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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Not Schoolhouse Rock; But Even Cooler

I feel like once again I'm the last one to arrive at the party, but if you haven't seen videos by the History Teachers on YouTube, then you're in for a real treat. The History Teachers are two actual, live teachers from Hawaii who create parody videos about history and literature using popular music.

But Keith, my school blocks YouTube!

While I'm not advocating anything illegal, I do know that Zamzar allows you to save videos in several media formats. If that doesn't work for you, try Google for some alternatives, since I know methods do exist. But again, if it's illegal or against your school's policy, then I am not advocating it!

So have a look at just three of the dozens of clever videos they've created. While the History Teachers don't have a website (that I know of), you can friend them on Facebook to keep up to date with their latest creations.

The French Revolution ("Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga)



The Canterbury Tales ("California Dreamin" by the Mamas and the Papas)


The Odyssey ("Across the Universe" by the Beatles)

Sung from the point of view of Penelope, Telemachus, and Odysseus. Clips from the 1997 TV version with Armand Assante as Odysseus, Greta Scacchi as Penelope, and Alan Stenson as Telemachus. Vanessa Williams is Calypso and Bernadette Peters as Circe and Isabella Rossellini as Athena.


These videos would be a great introduction for many of the novels we teach, and might even inspire students to create their own songs. Extra credit, anyone?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh. My. GOSH...these are so cool. Thanks.

Keith Schoch said...

They are, right?

Deb, how come you and I are always the last ones to find out about this stuff?

Anonymous said...

Great way to combine historical information with popular music. Powerful teaching tool!!!

Unknown said...

Quite fun! Thanks for tweeting.

Melissa Taylor said...

wow, I'm thrilled to know about these - thanks!

Julie Niles Petersen said...

Well... I guess you're not the last one to the party after all. I only watched the first one, but it was awesome! Thanks for sharing.

Keith Schoch said...

I am finding that these are new to lots of folks, so glad I was able to share them!

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