Last week I shared a list of good sources for mathematics videos. That post was one of the most popular posts of the month despite being published during a school vacation week. Seeing the results of that list has prompted me to share lists for other subject areas. Here is my list of good video sources for social studies teachers and students.
The first source that came to mind when I started to think about this list is Keith Hughes’s Hip Hughes History videos. Because of his quality work Keith was recognized as a YouTube EDU Guru last fall. Hip Hughes History is a series of short, upbeat lectures on topics in US History and World History. The videos are produced by Keith Hughes, a high school history teacher in Buffalo, New York. Keith has produced more than 200 videos. His section on US History for Dummies is a must-bookmark.
Tom Richey‘s videos on topics in U.S. and European history are designed for students preparing for the advanced placement tests on those subjects. Tom’s videos have a slightly different, yet equally good presentation for students. I’ve embedded a couple of his videos below. You can find all of Tom Richey’s A.P. U.S. History and A.P. European history videos here. Make sure that you also check out Tom’s PowerPoint files that are used in many of his videos.
Dan Izzo has uploaded more than 3,000 videos to his YouTube channel. I’ve featured a bunch of the videos from this channel in the
past. On this channel you will find a lot of short (2-5 minute) US
History and World History videos. Most of the history videos on this
channel are overviews of eras or major topics in history. The channel
does not have much organization and videos on topics outside of history
are mixed-in so you will have to use the search function to find gems
that you can use.
PBS Video is my favorite place to find high quality documentaries. As a
teacher of U.S. History I’m partial to the American Experience videos,
but there are many other good programs available through PBS Video. Most of the videos
on PBS Video can be embedded into your blog or website.
Crash Course offers excellent videos on U.S. History and World History. The videos are fast-paced
ten to twelve minute overviews of major concepts and themes. One of World History videos that I’ve featured before is The Dark Ages… How Dark Were They, Really?
On Timelines.tv you can find six timelines of important eras in U.S. and
European history. Each timeline includes short (3-10 minute) videos
about people and events in the era. The timelines also include pictures
and short text descriptions. The six timelines currently available are A
History of Britain, The American West, Medicine Through Time, American
Voices, The Edwardians, and Nazi Germany. More timelines appear to
planned for publication in the future.
Gooru
is a service that aims to provide
teachers and students with an extensive collection of videos,
interactive displays, documents, diagrams, and quizzes for learning
about topics in math, social studies, and science. As a Gooru member you
have access to hundreds of resources according to subject areas such as
social studies, chemistry, biology, ecology, algebra, calculus, and more. Within each
subject area you can look for resources according to media type such as
video, interactive display, slides, text, and lesson plans. When you
find resources that you want to use, drag them to the resources folder
within your account. Gooru also offers you the option to add resources
to your folders even if you did not find them within Gooru.
C.G.P. Grey produces all kinds of interesting and educational videos. Some of the videos are a bit too cheeky for some classrooms, but most of them are acceptable for classroom use. Some of the recent videos on the channel are Vatican City Explained and Can Texas Secede from the Union?
The U.S. National Archives YouTube channel offers a mixed bag of videos that include everything from old propaganda films like this one to lectures from historians to short lessons about items in the National Archives.
The Smithsonian has many channels on YouTube. The one that I want to highlight is the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History YouTube channel. Here you will find playlists about the museum, its exhibits, and short lessons based on the work of the museum.
