Schoolhouse Rock is a educational series first produced in the 1970’s. They are short animated videos set to catchy music that have inspired generations of kids to learn math, history, grammar, science, economics and civics. Schoolhouse Rock endeavored to teach kids content during the Saturday morning cartoon line up on the ABC network. The series taught an entire generation of kids that “Knowledge is Power,” and today they still are used to inspire learning threw engagement and repetition.
In 2009 Schoolhouse Rock created an entire new series reflecting recent current events called Earth Rock, which will continue to inspire the next generations of kids to learn about recycling, global warming, and energy. Many of the videos are available for free access on You tube and Teacher Tube or the 30th Anniversary collection can be purchased on Amazon.
I choose to post the Schoolhouse rock video Counting by fives, because it is one of my favorites. It is part of the math series which I remember from my childhood. Along with impatiently waiting for the clips to air when I was watching cartoons as a child, my parents bought me the record Multiplication Rock. I would spend hours listening, singing, and dancing around to the record, not realizing that I was learning my multiplication tables at the same time. As scratched and warped as this record is today, it is so loved that 35 years later I still own it! Recently I bought the entire series on DVD so I can share the fun and magic with the future students in my own classroom.
My 10 year old niece was recently visiting me in Texas from Minnesota. As she was rummaging through my videos she came across the Schoolhouse Rock DVD, across the house I could hear her squeals of delight as she came running to me exclaiming, “Auntie can we watch this video? I love these, my teacher uses these. I love the math and conjunction ones!” She sat (directly in front of the TV) singing while automatically remembering the words to many of the songs. When the Counting by Fives video ended she told me that when she plays hide and go seek outside with her friends, she convinces them to count by twos, fives or tens as they all scurry to find hiding places. It is inspiring to find a resource that kids not only can be prompted to learn by, but a resource that they are motivated to use in their daily lives.
Web comments about Schoolhouse Rock:
“When My son was in College in a Business English class, the Professor asked the class what an Interjection was……silence! Leave it to my son; he started singing the Schoolhouse Rock jingle of Interjections! He proudly told me as I am writing this, “I got it right!” with a smile in his voice. He also said he was embarrassed, but he was the only one that got it right!”-Kathy Pukeko (home school teacher).
“I recently picked up the Schoolhouse Rock! retrospective DVD for my five year old and we got hooked into watching all 46 lessons. Beyond being hit by a nostalgic blast from the past, I was struck by how, after all these years, I instantly remembered all the songs and was able to sing along. But what really blew me away was the shows effect on my son. He was completely riveted and now, after watching just a couple of times, he walks around singing his times tables, telling everyone how the nervous system works, and reciting the preamble to the Constitution.”- Inspired Parent
“One idea to try with your students is to let them watch a particular video three or four times. For example, when my third graders were learning their times tables, they used the “Three Is a Magic Number” to help them out. I divided them into groups and let them come up with a routine to the song, and they made “music videos” to go with each song, which I recorded with my flip camera. They did an awesome job, not to mention mastered their three’s times tables!” -Kelly Hines 3rd grade teacher from NC.
I LOVE School House Rock, and I had no idea that they created a new series. I am definitely going to have to check that out! I’m really glad that someone used this as a Once Great Text. I watched these when I was little and still know the words to many of their songs. I also think that School House Rock is a great resource for struggling students. Learning grammar rules and math patterns can be difficult to memorize when they are directly taught, but learning these concepts through songs make it fun and interactive. Great Resource!