Simple Solutions to Revitalize Your Classroom: Activity Videos

Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs, but let’s be honest, it’s not without its challenges. Balancing a packed curriculum with hands-on learning, managing large class sizes, and dealing with limited resources can be hard. Add in the pressure to make lessons engaging and interactive.

Every teacher could use a little extra help.

An effective tool to ease these challenges: activity videos for classroom.

These short, engaging clips can bring hands-on learning into your classroom without requiring extensive prep time, extra resources, or complicated setups.

Here’s how you can tackle common classroom struggles using activity videos, complete with practical examples you can implement right away!

Let’s look at some common problems faced by teachers while conducting classroom activities:

Time Constraints

Teachers often have tight schedules with set curricula, leaving little time for hands-on activities.

Resource Availability

Many activities require specific materials or tools that may not be readily available or affordable in every school. Some classrooms may not have enough space to conduct activities that require movement or setup.

Class Size

Managing a large number of students during hands-on or interactive activities can be chaotic and challenging. In large classes, it is difficult for the teacher to provide personalized guidance to each student during activities.

Assessment and Evaluation

Assessing how much students have learned from activities can be harder than evaluating traditional teaching methods like lectures or tests. Teachers may struggle to align fun, hands-on activities with learning objectives or formal assessments.

Technological Challenges

Not all classrooms have access to the latest technology or tools that can enhance learning activities.

Preparation Time

Hands-on activities often require extensive planning, setup, and preparation, which can be time-consuming for teachers.

How can Activity Videos for Classroom help you as a Teacher?

These videos can really make a difference in your classroom. They’re fun and engaging, which helps grab students’ attention while breaking down tough concepts into easy-to-understand visuals. These videos cater to different learning styles, so every student can get something out of them.

Plus, they save teachers a lot of time since there’s no need for extensive prep or materials. You can quickly fit them into your busy schedule, making lessons more spontaneous and exciting. By using activity videos for classroom learning, you can create a lively learning environment that sparks curiosity and keeps kids enthusiastic about learning!

Below are some examples of activity videos that can make your work easy in the classroom:

Tangram – Seven Pieces Many Faces

• Description: This activity involves using a set of seven geometric shapes, or “tangrams,” to form various images. It’s a puzzle that requires logical thinking and spatial awareness.
• Why It Works:

• • Minimal Preparation: All that’s needed is a printed or hand-drawn tangram set, which can easily be prepared ahead of time or projected onto a screen.

• • Time-Saving: The activity is quick, and teachers can introduce it as a warm-up or filler task.

• • Scalable for Large Classes: Tangrams can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups, making it a flexible activity for any class size.

• • Assessment: Teachers can quickly gauge students’ understanding of geometric concepts by observing their solutions.

Matchstick Puzzles

• Description: Students are presented with puzzles where they need to rearrange matchsticks to solve a mathematical or visual problem.
• Why It Works:

• • Adaptable to Class Size: Matchstick puzzles can be displayed on a whiteboard for the whole class or given out individually, ensuring everyone participates.

• • Quick Setup: The materials are simple—just matchsticks or even drawn lines on paper. No need for elaborate resources.

• • Effective for Quick Breaks: These puzzles don’t take long to solve, making them perfect for short breaks in between more intensive lessons.

• • Assessment: The puzzles can be connected to math objectives (like addition, subtraction, and geometry), and students can be quickly assessed by the number of correct solutions they offer.

Levitating Candle

• Description: In this activity, students observe the surprising behavior of a candle flame that appears to “levitate” using simple physics principles.
• Why It Works:

• • Low Tech, High Engagement: It doesn’t rely on fancy technology—just a candle and lighter—yet it creates a magical experience for students.

• • Minimal Resources: Most classrooms will have access to the few materials required (a candle, lighter, and glass).

• • Concept Simplification: This video can help illustrate abstract concepts of air pressure and combustion in an engaging, easy-to-understand way.

• • Scalability: Teachers can perform this demo for the class, saving on materials but still involving everyone through observation and discussion.

Water Fountain (Pressure Experiment)

• Description: This simple yet fascinating experiment demonstrates water pressure and the principles of fluid dynamics using basic materials like a bottle, straw, and water.
• Why It Works:

• • Requires Basic Materials: A bottle, straw, and water are typically available in most classrooms, meaning no additional costs or complex materials are needed.

• • Quick and Easy Setup: It can be set up and executed in a short amount of time, making it ideal for time-constrained classes.

• • Engaging for Large Groups: The experiment can be demonstrated to the whole class at once, keeping all students involved.

• • Linked to Curriculum: The experiment can be tied directly to physics lessons about pressure, making it easier to assess student learning through follow-up questions or activities.

Origami Cat

• Description: This activity involves students folding a piece of paper into a cat using origami techniques.
• Why It Works:

• • Low-Prep: All that’s required is paper, which is universally available in classrooms. The video provides clear instructions, reducing the time teachers need to prepare.

• • Minimal Supervision: Once students are shown the video, they can follow the steps at their own pace, freeing the teacher to assist those who need help.

• • Flexible for Class Size: This activity can be done by individuals or in small groups, making it easy to manage in both small and large classes.

Simple Paper Electroscope

• Description: This activity involves creating a basic electroscope using paper, allowing students to explore static electricity.
• Why It Works:

• • Basic Materials: The electroscope can be made using paper and a few other materials, all of which are easy to find in a classroom.

• • Simple Demonstration: Teachers can show the electroscope in action, helping students visualize abstract concepts like electric charge.

• • Linked to Learning Objectives: Static electricity is often a topic in science curricula, and this experiment ties directly to learning objectives, making assessment easier.

• • Involves Whole Class: The activity can be performed as a demonstration for large classes or as a group project with smaller groups building their electroscopes.

For iPrep we have curated 500+ such videos

These videos are curriculum and NEP aligned.  Our endeavour with these videos is to simplify complex concepts and make learning more interactive and enjoyable for students.

Comprehensive Content for K-12 Education: With iPrep, you get access to content for all classes, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, in a single subscription. No more switching between multiple platforms!

More Than Just Videos: In addition to activity videos, iPrep offers a complete learning experience with video lessons, simulations, practice tests, detailed notes, quizzes, and more. It’s one app that covers all the learning needs of your students.

Wrapping up

Activity videos for classroom, when thoughtfully selected, can alleviate many of the common challenges faced by teachers, such as time constraints, resource availability, and managing large class sizes. The videos we’ve highlighted are designed to be quick to set up, require minimal materials, and can easily be tied to learning objectives.

By integrating these activities into the classroom, teachers can create a more interactive, engaging, and effective learning environment without compromising on essential teaching time.

Download iPrep today and explore these activity videos and much more!