As we get closer to the holiday break, student attention spans seem to dissipate. And really, who can blame them? They’re too full of holiday spirit! 

My favorite strategy for combatting this? Lean into what they’re thinking about! To do this, we’ve found 6 TEDEd videos that you can connect to the holiday season, while still teaching students everything from chemistry to psychology!  
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The Science of Snowflakes

Are your students fixated on the window the second they see a snowflake fall? Show them this video that helps explain the science behind snowflakes.

Video Description: One could say that snowflakes are simply frozen water — but if you compare a snowflake to an ice cube, you’ll notice a big difference. Why are all snowflakes six-sided? Why are none of them exactly the same? And how do we ski on them? Maruša Bradač sheds light on the secret life of snowflakes.

Video Length: 4:29

Recommended for: Grades 8-12

Complementary Lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-science-of-snowflakes-marusa-bradac 

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What is a Gift Economy?

‘Tis the season of holiday gift giving and increased consumerism, but what if we re-examined the way we give gifts and the meaning behind those gifts? This video, by Alex Gendler, explores the concept of a “gift economy,” which is used in many non-industrialized societies. Have your students discuss the advantages of a gift economy, and how the concept is making its way into our modern world through the Internet.

Video Description: What if, this holiday season, instead of saying “thank you” to your aunt for her gift of a knitted sweater, the polite response expected from you was to show up at her house in a week with a better gift? Or to vote for her in the town election? Or let her adopt your firstborn child? Alex Gendler explains how all of these things might not sound so strange if you were involved in a gift economy.

Video Length: 4:05

Recommended for: Grades 9-12

Complementary Lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-is-a-gift-economy-alex-gendler#watch

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The Arctic vs. the Antarctic

As temperatures drop, students start to get cabin fever from being stuck inside all the time. But the temperatures we experience are nothing compared to the temperatures found in the Arctic and Antarctic. Learn about Santa’s hometown (and it’s southern sibling), in this video that compares the two poles.

Video Description: How can you tell the two poles apart? Where are the penguins? What about the bears? The Arctic pole is located in the Northern Hemisphere within the deep Arctic Ocean, while the Antarctic pole is smack in the middle of the ice-covered Antarctica. Camille Seaman describes how enterprising people and organisms have found ways to reside around both poles despite the frigid temperatures.

Video Length: 4:24

Recommended for: Grades 5-12

Complementary Lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-arctic-vs-the-antarctic-camille-seaman

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The Chemistry of Cookies

My favorite part of the holiday season? Seeing my family. But my second favorite part? The cookies, of course! Learn the science behind this holiday staple in this video that perfectly blends chemistry and family and consumer sciences.

Video Description: You stick cookie dough into an oven, and magically, you get a plate of warm, gooey cookies. Except it’s not magic; it’s science. Stephanie Warren explains via basic chemistry principles how the dough spreads out, at what temperature we can kill salmonella, and why that intoxicating smell wafting from your oven indicates that the cookies are ready for eating.

Video Length: 4:29

Recommended for: Grades 8-12

Complementary Lessons: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-chemistry-of-cookies-stephanie-warren

 

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Why Do We Feel Nostalgia?

I don’t think I’m alone when I say the holidays make me feel nostalgic. Movies like “The Grinch” throw me back to when I was a kid, sitting in front of my grandparents’ TV, enjoying a cup of cocoa. Even high school students feel nostalgic and can long for simpler times. Help them understand why they feel all warm and fuzzy inside when “It’s a Wonderful Life” comes on, or when they unbox old holiday decorations, with this video by Clay Routledge.

Video Description: Nostalgia was once considered an illness confined to specific groups of people. Today, people all over the world report experiencing and enjoying nostalgia. But how does nostalgia work? And is it healthy? Clay Routledge details the way our understanding of nostalgia has changed since the term was first coined in the late 17th century.

Video Length: 4:08

Recommended for: Grades 11-12

Complementary Lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-we-feel-nostalgia-clay-routledge#watch

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Earworms: Those Songs that Get Stuck in Your Head

It’s inescapable. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you will encounter holiday music, and that music will most likely get stuck in your head. This video, by Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, will explain to your students the psychology behind why their classmates can’t stop whistling “Let it Snow” or “Dreidel, Dreidel,” throughout the holiday season.

Video Description: Have you ever been waiting in line at the grocery store, innocently perusing the magazine rack, when a song pops into your head? Not the whole song, but a fragment of it that plays and replays until you find yourself unloading the vegetables in time to the beat? Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis explores earworms — a cognitive phenomenon that plagues over 90% of people at least once a week.

Video Length: 4:45

Recommended for: Grades 7-12

Complementary Lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/earworms-those-songs-that-get-stuck-in-your-head-elizabeth-hellmuth-margulis#watch

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For More

For more holiday-themed activities, take a look at our December Online PD Calendar. Visit Teq Online PD at onlinepd.teq.com.