Top 5 Benefits of Video Lessons for High School Science Classes
Have you tried video lessons in your high school class?
I can’t tell you how many times they’ve saved the day for me. I remember days when my son or myself was sick, and I had to stay home at the last minute. I pulled together a video lesson, and my students didn’t miss a beat in content while I was out.
Movie days can be powerful and offer more than just a “filler” assignment for days you can barely human.
Turn any movie into an opportunity for learning. For example, show The Lorax for Earth Day and provide students with a project that enables them to connect real-world issues and concerns to a beloved childhood favorite. Fun and learning combined, those lessons really stick.
What is a video lesson?
Video lessons are versatile, effective, and self-paced teaching tools supplement traditional classroom learning. Students can pause, rewind, and replay video lessons, allowing them to learn at their own pace and review material as needed. Worksheets are provided to guide students through essential concepts and terms from the video as they watch.
Video lessons can be completed from any location with an internet connection, making them accessible to students who may not have access to traditional classroom resources.
When should video lessons be assigned?
Any time! It's truly as versatile as it gets. What’s great about video lessons is that you can assign them in person or remotely for online learning. You can implement video lessons in your science class regardless of your online learning platform. Video lessons can bring real-world examples, large-scale experiments, and other experiences that are challenging to create in the classroom setting to life for your students.
Here’s when I typically assign video lessons:
pre-lab assignment to build background knowledge
preview or lesson
study guide or review for assessment; connect video lessons with the super accessible and highly interactive Boom Cards and you just knocked your review out of the park!
intervention for those who need a little assistance
opportunity to deepen knowledge and elaborate on a topic, such as the history and science involved in Thanksgiving traditions
incorporate a unique or mind-bended concept into the lesson
Why should you use video lessons?
Multi-sensory Learning
Video lessons incorporate visuals, audio, and sometimes interactive pieces, appealing to many different learning styles and enhancing student understanding of the often complex concepts presented in high school science lessons. For example, I use Doodle Notes with my students and have small versions of video lessons built into some of them.
Real-world Examples
Videos can show experiments and demonstrations that are often too complex, large, or out of reach for high school science classes, allowing students to see scientific principles in action and connect with lesson concepts in ways that support learning. For my students, studying blackbody radiation and light energy is not tangible in the classroom setting, but with video lessons, I can bring these abstract concepts to life! Or I could use video lessons to enlighten students on why the metric system is so important in scientific measurement. We wouldn’t want to crash Mars landers because of measurement mix-ups, would we?
Global Accessibility
As stated before, video lessons can be a flexible teaching tool, accessible from any location with an internet connection, and even support learning to students who may not have access to traditional classroom resources. Provide students with a shortened URL link and/or QR code they could scan, and you just gave them access to information to help improve their learning from anywhere! Yep, even when they go on family vacations during the school year.
Enhanced Learning
The visuals and narration provided in video lessons can improve retention by reinforcing concepts through multiple channels. I, for one, am an auditory learner, and when the narration is combined with captivating images. I’m hooked! The content sticks for me. Our students are growing up in an online world full of videos, reels, and shorts. Video lessons are exactly what our students need to help improve their understanding.
Sparks curiosity
Video lessons with dynamic content can spark curiosity, stimulate critical thinking, and motivate students to explore and learn more about science beyond the classroom. Videos can present complex scientific concepts visually, making them more engaging and easier to understand than traditional text-based explanations. For over a decade, I’ve been using video lessons to reinforce and review lab safety rules with my upper-level science students.
“…and my students didn’t miss a beat in content while I was out…”
How can you get started with Video Lessons in your class?
Easy! Hop on over to YouTube and start searching for your subject. Watch some videos to preview the quality and content. Here are some things to consider:
if not a cinematic movie, the video length should be under 20 minutes…even that may be too long
subscribers and views; this will most likely mean that the channel isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so the videos will be accessible for years to come
pace of the narrator; sounds silly, but it matters, and you’ll notice students set the video to double speed if the narration is too “slow” for their liking
I am not affiliated with any of these channels, I love what they offer my students.
Some of my go-to channels for the upper-level science video lessons are:
Where can I find ready-made video lessons?
You can head to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and shop for ANY of my physics lessons. Most of them include some form of print-and-go video lesson.
Be sure to follow my store for access to new resources, weekly TpT newsletters full of useful tips and tricks from my Coffee Break Academy series, and discounted products in my Weekly Wows.
That’s right—I choose a few of my top-selling resources each week and mark them down 20%!
Leave a comment below and let me know your experience with video lessons and if you found this post helpful for your own class.
