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For Educators

POV documentaries are a valuable resource for teachers and students. Use these free video clips and companion lesson plans to present POV films to your class.

Recent Lesson Plans

Historical Perspectives: Coming Home from War

This lesson plan utilizes the film and website resources for The Way We Get By, which tells the story of a group of volunteers who have greeted more than 900,000 troops at a tiny airport in Bangor, Maine. Classrooms can use these resources to conduct an investigation that compares and contrasts the homecoming experiences of soldiers who served in World War II and the wars in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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The Way We Get By
Associated Film: The Way We Get By

A Unit on Prejudice and Racism

Two Towns of Jasper is a nuanced view of the subtleties of race relations in America and the different viewpoints forged by racial identity. The lessons in this unit will guide students to a better understanding of privilege -- one of the pervasive causes behind racism -- and, more specifically, the impact of "white privilege" on racism against non-white Americans. An exploration of the concept of privilege can also help students understand the societal factors that contribute to other "ism's": sexism, ethnocentrism, classism and heterosexism.

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Two Towns of Jasper
Associated Film: Two Towns of Jasper

Exploring Parent-Child Relationships Through Letter Writing

This lesson plan is designed to be used with the film Bronx Princess, which chronicles the complex relationship between a young woman named Rocky and her Ghanaian mother as Rocky progresses from high school to college. Classrooms can use this film and its companion website resources to help students explore their own relationships with their parents through letter writing. (Note: This film sometimes uses English subtitles.)

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Bronx Princess
Associated Film: Bronx Princess

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Videos for the Classroom

Soldiers' Response to the Troop Greeters (Clip 2 of 2)

In the second clip associated with The Way We Get By lesson plan, soldiers who are returning home talk about their responses to the troop greeters who welcome them at the airport. Students should compare the homecoming for these veterans to the homecomings of veterans from World War II and the Vietnam War.


Please note: Streaming of the entire film online ends December 12, 2009.

More about The Way We Get By

Welcome Home (Clip 1 of 2)

A troop greeter goes to the airport in Bangor, Maine, to welcome home a flight of returning soldiers.

More about The Way We Get By

Blouse or a Shirt (Clip 1 of 3)

Seventeen-year-old Rocky Otoo and her mom have different thoughts on Rocky's new shirt.

More about Bronx Princess

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Did you know?

POV documentaries can be taped off-the-air and used for education purposes for up to one year from the initial broadcast.

DVD Lending Library

Lending library screenshot Borrow POV films and screen them in your classroom. Download discussion guides, lesson plans and other resources from the library, too.

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Community Network

Community Network Map Our Community Network will keep you updated on all things POV. You can organize a screening, sign up for the POV newsletter, get broadcast reminders, find out about screenings near you, learn about new lesson plans, facilitation and discussion guides, and more.

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