Posts on “ writing ”

BrainPOP is thrilled to introduce a new category of free English Language Arts (ELA) games! When you visit the main GameUp page, you’ll now see an “English Games” button which takes you to our growing collection of online games that target a wide range of literacy skills. We’re also excited to announce the addition of Classroom, Inc.’s The Sports Network 2 (TSN-2) to our English GameUp offerings. The result of a 2011 Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), TSN-2 can easily be adapted for use with students in grades 5-9, but is designed to assess students’ proficiency in key grade 8 Common Core State Standards in Reading Informational Text. We love the way TSN-2 uses challenging tasks within a virtual workplace to address each of its target standards multiple times. Last spring, Classroom, Inc. piloted TSN-2 in eight schools in NYC and Chicago. Analysis of student data gathered through Classroom Inc’s Teacher Dashboard showed strong correlations between students’ scores on the TSN-2 embedded assessments and MAP reading scores—compelling evidence that TSN-2 is a valid predictor of student performance on standardized grade level reading tests. Pilot teachers were enthusiastic about how TSN-2 provides effective CCSS practice and assessment, and students were eager… Read the Rest»

A new week and a new topic page on BrainPOP Jr: Prefixes!  In this movie. Annie and Moby explain that a prefix is a letter or group of letters that is attached to the beginning of a word to change its meaning. Some prefixes give root words an opposite meaning. Some prefixes denote amounts or numbers. Understanding prefixes can help students read new and unfamiliar words. Enjoy!

Guest Bloggers and BrainPOP Educators Eliza Chung and Jan Bird worked with students from class 1a at The School at Columbia to create their own BrainPOP style movie about raising baby chicks. Here at BrainPOP Educators, we were thrilled to Skype with their students and help create the parameters for the awesome project. Eliza writes: “We wanted our first grade students to show their learning about writing procedural text in a creative manner. We’d been watching BrainPop Jr. videos all year long when they’ve connected with our curriculum, so the kids were familiar with the format and characters. When we Skyped with Andrew, from BrainPOP Educators, he asked us to create content about the changes involved with chicks and how to care for them, (which “coincidentally” was what we’d studied in our classroom). The kids were excited to make a movie for BrainPOP and be famous! They loved knowing other children would learn from what they could share. We brainstormed important knowledge we would need to include in the movie, and kids took charge of various aspects: the backgrounds, characters, and props. We wrote a script together, and each student had a part. They especially enjoyed drawing inspiration from the… Read the Rest»

Wednesday, June 13 3:00PM ET: Digital storytelling engages students by empowering them to write, produce and share their personal stories. The process also addresses crucial “21st century skills,” affirms student identity, and helps build social and emotional competencies. Join BrainPOP Educators Senior Manager Andrew Gardner for a deep look at the theories and processes of digital storytelling, as well as tools and strategies for bringing the practice into your classroom. This session was originally presented at the Mobile2012conference in April 2012.

  Things get a little weird this month on BrainPOP with June’s spotlight: Weird Science.  We’ve included everything from Bruises to Bats to Boogers.  Yuck!  Explore those strange carnivorous plants and follow up by playing Crazy Plant Shop, available on GameUp.  You’ll find content on creatures from under the sea, including giant squid and cnidarians, as well as a great extension activity to learn about the effects of an oil spill on the ocean.  We’ve even included some topics that are literally out of this world such as black holes and aliens, which has a related game on GameUp. K-3 topics include Fossils, Camouflage, and Ocean Habitats. June’s additional spotlight on Grammar includes topics that cover grammar, punctuation, and fun with words.  Help students put the brakes on those run-on sentences and polish their writing with the correct use of hyphens and dashes, semicolons and capitalization.  Encourage them to add some variety to their work with our Antonyms, Synonyms, and Homonyms movie while getting to the root of their words with the Etymology movie.  The BrainPOP Jr. spotlight offers Possessive Nouns, Tenses, Capital and Lowercase, Types of Sentences, and much more.    

Worry nevermore, BrainPOP now has an  Edgar Allan Poe movie!  We profile the 19th century author’s background and career as a writer, as well as his influence on gothic literature.  Join Tim and Moby as they explore the common themes found among some of his most famous literary works, including “The Tell Tale Heart, “The Raven,” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”  While Poe’s style is mostly gothic and gloomy, don’t be fooled.  Students will learn about the author’s softer side and discover pieces of literature that are not as dark.  The movie is the perfect resource for teaching students about the gothic horror genre, poetry, and the classic author.  The FYI section that accompanies the movie offers some insight to the myths and mysteries surrounding Poe, as well as famous quotations from the man himself.  

The BrainPOP topic library keeps growing!  Our Parallel Structure movie is the newest addition to our English and Writing offerings. If your writing seems wordy and unclear, then have we got a movie for you! In this BrainPOP topic, Tim and Moby explain how parallel structure can help you write sentences that are tight and lucid. You’ll learn the definition of parallel structure, and all the key rules, from making sure that the parts of speech in each list are the same, to ensuring that sentences that begin in the present tense end in the present tense. You’ll examine things like verb forms and voices, and explore how parallel structure can make your writing more persuasive. Finally, you’ll take a look at a few examples. It’s a compelling, arresting, and diverting topic, so click the link and take a look!  

BrainPOP is always growing! Whether we’re adding new topics to BrainPOP, sharing our favorite educational games on GameUp or a building new levels on BrainPOP ESL, we’re hard at work curating and creating the best content to share with students.  So what’s been happening recently? Well, this week, we have 2 premieres!  Young artists will enjoy BrainPOPJr’s perspective on Georgia O’Keeffe and Pablo Picasso, while writers will be set straight by checking out the newest BrianPOP topic on Parallel Structure.  On GameUp, our newest games include: Employee Cafeteria, Employee Lounge, and Mine Shaft all from Maryland Public TV’s Lure of the Labyrinth project. Just a few weeks ago BrainPOP ESL announced the debut the first unit in level three, bringing the total number of lessons to 65!  We do our best to create content that will help you and the students who love it. But, as always, we want to hear from you! Please share any suggestions you may have in our educators forum.

Wednesday, February 15 6:30PM: Rejoice for BrainPOP’s Researching Resources! Lisa Parisi, 4th grade teacher at the Denton Ave School in New Hyde Park NY, hosts this session full of tips and ideas for using BrainPOP as a non-fiction research tool. Lisa takes you beyond our movies, delving into our Q&As, FYIs, and other supporting features. You’ll leave wondering how your students ever researched without BrainPOP!  

We’ve Updated Our Research Resources! You know we’re always trying to make life a little easier for teachers. As part of that ongoing effort, we’ve redesigned the BrainPOP Research section, enhancing its offerings and making it even easier to navigate. Explore research and white papers relating to the integration and design of BrainPOP. There’s a science-based effectiveness study as well as relevant articles from outlets like theJournal of Educational Computing. Read about the use of multimedia in K-12 education and review case studies that demonstrate the ways teachers are using our resources. It’s all here! Interested in being part of future research projects or sharing your own findings?  We can’t wait to hear from you!