Scientific concepts can be tricky for middle school students to learn, but Northbrook teacher Doug Edmonds has found that the lessons become a little easier when set to the music of, say, ABBA.

For the past year and a half, the Wood Oaks Junior High School science teacher has been recording himself singing new, science-oriented lyrics to popular tunes and posting the videos on YouTube for his students — and students from around the world — to view.

Wood Oaks Junior High School science teacher Doug Edmonds explains solutions to the tune of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" in a YouTube video. (Photo submitted by Doug Edmonds)

“There’s something about music that’s popular, that’s singable, that appeals to kids,” Edmonds said, as he sat at a lab table in his classroom filled with beakers and other equipment. “And it it’s got the right stuff in it, it’s educational.”

Since July 2009, Edmonds has posted 12 videos ranging from a lesson on chemical bonds sung to the tune of the immortal “Dancing Queen” to an explanation of density set to the melody of “Popular” form the hit musical “Wicked.”

In each video, Edmonds sings his re-written lyrics and holds up diagrams and flash cards to help illustrate his points.

Edmonds had been known to get creative with his lessons long before he began making music videos. A science teacher for 15 years — he also has taught English as a second language and theology — Edmonds once used props and real-life scenarios to help convey difficult concepts.

Edmonds said he knows junior high students, particularly eighth-graders, can find science dull, but creativity seemed to help make lessons more fun. And most importantly, he said he noticed students remembering concepts.

“They would go, ‘We love it when you get dramatic,’” Edmonds said.

Props activities turned into live musical numbers, and after an enthusiastic response form students, Edmonds decided to take it to another level — the Internet.

Music has long been part of Edmonds’ life. He plays guitar — he was mostly self-taught, beginning at age 20 — and has composed some scriptural songs. And although he chose science and teaching as a career path, he has kept music as a hobby.

Until recently, he had been looking for a way to merge his two passions.

The first video Edmonds posted was for a rewrite of The Beatles’ “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” called “The Properties Song.” It includes lyrics such as “What you see, what you smell, what your hear, yeah / That’s ‘physical,’ your senses tell you so,” sung by a t-shirt-clad Edmonds in his home.

“I put up five videos within a week,” Edmonds said, recalling the summer of 2009. “It was just like a wild, creative time.”

After those first videos were posted to YouTube and its educational counterpart, TeacherTube, Edmonds attracted a following. Not only were his own students watching and learning, but so were students from other parts of the United States and the world.

And they were letting him know he was helping. A United Kingdom user wrote in the comments section: “Me and my friend have been singing along to your videos for hours! We have our chemistry exam tomorrow so (we) have learnt the words to the ionic and covalent bonding song! Thanks!”

Others have kept their comments to a simple “You rock, Mr. Edmonds!”

The positive feedback has come from children and adults alike. He said he hears from other science teachers who tell him they used his videos to enhance their own lessons.

And sometimes, they are the source of musical inspiration.

“I was sitting at dinner with someone, and they said, ‘What’s your next song going to be? “Dancing Queen”?’” Edmonds said. Soon after, “The Chemical Bonds” song was born.

“That’s one of the most popular ones,” he said.

For the most part, new songs come about when Edmonds notices students struggling with a particular lesson. His lyrics, he said, reflect the important points of each particular scientific idea. While writing them, he considers which points bear repeating and how often, he said.

And the songs Edmonds chooses to adapt are typically crowd-pleasers, the types of songs that go over well at weddings. His favorite songs are oldies, which explains how a number like The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There” can turn into “The Variables Song.”

But for all his popularity with students outside Northbrook, it’s in the students closer to home where Edmonds can see the impact of his videos.

Eighth-grader Brandon Koretz said Edmonds’ reputation as the singing science teacher preceded him, but Koretz didn’t know just what he was in for until he entered Edmonds’ class this fall.

The songs, Koretz said, tend to get stuck in students’ heads — and that’s a good thing.

“If I’m ever struggling on a quiz, I’ll just sort of sing them to myself,” he said. “People are going around singing them in the hallways. They’re actually really catchy.”