EDUCATORS
Here you will find resources and educational content related to literacy, math, science, social studies, and social emotional learning to help provide a databank of tools and strategies to positively impact student learning and teaching instruction.
Authentic Learning Experience:
BrainPOP Jr.is a comprehensive website where students can search for specific videos and activities that are categorized by subject, grade, and Common Core Standard. Short engaging videos are used to introduce content topics using age-specific language to supplement or enhance instructional lessons learned within the classroom. Activities on the BrianPOP Jr. website help guide students through activities that include literacy, math, science, or social studies-based activities, quizzes, concept maps that demonstrate an understanding of the curriculum. Students learning about the Next Generation Science Standard on how plants and animals use their external parts to help them survive could watch videos on the various types of animal habitats. They could watch a specific habitat video like “Freshwater Habitats” and they will be able to explain what type of animals live in each habitat, what they look like, and how they can survive in that habitat. Students will be able to draw an example of the habitat to demonstrate their mastery of understanding of the standard.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice:
Brainpop Jr. provides students a diverse age-appropriate selection of engaging instructional material for students to learn literacy, math, science, and social studies content to enhance classroom lessons. The website is a tool for students to help explain complex concepts, introduce new topics, review lessons, and provide effective strategies for different learning styles to provide multiple opportunities to build on foundational learning skills. After watching the video “Freshwater Habitat” students are able to demonstrate comprehension by expressing verbally why freshwater habitats are important and how they can be protected. Activities within the BrainPOP website are differentiated to allow all leveled learners to actively practice components of lessons in order to progress towards academic success.
Standards:
(1-LS1-1)Use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how plants and/or animals use their external parts to help them survive, grow, and meet their needs. The student understands and applies reasoning skills to conduct research, deliberate, and form and evaluate positions through the processes of learning concepts of Civics, Economics, Geography, and History.
EDUCATORS
Here you will find resources related to literacy, math, science, social studies, and social emotional learning that can be implemented into teaching instruction to positively impact student growth.
EPIC provides a variety of reading programs to enhance student literacy both at home and school for readers of all ages and reading levels. EPIC allows teachers to set free accounts where they assign leveled eBooks for students to read at home or at school. Students can choose books of their interest and read along, listen to the story, or read on their own and enjoy learning about a topic that they can connect with. Books include a quiz at the end for students to check their comprehension that is available for teachers to assign. Providing students with access to print awareness helps them develop an understanding that the written language is related to oral language. EPIC allows students to have access to a variety of print that can be read to them, they can see or can read along that carries a message that is a source of information of entertainment. Books like “Fix That Mess” on the EPIC app are books where the words are highlighted as they follow along as the book is read to them. When students can follow along they can make connections to the words and can focus on the metacognition without the added stress of graphing unfamiliar words.
The collections of books on the EPIC app include a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts, as well as books in Spanish. EPIC reading is a program where teachers can individualize book selections for each child as they learn phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and vocabulary at their reading level. Students can practice reading stories and become familiar with how the print looks on the page, how read alouds builds fluency, and begin to build reading stamina through the practice of constant access to books. Books available on the EPIC app can be found by reading level and age appropriateness. “Fix That Mess” book is geared towards the 4-7 age range and focuses on phonetic patterns they are familiar with.
Mystery Science is a resource for teachers that delivers digital science content that aligns with Next Generation Science Standards to create a more immersive classroom environment. Teachers are given access to ready-made science mysteries for elementary students that can be integrated into their current instruction. The website provides lessons that contain science topics, discussion questions, supplemental readings, and hands-on activities teachers can use to help support or enhance their science curriculum. Short videos are used to help kids remain engaged with the process of learning complex topics like “Why do birds have beaks?” Mystery Doug helps keep kids entertained in the short videos laying out the essential key questions, followed by discussion questions for the class.
Teachers can utilize the hands-on activities that accompany the Mystery Science lessons to help drive instruction and allow students to find answers to the essential science question. Mystery Science has been designed to engage students of all learning levels by making connections with real-life examples that students can identify with. In the lesson addressing animal structures and survival, students will be able to carry out an investigation to determine the relationship between the shape of different bird beaks and the food each bird eats. In the activity, students experiment with long pointy beaks that are great for picking up seeds and wide flat beaks that are good for scooping. They discover that different beaks are best for different kinds of food.
Novel Effect is an app that follows along with read alouds with interactive music and sound effects, making classroom oral reading more engaging and motivating. This app uses books already being read in the classroom and implements new and motivating ways to support literacy instruction that engages the whole child and all leveled learners. Teachers can read the book “Sneezy the Snowman” and Novel Effect will follow along with interactive music and sound effects as the teacher reads to students adding enhanced social connections, focused engagement, and reading entertainment to capture the young primary reading audience.
The Novel Effect app is easily accessible and provides a diverse growing content library from any ipad or mobile device that offers accessible, interactive literacy content to meet the needs of diverse students. Adding the interactive music and sound effects to the story “Sneezy the Snowman” helps young readers, especially those that are learning new languages as non-native speakers gain exposure to words used in context in fun engaging ways that can improve their speaking and listening skills.
The PBIS World website enables and empowers teachers and staff to implement and carry out positive behavioral intervention supports (PBIS) more autonomously within the classroom. The website offers an interactive format containing links to interventions, supports, resources, and data collection tools that are all organized into the tier 1 through 3 framework. It is designed to help educators and it’s users on the PBIS implementation process, starting with behavior identification and offering suggestions for intervention measures and data collection tools to use in the classroom to help support student learning. PBIS World provides useful tools and strategies to implement as a starting point and jumping board to get positive behavior support intervention models integrated into daily instruction. Educators can locate a behavior that is occurring in their classroom on the website like frustration, hyperactive, or tantrums and can find multiple tier 1 interventions and strategies to implement to improve student behavior. If behavior persists, the website offers suggestions and data tracking strategies for tier 2 interventions models.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports is a way of supporting your students strengths and helping children learn by teaching behavior using proactive approaches that respond to each child’s specific needs. PBIS incorporated in instruction focuses on teaching students desired behaviors rather than reacting to undesirable behaviors. The emphasis is on lifelong, adaptive development that is important for success at any age.
Teaching Channel is a free website that allows teachers to access videos and resources that are organized on current education and teaching topics. The site creates a forum for teachers to develop an online teaching community that encourages educators to engage in conversations and connect with other peers from all over the world to connect and grow in a professional learning community. Teaching Channel creates an environment where teachers and staff can watch, share, and learn new techniques to help all level learners grow.
Educators can browse the Teaching Channel for videos to help advance their teaching instruction, lesson plans, worksheets, or resources that connect teachers with valuable information to improve student learning. All videos provided on the website have been selected by educational experts to ensure they model best teaching practices. Veteran teachers have curated on-demand video resources for educators to access a huge range of video courses that focus on topics that impact student achievement and prepare educators for a lifetime of career success. A video library of in-depth resources include real peers implementing instructional practices that feature engagement, classroom management, technology in the classroom, differentiation, and developing family partnerships. Teaching Channel is a great tool for educators to see educational strategies used in action and ways to support teacher collaboration worldwide.
.png)
Toy Theater is a collection of interactive educational games for primary grade students. This resource is a free resource that is designed for educators to be able to utilize on either their desktops, computers, or tablets. Educators can use this resource in the classroom to enhance instruction that is centered on reading. math, art, and music. Toy Theater provides first graders with various options to grade-appropriate activities that allow them to practice strategies and skills that are aligned to their skill level. Teachers
can provide opportunities
for students to play games
that help them practice
using math skills that will
support their learning as
they move on to second
grade or assign games to
enhance phonetic sound skills in first grade. This resource provides opportunities for students to explore various activities that meet their individual interests and skill levels in both reading and math content areas. For math content instruction students are able to pick the Bug Catcher subtraction game and practice fluency in subtraction using a number line. For reading instruction teachers can assign the game Alphabetical Order to help students practice letter identification and alphabetical order.
There are a variety of games for first graders to choose from that are relevant to their learning in school. Toy Theater is a culturally sensitive resource that is easy for primary grade students to navigate and apply to their daily practice of reaching learning goals in the classroom. Both games Bug Catcher and Alphabetical Order are easily accessible for teachers and age-appropriate for students that align with Common Core Standards. These games are engaging for children to help build mastery skills.
