BrainPOP has added a multi-faceted new resource—BrainPOP Educators (www.brainpop.com/educators)—that offers tips, tools and best practices for the teaching community. User-generated content is encouraged, and access is entirely free with registration.
Like its siblings BrainPOP (grades 3 and up) and BrainPOP Jr. (K–3), BrainPOP Educators is easy to navigate and requires no software installation. Members will find downloadable, proven lesson plans for multiple grade levels, as well as the option to add their own. Virtual classroom visits highlight the ways BrainPOP can be used in different settings, with a variety of different technology arrangements. Using the curricular tie-in feature and state standards tool, educators can search by for content that enriches their lessons about holidays, special occasions, current events or any other academic theme. BrainPOP-powered graphic organizers help students grasp and express complex concepts, while professional development tools help teachers train their colleagues on how to use BrainPOP. The BrainPOP Educators blog enables teachers to communicate with one another, share ideas and stay up-to-date.
“We wanted to create a place where teachers everywhere—whether they use BrainPOP regularly or not—could find and exchange creative ideas with colleagues,” says Allisyn Levy, Director of BrainPOP Educators. “As a former classroom teacher myself, I know how valuable that exchange can be. The accessibility of free resources on BrainPOP Educators, and the sharing of perspectives it fosters, makes it an ideal forum no matter what or where you teach—one that can truly transform a classroom.”
BrainPOP Educators launched in September and already boasts nearly 10,000 members. Thanks to submissions from all across the country, new content is continually added to the Lesson Plan section. The growing library of topics currently covers subjects as diverse as acceleration, Ezra Jack Keats, Cesar Chavez, ancient civilizations, addition, subtraction and animal habitats—to name just a few.
Within these ideas, creativity abounds. A lesson plan sent in by Robert Miller, who teaches 4th- and 5th-grade science at Port Orange Elementary School in Port Orange, Fla., uses snack-sized candy bars to study density, mass and volume. Illinois social studies teacher Holly Brown (Mascoutah Middle School) shared the way her students designed their own mock election.
Via video tutorials, educators get a close-up look at the ways their colleagues work BrainPOP into lessons on subjects as divers as acids and bases, Lewis and Clark, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and the Reconstruction era. Other tutorials available include, “Differentiating with BrainPOP Jr.,” “BrainPOP on an Interactive Whiteboard” and “BrainPOP Jr. in the Classroom.”
To learn more about BrainPOP Educators, BrainPOP itself or BrainPOP Jr., or simply to chat with their staff and pick up some great giveaways, visit FETC booth 567.
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