Video Resources For Teachers

The Age of the Digital Learner:

Most of the students sitting in the classroom are no longer traditional book learners. Ask most any teacher! They know. How do they know? They will tell you they have many more ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) students than ever before. But they also know these ADD students can sit for 10 hours playing HALO or texting friends or watching YouTube videos or - more likely - doing all of the above at the same time. We do not have an epidemic of ADD students; we have an epidemic of students who learn differently than they are being taught.

These students are truly 'video' learners at home. So, how can we expect them to do all of their learning from a book? We can't — at least if we want them to be engaged and to understand. They will simply drop out of school mentally at an early age and drop out physically when they turn 16.

KNPB and PBS offer a wide variety of video resources for you to use in your classroom or for you to use as outside resources. Explore them with us...

Ken Burns' The Civil War:

As we approach the 150th anniversary of the War Between the States, it is a good time to revisit the definitive video examination of the war, the Ken Burn's series The Civil War.  The series is scheduled to be reprised on KNPB, Sunday, April 3 – Thursday, April 7.  To learn more about the series and to get teacher resources, visit the The Civil War website at pbs.org/civilwar.

View a sample lesson: "Colonel Shaw Lesson." Also, you can review the complete lanuage of the letter: "Colonel Shaw Letter."

In addition, you can download the episodes of The Civil War at any time by going to iTunes.

History Detectives:

At a time in education where history is being downgraded, we all need some way to make history come alive. These videos can spark the desire in your students to learn about history that is personal to them. But, more importantly, they will learn how to research history, determine myth from fact, and learn how history has affected their own lives. By looking at family stories and mementos (artifacts), History Detectives makes family history, local history, national history, and global history intersect and come alive.

  1. Watch a few segments of History Detectives on KNPB at watch.knpb.org or on iTunes.
  2. Choose a favorite episode or two and play them for your students.
  3. Have them talk to their family about an artifact or a story they may have.
  4. Have the students embark on a journey of discovery to see if they can or can not substantiate the family story.
  5. Present the final product including: the family story, the historical research, the impact the artifact or story has had on their lives, and the journey they took to validate the family story.


Weekly drawing for an iTunes Card:

Fill in the widget below for a chance to win a $10 iTunes card to purchase some of those great PBS video resources. Please, one entry per week only.