Best YouTube Channels

History and geography:

• Crash Course https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse – Created by Hank and John Green (the Vlogbrothers), this channel has 48 U.S. history videos, 72 in world history, and 50 on U.S. government and politics. Each video is 10-15 minutes long with a spoken narrative about the topic, with humor and animations.

• Extra Credits Extra History

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhyKYa0YJ_5Aq7g4bil7bnGi0A8gTsawu – This channel has over 200 videos across a wide range of world history, accompanied by cute animations. The emphasis is on military conflicts.

• The Great War https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGreatWar – More than 200 ten-minute videos take an in-depth look at World War I from every angle, one week at a time. There’s video footage, maps, and informed narration.

• Geography Now

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmmPgObSUPw1HL2lq6H4ffA – Paul Barbado is working his way through the world’s countries in alphabetical order (he’s up to the M’s), each one with a 15-20-minute video that’s like an encyclopedia entry with humor and silly graphics.

Science and nature:

• Vsauce https://www.youtube.com/user/Vsauce – Michael Stevens draws on his comedy and video editing background to present engaging “journeys” that start with big questions like How much does a shadow weigh? and What color is a mirror?

• The Brain Scoop https://www.youtube.com/user/thebrainscoop – Emily Graslie is the Chicago Field Museum’s “chief curiosity correspondent” and presents videos on the living world in the Ms. Frizzle mode.

Literature:

• Crash Course Literature

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYw502dJNY&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOeEc9ME62zTfqc0h6Pe8vb – Created by Hank and John Green, this library has 45 videos on literature including Romeo and Juliet, Catcher in the Rye, and The Handmaid’s Tale.

Mathematics:

• Khan Academy https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy – Salman Khan’s site started with math but is now a gateway to quick explanations and refreshers on a wide variety of topics.

• Vihart https://www.youtube.com/user/Vihart/videos – Victoria Hart, who describes herself as a “full-time recreational mathemusican,” is on a mission to make math cool. Videos include “How I feel about logarithms” and “Doodling in Math Class: DRAGONS.”

If you know of other educationally excellent YouTube channels, Petrilli would like to hear from you.

“The Best Educational YouTube Channels for Kids” by Michael Petrilli in The Education Gadfly, August 8, 2018 (Vol. 18, #31), https://edexcellence.net/articles/the-best-educational-youtube-channels-for-kids; Petrilli can be reached at mpetrilli@edexcellence.net