Ask any teacher or student what they think of Shmoop, and they'll likely say "devastatingly good looking."

Ask them what else they think of Shmoop, and they'll more likely say "hey—we love their videos!"

Since we're all on the same page about Shmoop's many virtues, let's discuss what to do with them. What are some best practices with ShmoopTube, to jazz up the Jazz Age or make math lessons radical? ShmoopTube has thousands of videos to liven up your classes and get students eager to learn. Here, we're highlighting six ways to use ShmoopTube in the upcoming school year.

1. Provide Background Information

Videos can be a great way to give students background information before launching into a unit. For example, a Biology teacher starting a discussion on genetically modified organisms might use the video "What Would Mary Shelley Think of GMOs" to grab the attention of English nerds and science geeks alike. Shmoop's videos are funny, smart, and thought-provoking—the perfect launch for a lesson.

2. Review Concepts

If your students just covered some tricky material, use videos as a reward... and a way to review important things they might have missed the first time. Were your students frustrated with the pages of whale facts Melville crammed into their Moby-Dick reading? Shmoop has a video explaining the roles of cetology (the study of whales, dolphins, and porpoises) in the book that may help them understand where Melville was coming from. Videos are a great way to solidify tricky concepts while keeping class energy high.

3. Start a Discussion

Videos in class are a great way to get conversations rolling. Was Harper Lee an accidental racist? Is Andrew Jackson a hero or a villain? Our videos include open-ended questions to get students' brains buzzing, and are perfect for sparking class discussions.

4. Book Circle

Warning: this one's for the English teachers. If you're facilitating a book circle or unit where students get to choose their own texts, screen the books' Shmoop videos first. Then, have students research authors and book reviews of the videos that tickled their fancy, before making their final selection.

5. Create a Unit Project

In our videos, Shmoop condenses complex books and concepts into three-minute formats. It's the ultimate synthesis of information—why not challenge students to do the same? As a final project for any subject area, be it Algebra II or a middle school mythology unit, have students create their own Shmoop video as the final project. Give them clear parameters, of course—a clear script making humorous use of the unit's content, connection to why the subject matters, and use of primary source pictures and puppets interacting in digital media—and the results will show a hilarious grasp of unit concepts.

6. Talk Back

Our Shmoop videos are short, brilliant, and...totally weird. What would href Arthur Miller think of our video breaking down The Crucible, or Descartes think of our math material? Have students script a letter from an author or subject area expert to Shmoop, praising (or critiquing) our video. We promise we won't be offended and revoke your website subscription.

Interested in getting Shmoop into your school or district? Email sales@shmoop.com and let our Sales Shmooperstars know who you are and what you're looking for.

Just have a question about something in Shmoopland? Hit us up at support@shmoop.com. It's kind of gross how often we check our email, so we'll get back to you in the blink of a cursor.