This series tells the story of the modern movement in architecture, starting with Mies van der Rohe’s design for the German pavilion at the 1929 Barcelona World Fair, a stunningly plain statement put up amid a clutter of ornate buildings, with glass walls to draw in the surrounding landscape. Le Corbusier has a part to play in this first programme, but it soon turns to Britain where, after 1933, German refugees from Nazism brought the concepts of modern architecture to such unlikely places as Bexhill-on-Sea and London Zoo.

They were not always welcomed by the architectural establishment, and the utopian ideals of the modern movement came to be seen as oppressive. The early buildings still look fresh in this well-constructed series, which will prove a useful introduction to the subject for students of modern art and society.

Best for schools: Words and Pictures BBC2, Monday, November 26, 11.20-11.35am

This slot, for six to 11-year-olds, continues with a programme on the earereeer phoneme, as Sophie takes a bike ride around Jersey and Sid the Seagull has a problem with’is ‘earing: Magic Pencil shows him the difference between “hear” and “here”. Colin the Clam has a quiz about suffixes and Brian Blessed reads a story about a beached whale.

The Miracle Maker BBC2, Wednesday, November 28, 2-3.30am

This feature-length film, which had a cinema release last year (Friday, March 31, 2000), combines the Gospel story with that of a young girl living in Palestine in the first century. The main narrative is told using puppet animation, with two-dimensional cel animation for Jesus’s parables. The film is attractive to watch and a successful, non-denominational account of the main elements of the Gospel message, making it a valuable resource for religious education.

Best of the rest: Real Wizards C4, Monday, November 26, 8.30-10pm

Pegged to the film release of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Luke Campbell’s film investigates the history of shamanism from prehistoric times to the 20th century. Much of it consists of an account of the archaeological evidence for wizards, from the magician’s wand possibly discovered at a burial site in Wales, to the Druids, Merlin, Danish bog burials and potions.

As little of the evidence from distant times is supported by written documentation, there is bound to be doubt about the meaning of the finds: the words “possibly”, “could”, “might” and “may” occur frequently in the commentary, and some of the speculation is far-fetched: Tollund Man, a Danish bog burial found perfectly preserved, with a rope around his neck, was once assumed to be the body of an executed criminal. Now it is suggested that he was a sacrificed shaman - in which case, it is only a step to seeing his pointed cap as a wizard’s hat, isn’t it?

There will be lots of food here for the imagination of anyone who is into wizards, warlocks and witches.

Robin Buss

Full educational programme schedules can be found at:www.bbc.co.ukeducationlzonesched-aut.shtmlwww.4learning.co.ukprogramm esautumn2001.cfm