Get Sora Ready for the New School Year!

Below are some resources to help promote your district's Sora collection when it's time to welcome students and teachers back to the new school year!

Sora Must-Haves

• Promotional Graphics
• New Sora Users - Getting Started Guides
• Informational Handouts for Teachers and Parent
• Promotional Videos - like the one above
• Sora Content Graphics for Social Media - like the one below

Printables & Posters

It’s important to give your Sora collection a physical presence. Highlighting it during events meant for parents and guardians reminds them that their students have books available to them 24/7.   

• Sora at Home Flyer
• Promoting positive screentime with Sora  
• Sora ID Cards
• Sora reading challenge worksheet
• Coloring pages:
  • Sora tablet or Sora space
• Posters:
  • Open a World of Reading,
  • Adventure Begins (YA readers) or
  • Adventure Begins (Juvenile readers)  

Digital Displays

• Director Dashboard – show all-time circulation stats alongside real-time checkouts and holds
• Sora Showcase – set up interactive touchscreen displays that allow guests to browse your digital collection

For assistance? 

• your dedicated IU13 Sora Account Manager, Ben Kowalczyk at bkowalczyk@overdrive.com, or
• your dedicated Sora Librarian, Katherine Assink at kassink@overdrive.com 

Sora Sweet Reads kicks off on May 12th!

Sora Sweet Reads is designed for schools to encourage students to keep reading all year long! This year’s selection from Sora is a mix of more than 200 ebooks (and select audiobooks) spanning grades K-12 – available for FREE AND SIMULTANEOUS USE until August 25th. All titles will be prominently displayed on your school’s Sora Explore page – with the option for librarians to weed out the collection as needed. There are 190 Elementary titles, along with 27 titles for middle school and 24 for high school.

How to get started?

• View the Sora Sweet Reads 2025 Collection
• Download the new Sora Sweet Reads Kit filled with social graphics and print materials on the Sora Sweet Reads Resources page.  

Reach out to your Sora Account Team with any questions or if you want to opt out of the program.

The IU13 IMS BrainPOP Bulletin is designed to provide inspiration for your classroom. Be sure to log into your district's BrainPop account to access these resources

Spring is here!

Let's plant seeds of knowledge with new critical thinking skills and lesson ideas

Making Inferences

• Introduce learners to inferring—combining clues and prior knowledge to form ideas, a skill used every day.
• To students: "Inferring is something you do every day, whether or not you realize it: You combine clues you come across in the world with what you already know to form ideas. In a text, drawing inferences is about reading between the lines. Authors don’t state everything explicitly—that would get boring!"
• Explore this topic on BrainPop!

Earth Day - Natural Resources

• Highlight Earth Day by introducing learners to Earth's resources— from air and minerals to renewable vs nonrenewable—and why conservation matters.
• To students: "Have you ever considered how much use we make of our planet? From the air we breathe to the timber we use for shelter to the minerals we refine into metals, life just wouldn’t be livable without our natural resources. But what are the consequences of overuse? "
• Explore this topic on BrainPop that includes the new "Leveled Reading" feature!

Teachers - 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!

Here are some "Timely & Relevant" resources from Discovery Education for March and April 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.

Highlighted Timely Content

• Searching for timely monthly resources? Check out the March Newsletter and the April Newsletter for instant access to product news, resources and best practices - perfect for monthly celebrations such as:

Timely Celebrations:

• • Earth Day (4/22) - Explore the Earth Day channel for ready-to-use tools like Choice Boards, Sentence Fix-Its, and real-world media to inspire your students to make a difference for our planet.

  • Financial Literacy Month - The Financial Literacy Channel helps students learn to make smart financial choices and build the skills they need to succeed. Don't miss out on unique programs like Pathways to Financial Success powered by Discover, and Econ Essentials powered by Futures Fundamentals. Enrich your classroom by using Career Connect to bring in a guest speaker from the financial industry. Give your students a firsthand look at the essential skills professionals use every day. US Bank, Discover, and more are on Career Connect now!

Earth Day Career Connect Spotlight

• Earth Day Career Connect Spotlight - Sign up here!ˆ •
  • April 22, 10 AM EST - Join LEGO and Bat Conservation International as two featured classrooms present their solutions to protect vulnerable species. Hear the expert’s feedback and help explore ways communities like yours can get involved in supporting endangered animals. ˆ •
  • April 22, 12:00 PM EST - Discover how mechanical engineering is driving solutions that support our planet with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Hear from professionals about innovations in renewable energy, innovative manufacturing, and emerging technologies. Learn how ASME supports engineers in supporting our environment.  •
  • April 22, 2:00 PM EST - Experience the critical work being done at the Mount Washington Observatory to study extreme weather. Learn about the unique challenges and rewards of conducting environmental research in harsh conditions and discover career opportunities in meteorology and weather science.
    
    
• How to use Career Connect?
  • Make sure you are registered in Career Connect using your district's DE account by accessing their automatic online registration. Reminder - All IU13 Public School District Educators have access to DE Experience
  • Make a direct request if you see a profile that you think would be great for your classroom! Check out this video or article for directions. 

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.

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 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!