Blog The foundation students build in elementary school is critical to their success as lifelong learners. However, even for the most attentive student, these early spelling and grammar lessons can be a bit dry. Fun and engaging videos can help to liven up this important material. We’ve put together a few of our favorite clips to enhance your instruction on elementary level English and Language Arts.
1. Schoolhouse Rock: Conjunction Junction
This catchy classic will have students humming about grammar all week. If they can’t tell you the function of a conjunction after watching, we’ll be surprised.
2. Parks and Recreation: Homophones
During a town hall meeting, confusion arises over a misused homophone. This is a great clip to pause and let students identify the mistake and propose the solution!
3. Sesame Street: Opposite Stuff
This silly Sesame Street video will capture the attention of younger students and help them understand the concept of ‘opposites’.
4. Shrek: Ogres are like Onions
Shrek explains to Donkey how Ogres are similar to onions. This is a great example of a simile for a unit on figures of speech!
5. SpongeBob SquarePants: SpongeBob Writes an Essay
Show students you understand that starting an essay can be tough with this humorous clip from SpongeBob SquarePants. This video could be a great jumping off point to discuss some brainstorming techniques to combat writer’s block.
6. Akeelah and the Bee: Big Words and Little Words
Kick off a vocabulary unit with this primer on etymology! This clip shows that seemingly intimidating words can be broken down into smaller and more manageable parts.
7. The Electric Company: Quotations and Commas
This short clip can liven up a lesson on quotation marks and commas with a simple, straightforward presentation on how to use these punctuation marks.
8. Between the Lions: Q without U
Want to ensure students will remember the importance of pairing letters ‘Q’ and ‘U’? Full of helpful examples, this infectious song will help young spellers.
Have a favorite video you use in your classroom? Share it with us!