Talking Walls

4/18/00

This program is a great resource for school classrooms, homeschools (especially co-ops!) and more. What a neat way to learn about history, culture and social studies. Edmark does it again, and keeps the industry on it's toes....or at least thinking!

Talking Walls is based on the award winning books, Talking Walls and Talking Walls:The Story Continues, by Margy Burns Knight and illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien. Talking Walls tells the 'story' of fourteen famous walls around the world. I am including the entire list here because it gives you some idea of the diversity and creativity used to pull this all together. This list includes walls from both programs:

• Australian Aborigine Wall Art
• Barracks on Angel Island
• The Berlin Wall Belfast
• Peace Line Canadian Museum of Civilization
• Dikes in the Netherlands
• Cuzco Fortress Walls
• Divali Festival Wall Paintings
• Diego Rivera Murals
• Dog Wall in Tokyo
• Great Wall of China
• Hadrian's Wall
• Great Zimbabwe
• Holocaust Memorial Wall
• Lascaux Cave
• Maya Murals
• Mahabalipuram's Animal Walls
• Ndebele Homes
• Journey to Mecca
• Pablo Neruda's Fence
• Nelson Mandela's Prison Walls
• Philadelphia Murals
• Taos Pueblo
• Tibetan Prayer Wheels
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• Walled City of Fez
• Jerusalem's Western Wall
• Wat Po Temple

The program includes the storybook, which can be read to any age child. The accompanying teachers manual, and student handbook include a full line of educational activities and extension activities. This could be a nice one day project, or could take an entire school year, depending on the depth you want to pursue the subject matter. There are great ideas such as the one listed below. There are hundreds more where these came from!

• Cooking foods from the various cultures
• Making Mind Maps
• Studying place name origins
• Diaramas
• Plays
• Homemade Graffiti Walls

This is a unique approach to the subject matter. Talking Walls is a nice unit study that can be used in a variety of ways. No look-step methods here. The included CD has a narrated copy of the book, links to the Talking Walls web site (available only through the CD) as well as in-depth information on the walls and people discussed in the story. It makes a nice package.

Grading for Talking Walls Educational Value: 5 Entertainment Value: 5 Replay Value: 3 3/4 Available from Edmark at http://www.edmark.com