Videos to Enhance Student Learning

Remember Schoolhouse Rock?  It was a series of musical educational short films that aired during Saturday morning cartoons.  Topics covered subjects including grammar, science, economics, history, mathematics, and civics.  It has been a really long time since I was a child watching these, yet they still stick in my mind!  I credit Schoolhouse Rock with my ability to pass U.S. Government in high school! (Remember "I'm Just a Bill" and "The Preamble"?)

The use of videos such as these, with visuals and catchy tunes, not only increases student engagement, but appeal to various learning styles.  Even though they are a  little outdated, I still use some Schoolhouse Rock videos in my teaching.  Most can be found on You Tube.  Kids of all ages still love them!

I use videos in nearly every lesson I teach.  I find them useful in building background knowledge, helping students to memorize important concepts and facts, and for reinforcing learning.  The bonus is that students enjoy them and the learning seems to "stick" (memory and recall) more effectively.

We know it works with small children (ex:  Sesame Street, Barney, Baby Einstein), but for some reason, we tend to stop using musical/visual media as children progress through school.  This is unfortunate, because it still works! 

A few more modern favorites:

U.S. Declaring Independence from England

(set to popular song, Too Late To Apologize)

Parts of the Brain

Skeletal System

Story Elements

Multiplication Rap Sample

We would love for you to add your favorites in our comment section, so we can create a compilation of sites, organized by subject and grade level, later this year!