'Ken Burns in the Classroom' arrives on YouTube

With the 2026–2027 school year back in session, legendary documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, in collaboration with PBS LearningMedia, today announced that they will be bringing classroom content to the official Ken Burns YouTube Channel.

In partnership with PBS LearningMedia, the service that provides free, curriculum-aligned digital resources to teachers and students nationwide, the digital courses from “Ken Burns in the Classroom” combine professionally edited film segments with interactive classroom materials to make history engaging, immersive, and accessible for modern learning environments.

“I’ve always thought that our shared history should be accessible to everyone, hence my long-term partnership with PBS for all of our work and with PBS LearningMedia to ensure that teachers and students have access to our films and educational materials.” Ken Burns said. “Bringing these educational materials to YouTube is a natural extension of how we’ve tried to engage educators and students directly, empowering students to ask tough questions, examine different perspectives, and see themselves in the ongoing American story.”

The first three courses available on YouTube today are focused on The American Revolution. The six-part, 12-hour documentary series directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt examines how America’s founding turned the world upside-down. Thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.

The initial launch focuses on themes surrounding America’s early history, including:

• Patriot, Loyalist, Neutral: Differing Perspectives on the American Revolution — An exploration of the complex, competing loyalties that shaped early America.
• Native Nations and British Colonial America: Sovereignty, Diplomacy, and Resistance — Examining how Native nations in the colonial era influenced life in the British colonies and responded to those encroaching on their land.
• Remembering Benedict Arnold — Analyzing Benedict Arnold's story to better understand the ways in which we remember historical figures and their actions.

Course content selected from among Ken Burns’s more than 40 films, including The Civil War, The Dust Bowl, and The Vietnam War, will be available in the coming weeks. Each course was developed by PBS LearningMedia and features free resources to elevate the learning experience:

• Classroom-Adapted Film Content: Professionally edited segments designed to fit busy class agendas.
• Integrated YouTube Quizzes: Interactive video quizzes that allow students to test their comprehension in real-time.
• Free Teaching Materials: Classroom materials developed by PBS LearningMedia designed to invoke thought-provoking questions.

“PBS LearningMedia’s partnership with YouTube allows us to bring Ken Burns’s most iconic films, contextualized for the classroom, to even more teachers and students,” said Lori Brittain, Vice President of PBS LearningMedia. “Beginning with The American Revolution, these courses will expand students’ understanding of some of the most pivotal moments in our history, strengthen their critical thinking skills, and help them draw their own conclusions about the past.”

Whether you are a teacher looking to enhance your lesson plan or a student eager to explore history through dynamic video content, these courses are completely free and available now on the official Ken Burns YouTube channel, and educators can also find the full collection of Ken Burns’s classroom resources at PBS LearningMedia.