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Dear Educators and
Friends:
Welcome to the April edition of BrainPOP's
newsletter!
Thanks to everyone who spent time with us
at the Palm Beach District Tech Fair, CoSN and NSTA - we thought the shows were great, and we hope they were a success for you too. Since
our return from NSTA, we've been absolutely flooded with emails and calls from fans of a certain orange robot, wanting to know when they'd be
able to see the photos they posed for at the booth. We are pleased to report that the wait is finally over! Moby's souvenir shots
are up and viewable on our "On the Road" page; just scroll
down until you see the NSTA entry in the chart, then hit "Photos."
Currently, Moby's taking some much-deserved R, R & R (Robot Rest
& Recreation), but you can catch him soon at NECC in San
Antonio, June 29-July 2.
Spring Combo Offer
Save 20% When You Upgrade Your Existing
Subscription
If you're a school or lab with an existing subscription to
BrainPOP or BrainPOP Jr., consider upgrading to our combo package. Sign up by May 15 and save 20% on all three BrainPOP resources -
BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr. and BrainPOP Español. For more information, email Subscriber
Relations or call them toll-free at 866.54.BRAIN (866.542.7246).
April Movies
New Movies and Timely Curricular
Tie-Ins
Earth Day falls on April 22 this year, but we're celebrating our home
planet all month with a free mini-site showcasing movies
about the environment and environmental issues. Featured movies cover everything from global warming, pollution and fossil fuels to natural resources, the atmosphere and recycling.
Be sure to check out these April movies as well:
BrainPOP
♦ April 15:
It's tax day in the U.S. - what's more appropriate than our movie on taxes? It's also Leonardo da Vinci's birthday. Watch our movie on this Renaissance man to learn more.
♦ April
19: On this day in 1775, the American Revolutionary War officially began with the battles of
Lexington and Concord. Find out about the war and its causes.
♦ April
20: Celebrate Astronomy Day by learning about galaxies, black holes and the life cycle of stars.
♦ April
23: No one knows for sure, but it is believed William Shakespeare was born on this day
in 1564. We DO know he actually died on the same date in 1616! Find out about the playwright's life and work in our Shakespeare movie.
BrainPOP Jr.
♦ Time to start thinking about the Science Fair! In our recently
launched movie, Annie and Moby learn how to come up with good questions for science projects. For further
exploration, there's also a movie on scientific method.
♦ BrainPOP Jr. celebrates Earth Day too! Young learners
will discover what makes our planet unique while watching the Earth
movie.
♦ It's National Poetry Month! Annie and Moby
learn how to write with the senses and
bring words to life.
♦ What causes
shadows? Watch Annie and Moby explore reflection and refraction in the new movie about light.
♦ How do fossils form? Find out in our new movie on the topic.
Featured
Educator
Matthew Cruz Keeps the Learning Going After School
Matthew Cruz, a 5th-grade teacher at Heninger Elementary School in
Santa Ana, CA, is piloting an after-school program for elementary schoolers that relies heavily on BrainPOP content. At the
start of each session, Matthew shares key vocabulary or reviews a "Word Wall" from a BrainPOP Jr. movie. Then, he loads a movie,
pausing strategically to ensure that everyone understands critical concepts. At the end of the movie, students take the online quiz and discuss
the ways they'd go about answering the questions. To increase retention, Matthew reviews the previous week's lessons. Thanks Matthew!
Know an educator who's doing great things with BrainPOP and making a
difference for kids? We'd love to hear and share your
success stories!
Quick Tip of the Month
Have Older Students Teach Younger
Students
Barbara Johnson, who teaches 4th grade at Brittin Elementary School in Fort Stewart,
GA, writes:
"My 4th-graders previewed the Plant Parts movie, game and activity. We
discussed how we would present this to younger students and the logistics of doing the activity with them. We went into the computer lab with the
younger students armed with construction paper, scissors, glue and crayons. With a peer partner, the students viewed the movie, clicked and
dragged plant parts on an interactive whiteboard, and then colored, cut and glued a plant onto construction paper. The activity took about an
hour. Students were excited and on-task. Many science, technology and speaking standards were addressed."
Got a Quick Tip? We'd love to hear and share your ideas. Email us!
We Couldn't Have Done It Without
You!
Thanks to Those Who Helped Make Our Recent Shows So
Successful
We'd like to officially acknowledge all the wonderful educators who joined
us "on the road" during our busy winter/early spring conference season. Their enthusiasm, hard work and insight made all the difference at
these conferences, and we're proud to highlight some of their contributions here. Thank you, thank you, thank you (in alphabetical
order)!
Pam Garrity (Bayshore Elementary School in Port St. Lucie, FL).
Pam helped us spread the word at the Palm Beach County District Tech Fair with a great PowerPoint that talked about maximizing BrainPOP in
the classroom.
Kristina Hereford (Achiever Christian Academy in San Jose, CA). Kristina
presented "How to Differentiate Instruction by Integrating BrainPOP Into Your Lesson Planning" at CUE.
Jemma Kepner (Boston, MA). Our youngest "educator," Jemma is a homeschooled
student and visual learner. She hit NSTA with her parents and showed attendees how she uses BrainPOP. We loved her drawings of Annie
and Moby too!
Robert Miller (Port Orange Elementary in Port Orange, FL). Volusia
County School District can be proud of Robert, who spoke with NSTA attendees in our booth and played to a packed house when he presented "Make Your
Integrated Science Lessons POP!"
Dr. Michelle Scribner-MacLean (University of Massachusetts, Lowell). Teacher
educator "Dr. Michelle," a BrainPOP Jr. Math and Science advisor, did an outstanding job showcasing BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr. in our booth at
NSTA.
Laurie Sullivan (Barrett Elementary in Arlington, VA). At CoSN, Laurie
teamed up with BrainPOP to speak with national district administrators about the ways she uses our content in the classroom.
Interested in spreading the word about BrainPOP by sharing your
experiences? Want to join the BrainPOP team On the Road? Let us
know!
Moby Morsels
BrainPOP News and
Happenings
Top 100. Homeschool.com has named BrainPOP one of its 2008 Top 100 Educational Websites, in the Science
category. Check out the complete list.
AIDS Education. The Long Island
Association for AIDS Care, a New York non-profit organization providing programs and resources for Long Islanders with AIDS and HIV, is now using
our movie on AIDS to explain the disease to children.
International Ink. An article about BrainPOP ran in the Guam-based Pacific Daily News on April 2.
Read it here!
Interested in talking to us about BrainPOP launch events? Want
to work with us to get your school in the news? Contact our Director of Communications, Traci Kampel.
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