TV Smarts

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

* Today--”Modern Marvels” (HIST, 7-8 p.m.) This is a documentary about the development of radar, stealth technology and Doppler imaging. VCR+85518.

* Friday--”Science Of Sports” (KCET, 2-3 p.m.) This special one-hour edition of PBS’ “Newton’s Apple” series covers hang-gliding, sky-diving, skiing, horse-jumping, rock-climbing and ice-skating. VCR+55667. Also recommended, “Invisible Places” (DISC 8-9 p.m.), a documentary about the infrastructure of cities, VCR+636483, and “The Scourge of the Black Death” (HIST, 9-10 p.m.), a documentary about bubonic plague, which devastated medieval Europe and is always a topic in social studies classes. VCR+32006.

* Saturday--”Empire of the Sun” (KCOP, 2-5 p.m.) This is a movie about a European boy’s struggle to survive alone in WWII China during the Japanese military occupation. Playwright Tom Stoppard based the screenplay on J.C. Ballard’s autobiographical novel. Steven Spielberg directs, Christian Bale and John Malkovich star. VCR+524033. Available on video.

* Sunday--”CBS News Sunday Morning” (KCBS, 7-8:30 a.m.) Featured in this special 20th-anniversary broadcast of CBS’ news magazine is a report on Pellom McDaniels, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defensive lineman who is also a poet, painter, community leader and educator. His “Arts for Smarts” foundation encourages kids to unleash their creativity in a variety of ways. Recommended for taping, along with “Book TV” (C-SPAN 2, 9-10 a.m.), which features an interview with Mary Beth Rogers, author of “Barbara Jordan: American Hero,” a book about the gifted young woman who overcame prejudice, and in 1972, she and Andrew Young became the first African Americans elected to the U.S. Congress since Reconstruction.

--Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, associate director for teacher education, Cal StateUniversity. Columns available at www.calendarlive.com/HOME/CALENDARLIVE/EVENT/TVSMARTS.nnnn.