Mini-Lessons with Mega-Information

If you're an English teacher or Media Specialist, you probably already know who John Green is. He's the edgy author of books (some of which have recently been adapted for the big screen) such as Paper Towns, The Fault in Our Stars, and Looking for Alaska. He has a loyal following of teen readers who will share their enthusiasm for his books, given the opportunity--and that is exactly how I fell in love with his stories and his writing style!

What I didn't know until recently, however, is that John Green and his brother host a series of educational videos on their Youtube Channel, Crash Course. Thanks to PBS Learning Media, I discovered this impressive collection of free, beautifully illustrated, and attention-grabbing videos, and they are some of the best resources out there, particularly for providing background knowledge on a topic. And John Green doesn't limit his videos to literature-related topics--although there are plenty of those, to be sure. I was impressed with the breadth of topics covered: world history, science, psychology--even human reproduction (which, to be honest, I would much rather let John Green explain to my students). 

I have several videos that would be perfect for my classroom. Yes, I have some literature-related videos selected (a crash course in Homer's The Odyssey), but I also have some other topics that have piqued my interest (a video on sleep and dreams will fit nicely with my Macbeth unit, especially when combined with a nonfiction text). If you haven't explored the Crash Course videos by John Green yet, what are you waiting for? Go find some multimedia sources to amp up your curriculum!