TV411: Express Yourself » TV Programs on Iowa Public Television

TV411

Express Yourself (#128)

Newly minted writer Kathi Wellington tells stories from her days as a steelworker, and origami artist June Sakamoto gives a geometry lesson. Parents and children interpret art and symbolism at the Philadelphia Museum, and Broadway performers from Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam demonstrate that writing poetry can be both literary and exuberant.

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Program Description: TV411 focuses on parenting, money matters, and health. Subjects include reading comprehension, research techniques, writing to others, filling out forms, calculating percentages, using fractions, test taking, and more. The series teaches life skills in a manageable, lively format. Fictional and real-life personalities host segments: Dennis Franz from NYPD Blue explains how to read a newspaper article. A WNBA star and new mom offers advice on time management. Famous authors share their love of reading and writing. A cast of entertaining characters covers the math and literacy topics of everyday life. And real adult learners tell how they acquired literacy skills to become better parents, employees, and lifelong learners.

All Upcoming Episodes

Program 3 (#103)

Job seekers prepare for filling out applications by creating personal data sheets, and singer/songwriter Phoebe Snow talks about music and the composing process. A mother creates a medical "bible" in order to document and track her chronically-ill child's medical history.
- Sun, August 31, 4:00 AM on IPTV
Program 4 (#104)

Actress Kathy Bates talks about books that have been made into movies; a woman from Pittsburgh tells how she reached her goal of becoming a travel agent; the book club reads Laura Esquivel's "Like Water for Chocolate", and Malik Yoba shares tips on how to keep a journal.
- Sun, August 31, 4:30 AM on IPTV
Program 5 (#105)

The book club reads "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou; Agent Know How goes looking for information at the library, and Laverne helps a new father of triplets multiply his shopping list. The Lifelines segment shows how to prepare for a visit to the doctor.
- Sun, September 7, 4:00 AM on IPTV
Program 6 (#106)

Question Man shows how to take a phone message, Laverne helps shoppers get the best deals on television sets, and pop/rock band BETTY teaches about homonyms. Job seekers learn how to write résumés, and an Indiana woman talks about going back to school as an adult so she could become a nurse.
- Sun, September 7, 4:30 AM on IPTV
Program 7 (#107)

Olympic track star Florence Griffith Joyner introduces a segment in which skaters Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner calculate an average. An animated segment shows how to look up a word in a dictionary, and New York artist Esperanza Cortez shares her battle with dyslexia.
- Sun, September 14, 4:00 AM on IPTV
Program 8 (#108)

Job seekers work on writing cover letters for applications; Laverne helps a shopper with diabetes get nutritional information from food labels, and "Dictionary Cinema" shows how to look up a word you don't know how to spell.
- Sun, September 14, 4:30 AM on IPTV
Program 9 (#109)

Agent Know How tries out the library computer to find a book, and a father shares tips on reading to children. The book club members read "Angela's Ashes" and meet author Frank McCourt.
- Sun, September 21, 4:00 AM on IPTV
Program 10 (#110)

A young couple gets advice on getting their finances under control from a credit counselor, and John Fugelsang hosts a look at the fine print on "too-good-to-be-true" credit card offers. The "Rip Off" segment looks critically at a TV ad, and author Studs Terkel reads from his book "Working."
- Sun, September 21, 4:30 AM on IPTV
Program 11 (#111)

Salsa musician Rubén Blades performs some of his songs and talks about his writing process. An El Paso mother enters the Even Start program and learns ways to bring her family closer together through reading and writing. Then Question Man shares tips on taking tests.
- Sun, September 28, 4:00 AM on IPTV
Program 12 (#112)

Laverne helps a young man write a card to his girlfriend; parents choose a school for their child, and bluegrass singer/songwriter Hazel Dickens shares some of her music.
- Sun, September 28, 4:30 AM on IPTV