Body Story

Following a newborn baby (in his first starring role) through the first fourteen weeks of life, Infancy--the opening tape in the three volume Body Story set--primarily focuses on early brain development. While baby brains may initially look like adorable little lumps of multi-cellular protoplasm, they grow at an astonishing rate: by eight weeks of age, the cerebral cortex is making two million connections per second and starts to take over from the primitive brain that has kept the baby alive since birth. Although our brains never again grow so rapidly, the good news is that we can still build new connections in the old gray matter even when we're ninety. Oddly, while Infancy works very well as a documentary for adults, it is not really suited to its target audience of 6-8th grade students. The enclosed leaflet (which does not deserve to be called a teacher's guide) has a lesson plan built around the work of Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson, but neither are discussed in the video. Nor did I see any obvious illustration of the “science in personal and social perspectives” or “personal and community health” standards endorsed by the National Science Foundation, as advertised in the publicity material. Sure to be of interest to parents and parents-to-be, Infancy is unlikely to appeal to the average adolescent; however, the other two programs in the set--Puberty and Metabolism--will, making this a strong optional purchase, overall. Aud: E, J, P. (R. Reagan)