Today’s kids aren’t old enough to remember the excitement of seeing the TV/VCR cart parked in their classroom for the day, but they still love watching videos in class! We’ve rounded up the best educational YouTube channels for students from preschool through high school, covering just about every topic you can imagine.
Note: As with all media, we recommend screening videos in advance to be sure they’re appropriate for your audience.
- Pre-K and Elementary School Educational YouTube Channels
- Middle and High School Educational YouTube Channels
Pre-K and Elementary School Educational YouTube Channels
Teaching toddlers their shapes and colors? Helping elementary kids understand math and science concepts? Looking for fun ways to explore social studies? These YouTube channels have the content you need.
Ms. Rachel
In the last few years, Ms. Rachel and her diverse cast of friends have taken the toddler crowd by storm. Her videos are bright, fun, and appealing for little learners.
Netflix Jr.
Netflix has some terrific educational shows for kids, and this YouTube channel highlights many of them. We especially love Ada Twist, Scientist and Dr. Raven the Science Maven.
Learn Bright
You’ll find videos for kids here on all sorts of topics, including reading, math, history, and science.
Let’s Read Stories
Stories for kids—read by a kid! This channel features tons of favorite books, read beautifully by a child who knows how to make the story engaging and fun.
Baby Einstein
This popular series has been around for awhile, and it’s perfect for little ones just learning about the world.
BabyBus
Learn about safety, feelings and emotions, and more with these sweet videos.
Pinkfong
The folks that brought you Baby Shark have a whole channel! Learn and sing along with one of the most beloved characters out there.
Storytime With Ryan and Craig
Looking for read-alouds with some personality? Check out Ryan and Craig! They’re comedians who read children’s books and comment (in kid-appropriate ways) as they go. They’re fun and entertaining, and the reading is good-quality and so are the book choices.
The StoryTime Family
Ready for some titles you haven’t seen before? The StoryTime Family has a big virtualnbookshelf with playlists for animals, social-emotional learning, and more. No commercial characters here, just good-quality selections kids haven’t already heard dozens of times.
Kids TV
All the songs and nursery rhymes little ones love! This channel is available in multiple languages too.
The Brain Scoop
Head behind the scenes with staff from Chicago’s Field Museum and learn all about natural history topics.
Houston Zoo
Animal lovers, take note! The Houston Zoo shares information about all their animals and their keepers too.
Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls
Amy Poehler’s channel is geared toward girls, but all kids will enjoy the stories and inspiring videos posted here.
KLT
KLT stands for “Kids Learning Tube.” Their videos focus on geography and astronomy.
Art for Kids Hub
This one’s for the art lovers—even kids who think they can’t draw! This channel will show you how to create pretty much anything you can think of, step by step.
Socratica Kids
Join these friendly puppets as they learn to read, count, and even dance!
Rock ’n Learn
Songs are a great way to help kids learn, and this channel is full of them! Find reading, writing, math, and languages for kids of all ages.
Jack Hartmann
Speaking of songs, Jack Hartmann’s channel has so many to choose from!
Mystery Doug
Doug tackles the most important questions, like “why don’t people fall out of roller coasters?” or “is it possible to become invisible?”
Khan Academy Kids
Circle Time from educational resource powerhouse Khan Academy is full of stories and activities the younger crowd will love.
Alphablocks
The Alphablocks are 26 living letters who discover that whenever they hold hands and make a word, something magical happens. This hit show combines phonics with fun to help little ones learn the skills they need to become readers.
Numberblocks
If your kids like Alphablocks, they’ll love Numberblocks! More than a thousand videos full of number songs, learning, and fun.
Crash Course Kids
This kid-friendly series from the creators of the popular Crash Course (see below) covers science for elementary kids. The channel includes topics like earth science, biology, astronomy, and more.
National Geographic Kids
Everything you love about National Geographic, but geared toward kids’ interests—and their attention spans. Travel and explore the world with short videos featuring animals, science, and much more.
Storyline Online
Top-notch actors reading fantastic children’s books? Sign us up! Each video includes imaginative animation based on the illustrations. Plus, teachers can find supplemental curricula on Storyline’s website.
Finding Stuff Out
The best YouTube channels for kids are those that feature other kids! Finding Stuff Out explores everything from hair to sports to robots, with young hosts that speak to students on their level.
PBS Kids
It’s no surprise that PBS has some terrific educational YouTube channels, including PBS Kids. Get full-length episodes of shows kids love, like Daniel Tiger and Wild Kratts, plus read-alongs, Sesame Street, and a lot more.
Free School
If you’re looking for age-appropriate videos on history, science, or language arts, look no further. Free School covers these topics and more in a way that’s perfect for younger learners.
SciShow Kids
Explore all the best science topics, with videos that aim to answer the eternal kid question “Why?” You’ll also find experiments and our favorite series: Playground Science.
Kids Academy
This is another one of those YouTube channels for kids that covers a bit of just about everything. You’ll even find chess lessons for kids!
ABCmouse.com
ABCMouse is well known as a terrific program for early learners. Their channel includes educational songs, crafts and activities, and more.
Fun Kids English
For kids learning English as a second language, try this channel. Cute songs and engaging videos will have them fluent in no time!
English Class 101
ESL students will find so much to learn on this channel, with new content and even livestreams added regularly.
Hoffman Academy
Learn to play the piano from videos? Yup! This popular channel includes piano lessons from beginner to advanced, as well as music theory lessons that don’t require any instruments at all.
Middle and High School Educational YouTube Channels
Videos are a terrific way to engage older students on topics from science to literature to current events and beyond. These educational YouTube channels cover it all.
Math Antics
There are math topics on this channel for all ages, from simple arithmetic to algebra.
BrainCraft
Learn more about how and why we do the things we do, and ways to make your daily life a little bit better.
Mental Floss
If you love crazy trivia and origin stories, check out Mental Floss! These videos are fun for bell ringers or to fill in a few minutes at the end of class.
Langfocus
Fascinated by language? This is your channel! Explore the background, history, and development of languages around the globe.
Physics Girl
Dianna Cowern is a big name in science videos. Check out her channel to show students a strong female STEM role model.
Today I Found Out
If you believe there’s something new to learn all the time, check out these quick videos that share cool stories and fascinating facts you won’t find elsewhere.
Big Think
Big thoughts on big topics from big leaders in their fields. Introduce students to experts in a wide array of subjects.
History
The History Channel started on cable TV, and their YouTube channel has lots of fascinating topics, from short clips to full episodes.
NASA STEM
NASA has multiple educational YouTube channels, but we like this one best for students and teachers. The videos are geared toward learning about space in ways that kids can understand.
The Backyard Scientist
You might not be able (or willing!) to pour molten aluminum into a watermelon to find out what happens, but the Backyard Scientist is! These videos are engaging and so fun to watch.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy provides an enormous amount of free educational resources, including their educational YouTube channels. Pretty much any teacher will find something useful here.
MinutePhysics
Just what it sounds like: very quick videos on a range of physics topics. Perfect for introducing new topics to your students!
Veritasium
According to this channel, Veritasium is the “element of truth.” Lots of science videos, but also a wide variety of other topics.
AsapScience
This channel sets out to make sense of science, and they do just that! Note that some videos are better for older viewers, so review your choices in advance.
VSauce
Challenge students to think more deeply about, well, just about everything. These fascinating videos are brain-bending and lots of fun.
Be Smart
This channel was created by Joe Hanson, Ph.D., who describes himself as “a curious group of atoms in a very curious universe.” His videos cover everything from “Does My Dog Know What I’m Thinking?” to “My Date With a Giant Pacific Octopus.”
The Infographics Show
This channel aims to take facts of all kinds and turn them into engaging and intriguing videos. Watch stories of incredible people, events, and mysteries. There’s a new video nearly every day, so the variety is practically endless.
Simple History
Simple History visualizes the past, bringing history to life through animation. The videos cover ancient Egypt to the Cold War and everything in between.
Smarter Every Day
Covering everything from an interview with a former Obama staffer to what it’s like to fly in supersonic jet, these videos get millions of views, and for good reason.
Crash Course
Crash Course has 30+ in-depth courses on a wide variety of subjects, including chemistry, literature, philosophy, and more. They’ve recently teamed up with Arizona State University to produce study courses specifically aimed at high schoolers.
TED-Ed
Everything you love about TED Talks, with subjects chosen to interest kids and teens. Topics are wide-ranging, and the videos are just as engaging as you’d expect from TED. We especially love the “There’s a Poem for That” series, which pairs classic poetry with award-winning animation.
MediaWise
The MediaWise project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan program that teaches people how to find reliable, accurate information online. These videos teach students to be thoughtful consumers of online content, rather than just believing everything they see.
SciShow
SciShow loves to explore what makes everything tick. They upload new videos daily, covering science news, fast facts, and deeper exploration of fascinating topics.
The Brain Scoop
Think of this YouTube channel like a museum field trip with the best tour guide ever. Emily from the Field Museum in Chicago takes you behind the scenes to learn how (and why) natural history museums do what they do.
Biography
Biography highlights newsworthy personalities and events with compelling and surprising points of view. From historical figures to current political leaders, authors to artists, you’ll find pretty much anyone you can imagine here.
Numberphile
The concept is simple: videos about numbers. Explore the golden ratio, prime numbers, pi, and so much more. Math teachers will definitely want to bookmark this one.
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Plus, make videos more meaningful with these 8 Ways To Help Students Watch Videos Critically
(Instead of Zoning Out).
