The Buffalo War
PBS, November 1, 10:00 p.m., ET, check local listings
This program examines the culture clash between Native Americans, ranchers, environmentalists, and government officials, battling over the yearly slaughter of America's last wild bison. The documentary explores the controversy by joining a 500-mile spiritual march across Montana by Lakota Sioux Indians who object to the slaughter. Along the way, they meet a group of environmental activists and a family of ranchers who must find a way to coexist with buffaloes.

The Other Side of Africa
CNN, CNN Newsroom, week of November 5, 4:30 a.m., ET.
This CNN Newsroom presentation explores some less-exposed aspects of Africa. The program profiles a world of ancient cultures, economic success, and community outreach, looking at the continent's many cultures, ancient architecture and successful industries. Support materials including lesson plans, suggested classroom activities, plus links to maps and resources can be found at www. CNNfyi.com.

War Letters
PBS, November 11, 9:00 p.m., ET.
Based on Andrew Carroll's recent bestseller, War Letters, Extraordinary Correspon-dence from American Wars, this one-hour special transcends the subject of war.

It explores the love, passion, horror, and hope of men and women who fought and those who waited at home, through a collection of newly uncovered personal letters of soldiers, sweethearts, sons, brothers, fathers, wives, and friends.

The Impressionists: The Road to Impressionism
A&E, November 12-15, 7:00 a.m., ET.
This two-hour special explores the life of the Impressionist art movement and its creators, including Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Berthe Morisot, among others. Filmed in Impres-sionist locales in France and elsewhere, this documentary uses a wide array of paintings, period photographs, beautifully filmed scenes, newspaper reviews, and diary and letter excerpts from the artists themselves. Also included are in-depth interviews with art historians.

Mystery of the Alaskan Mummies
The Discovery Channel, November 18, 9:00 p.m., ET.
Hundreds of mummies have been found in the Aleutian Islands off the Alaskan coast, preserved in much the same way as Egyptian mummies, only in a harsher climate. These mummies, curled in the fetal position, bear testimony to a sophisticated, 9,000-year old Unangan culture that once thrived there. This one-hour special presents the first comprehensive look at the Alaskan mummies, their remote island home and the scientists who have charted the fate of the ancient Unangan people.

My Uncle Silas
PBS, November 26, 9:00 p.m., ET.
Based on the popular stories by H.E. Bates, this Exxon/Mobil Masterpiece Theatre presentation tells the story of ten-year-old Edward, who comes to stay with his roguish Uncle Silas for adventures in poaching, courting, drinking, fighting, and occasionally working.

Precious Cargo
PBS, November, check local listings
In conjunction with National Adoption month, this one-hour special follows a group of Vietnamese young people adopted by American families at the end of the Vietnam War who travel back to their homeland in search of their personal history. While visiting orphanages and maternity hospitals, this documentary also tells the story of Operation Babylift, which brought 2,700 children to America after the war. Viewers are introduced to many of the adoptive parents who began a movement that has grown to redefine the American family by embracing these biracial, sometimes disabled children.

Native American History
CNN, CNN Newsroom, November, 4:30 a.m., ET.
In conjunction with Native American History Month, this CNN Newsroom presentation takes a look at Native Americans past and present, looking specifically at the resurgence of Native American culture in mainstream society. A companion Web site can be found by going to www.CNNfyi.com.

Voyage of Life
CNN, CNN Newsroom, November, 4:30 a.m., ET.
This CNN Newsroom presentation explores the scientific and ethical questions surrounding current genetic research, emphasizing the anthropological debate over the implications of this research. Part One reports on the dramatic progress in mapping the human genome and implications for genetic engineering and gene enhancement. Part Two examines the growing debate over "intelligent design," a view that challenges the basis of Darwin's theories. A companion Web site can be found at www.CNNfyi.com. free or inexpensive

In from the Cold
Wondering what to do when your young students are kept in during the upcoming winter days? Winter Day Play may be the answer. The paperback book is full of activities, crafts, and games to keep kids busy learning and having fun-indoors and out. Ages 3 and up. 160 pp. from Chicago Review Press. $13.95.

Science Fair Ideas
Are your students out of original ideas for their student science fair projects? Here's a batch of 100 fresh science fair projects that students will enjoy doing even as they learn scientific principles. Included in 100 Award-Winning Science Fair Projects are ideas for building a working sundial and directions for molding a mountain range and then creating a topographic map of it. $21.95 from Sterling Publishing: www.sterling.com. $21.95.

Internet Basics
You can help your students make their way around the Internet with A Student's Guide to the Internet. Chock full of ideas, this handy guide explains the basics. Among the topics: how to conduct searches of the Net's vast resources, and simple ways to create Web sites. Net safety wraps up the 140-page resource from Twenty-First Century Books. $23.90. Go to: Millbrookpress.com.

Learning and Literacy
Award-winning educator Steven L. Layne has delighted teachers all over the United States with his poetry readings and presentations. In his book, Life's Literacy Lessons: Poems for Teachers, he has gathered 40 favorite poems about literacy teaching and learning into a collection full of honesty and wit that will touch and inspire educators at all grade levels. 72 pages from the International Reading Association, 302/731-1600. $9.95.

Nature Under A Microscope
You can discover and explore new frontiers in science by looking through the lenses of powerful microscopes to view, for instance, one grain of pollen or the delicate hairs on a blade of grass. Hidden Worlds-Looking Through a Scientist's Microscope takes you behind the scenes of a photographer's work and explains how remarkable images of microscopic life and objects are captured. $16 from any bookstore or at www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com.

Web Winners

Talking about Tough Issues
Click on www.talkingwithkids.org for excellent resources to help initiate conversations with your students, including subjects such as the recent violent attack against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Other topics on this site include drugs, alcohol, HIV/AIDS, and sex.

World Sites
The U.S. Department of State provides information on www.state.gov/travel.cfm that includes travel emergencies and warnings; passport and visa information; U.S. embassy and consulate Web sites; and many important related links. You can get the most recent current travel guidelines that may come in handy, especially if you plan to travel abroad.

College Savings Programs
You can learn how to save for your kids' college education now and not be caught in a financial bind later. Go to www.collegesavings.org or call the College Savings Plan Network on this Web site.

Consumer Guide
The 2001 Consumer Action Handbook is now available online. It provides advice to consumers on car repair, home improvement and financing, shopping from home, and much more. Also included is the Consumer Assistance Directory, which lists names, addresses, phone numbers, and Web sites of national consumer organizations, trade associations, state and Federal agencies, etc. Go to www.pueblo.gsa.gov/crh/ respref.htm.

Reading Rockets
This Web site provides practical guidance on teaching kids to read, using research-based methods. It also provides advice and tips for meeting the needs of struggling readers and what to do if a deeper problem is suspected. Access to some of the research on this subject is offered via links to other helpful sites. Go to www.readingrockets.org.

Strange but True
Did you know that bats always turn left when exiting a cave? Have some fun with this Web site, which is packed with factoids that it says are-strange but true! Go to www.strangefacts.com.

Antique Collecting Guides
These guides provide essential background for both new and seasoned collectors. Featured guides include Asian ceramics and furniture; clocks; prints; European ceramics and furniture; jewelry; Old Master paintings; and others. Visit www.sothebys.com/connoisseur/guides.

Kids Aid
The KIDSAID Web site is a safe place for kids to share and to help each other deal with grief about any of their losses. It is a place to share and deal with feelings, to show artwork and stories, to talk about pets, to meet with one's peers. There are also some games and contests. Go to http://kidsaid.com.

Staying Healthy
Get extensive advice on what to do when kids have health problems and what to do to help keep them healthy in the first place. There are special sections for kids, teens, and parents. This site deals with everything from asthma to hiccups. Visit http://kidshealth.org.

Online Dictionary of Difficult Words
Search the Hutchinson Dictionary of Difficult Words A to Z index of almost 14,000 difficult words to increase and improve your vocabulary or to find out exactly what those words really mean! Go to www.lineone.net/dictionaryof/difficultwords/index/html.

Someone Can Steal Your Identity!
This Web site is the U.S. Government's central Web site for information on identity theft. Learn how to minimize your risk; what to do if you're a victim; how to file a complaint; and check out other related links. Go to www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Learn CPR
You can learn the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and learn how to save someone's life at http://depts.washington.edu/learncpr/index.html. CPR is a no-nonsense lifesaver, and you can get some online instruction at this site. While this book isn't a substitute for live, comprehensive training, the site does offer information about the basics in an illustrated format.

PBS Online
Visit PBS online at www.pbs.org and search this Web site full of art, history, nature, science, travel, and many other topics. There's a kids' PBS link, an adult learning service link, and a teacher source link. Visit the hourly newscast and check TV schedules. You can even reinvent your own class picture!

Kids Search Engine
Kids Click! is a Web search site for kids, designed by librarians. It contains over 600 subjects from current events, the arts, math and science, to entertainment. Go to http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/ KidsClick!