On this page you will find a collection of our favourite YouTube videos that can be used as part of a flipped classroom. Most of these videos can be found on the 'YouTube Educators' page. We've singled out these videos because they make for fascinating viewing. We guarantee you and your students will love them. If you plan to use these videos in the classroom remember to . . .
- Make sure you preview every video before you show your students.
- The vast majority of these videos are appropriate for students.
- A couple of videos deals with more teenager/adult content.
- Beware of inappropriate pop-ups and advertisements.
- Close down the video five seconds before finishing to prevent other potentially inappropriate recommendations populating the screen.
Click on the titles in bold to access the content. Mobile friendly webpage, best viewed on a computer screen or tablet device.
New YouTube videos added on the 30th of August 2015.
SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS & DEMONSTRATIONS
- Does fast food grow mould? - it does grow mould, doesn't it?
- What happens when you put a cheeseburger in hydrochloric acid? - at last we finally know!
- A really large dry ice bubble! - teach kids about carbon dioxide.
- Lots of dry ice bubbles! - teach kids about carbon dioxide.
- Crazy foam experiment! - you need to get additional clearance before demonstrating this in a school.
- Make your own PH level indicator with red cabbage! - help your students better understand acids and bases.
- Spinning Top in a Vacuum Chamber - see how long a top will spin inside a vacuum chamber.
- See a can implode! - a simple experiment to demonstrate the power of a vacuum.
- See a 55 gallon steel drum implode! - taking the experiment above to the next level.
- Can a plastic water bottle start a fire? - yes, yes it can.
- What happens to a coke can in liquid nitrogen? - get your students curious about liquid nitrogen.
Earth & Space Sciences (Stars)
- Star Size Comparison - the size of some stars are simply enormous!
- Riding Light - see how fast light travels in real time. Absolutely amazing to watch!
Earth & Space Sciences (International Space Station)
- Floating space nuts!
- Sleeping in space! - a very interesting video. It will certainly surprise you!
- Wringing out a wet towel in space! - the results will surprise you and your students!
- How do you wash your hair in space? - a great video to engage the girls in your class.
- How do you brush your teeth in space? - once again, the results will surprise you.
- How much exercise do astronauts do in space? - they certainly do need a lot!
- What do astronauts eat? - Do they still eat out of tubes?
- Tears in space! - they certainly don't fall like they normally do.
- Space toilet! - this will probably be the first thing children ask about when learning about the international space station.
Earth & Space Sciences (Black Holes)
- Travel INSIDE a black hole! - a great video about black holes. Primary school students might not understand everything so fast forward to the parts that they will.
- Black Hole Comparison - an EXCELLENT video but contains the word 'holy crap' at the end.
Earth & Space Sciences (Asteroids)
- Large Asteroid Impact Simulation - what would happen if the Earth was hit by an enormous Asteroid?
Atomic Bonding (Chemical Science)
- Metallic bonding and metallic properties - why do metals bond together like they do?
- Polar Covalent, Nonpolar Covalent & Ionic Bonds - a great explanation of the three types of bonding that occurs between atoms.
- Perfect Salt Cubes (Ionic Bonds) - see an example of ionic bonding with these near perfect salt cubes.
Earth's Atmosphere (Physical & Chemical Sciences)
- Incredible Time-Lapse of the Northern Lights - an absolutely mesmerising video of the North lights over Alaska.
Earth's Core (Space & Earth Sciences)
- The Deepest Hole in the World - learn about the Kola Superdeep Borehole. It reached a depth of 12km deep!
- The Core of the Earth | 100 Greatest Discoveries - Bill Bye explains the discovery of the Earth's core and why its important to our survival on Earth.
Electricity (Physical Sciences)
- Energy 101: Electricity Generation - an engaging, informative and entertaining explanation of how electricity is generated and distributed to your house.
- Energy 101: Solar Power - a great explanation of the two forms of solar power. Also good for showing an example of renewable energy.
- World's First Electric Generator by Veritasium - Derek explains how the world's first electric generator was discovered using a cooper pipe and a magnet.
- Levitating Barbecue! Electromagnetic Induction by Veritasium
- What's In A Candle Flame by Veritasium
- What are VOLTs, OHMs & AMPs? - an informative lecture about volts, ohms and amps.
- AC and DC electrical currents - a great explanation of the differences between AC and DC currents.
Ferromagnetism (Physical Sciences)
- MAGNETS: How do they work? by MinutePhysics & Veritasium - one of the best explanations of how magnets work.
- How Special Relativity Makes Magnets Work by MinutePhysics & Veritasium
- Neodymium Magnet Experiment by Sixty Symbols - your students will love this video. Neodymium magnets are one of the strongest magnets ever created.
- Monster magnet meets computer - watch what happens when a 6 inch neodymium magnet meets a PDA, fatback TV and a personal computer.
- How dangerous are magnetic things near an MRI magnet? - watch scientists throw metallic objects into a de-commissioned MRI machine. Video does contain swearing (towards the end) so mute it before showing students.
Gravity (Physical Sciences)
- Bowling Ball & Feather Experiment - watch a bowling ball and a feather fall at the same time.
Hydrophobic Materials (Chemical Sciences)
- Superhydrophobic Coating Repels Almost Any Liquid - Ultratech demonstrates their hydrophobic coating on a variety of surfaces.
- Cutting a Water Droplet Using a Superhydrophobic Knife - pretty self explanatory. A shot video but a good one.
Periodic Table (Chemical Sciences)
- Brainiac Alkali Metals (they go BOOM with water) - an excellent video demonstrating the properties of alkali metals and how they react with water to produce hydrogen gas.
- The Periodic Table: Crash Course Chemistry #4 - a video about how Dmitri Mendeleev created the periodic table.
- A Tour of the Periodic Table - a tour of the periodic table by Bozeman Science.
Radiation & Radioactive Atoms (Chemical & Physical Sciences)
- The Most Radioactive Places on Earth - Derek from Veritasium visits the some of the most radioactive places on Earth. One of the best science videos I've even seen.
- Radiation vs Radioactive Atoms - a lot of people mix up these two concepts. Learn the difference between the two by watching this video.
- Types of Radiation - learn about the three different types of radiation: alpha, beta and gamma.
- Uranium emits radiation inside a cloud chamber - in this demonstration you can actually see radiation move through the cloud.
Sound (Physical Sciences)
- What Does Sound Look Like? - in this video you can actually see air move!
- Grammar's great divide: The Oxford comma. - where do you stand on the divide?
- 'Preposition' by the Bazillions - prepositions are all about positions.
- English is Crazy by ASAP Thought - learn about some of the exceptions through a great rhyme.
- Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic - I wouldn't show this one to any primary school students. Very clever and well written however there is a lot of sexual innuendo contained within these creative lyrics. English teachers will wet themselves laughing with this one.
Literary Devices & Figurative Language
- 'Similes and metaphors' by the Bazillions - learning the difference can be tricky. This song makes it sound so easy.
- 'Onomatopoeia' by Mindy Bauer - BOOM, BANG, CRASH!
- 'Extreme Alliteration' from V for Vendetta - an excellent, entertaining & engaging example of alliteration.
- 'Personification Song' by Melissa - some examples of personification.
- An example of personification from Beauty & the Beast - be our guest and watch this video.
- Examples of Hyperboles - this is quite literally the best video ever created!
- 42 Idiom Origins by Mental Floss - where does the origins of 'to flog a dead horse' come from?
- WalDorf Math Lesson: Circle Multiplication Table - see how WalDorf Circles teaches students their multiplication tables.
- How to Multiply - check out this Japanese multiplication trick.
- Lattice Method of Multiplication - this would have to be my preferred method of multiplication. Well worth teaching to your students.
Geometry & Measurement
- Pythagorean theorem water demo - help your students understand the pythagorus formulae with this water wheel demonstration.
- Unit Circle and Sine Wave - an animation showing the relationship between the circle and a wave.
- Triangular Triangles by the Bazillions - a fantastic explanation of the three types of triangles: scalene, isosceles and equilateral.
- Perimeter Around The Area by the Bazillions - help your students remember the difference between perimeter and area with this song.
- Pi, where does it come from? - a great explanation of the origins of Pi. Recommended for upper primary school students.
- Area of a circle and how to get the formula - an excellent explanation of the formula for the area of a circle.
DRAMATIC ARTS VIDEOS
Famous Comedic Scenes & Skits
- Monty Python - Four Yorkshiremen - but you know, we where happy in those days!
- The Three Stooges pull a tooth out - a black & white about the three stooges.
- Charlie Chaplin - The Lion's Cage - one of Charlie Chaplin's most famous sciences.
- Charlie Chaplin - Eating Machine - another great scene from Charlie Chaplin.
Famous Scenes/Lines in Movies
- Gone With the Wind - Frankly My Dear
- Spartacus - I'm Spartacus!
- Princess Bride - Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya
Famous Theatric Scenes
- Major General The Pirates of Penzance (Subtitles) - amaze your students with this rendition of 'Modern Major General'.
- Pirate King - The Pirates of Penzance (Subtitles) - another great scene from the Pirates of Penzance.
- I've Got a Little List - The Mikado (mature content) - probably wouldn't show any primary school students this clip. A few too many mature references but hilarious none the less.
- Charlie Chaplin - Final Speech in the Great Dictator - a moving speech.
- Dead Poets Society - O'Captain My Captain - the classic ending scene from Dead Poets Society.
SOCIETY & ENVIRONMENT/HASS VIDEOS
- The Plants & The Bees: Plant Reproduction - sections of this video are great for teaching about plant reproduction.
- How does wheat get turned into flour? - a great video showing how wheat is farmed, harvested and milled into flour. Excellent for also showing how a modern flour mill works.
- Pear flower to fruit swelling time lapse - did you know that fruit is really just the ripened ovary of a plant?
- Time lapse Dandelion flower to seed head - a great video for showing students the reproductive cycle of plants.
- Cordyceps: the zombie ant Fungus! - yes this is real and no it is not the Walking Dead.
- Fungi: Crash Course Biology #39 - sections of this video are great for teaching about Fungi.
- Rotting Watermelon Decomposition Timelapse - gross, so very gross but awesome!
- What is a fungus? - Naked Science Scrapbook - learning about fungi 101. A great explanation from the Naked Science Scrapbook.
- Fly agaric Amanita muscaria fungi growling time lapse - show students how Fungi grow.
- What is the biggest organism on the Earth? - the result will surprise you!
- An epic struggle between prey and predators . . . with a happy ending! - imagine actually seeing this whilst on Safari!
- The effect of snake venom on human blood! - once again, the results will surprise you!
- World's Weirdest - Blood Squirting Lizards (NatGeo) - an extraordinary lizard with an extraordinary survival mechanism.
- What happens when you pour concrete down an ant hole? - who knew just how MASSIVE and complex an ant colony could be?
- Monarch butterfly emerging time lapse - great for showing the life cycle of a butterfly.
- Hornet cooked by bees - watch these Japanese honey bees 'cook' a giant hornet. Skip to 0:23 to miss the inbuilt ad.
- Clam Licks Salt on a Table - see clam lick salt off a table.
- Praying Mantis Eats Fly Alive - this video explains itself.
- My Biggest Insecurity: Loose Skin - a remarkable transformation despite the loose skin (recommended for upper primary).
- 16 Year Old Incredible Body Transformation! - a year of calisthenics can make a huge difference.
Drugs & Lifestyle Consequences
- Probably the best anti smoking advertisement ever created! - how would you feel if a child came up to you and asked for a cigarette?
- The effect of excessive alcohol consumption on the liver! - pretty confronting footage of a liver ravaged by alcohol.
- The lungs of a smoker compared to the lungs of a non-smoker! - incredible footage of how lung capacity is affected by smoking.
- The effect of one cigarette. - a science experiment showing how much gunk is left behind after one cigarette.
- How the sun sees you - a great video about the effects of ultraviolet radiation on human skin and how sunscreen can protect it.
- Cocaine ravaged heart - long term cocaine use caused this addict's heart to become three times larger than a normal heart.
Exercise Related Videos
- How to Start Working Out (Calisthenics) - a video brought to you by the Bar Brothers DK. A great introduction to getting started with Calisthenics.
Relationships & Sexuality
- Megan's Story. A cautionary tale about 'sexting'. - this video will leave you with an awful feeling in your stomach.
- Inside puberty - Wellcast do great health based videos on puberty and sex.
- What is puberty? Decoding puberty in girls - Wellcast do great health based videos on puberty and sex.
- All about boys' puberty - Wellcast do great health based videos on puberty and sex.
- 120mph Mega Crash - an important video to show students about head on collisions.
VIDEOS FOR TEACHERS
- What is dyslexia? A great video for teachers! - dyslexia is more than just mixing up d and b.
- Sir Ken Robinson Changing Education Paradigms - a thought provoking video about education.
- Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
- Digital Aristotle: Thoughts on the Future of Education - will technology replace teachers?
- Evolution (Bill Nye) vs Creationism (Ken Ham) - a must a see video for any science teacher.
- The History of English in 10 Minutes (mature content) - a very humorous take on how the English language has evolved over time.
- What Teachers Make - a viral video for teachers.
- What Have The Unions Ever Done For Us? (mature content) - a humorous skit based off a scene from Monty Python's 'The Life of Brian'.
VIDEOS KIDS WILL LOVE
Reward your students with an interesting video. These videos are appropriate but remember to preview them yourself! Don't rely on my word. Remember, trust but verify!
Songs & Dancing
- Robot Quadrotors Perform James Bond Theme.
- OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine
- OK Go - Needing/Getting - Official Video
- Ok Go - Here It Goes Again
- Ok Go - The Writing's On the Wall
- Evolution of Dance
- Zorba the Greek Yolngu Style
CFA (Cool/Funny/Awesome) Videos