Let's be honest, in our quest to ditch the dull and ignite genuine learning, a killer video can feel like a total game-changer.
You know that moment when you hit "play" and suddenly those glazed-over eyes start to focus? That's the magic of a good video, right?
It's not just about passively watching; it's about sparking curiosity, dropping those "aha!" moments, and sometimes, let's face it, making those head-scratching concepts actually … make sense!
Teachflix (teachflix.org) is our free collection of hundreds of teacher-approved instructional videos.
They’re sorted by grade level and content area — and you can even do a keyword search.
(By the way, if you have videos — or even full playlists — of videos you love to use in class, would you share them so we can add them to Teachflix?)
You're probably thinking, "Okay, cool videos... but what do we do with them?"
I’m glad you asked …
We've grabbed ten of the most popular videos on Teachflix and paired them with some fun activity templates. Get ready to see those videos transform into truly interactive and engaging learning experiences. Let's dive in!
Australia: Destination World
Experience the only continent that’s an island on this episode of “Destination World.” Australia, also known as the Land Down Under, has some of the most unique wildlife in the world.
Activity: Create a Postcard
This postcard template lets students write about their experience on a virtual field trip. It's a great way for them to summarize and reflect what they've just seen!
Writing prompt: You woke up inside of a video game
You slowly wake up one morning and notice something strange. You are living inside of a video game. You reach for your face, thinking maybe it’s a VR headset. But it’s not. You are stuck. You look around to see if there’s an explanation. A note perhaps? But it turns out you must discover everything on your own.
Activity: Pixar story structure template
Lots of Pixar movies (and other movies, too) follow this structure. Anyone can use this story structure to effortlessly create a narrative. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
Empathy Chapter 3: Escaping the Maze
Mojo learns to manage his emotions by practicing empathy—putting himself in others' shoes—which helps him support a nervous friend during their school play. This shift in perspective allows him to stay calm, build trust, and turn a stressful moment into a successful team effort. Get the PDF discussion guide from Class Dojo.
Activity: Putting empathy into practice
Practice empathy by considering the feelings and thoughts of individuals in different scenarios and then determining an appropriate empathetic action.
Do you teach K-2?
Are you looking for videos and activities for younger learners?
Get our newest ebook Teaching with Teachflix Jr!
You'll find a variety of plug-and-play activities you can do with your students after watching the Teachflix Jr. video—some can be used with any Teachflix Jr video or even videos you find on YouTube or other platforms. Just enter your email below. You'll get the free ebook immediately and start receiving our What's New in K-2 email newsletter in the fall -- all packed full of teaching ideas!
Arnie the Doughnut
At first glance, Arnie looks like an average doughnut - round, cakey, iced and sprinkled, with a hole in the middle. He was made by one of the best bakeries in town, and admittedly his sprinkles are candy-colored. Still, a doughnut is just a doughnut, right?
WRONG! Not if Arnie has anything to say about it. And, for a doughnut, he sure seems to have an awful lot to say. Can Arnie change the fate of all doughnuts - or at least have a hand in his own future?
Activity: Book Review
Create a book review for Arnie the Doughnut after listening to the story. Get the PDF teacher's guide from Storyline Online.
Emotions
Get ready for all the feels with the latest episode of "StoryBots Super Songs." Help your students understand their emotions with songs about feeling happy, sad, silly and more!
Activity: Brainstorm managing emotions
After watching the emotions video help students identify ways to manage their own emotions with this Canva presentation.
3D Shapes
The Singing Walrus presents "3D Shapes Song" - an upbeat, funky music video that shows various three dimensional shapes. Join our characters as they learn 4 different 3D shapes - cube, cone, sphere, and cylinder. During each verse, a 3D object (dice, party hat, ball, soda can) is shown next to the 3D shape so that kids can see examples in everyday life.
Activity: Sorting shapes
3D shape sorting activity where students need to identify various objects and categorize them as cones, cylinders, cubes, spheres, or rectangular prisms. Print the PDF so that students can sort by cutting them out and placing them in the correct column on the following page. The digital game allows students to categorize the 3D shapes and get instant feedback on their answers.
Can you solve the bridge riddle?
Note: Stop the video at 2:00 minutes to figure out the riddle.
Taking that internship in a remote mountain lab might not have been the best idea. Pulling that lever with the skull symbol just to see what it did probably wasn’t so smart either. But now is not the time for regrets because you need to get away from these mutant zombies...fast. Can you use math to get you and your friends over the bridge before the zombies arrive?
Activity: Bridge riddle simulation game
Use math, strategy, and computational thinking to figure out the answer to this riddle. Test your answer playing this simulation game.
Area & Perimeter Flocabulary Rap
This outer space-themed video teaches the concepts of area and perimeter. Students learn how to calculate the area of rectangles by counting unit squares and the perimeter by adding side lengths, and then by using the formulas length x width and (2 x length) + (2 x width).
Activity: Write your own rap
Following their Flocabulary experience and subject learning, students can solidify their knowledge by synthesizing it into their own original rhymes. Visit the Flocabulary Write Your Own Rhymes page.
Can you spot fake news?
This video tests what students have learned by checking their ability to distinguish real news from fake. It includes such “news” as clickbait from ELLE magazine, Russia releasing lions into the streets, and the use of misleading images by news outlets. An essential resource to test what middle school students have gained from the rest of the series.
Activity: Can you spot fake news?
This worksheet, part of "The Digital Literacy Series: Fake News," from ClickView, prompts students to watch a video and answer questions designed to help them identify clues and understand the nature of fake news. It encourages critical thinking about online information and aims to develop skills in discerning truth from falsehood.
AI Unleashed: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence
AI is becoming more integrated into our lives at a lightning pace, but have you ever thought about its ethical dimensions? This video explores some of the ethical considerations surrounding AI, including privacy, bias, transparency, and accountability. Gain a deeper understanding of the potential ethical challenges and implications as we navigate the impact of AI in our society.
Activity: Ethical Dilemmas
"Ethical Dilemmas," guides students to explore real-world ethical concerns arising from AI technologies through group discussions of provided scenarios, encouraging them to identify dilemmas from multiple perspectives and consider broader implications.
