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 Strategy: Watch, Discuss, Rewatch

I Tried It: Watch, Discuss, Rewatch

• "Make BrainPOP movies a more active part of your class with Pause Points–while also providing an opportunity to practice essential literacy skills."
• Learn how educators have implemented this strategy using BrainPop.

Honoring Black History in the Classroom

• "A curriculum that integrates authentic and age-appropriate stories of history-making Black Americans helps provide a foundation of empathy and cultural literacy that allows all students to thrive in a multicultural society."
• Check out this BrainPop blog post for lesson and project ideas. 

Don't miss out on 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!

Discovery Education is looking for educators in Grades 6-12 who would be interested in having a BioTech industry guest speaker (from FutureLab+) virtually join your classroom for 30 minutes in March 2025 and share about their career or content you are talking about in your classroom!

Opportunity:

• Futurelab+ is about the magic of discovery, bringing the expertise of science professionals to students to help them unleash their potential as the next generation of innovators in the biotech industry. Futurelab+ offers a comprehensive curriculum including masterclass resources, tools to support an independent year of research, and biotech volunteers to connect with your classroom. You'll find scientists, engineers, data scientists, HR recruitment, strategists, and patient advocacy relations. 

Timing:

• Now-Feb 14 | Educators sign up + make request in Career Connect
• Feb 14 - Feb 28 | FutureLab+ Employees sign up for connects
• March | Happy Connecting!
• April | Educators will receive a $25 Amazon gift card for completing at least one connect

Interested? Here are next steps:

• Let us know you're in by completing this quick form.
• Make sure you're in Career Connect using your district's DE account by accessing the automatic online registration. (All IU13 Public School District Educators have access to DE Experience)
• Make a request for a connect in the platform. Check out this video or article for directions. 
  • Make a direct request if you see a profile that you think would be great for your classroom! 
  • If you're flexible on who talks to your class, then make an open request with additional information for what you're looking for! 
• The team will ensure you are connected and have what you need before March! 

Questions?

• If you have any questions, please contact Tim Leister at timothy_leister@iu13.org

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

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