Hello and good morning! It is the end of 2023 and I am doing my year-end reviews and top ten list. Today we are going to look at the Top Ten Fun and Frivolous documentaries. Mainly these are documentaries to be shown for fun and to give the students a brain break. These documentaries are chosen from blogs done in the past two years.
The usual disclaimer, this list is my opinion only and should be taken with a grain of salt. The purpose of this list is to help teachers, substitute teachers, and continuing learning lovers to help further learning select something to use for the classroom. 1) Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball - YouTube (1:26:00) Over 200 years ago, Pride and Prejudice was published. It was one of Jane Austen’s most beloved novels. To appreciate and understand the novels in the world Jane Austen lived in, a group will perform an experiment. They will recreate a regency ball. What would have really happened at the ball? This is a way to help understand what Jane Austen was trying to say. This group will recreate the sites and sound of the ball and will reveal the hierarchies involved in the Regency Era. *Highly recommended for both a history classroom and an English classroom.* 2) Diva Mummy - YouTube (49:47) While ordinary people fought in battles, the aristocrats celebrated and grew wealthy. There was a Han aristocrat named Lady Dai. Lady Dai would not ordinarily make history. However, when her tomb was opened the discovery sent shockwaves through the archeological community. Her mummy was the best-preserved mummy in the world. She was known as the perfect mummy. Her lifelike mummy leaves the Egyptian efforts in the dust. *Recommend for teacher and student research purposes. Highly recommended for a history and science classroom.* 3) Time Walks - Freemantle (26:14) Townsville (25:33) Canberra (26:15) Adelaide (25:29) Launceston (25:54) Barossa Valley (26:30) Wellington (26:07) Woolloomoolo (26:12) Bendigo (26:17) Kalgoorie (26:08) Brisbane (26:17) Parramatta (26:36) Geelong (26:33) Melbourne (26:46) Carlton (26:38) St. Kilda (26:47) Hobart (26:47) Newcastle (26:44) Christchurch (26:11) Alice Springs (26:20) Tony Robinson has another series Time Walks. He walks and explores the history of a particular area. This is different from Time Travels and its search for hidden history. This series happened over two series and explores the cities of Australia and New Zealand. Tony brings his storytelling style to this series. The series kicks off with Freemantle and ends with Alice Springs. What will Tony Robinson learn about Australia and New Zealand? *Highly recommended for a geography class.* 4) Princess Alice: The Queen's Mother-in-Law - YouTube (47:34) Princess Alice was the mother of Prince Philip and the mother-in-law of Queen Elizabeth II. She was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria and was born Princess Alice. Her story begins when she is escaping an asylum. She is caught. Her family had locked her in the asylum. She was born a princess but turned her back on royal life. She had a strong personality. She overcame her mental illness and disability to become a hero of World War II. *Recommended for research purposes.* 5) France's Greatest Royal Painter: The Rise of Madam LeBrun - YouTube (51:20) Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun was France’s last great portrait painter. She was a child prodigy and was taught by her father. Elisabeth started painting professionally at fourteen years old. She soon became part of the court of Marie Antoinette. She painted over 660 portraits. However, due to her ties to the French court, she is forced to flee into exile. For thirteen years, she traveled around a variety of European courts. She will be met with a great deal of acclaim in the European Courts. *Highly recommended for an art class as well as a history class. Recommended for independent study students.* 6) The Black Prince - YouTube (28:56) The Black Prince was the hero to the English and he died young. He was a warrior. He lies in Canterbury Amber Buchart is going to have his cloth armor remade. This cloth armor identified who he was and was worn over metal armor. What will this cloth armor tell us about the Black Prince? Will Ninya be able to come up with a way to recreate this garment? *Highly recommended for a history class and a home economics class. Highly recommended for independent study students.* 7) Pendle Witch Trials - YouTube (59:64) Alice Device, Jennet’s sister, confessed to being a witch. An old peddler was struck down with a stroke after refusing to sell her some pins. After this confession, dozens of people were arrested. Jennet Device testifies in a witch trial against her family, setting a precedent in judicial history. Jennet’s testimony condemned her family. The narrator presents this documentary very well and his style engages the viewer. *Recommended for independent research purposes.* 8) Marie Antoinette - YouTube (28:54) Amber Buchart examines the wardrobe of Marie Antoinette and she is examining a portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette dressed in a chemise gown. She was painted wearing the dress. It caused a scandal in the French Court. The portrait shows the Queen wearing her underwear! Fashion had played a role in the French Revolution and Amber explores the role that it played in the fall of the French monarchy. What can the recreation of the Chemise tell us about Marie Antoinette? What does Amber learn about the Queen? *Highly recommended for a history class and a home economics class. Highly recommended for independent study students.* 9) Women Who Made History: Queen Luise - YouTube (50:57) She was the most dangerous woman in all of Europe. Princess Luise was a queen from a humble background. She and her sister married Prussian princes. Princess Luise would eventually become Queen Luise. Queen Luise of Prussia encouraged the Prussians to go to war with Napoleon. This is a German documentary with English subtitles. *Highly recommend for independent study students learning about a person in history. Would show to a high school history class.* 10) Empress Josephine - YouTube (52:17) Empress Josephine was Napoleon Bonaparte’s, great love. During the Time of the French Revolution, everyone knows Marie Josephe Rose Tascher de Le Pagerie. History would know her as Josephine. The Reign of Terror has just ended and she had just barely escaped the guillotine. She would meet a Corsican general who was just beginning his career. This general was six years younger than her but he fell madly in love with her. The pair would eventually marry and would write world history. *Recommended for research purposes.*
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
The reviews I do are my opinion and my opinion only. My opinions should always be taken with a grain of salt. I just want to help teachers out selecting documentaries. Worksheets
My Teachers Pay Teachers Store! Worksheets available as a Word Document.
Lulu Store
I am also on Lulu! If you're interested in genealogy I have several books available!
Archives
May 2024
Categories
All
Privacy Policy
HistoryDocTube will not collect any personal information and will not sell any personal information to a third party. We will not request any personal information.
The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |