency that screens audio-visual materials for use in California schools, has announced that the DVD/Educational Supplement edition of Forgotten Journey—the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Saga, has met CLRN criteria regarding legal and social compliance with California standards, and is now included on the CLRN web site.

The compliance designation will make it easier for more teachers to use supplemental school funds to obtain the film package, according to producer and OCTA board member John Krizek. It does not mean the resource has been officially “adopted,” only that it meets certain legal and social criteria.

The CLRN review notes that teachers can select specific chapters in the one-hour documentary from the menu; and the Educational Supplement on CD-Rom provides 11 chapters of information plus a resource guide, references to historical organizations including OCTA, a bibliography, and a link to a teacher’s guide on the film web site. The Educational Supplement CD-Rom was partially funded by OCTA. The package is available through OCTA, as well as Forgotten Journey Productions (P.O. Box 2456, Toluca Lake, CA 91610-0456, or www.thecaliforniatrail.com).

Forgotten Journey is the award-winning public television documentary on the history of the California Trail, based on the first pioneer party to get wagons over the Sierras in 1844. It was completed and premiered in 2001.

The teacher’s guide was authored by OCTA member Carol Verbeeck of Morgan Hill, CA. She and her husband, Bruce Horttor, provide a pioneer wagon party educational program, “California Bound,” for schools and communities in the Bay Area.

Go to the CLRN web site: www.clrn.org, and click on the history/social science section to access the review. The site gets over a million “hits” a month, from all over the country and beyond, according to the agency.

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