Here are some "Timely & Relevant" resources from Discovery Education for February 2025 - your daily hub of resources for your classroom with digital media and ready-to-use learning activities. Be sure to log into your district's single sign on link for Discovery Education before clicking on the links in this post.

Explore the Ready-to-Use-Activities

• Explore DE's ready-to-use activities for K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grade bands. These time-saving activities can be used as-is or modified to meet the needs of their classroom! From Background Builders to Daily Sentence Fix-Its to Choice Boards and more – teachers can find quick grab and go resources to use anytime in the Instructional Activities Channel, such as:

  • Activity Calendars for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5 - Use them as they are or make your own copy to edit and share.
  • Daily Sentence Fix-It Calendars for each month for Grades 3-5 - Check out this month's February edition.
  • Need to Know Lesson for Grades 3-8 - Map Elements - a classroom lesson that engages students about map elements through a classroom activity that features the primary source map, "Major land uses in the United States." 

Highlighted Monthly & Timely Content

• Searching for timely monthly resources? Check out the February Highlights Newsletter for instant access to a treasure trove of Discovery Education resources for all grade levels - perfect for monthly celebrations. View examples that include:

Monthly Celebrations:

• • Black History Month

  • Career and Technical Education Month

  • American Heart Month

Timely Celebrations:

• • Groundhog Day (2/2): Follow along as Lenzi traces the history of Groundhog Day, revealing its roots in the German holiday Candlemas.

  • World Read Aloud Day (2/7): Share your love of reading with students on World Read Aloud Day with the Vooks storybooks brought to life through animation. 

  • Superbowl (2/9): The American Heart Association and the National Football League have joined forces with Discovery Education to inspire physically active lifestyles in schools. 

  • Valentine’s Day (2/14): Explore resources around Valentine's Day, or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is a holiday celebrated around the world on February 14.

  • President’s Day (2/17): Explore resources that teach about current and past leaders, the role of the executive branch, and the history of the holiday.

  • Random Acts of Kindness Day (2/17): Use this activity to discuss how students can show kindness to their classmates.

Virtual Field Trip to the LIV Golf Team Championship

• Take a Virtual Field Trip to the LIV Golf Team Championship in Dallas, Texas, where teams of professional golfers work together to improve their performance and win using communication, problem-solving skills, and mindset techniques–the same STEM principles needed to cultivate fundamental life and career skills. 

• February 19, 2025 for Grades 6-8 / Ages 11-14 - 30 minutes

• Sign Up Here

Information compiled in this update was provided by our partners at Discovery Education

The BrainPOP Bulletin is designed to provide inspiration for your classroom. Monthly bulletins have fresh instructional ideas, classroom swag, and community announcements for classroom teachers. 

This Month's Question - How can I keep my class engaged and energized before winter break?

How to Motivate Students to Work in Collaborative Teams

• "Boost and maintain classroom energy through the rest of 2024 by having students work together. From project-based learning to a culture of celebration, student collaboration can improve active listening, engagement, and more."
• Read up on BrainPOP educators' best classroom collaboration tips.

Five Brain Breaks Ideas for Middle School Students

• "Middle school students may need a minute, or five minutes, to fully get ready to start that lesson. There are quite a few distractions in and outside the classroom. Whether it’s the start of class or a break in between lessons, no brain break is too small or too big."
• Check out this BrainPop blog post for some unique classroom attention getters to boost learning all day.

ICYMI: 3 Reasons AI Should Be Part of Your Digital Citizenship Lessons

• "Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a term that has made many rounds in the news cycle this year. As with any emerging technology, it has come with various (and even divided) opinions, especially when it comes to its use in education. However, there’s one thing we can all agree on–AI isn’t going anywhere." 
• Read the recent BrainPop Teaching Strategies blog post to learn more.

Don't miss fresh new classroom swag!

• Brighten and organize your classroom with these free, time-saving printables for weekly planning, building routines, and just for fun!
• Download stickers, posters, game templates and much more!

Here are some "Timely & Relevant" resources from Discovery Education for December 2024 - your daily hub of resources for your classroom with digital media and ready-to-use learning activities. Be sure to log into your district's single sign on link for Discovery Education before clicking on the links in this post.

Explore the Ready-to-Use-Activities

• Explore DE's ready-to-use activities for K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 grade bands. These time-saving activities can be used as-is or modified to meet the needs of their classroom! From Background Builders to Daily Sentence Fix-Its to Choice Boards and more – teachers can find quick grab and go resources to use anytime in the Instructional Activities Channel, such as:

  • Activity Calendars for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5 - Use them as they are or make your own copy to edit and share.
  • Daily Sentence Fix-It Calendars for each month for Grades 3-5 - Check out this month's December edition.
  • Need to Know Lesson for Grades 3-8 - The Supreme Court and the Judicial Branch - engage students in a classroom activity that features the primary source photograph, "Supreme Court of the United States." (as seen in the image below)

Highlighted Monthly & Timely Content

• Searching for timely monthly resources? Check out the December Highlights Newsletter for instant access to a treasure trove of Discovery Education resources for all grade levels - perfect for monthly celebrations. View examples that include:

Holiday Celebrations:

• • Celebrations of Light Around the World (3-8)

  • Sentence Fix-It: December Holidays  (K-2)

  • Hanukkah  K-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | K-12 Channel

  • Christmas K-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | K-12 Channel

  • Kwanzaa  K-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | K-12 Channel

Timely Celebrations:

• • Hour of Code/Computer Education Week (12/6-12/12): Computer programming, often called coding, is the process of entering a sequence of instructions to command a computer to complete a specific task. 

• • Pearl Harbor (12/7): Explore the events surrounding the Battle of Pearl Harbor and the loss of more than 2,000 lives on December 7, 1941. 

  • Genocide Prevention Day (12/9): USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action. 

  • International Mountain Day (12/11): Witness how Earth changes—all around you, and all the time! 

  • Wright Brothers Day   (12/17): Learn about the contributions of the Wright brothers to the field of aviation.

  • First Day of Winter   (12/21): Discover a collection of videos, images, songs, and writing prompts that explore the science behind the seasons and their environmental effects.

ICYMI - School Leaders - set your teachers up for success with DE Experience

• Check out the Discovery Education Experience Toolkit that contains resources and training materials for teachers, including bite-sized, engaging micro-training is tailored for teachers (by teachers) and encourages them to dive into the product, customize their homepage, and quickly find the content resources they need. Everything you need is here, including email templates, a talking script, and a resource list. 

Information compiled in this update was provided by our partners at Discovery Education

The BrainPOP Bulletin is designed to provide inspiration for your classroom. Monthly bulletins have fresh instructional ideas, classroom swag, and community announcements for classroom teachers. 

This Month's Question - How can I meet students where they are on their learning path?

 Universal Design for Learning (UDL) 

• Classrooms are filled with diverse learners, each with unique strengths and abilities. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides teachers with a framework to meet students where they are and create inclusive, empowering learning experiences. Check out BrainPop's guide for incorporating UDL best practices in your classroom!
• Go to the Guide!

Teaching Strategies: Quick Attention Getters to Boost K-3 Classrooms

• "It’s the first day back from a long weekend, or maybe it’s right before a big holiday break, and your class just won’t focus. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep those curious minds focused on a task or project. Our team of former teachers and admins, otherwise known as BrainPOPers, understand and have been just like you sitting in that energetic classroom."
• Check out this BrainPop blog post for some unique classroom attention getters to boost learning all day.

ICYMI: 3 Reasons AI Should Be Part of Your Digital Citizenship Lessons

• Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is a term that has made many rounds in the news cycle this year. As with any emerging technology, it has come with various (and even divided) opinions, especially when it comes to its use in education. However, there’s one thing we can all agree on–AI isn’t going anywhere. 
• Read the recent BrainPop Teaching Strategies blog post to learn more.

Leveled Reading and Vocab Builder

• Our new learning activities Leveled Reading and Vocab Builder help build background knowledge across a wide range of subjects, making curricular material more impactful for all learners. Log in to try some activities for yourself!

The next Big Library Read kicks off on November 7th with a mystery for the whole family to enjoy!

The Sora Big Library Read is occurring again this year from November 7 - 21

• Have your students join and participate in a worldwide book club this November! Montgomery and the Case of the Golden Key by Tracy Occomy Crowder will become available for simultaneous use in ebook and audiobook formats between November 7-21. The title, along with a promotional spotlight on Sora, will be added at no cost. 

• Like past Big Library Read programs, you can download free marketing materials and use #BigLibraryRead on social media to get the word out. There is a letter from the author and a reader group guide available for parents and educators. 

• Legler Regional Library in Chicago, Illinois will be hosting a live event on November 21 from 5-7 PM CDT. Author, Tracy Occomy Crowder will be attending from 6-7 PM for a live reading, audience Q&A, and story writing activity. Any readers that are interested in attending virtually can register here or via Legler Regional’s website!

• The Content Access Level for this title is set at "Juvenile"

Summary

• "In 2008 Chicago, in the Southside community of Washington Park, Montgomery “Monty” Carver had hopes for the best summer ever! Unfortunately, things aren’t going as planned. Monty is struggling to prove to his parents that he’s old enough to be without adult supervision - especially after a very embarrassing incident with a metal detector. Man! So when Monty finds a golden key in Old Lady Jenkins’s sunflowers, he decides he’s going to unravel the key’s mystery all by himself, thank you very much. No parents allowed. Besides, he’s ten years old now, and he’s mastered the perfectly round ‘fro! (It takes a protractor, you see.) Soon Monty’s hunt to determine the origin of the key leads him to discover the rich history—like famous Black jockeys!—of his Chicago community, which has been speculating its future since one of their residents, Barack Obama, is running for president and the Olympics might come to town in 2016.
  
  On top of all that speculating, there are rumors going around that a ghost is hanging out behind their apartment building, and that Monty’s elementary school may have to close. So much to solve! Should the Olympics come to Washington Park? What happens if his school closes? Is there really a ghost? And where, oh where, did the key come from anyway? Monty is determined to find out."