History class with Rhythm: Bring popular music to your classroom.

4/6/2011

I have been using a youtube channel for at least four months and realized I never posted it on the blog. In fact I tagged it in delicious Dec of 2010. It is now it's own youtube channel: historyteachers. They have 52 videos on topics ranging from early world history (The Trojan War ("Tainted Love" by Soft Cell), but seem to focus on the late middle ages and Renaissance period of Europe. They have a few key outside topics, like Mansa Musa ("I'll Tumble 4 Ya" by Culture Club) or Chinese Dynasties ("Vogue" by Madonna) . Below is my students favorite one so far: Black Death ("Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani). Let me know what ones you use and how your students like them. Have fun....they will have you singing. Garth

17 Comments

Ashley UofA

4/10/2011 06:32:24 am

How cool!Great for visual learners and aural learners! The addition of music is so helpful for many students. Music makes tons of things more interesting and exciting! I could see how students could learn while enjoying and having fun with these.

Billy B

4/10/2011 02:09:20 pm

I know a lot of students find these interesting and helpful, but I think they would learn the content so much better if they were producing these types of videos themselves. (I think you showed us an example of a student's video in our technology class)

Erica link

4/13/2011 06:32:47 am

I think this is a cool idea for students. Kids are more likely to remember information if it is linked to something familiar, especially if it is something they like. I can remember learning the 50 states in alphabetical order in elementary school from some silly song we had to sing. How great would it have been to learn more useful information to something more familiar and catchy! Perhaps I would have remembered some history or more science if I had an easier way to remember it.

Amanda M (UofA)

4/13/2011 07:50:24 am

I still have this tune stuck in my head. What's even worse, I shared this with my class and pretty much everyday I hear them humming the lyrics. It's silly and puts a smile on my face to always know that my students know a little more about the bubonic plague just because of a youtube video

Lindsay M link

4/17/2011 11:26:19 pm

Garth, after you showed this to us in class I went to work and showed a few other teachers and they loved it! I am in fourth grade so these songs are a little too old for our learners but the 7th grade teacher loved it!!!!! In our class we do try to find songs or videos for math and the kids love it!!! We often find them singing the song when the topic is not even being covered! As the educator I find that this is a very useful way of getting through to learners! thanks for the great ideas!

Kirsty - UA

4/20/2011 02:56:25 am

I love it!! I would definitely be interested in incoporating music into my instruction like this... what better way to get on the same level as your students, and spark their interests! :)

T. Cordes (UA) link

4/26/2011 01:46:55 am

I really like this idea. Linking content to things such a songs really aids in learning for all students and especially includes those who are often forgotten -- those who learn musically. Love the Gwen Stefani parody! Hope I can find cool stuff like this for a Spanish class too.

Olivia Reiss

4/27/2011 07:30:13 am

I love these different Youtube videos. I wish there were ones for math! I told all my friends who are going to teach or are teaching History.

Joanna Yokum

4/27/2011 08:18:30 am

I had no idea this something like this was out there. I wish I knew about it when I was student teaching world history. I think students will really like watching these videos and maybe be inspired to make their own.

Keri

4/30/2011 01:09:23 am

Very interesting. Incorporating music in a History lesson, in my opinion, would make the lesson more interesting. Videos are great implementations for visual learners!

Shadia

5/4/2011 12:37:07 pm

This is so cool. I could not stop smiling the entire time I was watching the video. I love history and music, so I had to tag the website. I can honestly see myself using this in my history classroom.

Kersten

6/26/2011 10:49:58 am

I think this is a great way for students to express their knowledge of course material. It does not have to stop in the history classroom. One of my favorite youtube videos is of a Genetics rap out of the UK. It is technically correct from a science perspective and enjoyable to hear. I think making a reflective music peice is more inviting for many students and also nice to break up the monotony of grading a ton of written reports.

Meagan

7/5/2011 02:03:49 am

These videos are fantastic! I think students would love to do this! You could do this in any subject!

Nic Valentino

7/5/2011 02:08:34 am

This is really nice. It gets the message across in an entertaining way that will keep the kids' attention. I will definitely use these.

Brian Gehlbach

7/7/2011 02:58:44 am

I have always noticed how easily I can memorize a song I like and how difficult it can be to remember specific topics for a test. These videos are good for visual learners and can help the student get a better grasp on the subject.

Kristen

7/20/2011 09:28:15 pm

What an excellent way to reach more students. Videos and songs connect audio and visual learners. It's a great way to make what can be boring content more interesting and engaging.

Adam Nelson

10/4/2011 02:18:13 am

Very fun and entertaining as well as educational! the video fits perfectly into the idea of 'edu-tainment'. the students will be learning while they are simply listening to a song. Great idea and great youtube channel!

History class with Rhythm: Bring popular music to your classroom.

Leave a Reply.

Archives