Video in the Classroom

I think that video has a lot of value in the classroom.  It is a visual way for students to learn about many different subjects.  As we have learned in many of our methods classes, no student learns the same way.  Some are visual learners, while others learn through audio and still others learn kinesthetically or tacitly.  Video is a good source of information for visual and audio learners.  Watching a video is also much more fun and interesting than reading about a topic in a textbook.  Teachers can introduce video clips into their lessons on any subject.   For example, during a science lesson the teacher could have the students watch and Magic School Bus or Bill Nye video.  These are two examples of fun ways to learn about science.  There are also many historical videos that could be introduced.  Watching one of these videos, I believe would be much more interesting than reading about it in a textbook or listening to the teacher lecture about the topic.  Also, a video could be used to introduce a lesson.  For example, after watching a Magic School Bus video on a topic such as electricity or plants, the students could then conduct their own experiment.  This would be a good hands-on approach for the students to learn more about the subject.  And because they have already watched the video they will already have the background knowledge.  This is also a helpful way to get kinesthetic and tactile learners involved. 

This is one example as to how I would incorporate video into my curriculum. One specific example I would incorporate is watching the Magic School Bus Gets Planted and then have the students do an experiment to determine how plants get food.  

In this video Phoebe tries to grow a vine for the school play, 'Jack and the Beanstalk,' but her plant is more like a beansprout than a beanstalk! With the opening curtain of the play only minutes away, Ms. Frizzle turns Phoebe into a real plant. But Phoebe finds she doesn't know how to grow. With time running out, the bus and kids shrink and travel into a nearby plant to do research. They discover that its leaves are its own private food factory. With this information, the kids rush back to help Phoebe grow into the star of the show!

Experiment:

The students will be broken up into small groups of 2-4 students.  Each group will need:

• Sunny window
• Water
• 2 lima bean seeds
• Soil
• Plastic cup (punch hole in bottom)
• Saucer
• Lidded box
• Cardboard for dividers
• Tape
• Scissors
• Ruler

The class and I will then talk about how plants get food and what they need to grow. I would ask: Where do you get energy to grow, run, live? (food) Where do plants get energy? (also from food) Where do plats get food? (They make it from air, water, sunlight.) What would you do to get food if you were hungry? What might a plant do? 

The groups will then perform the experiment by following the steps listed below, with my assistance: 

1. To speed sprouting, soak seeds in water overnight. 
2. Help kids plant seeds at a depth about twice the length of the seed. Water well. (If both seeds sprout, pinch one out.) 
3. Build a maze in the lidded box by using cardboard for the dividers. Cut a hole at the top end of the box.
4. Discuss experiment controls. Ask: What should we do to compare how plants grow in a maze with how plants grow outside a maze? (Grow control plant outside maze.) Plant and water seeds for the control.
5. Put the mazes and control plant in a sunny window. Open the mazes only briefly every few days to observe and water.

After the students have completed this experiment, observed and discussed, the class can discuss what makes plants green: Plants make food in chloroplasts, tiny green organs mostly in leaves. What happens to chloroplasts kept in the dark?  The students can sandwich a leaf of a hardy plant like philodendron or geranium with black paper taped together. Remove paper after a week. What has happened? (The green pigment is gone.)

I would then discuss what the class observed.  The outcome of this experiment should be that the students have learned that plants need air, water and sunlight in order to grow.  Sunlight is also what makes plants green.  Without it there is no green pigment.  

Some challenges that I might encounter in this project are problems with plants not growing.  If the plants do not grow, the students will not be able to observe properly.  This is likely problem because not all plants will grow the same.  (Some may grow at a faster rate).  I believe, however, that this is a good experiment to involve all students.  The students will get to plant their own plants, watch them grow and observe what they have seen.  I will discuss the outcome with all of my students at the end of the experiment to make sure that all of them are involved and understand.  That way there is not one student in the group doing all of the work.  


This activity, I believe, will peak the interest of most students and be a fun, hands-on way for students to learn about plants.  The use of video in this lesson will help enhance the students learning and give them background knowledge on the concept we will be studying.  


I believe that video is a helpful tool in the classroom.  It should not be used just as a time filler or strictly to teach a lesson, but should be used along with a planned lesson to help the students better understand the topic and make learning more fun.

This lesson plan idea came from Scholastic Teachers:  http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=1659