5 Tips for Watching Video in the Classroom

Best Practices for Viewing Classroom Champions Videos in School with Students

Video in the Classroom

While not new, video viewing is a powerful teaching tool and can be a key part of students’ learning experiences when done thoughtfully. However, nowadays, kids consume a LOT of media …

So, like any healthy diet, we want to make sure that classroom content is meaningful and inspiring. We want kids to be active viewers — not passive. Ideally, the videos we share will emphasize and underscore key concepts by presenting content in a way that is additive. Sometimes it can be through the rich mix of multimedia that is appealing to various learning styles. Or perhaps, it is via the various perspectives and opinions shared in a piece. Regardless, viewers should be more deeply engaged, primed to ask questions, and eager to share their personal insights and thoughts post-viewing.

Dim the lights and say ACTION!

So now it’s the time of year to start watching your Classroom Champions SEL Foundation Curriculum videos. Each of our 8 units includes a core video with an athlete mentor — your teaching partner — sharing his or her personal story related to the unit’s SEL (social and emotional learning) theme.

Find out more about the Scope & Sequence for K-2, 3–5, and 6–8.

What are some best practices for sharing these core Lesson Videos with your students (or any videos for that matter)? Here are five turnkey tips:

Tip #1: Introduce the video

As an anticipatory set or to engage prior knowledge, start with a mini reveal of who the featured athlete mentor is in this unit before viewing the video. Create a bulletin board or play a quick round of Guess Who? to build anticipation. Then, dive into the athlete mentor’s background to share not only what sport they play, but to engage the students in the athlete’s professional journey and their personal story.

• Find a guide for revealing athlete mentors within the Community’s Additional Resources space build anticipation today!
• Log in and visit the Athletes page on your teacher dashboard to find each mentor’s Athlete Kit that include grade-appropriate research prompts.

Check out the Athletes oage on the new dashboard! If you’re not a subscriber, you can still see the diverse cohorts of volunteers at www.classroomchampions.org/athletes.

Tip #2: Host a first viewing

Go for gold and watch the Lesson Video once through without stopping, just for the sheer pleasure of hearing the athlete mentor’s story from beginning to end. At the end of the viewing experience, take time to discuss the piece as a whole. In addition to the lesson’s discussion questions, you may want to ask:

a) What stood out to you from this mentor’s story?

b) What is one new piece of information you learned?

c) How would you describe this video to a friend who may want to watch it?

Tip #3: View again with pauses

Watch the Lesson Video a second time with planned stops. Remember to review the video in advance to make note of when you want to pause it. You may want to pause for discussion and/or ask questions when the athlete mentor shares:

a) New vocabulary

b) A conflict or struggle is introduced

c) When a resolution is shared

d) When a challenge is given

Each of the 8 units includes activities that weave the video’s learning objectives throughout the lessons.

Tip #4: Dive deeper

Start a discussion with students about the athlete mentor’s personal story. Pose questions that will encourage the students to reflect and make connections to their own lives now and for the future. You can ask questions like:

a) What was their story about?

b) What were their obstacles?

c) What did the athlete mentor learn from their experience?

d) What can you, as Classroom Champs, take away from their story?

e) What advice would you give the athlete mentor based on their story?

Visit teach.classroomchampions.org to find your Week One lesson plan for Goal Setting.

Tip #5: Kick off the monthly challenge

You’ve been challenged! Each Lesson Video ends with a monthly challenge from an athlete mentor. Now you can invite your students to a good ol’ brainstorm to decide how to complete the challenge by applying the learnings from the video. Take a project-based learning approach to explore the challenge with your students:

a) What can they do as a class to complete the challenge?

b) What can they do individually or what role can they take on to help complete the challenge?

c) What timeline do they want to stick to and what resources might they need?

d) How do they want to celebrate when they finish the challenge?

Ask students to illustrate their goals like Terri Downing’s Grade 4 class in Asheville, North Carolina

Planning Ahead

Videos can be used within a classroom lesson or as an extended learning activity at home. Repeat viewing is helpful, but do give students a purpose for each time they watch. Consider best practices like showing students how to turn on closed captioning or using it as subtitles to aid in language learning. You may want to sign up for Flipgrid for some flipped learning or true collaborative learning. Whether short, like our popular Mindful Minute Videos, or longer, like our Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style Interactive Videos that depend on students making in-video decisions to drive the story forward, videos can be an appealing learning tool for students of all ages.

And don’t forget …

If you are in the Classroom Champions Mentorship+ program, go to your teacher dashboard as we’ve released the first two videos, Welcome to Our Journey and Goal Setting, from your dedicated yearlong athlete mentor! these videos are in addition to the core lesson videos. Also, keep an eye out for personal updates in your private mentor space in the Community throughout the month.

Interested in upgrading to a Mentorship+ program and getting your own dedicated athlete mentor for the entire year? Reach out to thecommunity@classroomchampions.org today!