I am so excited for a new project we have begun this week. As we are deep in our Ocean Unit, students have chosen an ocean animal to research. In that past, after their research is complete, students have used the website Blabberize to create an ocean animal that talks. They narrate their research report, and it looks like the animal is talking! Cute and fun, right?! Well this year, I have decided to change things up, of course! This year we will use a website called BrainPOP to create mini educational movies about our animals!

We use the BrainPOP website in many of our Laguna classrooms to introduce or teach students specific topics. Kindergartners have seen BrainPOP movies on fossils, dinosaurs, Pangaea, long vowels, continents, ocean habitats, and more. These movies are jam-packed with information in short, colorful, and funny clips.

BrainPOPjr.  provides curriculum-based content geared specifically for K-3 students. The site offers a growing library of movies and interactive features across six subjects: science, health, writing, reading, social studies, and math. Our engaging resources support educators and meet students’ different learning styles and abilities. Our content includes short animated movies, leveled quizzes, activities, recommended grade-appropriate reading, writing and discussion prompts, and more. All content is aligned to and searchable by state standards.

Each BrainPOP features two character, Tim and Moby, the robot. BrainPOPjr, which is the site geared for K-3 students, features Annie and Moby.

Here I am with one of the stars of BrainPOP, Moby, at a tech conference back in 2013….the same conference that sold me on blogging! Show your child….he/she will be so excited!!

Just so you get a sense of what exactly BrainPOP is, here is a sample:

So BrainPOP has recently relaunched their website, making many changes and upgrades. One of the newest activities is movie making. My goal is for each student to make a mini movie in the style of BrainPOP about their ocean animal….finger crossed for this new endeavor!! I’ll keep you posted on our progress.