Resource #3 ~ BrainPOPJr

Ask your librarian for User Name and Password

This is another resource that we subscribe to here at Underhill School. Teachers and students alike just love BrainPOPJr.  The high interest format makes learning fun for kids and provides a comprehensive resource for teachers.  There are  hundreds of topics within the categories of Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health. Each topic has the following available:

• An overview of the topic
• A lesson plan, correlated to the Common Core and State Standards
• A Word Wall, so students can preview vocabulary related to the topic
• A video, featuring characters Annie (a little girl) and Moby (a computer) who exhibit curiosity about the topic in the form of questions. The questions appear on a notepad to the right of the video, and when something is highlighted in red, it is an opportunity for the teacher to PAUSE the video for discussion.
• An Easy Quiz and a Hard Quiz in multiple choice format, to assess comprehension.  These can be printed or used online.
• A Comic Strip that presents a twist on the topic, and Pop a Joke. These encourage creative use of language.
• A Game that usually includes sequencing or matching skills related to the topic.
• Activities that provide suggestions for extending the topic.

PLUS - so much more!  Webinars are offered to help you make the most of this valuable resource.
Here's some background info on BrainPOPJr:

"BrainPOPJr. supports individual, small group, and whole-class learning. The characters help introduce new topics and illustrate complex concepts. Our Mixer^™tool lets users tailor their assessments to meet all students' needs. A great fit for mobile learning and BYOD classrooms, BrainPOP’s educational apps have been downloaded millions of times and lauded in countless reviews.

All our resources are fully supported by BrainPOP Educators, our free teacher community. Our content is mapped to the Common Core, aligned to academic standards, and searchable with our online Standards Tool. BrainPOP is easy to use, with no downloading, installation, or special hardware required." 

BrainPOP was conceived by Avraham Kadar, M.D., an immunologist and pediatrician, as a creative way to explain difficult concepts to his young patients. Today, we're used in almost 20 percent of U.S. schools, and are growing internationally."

How do you like BrainPOPJr?  Have you accessed the Educators Community? Do you have ideas, tips or strategies for interesting ways to utilize this resource?  Inquiring minds want to know!  Comments, please!

Resource #2 - PebbleGo!

Underhill School is fortunate to have several subscription resources when it comes to providing differentiation for our students. I will highlight a few of these my next series of posts.

Ask your librarian for User Name and Password

Finally ... a research resource that is accessible for younger students! Pebble Go is carefully designed to present high interest information in a format that emergent readers will find easy to understand. This allows them to answer their questions, find information and discover facts from a reliable source, and see that citations are given - all the marks of good research.

Features include:

•  videos for engaging students, and you can 

  • click on any selection to hear it read aloud

    • games and voting (poll) options

      • article of the day

        • educator resources

Underhill School subscribes to this database, so please check it out and let me know what you think.  Better yet, begin using it in your classroom to help your students practice elementary research skills.

 

 

Resource #1 - Discovery Education

Underhill School is fortunate to have several subscription resources when it comes to providing differentiation for our students. I will highlight a few of these my next series of posts.

Resource #1 - "Discovery Education"

Ask your librarian for User Name and Password

For videos, video clips, photos and images, you can't do much better than Discovery Education. I really like the ability to download videos and clips right onto my computer so I don't need to access the internet to show them. One click on a video and it is there for whenever I need it.   Everything is searchable by Grade Level, Subject and/or Media Type.

For example, a recent search by grade level K-2, and the words "Reading Rainbow" led me to a wealth of Reading Rainbow episodes. You can show the whole video, or just clips of the part you want students to view:

In the Discovery Education section for teachers, you can find lesson plans, puzzlemaker, worksheets, interactive resources, and connections to state standards. You can build a "My DE" page where you can link into upcoming webinars, access content, tap into an educator network or learn more about how to best utilize all that Discovery Education  has to offer you.

One of my favorites is a link to Kathy Schrock, Librarian and Technology Specialist Extraordinaire! You will find her blog and columns to be invaluable for useful, practical and fun resources for your classroom.  
Once you begin using Discovery Education, you'll wonder why you waited.

They say:

          "Discovery Education transforms classrooms, empowers teachers and captivates students   by leading the way in providing high quality, dynamic, digital content to school districts ...

Teachers say:

"It is essential for students to have multiple and varied exposures to content in order for them to truly learn and understand it. Discovery Education is an invaluable resource in this respect, helping me to provide interactive media, visuals and videos that depict things that these students may never be able to see or be exposed to otherwise."      

~  Nicole Wagner, Teacher, Tavan Elementary 

Check it out and let us know what YOU have to say about Discovery Education!

Which Step Have You Reached Today?

Zombies in Plain English

Happy Halloween! 

Although it is the kids who are excited by "spookiness" at this time of the year, adults also enjoy the twists and turns of the normal to the slightly strange. I hope you enjoy this twist on the "How To" videos we've all been using to keep current with technology.

Click here to play--->:  ZOMBIES IN PLAIN ENGLISH

Are You Pinterested?

.

Lately I have been seeing lots of posts on Facebook by my teacher friends, raving about the great finds for educators on Pinterest. It seems to be "the next big thing" fueled by easy access, practical application, and that elusive touch of addictive quality that makes good ideas take off in the digital world.

So what exactly is (click for website) "Pinterest" and why would you use it as a resource for teaching? 
Read what

Eric Sheninger Principal at New Milford High School had this to say on his (click for website)Edutopia Blog:

"After hearing about all the hoopla surrounding Pinterest, I decided to check it out and see if it had any value to me as an educator. Up until this point I really didn't have a clue as to what it was all about except that it was a social media tool that functioned like an electronic bulletin board. After requesting an invite, I was all set to go a day later and began to create my first pin board. The tutorial video that you are directed to upon signing up was short, to the point, and made it incredibly simple to dive in and start creating. I dragged the "pin it" bookmarklet into Google Chrome and off I went.

I quickly became fascinated with the idea of "pinning" together all of my professional interests. As I began to piece together resources on Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), I lost track of time and ended staying up well past my bedtime. The point here was that I was engaged. My excitement carried over to the next day as I created another board on Web 2.0 Tools. This led me to begin to brainstorm many ways in which educators could utilize this resource to enhance teaching and learning."

EdWorldSarah (click for website) recommended the following on her Education World Community Blog:

"The key is to follow others who actively use Pinterest to collect great classroom and education related resources and ideas. Who you follow really matters because it directly influences the quality of the content you see when you visit Pinterest. It's great to follow friends and people who you respect, but you also need to make sure you are following some power pinners who will make the whole experience even better. We've put together a five of five must-follow Pinterest users to help you get in the pinning groove. Ready?

Not sure what Pinterest is or how to get started using it? Check out Pinterest 101 for Teachers: Getting Started for help.

(click for websites)

Amanda Plum
Boards: Classroom Behavior Ideas, Classroom Decor, Teaching Math, etc.>

Why We Love Her: Amanda’s pins aren’t just bright, colorful and exciting (they are!), but she also annotates them with why she’s pinning them or a little description that gets us thinking too. Her Pinterest pins could make for a really exciting and engaging classroom.

Rachel Friedwich
Boards: Substitute Teaching Ideas, Character Teaching Ideas, Anchor Chart Ideas, etc
Why We Love Her: With 65 boards and more than 2,000 pins, Rachel is a highly organized pinner whose work really digs deep into the possibilities of Pinterest. There’s so many great ideas held within her boards that we can’t help but wait excitedly for what comes next from her.

Charity Preston
Boards: Character Building, Bullying Resources, Leap Year, etc
Why We Love Her: It’s no secret that we think Charity Preston is a rock star in the online educator’s realm. She blogs for us here on the Education World Community and also runs the Primary Grades group. On Pinterest, she has more than 4,000 pins on 61 boards covering everything from special days (National Punctuation Day, anyone?) to Classroom Freebies. Her pins are thoughtful, useful and well-selected.  She’s totally got her finger on the pulse of everything education.

Melissa Alonzo-Dillard
Boards: Dr. Seuss, Classroom Themes, Smartboard, etc
Why We Love Her: Melissa has pinned a lot (nearly 7,000 pins!) and has curated an amazing collection of ideas that are well organized on more than 80 boards. It’s easy to dig through and find dozens of fabulous ideas from her pins. And her Dr. Seuss content? Love.
Rockabye Butterfly
Boards: Human Body Study, Sensory Activities for Kids, Math Play, etc
Why We Love Her: Rockabye Butterfly is a homeschooling mom who has created a fabulous Pinterest collection covering the gamut from the core subjects to specialized interests (Space!). Her pins are perfect for any educator of early childhood, preschool and primary kids. And we especially love that she keeps track of the pins she actually does in real life too -- pretty cool to know she’s really doing the projects offline.

Do you have Pinterest links, tips or ideas to share?  

Comment here to let everyone in on the action!

"What's the Big Deal About Blogs?"

You may be asking yourself that question, as everyone seems to have a blog about something these days.  What exactly is a blog?  And why should you have one?

Lee Lefever of CommonCraft explains blogs in his usual straightforward fashion in the video "Blogs in Plain English." Lefever notes that in the 20th century, news was reported by professionals through mainstream news outlets such as newspapers, radio and television.  But in the 21st century, news has become "both professional AND personal" with specialized content that may target specific audiences.  In this way, blogs allow anyone to be a reporter and publisher (often for free).  

It strikes me that this is yet another way that the Internet has opened up our world to a more democratic view.  Like wikis, blogs allow many people to communicate and comment on the news, as opposed to being simple recipients of whatever news a select few decide is worth reporting.  This gives people like YOU incredible power.  You can blog for family, for friends, for colleagues, for parents, for your students. 

If you want to know more about it, take 2 minutes and 59 seconds to watch this video:

  Blogs in Plain English 

Then, get started blogging!  And if you need help, let me know... I'm curious about your blog, too!