Review: Marshall Publishing

We were recently given the opportunity to review America in the 1880's from Marshall Publishing. I don't know about you, but enjoy being able to show my children quality films about what they are studying. This DVD did not disappoint me.

About The History of America in the 1880's

From the publisher:

What was life like in the 1880's? Certainly nothing like today, yet many of the things we so cherish now had their roots during this significant and often neglected decade in history.

Just like a time machine, we'll transport you back to discover the people and events that shaped this exciting decade: the Brooklyn Bridge ...Washington Monument ...Statue of Liberty ...Gunfight at the O.K. Corral ...Oklahoma Land Rush ...Johnstown Flood ...Thomas Edison ...Mark Twain ...Baby Doe ...Sitting Bull ...Sarah Bernhardt ...John Philp Sousa ...Buffalo Bill ...Gilbert & Sullivan ...Wyatt Earp ...Jesse James ...Billy the Kid ...Alexander Grahm Bell ...John D. Rockefeller ...Andrew Carnegie ...Samuel Gompers ...Susan B. Anthony ...Lillian Russell ...and many more!

You'll learn about fashion, politics, sports heroes, famous inventors, Wall Street financiers, railroad expansion, buffalo extinction, Indian resettlement, Civil Rights, union organization, urbanization, the music of the times and much, much more!!

Wow, right? And in only 60 minutes.

Our Experience

Mackenzie and I both really enjoyed the video. It was a combination of photographs and historical footage. The narrator had what my daughter referred to as a "soothing voice." I had to agree and it also gave me a flashback to movies I'd watched as a child. lol

We learned a lot of new information as well as reviewed some stuff that we've already studying. It was nice for Mackenzie to get a visual look at some of the things she'd been studying. The section of the plight of the Native Americans was particularly touching for her, as she was very sensitive to this time period when we originally studied it. We both really enjoyed the section about the period's architecture and clothing. Mackenzie was giggling over the bathing suits.

It was also very easy to just watch a particular section as the video was divided into chapters. There is also a free study guide available on the website. It offers a summary, discussion questions, a timeline, vocabulary and more. Did I mention it was free?

There was also another video on Alexander Graham Bell. This was also jam packed with a lot of great information. This video was actually put out by the Bell Company a loooonnnnggg time ago, so it was in black and white. It wasn't as quite as attention grabbing as the 1880's portion but it was pretty good.

All in all, I thought that this video was very well done and would make an excellent supplement to any history curriculum. I'm going to be looking to see what else they offer that might compliment our studies. Other Crew members reviewed different videos and I can't wait to see what they thought.

F.Y.I.

Website: www.marshallpublishinginc.com

Age Range: 4th grade and up

Cost: regularly $24.95 but it's currently on sale for $19.95 plus they are offering free shipping to my readers if you use the the code: TOS27

You can also sample many of their DVDs on their Youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFxYHzttkeg&lr=1&uid=JYKmWdYeDGE9fnkca_LsnQ

Disclaimer: I received this DVD free of charge for review purposes. All opinions are my own or those of my family.