5-Minute Film Festival: The Best Education Parodies of 2014

January is quickly approaching, and you know what that means: year-end lists and retrospectives galore! We'd be shirking our responsibilities as bloggers if we didn't join in, so in keeping with our December tradition, take a look at this list of the best education parodies of 2014! We've scoured the web to find videos by teachers, about teachers, parodies breaking down historical inaccuracies, humorous tunes by parents, and so much more.

For even more viral video fun, YouTube's Rewind team has done a great job of recapping the year's most popular YouTube uploads. Make sure you also take a look at our best-of lists from 2012 and 2013.

Video Playlist: The Best Education Parodies of 2014

Watch the first video below, or watch the whole playlist on YouTube.

1. Word Crimes by "Weird Al" Yankovic (3:46)

   This catchy tune from "Weird Al" Yankovic takes a shot at everyone who can't spell, conjugate, or place punctuation correctly. English and language arts teachers will certainly relate! (Though, personally, I'm a fan of the Oxford comma.)

2. I'm Your Teacher (3:17)

   Teacher Katie Chapin clearly had a ton of fun with this Iggy Azalea parody on the trials and triumphs of daily instruction. 

3. All About That Space (3:11)

   The interns at NASA's Johnson Space Center couldn't resist joining the parody game this year, and filmed this choreographed number to drum up support for the first Orion flight. As a bonus, it includes a very cool behind-the-scenes look at the astronaut training facility.

4. Trilobite - Deep Time (3:22)

   This song is an old one, and so is the subject matter, but no less fun for it;  earth science teacher Dan Reed explains how scientists date and classify ancient fossils.

5. "Here We Go" Teacher Parody (3:29)

   This is my favorite Frozen cover of the year -- and that's saying something, because there were a lot of them. Ms. Hayek, a music teacher in North Carolina, completely blew the competition away with this funny tune about the back-to-school struggles of teachers everywhere, impressively performed live.

6. Marie Antoinette (3:38)

   Flipped classroom teacher Mr. Betts has made our year-end "best of" list before, and he didn't disappoint in 2014, either. This rousing cover of Prince's "Little Red Corvette" tells the story of the French queen everybody loves to hate.

7. Problem (School's Out Parody) (2:28)

   This spoof from Awesomeness TV is definitely geared more toward students than teachers, but anybody can relate to that feeling of relief that comes from hearing the ring of that last class bell before summer vacation. 

8. Baby Got Class (2:12)

   Summer might be a respite from daily instruction, but as any teacher who's also a parent can tell you, sometimes it's a relief to send the kids back to class in the fall. (Make sure you watch until the end credits for the dedication!)

9. Pharaoh's Response "Dark Horse" Parody (4:18)

   An Egyptian vlogger, AreWeFamousNow, took some issue with Katy Perry's portrayal of Egyptian culture and humorously points out her many historical errors.

10. Brachmann and Hein -- This School (4:24)

    Teachers and friends Mr. Brachmann and Mr. Hein finish off our best-of list with this rousing "Footloose" parody. They even got their students and principal to join in!

More Resources for Using Humor and Music in the Classroom

Parodies and musical entertainment can be a great tool in the classroom! Whether you're using them to create a more welcoming learning space or teach class lessons, here are some ways you can incorporate music and humor into your lessons: 

• "50 ways to Use Music and Song in the Classroom," Ddeubel from EFL Classroom
• "Fighting Fire With Satire," Annissa Hambouz and Andrea Perelman from the New York Times
• "Project-Based Approach to Teaching Satire," Kate Petty from The Tech Classroom
•  "Teaching Copyright" curriculum, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• "8 Ways to Use Music in the Language Arts Classroom," Heather Wolpert-Gawron from Edutopia 
• "Music and Learning: Integrating Music in the Classroom," Chris Boyd Brewer from Johns Hopkins School of Education.