TV Smarts

Some broadcast and cable programs contain material included in the public school curriculum and on standardized examinations. Here are weekend home-viewing tips:

* Today. “The Grapes of Wrath” (AMC, 5-7:15 p.m.) John Ford’s Oscar-winning movie of John Steinbeck’s novel is 20th century America’s version of Exodus. It is a superior rendering of a novel into film. VCR+5984010

* Friday. “Faith and Reason” (KCET, 10-11 p.m.) This documentary, filmed in chapels and laboratories, examines the common ground, rather than the contradictions, that scientists and theologians are finding in science and religion. The host is Margaret Wertheimer, author of “Pythagoras’ Trousers: God, Physics and the Gender Wars.” VCR+62256

* Saturday. “Curse on the Gypsies” (History, 5-7 p.m., repeating 9-11 p.m. and Sunday, 2-4 p.m.) This documentary traces the history of a nomadic tribe that originated in India more than 1,000 years ago. They call themselves the Rom, but, because Europeans took them for Egyptians, they became known as “gypsies.” Capping centuries of persecution, the Rom lost more than 500,000 people in the Nazi Holocaust. About 1 million live in the U.S., having produced luminaries such as Charlie Chaplin, Yul Brynner and Rita Hayworth. VCR+63251 or 48367.

* Sunday. “The 50th Annual Prime-Time Emmy Awards” (KNBC, 7-11 p.m.) This year’s Emmy program includes an extensive historical overview of the medium. VCR+8367619

Also recommended: “The U.S. Mexican War (1846-1848)” (KCET, Part I airs 9-11 p.m.; Part II airs Monday, 9-11 p.m.). The two-part documentary, airing on the 150th anniversary of the conclusion of the 1846-48 war, describes a conflict that many Americans are unaware of and few Mexicans can forget about, because it cost half their country’s national territory. A book based on this series, “The U.S. Mexican War” by Carol and Thomas Christensen, was published this month, and a Web site, www.pbs.org/kera/usmexicanwar, has just been launched. Part I: VCR+68874; Part II: VCR+20337

Special note: On Wednesday, from 8-10 p.m., KVEA will air a TV special, in Spanish, live from Mexico City celebrating Mexican Independence Day. Mexico’s “declaration,” rather than a written work like the United States’, was delivered as an impassioned speech in 1810 by Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, calling for an uprising against Spain. A pageant reenacting this dramatic deed is the centerpiece of the annual Sept. 16 celebration. VCR+92974

--Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, associate director of teacher education for Cal State University. For past recommendations, log on to: www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/TVENT/TVSMARTS.