BrainPOP Blog

We’re spotlighting Sports & Fitness and Practical Math this month, so be sure to check out the collection of movies and other resources featured throughout all of May.   The arrival of warmer weather moves kids outdoors, so why not cover some topics they can take outside with them?  Our Soccer, Football, and Fitness movies can get kids up and moving while our Bicycle Safety movie is a perfect refresher for students before they hit the road.  With Baseball season in full swing, our Jackie Robinson movie is a valuable resource for teaching about the history of the sport.  Students often ask, “Why do we need to learn this?”  Answer their question with the featured topics and resources in the Practical Math spotlight.  From Comparing Prices to Estimating, we’ve included math concepts that students can apply to everyday life outside of the classroom.

BrainPOP Educator Amber Gross recently submitted a lesson plan with an amazing set of graphic organizers she created to facilitate student thinking before, during, and after BrainPOP Jr. movies. We were so impressed with the work she did on these organizers that we asked her to submit a guest blog post and tell more about how she uses them. Amber also shares two more versions of this graphic organizer set for other BrainPOP Jr. topics.

It’s a teaching truth: There’s always a big pay off when you take the time to frontload a lesson.  If only there was a tool to engage students, introduce key vocabulary, activate prior knowledge, and build background knowledge…oh, hello there, BrainPOP!

My students can’t get enough BrainPOP Jr. (and neither can I)!  We use the videos daily at the beginning of our lessons.  Some of my students (English Language Learners, special education students, Early Intervention Program students, and regular education students) need a little scaffolding to help them focus on the most important information, so I created a few organizers to use before, during, and after watching the videos.  Each organizer includes Key Vocabulary, Before and After Video Questions, Challenge Questions, and video images.

The vocabulary section includes Spanish translations and cloze-type definitions.  We predict which words will best complete the definitions before viewing the video, fill them in as we watch, and check to see how accurate our predictions were afterwards. Students attempt to answer the Before Video Questions before the video (no shocker there, huh?), which directs their attention to specific information during the video.  After Video Questions allow the students to evaluate their learning and compare their prior knowledge to new knowledge.  The Challenge Questions push the students to a higher level of thinking, and ask them to apply the new information.

The organizers also double as study guides.  The video’s title image allows students to refer back to the video at home or the library.  Since the images are taken directly from BrainPOP, they serve as great visual reminders of key information.  The vocabulary translations are helpful when sending the organizers home, as the Spanish speaking parents are able to see what is being discussed in class and talk about the concept with their child in their native language.

Aside from whole group instruction, BrainPOP Jr. has become the most exciting center in my classroom.  I use it extensively to preview topics we’ll be reading about during Guided Reading and have seen a dramatic increase in the motivation of the students when we begin a new book!  Students can independently view videos and complete one of my organizers (or any of the meaningful activities provided on the site) to preview, review, or extend the lesson.

Engaged students enjoying the learning process make me one happy teacher. Happy BrainPOP-ing!

If you enjoyed using Amber’s Food Chain graphic organizer, check out the ones she made for the BrainPOP Jr. Forces movie and the Solar System movie. Thank you, Amber, for sharing your work with us!

Please note early start time!

With the start of the 2012-13 school year, every child in South Carolina will have access to BrainPOP Jr. through DISCUS, the state’s virtual library. And we want every teacher in South Carolina to know the ins and outs of our award-winning K-3 resource. Join us as we take an in-depth look at the interactive and engaging features BrainPOP Jr. has to offer. We’ll discuss best practices for integration in your classroom, as well as useful tips and resources to be sure you get the most out of your subscription. Not a South Carolina teacher? Don’t worry, you’ll benefit from this BrainPOP Jr.-focused webinar, too!

This week we are excited to announce the debut of games from The Jason Project on GameUp. These science games are sure to excite your students while encouraging them to apply conceptual understanding of the topics you’re covering in class.  Exploring energy, power, gravity, force and the like? Then try out Coaster Creator and apply understanding to make a killer coaster with enough kinetic energy to complete a full run! Young Geologists can apply understanding of the rock cycle and mineral classification as spelunkers and exploring mines and locating minerals in Master Mines.

Continuing in the geologic vein,  Landform Detectives will help you find Pangea! (or at least build understanding of continental formation, plate tectonics and geological time).   Playing these new games from the Jason Project will help entertain and the lesson plans we provide, can help you contextualize them within your curriculum.  Got suggestions? Let us know.

Back in January we shared Dr. Kari Stubs’s experience at the  REAL (Recommendations for Education and Advancement of Learning) Commission kickoff meeting in Washington, DC.  The commission consists of 27 leaders in education technology who were responsible for constructing a report on initial research and policy agenda for Digital Promise.  Created by Congress with bipartisan support, Digital Promise is a national center that focuses on transforming teaching and learning with advanced technologies.  Its goal is to improve all levels and forms of education to prepare Americans to compete in the global economy by identifying necessary information and technology.

The report has been released!  On Friday, April 27th, the TechAmerica Foundation unveiled the REAL Agenda Commission report in Washington, D.C.  The REAL Commission report will serve as a guide for the inaugural years of Digital Promise and identify any policy hurdles that inhibit progress.  In creating the report, members of the commission worked together to develop and recommend research and activities that address the needs of education’s key stakeholders.    The commission hopes that their report will serve as a valuable resource to students, parents, educators, administrators, employers, public officials, and the overall community while having a positive effect on K-12 education technology.

Digital Promise wants to hear from you!  Be sure to check out the REAL Agenda Commission report and share your thoughts on the current challenges technology can help us solve and how you’re using technology to improve education in innovative ways.

If you missed the chance to venture into the Arctic with IMAX, we’ve got you covered!  In our April 25th webinar, we were joined by filmmaker Shaun MacGillivray and WWF’s polar bear expert, Geoff York, while we discussed the changing Arctic region and IMAX’s newest movie, To The Arctic.  Shaun and Geoff shared some fascinating facts about the making of the film, as well as some valuable resources you can use while teaching your students about the threatened Arctic wilderness.

The Adventures of Charlie Mac is a fabulous picture book teachers can integrate into their class’s study about the Arctic and give students the opportunity to view the region through the eyes of a child.  The film’s companion book is another wonderful resource that offers beautiful pictures of a region that most people will never see and can give students a better understanding of the rapidly changing environment.  The U.S. Global Change Research Program offers some excellent educator resources to guide teachers in building lessons focused on climate change.  Additionally, IMAX has created a cross-curricular educator’s guide with activities and lesson ideas for teachers to use in the classroom.

The Arctic is in need of your help!  To find out how you and your students can get involved, visit One World One Ocean or the WWF.  Don’t forget to enter our lesson plan contest for a chance to win some exciting prizes AND teach your students about the delicate Arctic region.

Gasps of excitement filled the BrainPOP offices this morning as the Space Shuttle (atop a 747) flew past our windows! Everyone was standing by the windows, mouths wide, with the cameras in hand! In celebration of the shuttle’s new home in New York, today we’re providing free access to our Space Flight movie.  Want more free content about space exploration?  Check out our Space Spotlight or build a solar system on GameUp!

Guest Blogger and BrainPOP Educator Julia Curtis-Burnes is a New York State certified and licensed educator. She received her Master’s Degree in Teaching from Brown University in 2008 and has a four year educational background working with students in grades k-12. Julia is currently working towards developing leadership programs that help students build skills to become good public speakers, strong writers, selective college applicants and successful college students.

Last month, I attended the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference in New York City on to provide my perspective as an educator who uses Brainpop as a teaching tool.

During the conference I worked at a booth with the BrainPOP team, taking turns helping everyone who came by.  I greatly enjoyed helping teachers learn more about how to use BrainPOP as a resource to empower them and their students in the classroom. The conference gave me the opportunity to showcase my ideas and share my specific pointers about BrainPOP.

There were so many teachers who came to the booth raving about what they loved about BrainPOP, However, one of the most common issues teachers shared was that the information in BrainPOP  was presented too quickly. Indeed, BrainPOP movies are short but packed with content and I struggled with this same issue at first. Here is my advice: A teacher can make sure all of her students are on track by assessing her students’ background knowledge. I recommend playing the movie for the first 30 seconds. Then, when Tim and Moby are presented with a question, pause the movie. Ask students to write down a response to that question.  Follow up by recording student answers on the board in the form of a brainstorm web or in a K-W-L chart.

As the students watch the rest of the movie, pause it whenever a new concept or vocabulary word is presented to discuss, compare, and contrast it with the student responses on the board. This will also help you, as the teacher, to gauge student understanding throughout your lesson. Follow up with BrainPOP activity sheets and quizzes, provided below the movie.

Attending the Celebration of Teaching and Learning Conference was a great experience that made me feel empowered as an educator. It helped me to enhance my skills as a teacher leader and to reflect on my own teaching methods.  BrainPOP is a wonderful resource for teachers and I enjoyed spreading the word!

Do you and your students use BrainPOP’s resources in the classroom … and beyond?  We’ve partnered with Intel to sponsor a lesson plan contest and we want to hear how you’re taking BrainPOP to go!  Implemented through We Are Teachers, the contest invites educators to submit lesson plans that showcase the use of BrainPOP’s interactive resources on mobile devices.  Submit by May 22^nd! Voting is open to the public; weigh in on what you consider the best submissions between May 24^th and June 7^th.  Winners will be announced on June 11^th, and grand prizes include $200 cash and a Flip cam – ideal for filming all your creative ideas in action!  We’ll even feature the winners on BrainPOP Educators.  We can’t wait to see what you come up with! Get the details and great ideas here.