Instructional Video9:36
Curated Video

Why So Many Americans Moved To California And Not The Other Western States

9th - Higher Ed
California is a huge state! With almost 40 million people, it's currently larger than the other 10 western states combined. This is due to a wide range of reasons that date all the way back to when California was a remote colony of the...
Instructional Video9:26
Curated Video

Alaska: Why America's Largest State Is Also Its Most Important

9th - Higher Ed
Alaska is a truly huge state that the United States acquired from Russia for basically peanuts. But Alaska isn't just very large, it's also become an incredibly important state for the U.S. in terms of national security for today and...
Instructional Video7:44
Curated Video

Why The United States Has Two Carolinas: North Carolina And South Carolina

9th - Higher Ed
North Carolina and South Carolina. Two states that began their life as a single province and colony of England. So how did we end up with two states that share a single connected piece of land? Well, as with the Dakotas, it boils down...
Instructional Video8:14
Curated Video

Why The United States Gets So Many Powerful Tornadoes

9th - Higher Ed
Tornadoes are one of Earth's most incredible natural phenomena. But while every continent gets tornadoes to some degree, the United States in particular gets far more, at a higher frequency, to a greater degree of strength than almost...
Instructional Video8:00
Curated Video

Why So Much Land In The West Is Owned By The Federal Government

9th - Higher Ed
The United States federal government is the largest land owner in the entire country. In particular, most of its current land holdings exist within the western half of the contiguous United States, with very little in the eastern half....
Instructional Video9:14
Curated Video

Why So Many Americans Move To Florida And Not Georgia

9th - Higher Ed
Florida and Georgia make up just about 10% of the entire United States' population. But while at one point Georgia was home to many more Americans than Florida, over the last few decades Florida has exploded in growth to become more than...
Instructional Video8:22
Curated Video

Greater Idaho: Why Idaho Wants To Take Over Oregon And Eventually Washington and California Too

9th - Higher Ed
Oregon often feels like a progressive state, but once you get outside of Portland and Eugene, and especially beyond the Cascade Mountains, it gets very conservative. Because of this cultural difference, there's been a concerted effort to...
Instructional Video10:18
Curated Video

Geographic History of France: How France Acquired The Land It Owns Today

9th - Higher Ed
Welcome to a new series where we'll be exploring the geographic history of various countries. Today we kick it off with France! Beginning in 481, this video will walk you through the years and decades to see how France expanded,...
Instructional Video8:03
Curated Video

Why So Many Canadians Live In This Tiny Area: The Golden Horseshoe

9th - Higher Ed
Canada is the second largest country in the world when it comes to area. Despite this, over one quarter of all Canadians live in an area that makes up less than 1% of all land. This region has been dubbed Canada's "Golden Horseshoe"...
Instructional Video7:48
Curated Video

Why So Few Americans Live In This Huge Area In The Middle Of The Country

9th - Higher Ed
The United States has an interesting population distribution. You can find any number of videos talking about why so many more people live on the eastern half of the country. But what's rarely talked about is this large empty belt in the...
Instructional Video8:34
Curated Video

Why So Few Americans Live Along The Gulf Coast Of The United States

9th - Higher Ed
The Gulf Coast of the United States is a beautiful area with miles of beaches and weather that most regions of the world would love. Despite this, a large section in the middle of the Gulf Coast has very low population compared to Texas...
Instructional Video8:21
Curated Video

Why The United States Has Two Dakotas: North Dakota and South Dakota

9th - Higher Ed
The United States has two Dakotas: North Dakota and South Dakota. But while these are two completely separate states each with their own state governments, two U.S. senators, and representative in Congress, there's nothing really all...
Instructional Video8:27
Curated Video

Why So Few Americans Live In This HUGE Area In The Northern Part Of The Country

9th - Higher Ed
There are a lot of Americans these days. But despite being the world's third largest country by population, there exists a huge area in the northern part of the contiguous USA that is pretty empty. And this is despite the fact that...
Instructional Video9:48
Curated Video

Why The United States Has Two Virginias: Virginia and West Virginia

9th - Higher Ed
Virginia and West Virginia: two states with basically the same name, existing right next to each other, but with completely independent state governments, laws and, today, even political leanings. But at one point, these two states were...
Instructional Video10:57
Wendover Productions

How the Post Office Made America

9th - Higher Ed Standards
Thanks to the post office, people now say the United States is instead of the United States are. Historians research the role the United States Postal Service in shaping our country. They view a short video explaining the formation of a...
Instructional Video13:51
Wendover Productions

Every State in the US

9th - Higher Ed Standards
Did you know the state drink of Indiana is ... water? Scholars use a short video to better understand each of the 50 states in the US. They quickly tour the nation identifying characteristics that make each state unique. The clip creates...
Instructional Video0:55
PBS

Precipitation in the Pacific Northwest

6th - 8th
The Pacific Northwest contains the only areas in the contiguous US that receive more than 100 inches of rain each year. Viewers observe the accumulation of rainfall in the area over the course of one month. 
Instructional Video8:10
Curated OER

US Geography (State and Capitals)

4th - 6th
While this video may be a little outdated, it does a great job covering each US region, states, and capitals. The young narrators provide the name of each state and capital and provide an informational state fact that can be used to...