Do you have fond memories of Saturday morning cartoons? Looking for an easy and fun way to spice up your classroom? Check out www.brainpop.com. I came across this interactive site for students and teachers after I overheard a colleague talking about how his high school students love the witty cartoon characters who introduce subject matter in an efficient and easy to understand way. After spending a little time on the site, I found it to be full of wonderful short cartoon clips which support the concepts I teach, in addition to great teacher resources. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the great things you’ll find:
Short Video Clips by Subject Area: These are by far my favorite and the students’ too! On the home page you’ll see a variety of subject matter areas – Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, Technology, and some specialty categories as well. Click on a subject area and you’ll find a more detailed concept map within that subject, listing countless cartoon clips which teach the specific subject area. Students can even take a comprehensive quiz at the end of the video clip!
Educators’ Page: This link is just for you. Updated with new research, lesson plans, video tutorials, and classroom tools, a few minutes spent browsing this site will leave you with endless resources for your classroom. Check out the “Curriculum Calendar”, which is a schedule of free resources to access each day including BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. video clips, conferences/professional development, and holidays.
Standards Search: Looking to meet a specific standard? Use the “Standards” link on the homepage to access a database search which will pull up the video clips and resources which meet the specific standards you are working on!
Ready to check it out? Take five minutes to go to www.brainpop.com and you won’t regret it. Many of the resources are free, but if you want access to all of the great videos talk to your school or district about a classroom, school, or district subscription. It is well worth the cost and a great way to supplement your teaching!






The greatest teachers I have had as a student, and worked with as colleagues, are those who continue to look for ways to improve their teaching methods. Are you ready for an honest, up-front reality check on your teaching? Take the challenge and conduct a video self-assessment.
uestion, “What is one career that is related to the content we learned this week?” If students are unsure, have some resources available for students to quickly review. During some challenging concept areas, you may wish to imbed references to related careers throughout the week, to begin introducing students to career opportunities. Remember to include jobs at all experience levels, including completion of high school, technical school, or receipt of a degree from a college or university. After students capture down their career ideas, stand at the door and collect these “tickets” as students exit.
“Why do we have to learn this?” “When am I ever going to use this?” “Why is this important?” Heard these words lately? It can be frustrating as educators to defend our educational strategies and lesson plans daily, but we must also realize that it can be frustrating for our students as well. Students become disengaged and disinterested when they can’t make the connection between their coursework and real life. Take this challenge as an opportunity to help your students connect content with their lives, by bringing relevance to your classroom with a student-led career fair.
my desk get even higher? With the realization that every day will bring with it new challenges and opportunities, I pass on a bit of wisdom from my mother. Mom is an elementary school teacher who guides her class of Kindergarten-2nd grade special education students through a myriad of adventures each day. Pop into her class on a given day and you will find students engaged in Zoo-phonics as they move their little bodies to learn the alphabet, baking a healthy treat as they learn nutrition and life skills, or working to develop social skills in the greenhouse. “How do you do it all?” I asked her one day. “I continually ask myself one question,” she replied, “Could a student do this?”