Ready for Back to School? Part 3

So, time is trickling away – school starts next month…already? Yes, already.

If you haven’t yet started looking at the next school year and how you will be teaching the same subjects, it is time to mix it up a little. Make learning fun and I bet the year will be a better experience for both you and your students.

I received an email a couple weeks back about “Five Fun Videos” to incorporate into your classes. Students today love technology and they love watching videos. Keeping your students involved and motivated takes some creativity on your part as a teacher – here are some fun ways to teach science, math, and, cyber-safety.

There are two different videos in the list for science. The first is Charlie, who has created a couple of “Fun Science” videos. He makes learning about the Doppler Effect and the moon. He has many other videos on many different topics (procrastinating, cooking, making balloon animals, etc.). I highly recommend the Fun Science videos for the classroom and your students just may enjoy watching the rest of his videos on their own.

The second science video shows different “Party Tricks” that can be discussed and some even attempted in science class. So, go ahead and make learning about chemical reactions and physics fun with Professor Wiseman.

There are plenty more science videos available on both YouTube and TeacherTube, so go explore this summer and make learning about science even more fun.

Next, we have a math video with Mr. Duey rapping about fractions. I know, rapping…ugh! But, remember, you need to appeal to your student’s interests, not yours. This is a fun way to reinforce fraction skills.

How, about having a little bit of fun with video? Are you thinking of having your students create short videos to show what they have learned on a particular topic? Remember, having students demonstrate what they have learned is a nice alternative to paper/pencil tests. Watch Matthew Weathers and how he creates fun April Fool’s videos for his classes and presentations. He has also created videos to show you and your students how to make fun, interactive videos.

The last video shows what life would be like in “Real Life Facebook” . After viewing this video, I would not recommend it for your classroom, but have fun watching it at home. A better alternative for secondary grades, is the “What if Facebook was Real Life?” and is set in a high school. This video can be used to teach about using common sense and introducing a cyber-safety unit.

Have fun with incorporating videos and even making videos this next school year. But, remember, before showing any videos in class make sure you have pre-viewed the entire video.