Favorite YouTube Channel (K-2 Teachers)

One of my favorite YouTube channels is Kidtastic TV. The channel has a ton of Disney (and other) storybooks read out loud with the words highlighted on the screen as it is being read.

If you have a "Listen to Reading" center this would be a great resource for you. You should pay attention to the length of each video when considering using them.

Our district does not block YouTube videos for students (they are filtered through a clean video search filter) so they can be easily incorporated into a listening center with a QR code (we use this extension in Chrome to generate quick QR Codes).

If students don't have access to YouTube you can use a YouTube Downloader (click here for instructions on a quick and easy way to download videos from YouTube). Downloaded videos can then be uploaded to a Google Drive account where you can create a QR code or get a link for students. This is definitely more time consuming, downloading and uploading speeds can vary depending on the length of the video, but if you want students to watch a particular video independently (and YouTube is blocked) this is viable option. NOTE: Up until recently (April 2018) our district has been using the Google URL shortener extension in Chrome but unfortunately Google announced that they will be closing their goo.gl services effect mid-April 2018). We liked this extension because we got a shortened URL and a QR code. We have been unable to find a replacement that will do both so we have been using the bit.ly chrome extension to make shortened URL's and The QR Code Extension to make QR codes.

If you just want to show the video whole group I HIGHLY recommend the View Pure site. It allows you to add a button to your bookmarks bar to filter YouTube videos. How does it work? As soon as you have pulled up the video you want to show the class on YouTube you click the "purify" button you add to your bookmarks bar (see all screen shots below). The video is moved to the viewpure site where ads are removed (starting ads and popup ads). You also don't see distracting side bar video recommendations and there is no automatic playing of the next recommended video. It is really the best way to show a YouTube video whole group.

I am always on the search for good YouTube channels, and tips and tricks, so if you have any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment!

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