Thursday, October 31, 2013

Horrible Histories (extra credit)

I just discovered "Horrible Histories," a show that ran on British television from 2009-2013.  The series is based on a series of books directed at (it seems) middle school age kids.  Looks like the show developed out of the kind of things we did in the theater games section of the class.  Anyway, I'm interested in your reactions.  What do you think of "Horrible Histories"?  Would you use it in the classroom?  Here are some segments and complete shows:

English Kings and Queens Song
George I doesn't understand English 
Season One, Episode One

Posted by Ancient Art at

5 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 1, 2013 at 1:50 PM

    I LOVE those little history clips! I would so use them in a classroom. They are a lot more age appropriate than my show Drunken History. I’m not sure I could even learn the English King song, let alone remember something about each one. A 4 minute song with 50 kings names in it, might be a good way to illustrate that history isn’t always about intricate details, but can be about over-arching themes as well. King George doesn’t speak English was hilarious. Did he really get taken advantage of in similar manners? That would surely make sense if he did, and add more credibility to the “History”.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robb8952November 4, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    They are definitely funny little clips. The general stereotype of history clips is a boring speaker in a monotone voice. Using clips like this breaks up some of the dull history. Using comic relief with actual facts would be a great thing to introduce in the classroom. The little sign that says if it true or not, gives the audience a basis which is comic and which is fact.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Baker HaarNovember 7, 2013 at 10:32 AM

    I would definitely use these clips in my classroom! Getting a clip or two to accompany a lesson would be a great way to break up the day and give a little bit of a break or a reward to your students. They do a really nice job of mixing humor with real facts. I wish some of the clips were longer so that you could plan for more of these during class.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Franklin ForsmanNovember 11, 2013 at 5:42 PM

    Horrible Histories is a classic example of campy television (camp: providing sophisticated amusement by virtue of having artificially (and vulgarly) mannered or banal or sentimental qualities; "they played up the silliness of their roles for camp effect"; "campy Hollywood musicals of the 1940's") It is something I, as an adult, can watch only a few times before becoming a little annoyed by how hard it tries to be funny at times. However, I do believe that it has a few excellent episodes and for a 6-12 year classroom it could be used as a great part of a lesson plan to bring a little humor/interest to the lesson if time permits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Franklin ForsmanNovember 11, 2013 at 5:44 PM

      In fact, thanks for reminding me of this series, I will be sure to include a segment from their Greek episodes as I am doing a Greek section for my lesson plan.

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)