Educational Technology at IU13

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 do you keep students engaged for a whole lesson?

'Noticing and Wondering': Activating BrainPOP learning beyond movies

• Students’ minds may run a mile a minute but with the ‘Noticing and Wondering' strategy, you’ll be sure to lock-in their attention and have all eyes focused on the content. You’ll be amazed to see student learning confidence grow within one single lesson.View the video in the current BP Bulletin to learn how!

Bonus Tip for Noticing and Wonder Strategy

• Once your students have listed their “noticings and wonderings” and have rewatched the movie, have them return to their Make-a-Map and add a new “I understand” column. Writing down their new learnings will help reinforce students’ comprehension. Log into BrainPop to try it out!

Connect by BrainPOP

• On Sunday, February 25th, from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm  (EST), educators are invited to a virtual event to "Discover ways to incorporate easy to implement strategies to build essential skills across the curriculum." Reserve your spot here. 

Miss anything from past bulletins?

• Scroll to the bottom of each bulletin to view past instructional practices and ideas using BrainPop.

Here are some "Timely & Relevant" resources from Discovery Education for the month of February 2024. Use Discovery Education as your daily hub of resources for your classroom with digital media and ready-to-use learning activities. Be sure to log into your instance of Discovery Education before clicking on the links in this post.

Timely and Relevant Resources

• Check out the February 2024 DE Newsletter for a list of resources that supports student learning throughout the month.  Click on the link above or the image to open and download this month's newsletter.

Explore the Ready-to-Use-Activities

• Explore DE's ready-to-use activities 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.

• There you’ll find this month's Activity Calendars for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. Use them as they are or make your own copy to edit and share.

Highlighted Monthly & Timely Celebrations

• World Read Aloud Day (2/7): Share your love of reading with students on World Read Aloud Day! Explore Discovery Education's ready-to-use activities and video quizzes that highlight
  the Vooks storybooks brought to life through animation.
• Superbowl (2/11): The American Heart Association and the National Football League, working together with Discovery Education, have joined forces to amplify NFL PLAY 60’s reach and impact by inspiring physically active lifestyles in schools and homes nationwide.
• President’s Day (2/19): Explore resources that teach about current and past leaders, the role of the executive branch, and the history of the holiday.

Innovators for Impact Virtual Field Trip

• “Innovators for Impact” Virtual Field Trip with Olympian Katie Ledecky and Panasonic on February 15 at 1pm ET for students in Grades 6-12: 
  • Take a trip overseas with 3-time Olympian, 21-time World Champion, and 10-time Olympic medal-winning swimmer Katie Ledecky as she visits a future-forward region of Japan where sustainable science is being used to transform everyday life for the better. Students will explore ways that exciting innovations in robotics, smart mobility solutions, and renewal energy are being used by STEM experts at Panasonic to help make sustainable smart towns a reality.  Register today!

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 teachers get students excited about assessments?

Gamifying traditional assessments

• Assessments don’t have to feel dull. With BrainPOP’s Quiz feature, there’s an easy way to get students excited to demonstrate their understanding. In this month’s tip, we’re sharing how you can turn assessments into play with one simple game. View the video in the current BP Bulletin to learn how!

Bonus Tip for your Four Corners game!

• If students are divided on their answers, encourage them to change their classmates’ minds! They can support their choice with reasoning and convince their peers to switch their corner.  Log into BrainPop to try it out!

Also in the current Bulletin edition...

• Watch some "Words of Wisdom" from the BP teacher community 

Miss anything from past bulletins?

• Scroll to the bottom of each bulletin to view past instructional practices and ideas using BrainPop.

Here are some "Timely & Relevant" resources from Discovery Education for the month of January 2024. Use Discovery Education as your daily hub of resources for your classroom with digital media and ready-to-use learning activities. Be sure to log into your instance of Discovery Education before clicking on the links in this post.

Timely and Relevant Resources

• Check out the January 2024 DE Newsletter for a list of resources that supports student learning throughout the summer.  Click on the link above or the image to open and download this month's newsletter.

Explore the Ready-to-Use-Activities

• Explore DE's ready-to-use activities These time-saving activities can be used as-is or modified to meet the needs of their classroom! From Background Builders to Sentence Fix-Its to Choice Boards and more – teachers can find quick grab and go resources to use anytime in the Instructional Activities Channel.

• There you’ll find this month's Activity Calendars for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5. Use them as they are or make your own copy to edit and share.

Monthly & Timely Celebrations

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1/16):  Find videos, resources and ready-to-go learning activities to help your students 'meet' Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a pastor who led and inspired others to demand equal rights. Dr. King advocated for peaceful resistance to unfair laws, such as boycotting buses that forced Black Americans to ride separately and leading a march to Washington, D.C., to call for jobs and freedom for all. 
• Penguin Awareness Day (1/20): Put on your tuxedo and celebrate the world's favorite flightless bird. Investigate the different shapes and sizes of penguins around the world, explore their habitats, and see how penguins glide through the water just like other birds fly through the air.
• International Holocaust Remembrance Day (1/27): USC Shoah Foundation is dedicated to making audio-visual interviews with survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides a compelling voice for education and action. Explore The Willesden Project and learn about the impact of a powerful narrative that we hold within ourselves the power to overcome hatred.

Explore New York City in Virtual Reality 

• Coming on January 10th for Grades 6-12 | Edge at Hudson Yards | Virtual Reality 3D Virtual Field Trip 
  • Discover the out-of-this-world views of Edge at Hudson Yards in Reach for the Sky VR, a one-of-a-kind environment with an immersive virtual reality experience. In this new immersive experience, students can control their journey and interact with their environment as they explore learning hotspots, visit a weather observation station, and take flight with a drone through the NYC skyline!

District & School Communications

• Use these Subject-Specific and Grade-Specific PDFs from Discovery Education (like the Social Studies one pictured below) in staff newsletters, emails, and social media posts to engage teachers with useful tips, content ideas, and instructional strategies.
• Subject-Specific - Science, Math, Social Studies, ELA, PE & Health and Visual & Performing Arts
• Grade-Specific - Elementary and Secondary

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

The monthly BrainPOP Bulletin is designed to provide inspiration for your classroom. Each month's bulletin has fresh instructional ideas, classroom swag, and community announcements for classroom teachers. 

This Month's Question - How can multilingual learners get extra support?

The Frayer Model for multilingual learners 

• Give your multilingual learners the support they need with this simple, time-saving strategy. In this month’s tip, we’re combining BrainPOP’s Make-a-Map tool with the Frayer Model to explore how to build academic vocabulary and provide flexibility.  View the video in the monthly bulletin to learn how!

Bonus Tip!

• Make-a-Map projects can be printed or saved in student accounts, so your learners can always return to their models when they need them. Log into BrainPop to try it out!

Also in this month's Bulletin...

• Watch Tim & Moby answer the question - "What is #TeacherMath?"