Posts on “ BrainPOP ESL ”

Chris Carter’s saga with BrainPOP ESL in Germany continues with week 4… Day Sixteen I used Brain Pop Jr. today.  Our current Unit of Inquiry is about animal habitats.  On Sunday, I wrote habitat in the search window and got eleven matches – not too shabby BrainPOP.  I went through them and found the language tougher than the ESL pages, but decided the visuals were strong enough to keep the class focused. It worked, kind of.  We started with Fresh Water Habitats because that starts with, “What is a habitat?”  They could handle the explanation that followed but I lost half of them when Annie went on to explain ecosystems.  They liked the game though.  You get to choose a fresh water habitat and then fill it with plants and animals. Day Seventeen Today we did the Rainforest habitat page.  Annie is quite the little chatter box compared to Ben.  I think she’s fine for a native speaking third grader but my English learning first grade doesn’t get words like tropical, humid, equator, or species. They keep waiting for Moby to bump into a tree, sink in the mud, or get squeezed by an anaconda.  I stopped the video after about… Read the Rest»

Driving Meaningful Instruction with BrainPOP ESL Wednesday, March 2, 2011 4:30 PM EST Duration: 1 Hour Join Anne Scatchell, BrainPOP Educator and ESL teacher, as she shares her experiences using BrainPOP ESL to support her English language learners. Anne will walk you through a series of writing-related lessons based on her own students’ needs. See how she used BrainPOP ESL to create memorable, meaningful lessons that engage ESL students and provide them with the confidence to use 21st century tools to enrich their learning. RSVP: http://drivingesl.eventbrite.com/

Driving Meaningful Instruction with BrainPOP ESL Wednesday, February 9, 2011 4:30 PM EST Duration: 1 Hour Join Anne Scatchell, BrainPOP Educator and ESL teacher, as she shares her experiences using BrainPOP ESL to support her English language learners. Anne will walk you through a series of writing-related lessons based on her own students’ needs. See how she used BrainPOP ESL to create memorable, meaningful lessons that engage ESL students and provide them with the confidence to use 21st century tools to enrich their learning. RSVP: http://drivingesl.eventbrite.com/

Teaching Reading Skills with BrainPOP ESL Wednesday, January 26, 2010 4:30 PM EST Duration: 1 Hour Reading is one of the four language skills taught in every BP ESL lesson. Join this webinar and become familiar with how reading instruction progresses from complete beginning to an advanced level. We’ll also take a look at some effective literacy activities in the lesson plans. RSVP: http://eslreading.eventbrite.com

Chris Carter’s saga with BrainPOP ESL in Germany continues with week 3… Day Eleven I tried the Sun is Shining (Teaching Tools; Extra Practice) game today after we finished level one, 2.1.  It went pretty well, though they tended to hang on my examples.  I let them stop after three sentences.  We’ll revisit the activity and build on it.  Student B said, “Mr. Carter, the sun is not shining.”  “You’re right.” I said.  “Very good!  The sun is not shining.  It is cold and grey today.”  Winter is coming to Berlin. Day Twelve Last Friday I sent the parents in my class the link to BrainPOP’s free lessons.  Many of the students are using BrainPOP at home now.  I like this. Day Thirteen I’ve run into a little problem with the You Can Do It quiz and, to a smaller extent, with some of the Warm Up activities.  At the end of level one 2.1 I let the students come up three at a time and each answer a question.  The students who are not sure of an answer often look over their shoulder for help; and the help comes pouring in.  Since we’re trying to learn English I request… Read the Rest»

Chris Carter’s saga with BrainPOP ESL in Germany continues… Day Six (Week Two) Student C is still not satisfied.  She’s frustrated that Ben has spent all this time explaining every little thing to Moby and he still can’t say one word.  She points out that student D, who has only been watching Ben for a week, can already make whole sentences. Day Seven At level 1.3, I made the mistake of showing the movie, Words to Know, and Facts to Know straight through without a break.  We only got about three seconds into Facts to Know before Student C called out (in German) “Boring!”  A quick scan of the room showed me she wasn’t the only one who thought.  I quickly went to the Play It activity and called three students up. I always call three at a time.  It goes faster that way.  I also allow them to whisper to each other at the board.  I like to see knowledge spread.  The first three students listened to the prompts and clicked off the first three cascading pictures.  Actually, we all listened to the prompts.  There was a great deal of calling out from the rest of the class when… Read the Rest»

First grade teacher, Chris Carter, has graciously agreed to document and share his experiences using BrainPOP at his international school in Berlin, Germany. Chris has a great sense of humor and the series is full of subtle tips. Stay posted to continue the journey with Chris, as well as other teachers using BrainPOP internationally! Brain Pop has come to Germany.  In this blog series I will record my experiences using BrainPOP ESL with a first grade class in the heart of Berlin.  My class is a mix of German and international kids.  It’s an interesting mix.  A few of the students are fluent in English.  Some are real beginners.  I’m trying a daily dose of BrainPOP ESL to help me raise the level of English throughout the class. Day One I showed my class the first Brain Pop ESL film.  Level one, film one.  Student A laughed his head off.  He thinks Moby is an absolute riot.  Too be fair, I should tell you that Student A laughs at almost everything.  The song ‘Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed’ almost kills him.  We watched a video of it once and he laughed so hard there were tears in his… Read the Rest»

Teaching and Learning English With BrainPOP ESL Wednesday, October 27 4:30 PM EDT Duration: 1 Hour Tour BrainPOP ESL and get acquainted with its various components. Eight interactive features support each movie and reinforce lessons through practice in all four language skills. In addition, there are lively interactive games, quizzes, and lesson plans. Join us and explore the ways that BrainPOP ESL brings English-learning to life in the classroom. RSVP: http://brainpopesl1.eventbrite.com

Usher in Fall 2010 with one of our free weekly webinars, Wednesdays at 4:30 pm EDT unless otherwise noted. Our October webinars will help you harness the power of netTrekker and BrainPOP (October 6); bring Twitter into your classroom (October 13); navigate the new BrainPOP Educators (October 20); and get the most out of BrainPOP ESL (October 27). Get the details and RSVP for any or all of our webinars – space is limited. Did you miss a past webinar? Visit our Archives. Please let us know what topics you’d like to hear about by posting comments below. We’re always happy to provide statements of participation.

Teaching and Learning English With BrainPOP ESL Wednesday, September 29 4:30 EDT Duration: 1 Hour Tour BrainPOP ESL and get acquainted with its various components. Eight interactive features support each movie and reinforce lessons through practice in all four language skills. In addition, there are lively interactive games, quizzes, and lesson plans. Join us and explore the ways that BrainPOP ESL brings English-learning to life in the classroom. RSVP: http://bpesl.eventbrite.com