TV Smarts

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

* Today--”The Free Willy Story: Keiko’s Journey Home” (ANML 5-6 p.m., repeats 8-9 p.m.) Documentary follows the ongoing training of Keiko--the aquarium-raised whale used in the movie “Free Willy”--to live in the ocean. For status reports, see https://www.keiko.org. Also, “The Lost Colony of Roanoke” (HIST 5-6 p.m., repeats 9-10 p.m.) The fate of the entire population of Sir Walter Raleigh’s English colony off North Carolina remains a mystery. Did the group meet its demise at the hands of Native Americans, Spaniards or internal dissension? Recommended for young readers: “The Lost Colony” by Dan Lacy.

* Friday--”Gilbert and Sullivan: Instant Merriment” (OVTN 7-8 p.m.) For kids facing SAT exams Saturday or any English test, this documentary could provide a memorable and fun vocabulary refresher. The composers of “H.M.S. Pinafore,” “Pirates of Penzance” and “The Mikado” filled the songs excerpted in this broadcast with clever big-word lyrics and demanded that performers pronounce every syllable even though they were singing very fast.

* Saturday--”The Fall of the Leaning Tower” (KCET 6-7 p.m.) This Nova science documentary covers the emergency effort to save the famous tilting tower in Pisa, Italy, from the effects of gravity--the very force Galileo “discovered” while dropping weights from the same tower centuries ago. For a description of the physics problems involved, check https://www.pbs.org/nova/pisa. Also, “People Count: Six Billion” (CNN 7-8 p.m., repeats 10-11 p.m.) The United Nations launched a campaign this month to dramatize the consequences of the tripling of the world’s population during the last several decades. This documentary report hosted by Jane Fonda profiles remarkable people who are having a positive impact on the problem in their own communities. In Los Angeles, environmental activist Ed Begley Jr. is seen competing head to head with Phyllis Diller in a grocery store and at home in a race about overconsumption.

* Sunday--”Millennium” (CNN 7-8 p.m., repeats 10-11 p.m.) Premiere episode of “Century of the Sword,” a 10-part documentary series covering the millennium a century at a time. It begins and ends with China, and in between examines the influence the nation has had on the world and vice versa. It also presents the rise and fall of other empires, religions and technologies in a manner hard to forget, offering students a wonderful cultural education. Ben Kingsley narrates. Suggested reading: “Millennium” by Filipe Fernandez-Armesto. Also, check https://www.CNN.com/1000. Teachers’ materials available at https://turnerlearning.com.

* Monday--”The Return of Eagles” (ANML 9-10 p.m.) A look at how scientists brought back America’s national symbol, the bald eagle, from the brink of extinction.

* Tuesday--”Time Travel” (KCET 9-10 p.m.) This NOVA science documentary uses the latest computer graphics to explain research by Caltech physics professor Kip Thorne into the possibility of time travel.

* Wednesday--”American Photography: A Century of Images” (KCET 8-11 p.m.) This broadcast includes all three episodes of PBS’ new miniseries about the art of photography. For kids K-12, it provides an excellent short course in U.S. history from 1900-1999 by linking famous photos with famous events. For access to the images, see https://www.pbs.org/americanphotography.

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Compiled by Richard Kahlenberg in consultation with Crystal J. Gips, dean of the School of Education, College of St. Mary, Albany, N.Y. Columns available at https://www.latimes.com/tvsmarts.