Click on the plus sign to read reviews and articles about BrainPOP Jr. Have you written a review of BrainPOP Jr. or mentioned us in the media? If so, please e-mail us.
September 5, 2006: BrainPOPJr.com went live on September 4th 2006. It features videos, quizzes and other activities like its older brother, but, it offers much, much more. There are educational cartoons, games, a word wall, and a bulletin board for students to submit their work - and for teachers to submit lesson plans! They are still actively adding content, so, some categories don’t have many items, however, this site is DEFINITELY worth checking out!
September 8, 2006: BrainPOP has announced the launch of BrainPOP Jr., a learning program specifically geared for children between 5 and 8 years old. Topics in BrainPOP Jr. are chosen to correlate with national standards and testing mandates but are written in fun and understandable language for children.

The newly created movies on BrainPOP Jr. range in topic from the food pyramid and allergies to animal hibernation and telling time. The audio-assisted, kid-friendly navigation allows young children to move through various sections, including science, health, reading, writing, social studies, and math. Each animated movie is also supplemented with quizzes that are read aloud, as well as games and other features to assist teachers and parents.

Developed to be used by families at home and as part of lesson plans at school, BrainPOP Jr. allows users to customize the pacing of the movies and to give children the chance to answer questions independently or make predictions before proceeding, according to the announcement.

For a limited time, BrainPOP Jr. (http://www.brainpopjr.com) is offering a free subscription to view and experience its content, which includes five-minute movies and a notebook feature corresponding to the content. The Web-based product will be updated continuously.
October 1, 2006: As cool as BrainPOP is, I think I like BrainPOP Jr. even better. That’s probably because it’s primarily aimed at the K-3 age group. I’m a second grader teacher and my home schooled boys are the same age as my students, so my experience with the site has been a more practical one as far as using it to reinforce some of the concepts I teach.

BrainPOP Jr. is actually very similar to BrainPOP. For each subject there is a short animated movie that provides an excellent overview of key ideas, although it’s a character named Annie that teams up with the robot Moby to host instead of Tim. There are also suggested activities, a comic, and a quiz. And just like at BrainPOP, the subjects are organized according to academic area, including science, health, writing, reading, social studies, and math.

There are plenty of differences though that make BrainPOP Jr. especially appealing to its target audience. First and foremost, there is a simple online game for each subject, which is absolutely irresistible to young children. No matter how simplistic or stupid they may be, and I’m talking beyond BrainPOP Jr. here, kids are absolutely mesmerized by these types of arcade games that are found on nearly every site aimed at kids. Fortunately the ones here at least reinforce the concepts being taught. There’s also a joke, discussion prompts, a “word wall” with key vocabulary terms, suggested books that can be found at the library, and simple online writing and drawing programs with subject related prompts. A really nice touch is that all of the text on the site is read aloud whenever the cursor points to it, so children with lesser reading skills aren’t hindered so long as they know how to manipulate a mouse.

Right now BrainPOP Jr. is free, free, FREE! They are still developing content so you can try it out until it’s full enough for them to justify charging a subscription price. You’ll actually notice “coming soon” banners over a lot of the topics but there’s still plenty of good stuff there for you and your young ones to investigate.
October 1, 2006: BrainPOP, the popular Web-based line of animated movies, now has a version just for little ones. Geared for students in grades K–3, BrainPop Jr. features age-appropriate animated content, plus audio-assisted navigation so young children can easily find their way through various topics, including science, health, reading, writing, social studies, and math. Inevitably, there are quizzes, which are read aloud, as well as games and innovative features for teachers and parents. BrainPOP Jr. is currently offering free subscriptions, which include sample movies and a content-related notebook feature. www.brainpopjr.com.
November 20, 2006: It's challenging to find worthwhile websites for younger students. One website that was featured a few weeks ago was BrainPOP Jr. which is in its infancy and having content added to it on a weekly basis. Until it is pretty much complete, the site is available for use at no cost. This week, our feature sites include two from BrainPOP Jr., both supporting the Division One Social Studies curriculum.

School as a Community http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/communities/school
Explore the meaning of community in a school through a short animation and then reinforce what was learned by completing an activity, playing a game, writing, drawing, or sharing. *This site is also listed under Social Studies Div 1 .

Rural, Suburban, and Urban http://www.brainpopjr.com/socialstudies/communities/ruralsuburbanandurban
Watch a short animated cartoon exploring the difference between these different kinds of communities and then reinforce what was learned by completing an activity, playing a game, writing, drawing, or sharing. *This site is also listed under Social Studies Div 1 .
December 2, 2006: I explored another education site today BrainPop Jr. I spent more time exploring this site than others in the past not just because my family was at Skate City but because the site was very intriguing. Specifically, I chose the reading-story elements-characters lesson for children in grades K-3. Following an entertaining movie with a little girl Annie and a non-speaking robot named Moby, children have the opportunity to explore games, activities, belly up (comic), pop a joke, word wall, draw about it, write about it, read about it, talk about it, and for those overachievers in the group there is a easy quiz and a hard quiz.

I haven't yet tried the activity with my daughter but I was really inspired. It was an excellent way to learn about characters in a story. The drawing program was simple but functional. The word wall had flashcards with a term on the front and a definition on the back. The site combined written words and voice. The story suggestions were quality choices.

Overall, I would give this site an "A." The ideas for grown ups were also very helpful. At this time the website is no cost. I'm not sure if it becomes a pay site in the future.
December 5, 2006: We have two cool websites for kids today, and they won’t do your homework, but they will help. First up, a viewer named Bakiba of Lake in the Hills recommends BrainpopJr.com. There is a section filled with ideas for grownups. The material is ideal for younger kids, older ones should check out brainpop.com.
December 19, 2006: Brainpop Jr. lists itself as online animated educational movies for grades K-3, but really is a lot more. Falling into six categories (science, social studies, writing, math, health and reading) each lesson has one or more videos, games, a comic strip called "belly up", an interactive word wall, two level of quizzes and talk, write, draw and read about it sections for extension activities. All of this in addition to teacher guides and ideas for classroom activities. The videos are even close captioned if you chose. The site is touch screen accessible to a degree (excluding the write about it section unless you use your own onscreen keyboard), but is not switch accessible. The content is relatively age appropriate even for older developmentally delayed students - there are no cutesy elements or babyish images. Brainpop Jr. is constantly adding new content, so sign up for the e-mails that tell you what has been added.

There is, of course, a Brainpop Sr., but it is $175 for a single teacher for a school year (as opposed to Jr. being free - at least for now).
January 20, 2007: If your child is approaching the kindergarten years, he may be getting introduced to computer games or educational sites with games. I’ve sloughed through a great deal with my son and many come up quite empty. While certain CD-ROMS or sites from your child’s favorite Disney or PBS character can teach a bit, you’ll find a lot of fodder that doesn’t teach much to kindergartners except encourage hand-eye coordination with a mouse and keyboard. While seeking for guidance, I asked my son’s head kindergarten teacher for a referral. Here’s one that provides young kids from kindergarten through third grade with lots of activities in six subjects, working with various reading and math levels: www.brainpopjr.com.

For kindergarten-aged kids, I highly recommend the math games, such as “dollars & cents.” Not only does it teach your child about the different types of coins, but it also provides an opportunity to teach the beginnings of addition and subtraction when parents tally up scores. A great way to encourage a variety of foods in the diet is the “food pyramid” game. Learning to sound out letters and form words can be a frustrating time for some kids. The “Big Word Wall”, while mainly for elementary-aged children, can also be a fun way for parents to discuss sounding out words and letters. Just type on a letter and a handful of words appear that the child can then listen to the pronunciations and definitions. These games, however, require parental involvement, so if you are looking for computer games that will give you a moment’s rest, these aren’t it for the kindergarten age-group. The site does have a short “movie of the week,” that really is educational, such as the one that teaches children about clocks by having a young girl explain clocks to her robot. But essentially, this site is one for the hands-on parent who’d like lesson ideas, tools, and games they can play with their children to encourage and stimulate learning. One idea is to have an older sibling play the games and read the instructions to your kindergartener. The site is also a good resource idea for babysitters.

BrainpopJr has sections on science, health, math, reading, social studies and writing and has free lesson plan ideas as well as a free newsletter with educational tips for parents.


January 26, 2007: BrainPOP Jr: BrainPOP has always a great place to get that short little video that has tons of information that can grab the attention of most students. The new BrainPop Jr. has even more, and for right now it's free for anyone to try (probably until May). I LOVE the jokes, the word wall, the comic strips, okay, I am loving it all. I'm watching a video right now to help Joey with his math. I am ready for the phonic videos to be introduced. If BrainPOP some how finds this blog, I'm willing to beta test anything on this site with my learning challenged 7 year old and my niece who is 6 and loves school. Oh, and teachers, guess what? They have lesson ideas for you and a complete section for Grown Ups. Another feature I really like is that their videos can go full screen, and the one I watched earlier also has closed captioning available. Since Joey struggles with reading, I find close-captioning a great way to reinforce what he's trying to read on his own. He hears it being said and sees the words in print!
March 11, 2007:
Spring, 2007: A companion site to BrainPOP, BrainPOP Junior is for younger kids. Featuring an animated character named Annie participating with Moby in zany and educational kinds of conversations covering subjects such as science, health, writing, reading, social studies and math. Description:Many of you may already be familiar with BrainPOP (http://www.brainpop.com). It has many short, animated movie clips that teach students about science, math, social studies, language arts, health, and technology. The movies feature the animated characters, Tim and Moby (the robot), having zany and educational conversations. Moby's (un)predictably silly behavior has long enchanted middle and high school kids, who laugh while they learn and always come back begging for more. The catch is that after the 14-day free trial, in order to have full access to all the available movie clips, one must pay an annual subscription fee.

But hang on for the GOOD NEWS about today's site...

BrainPOP has recently launched a companion site called "BrainPOP Junior" for younger kids. It features an animated character named Annie participating with Moby in the same zany and educational kinds of conversations covering subjects such as science, health, writing, reading, social studies and math -- but at a level more accessible to the younger set. Eventually, this will be a fee-based site, but for now, while it is still in the developmental stages, it's completely FREE! And it's lots of fun, too!

When you get to the site you will see a menu of subject choices -- just click on any one, and a new page opens with a menu of movie titles. Select one of interest to watch and learn. Back on the homepage, you can also click to watch the featured "Movie of the Week" -- this week's feature is the Plant Life Cycle. Don't forget to click on the "Games" icon to access over 25 interactive games that include:

-The Allergies Game
-Bones Game
-Parts of a Clock Game
-Hibernation Game
-Parts of a Plant Game
-Prewriting Poetry Game
-and much more!

One additional feature that many may appreciate: Closed Captions! These are good for the hearing impaired, and are also great for young ones who like to practice reading along. The captions are large and clear, and they sometimes substitute vocabulary that is easier to read.

The site doesn't indicate when it will start charging a subscription fee, so don't miss the opportunity to enjoy all of these entertaining and educational videos for free while you still can!
April 12, 2007: BrainPop & BrainPop Jr., ZamZar, MyMaps, Terra Clues, Witches & Wiki, Wikipedia, Citizendium and a bunch of shout outs!
April 24, 2007: The website I chose for the evaluation assignment is BrainPOPJr.com. The URL for this site is www.brainpopjr.com. BrainPOP junior is a product of BrainPOPjr, LLC, which was created in 2007. This site is appropriate for grades K-3, wheres BrainPOP.com is for grades 4-8 (maybe even high school). BrainPOP junior is very appealing to children. My kids love watching the videos that pertain to our curriculum areas. Annie and Moby have become good friends of ours. Good news too for teachers, it's free until May!

Using the school discovery evaluation format, I have evaluated this site:

Part 1: How does it look?

Does the page take a long time to load? No, because we have a cable modem.

Are there big pictures on the page? Pictures a re big enough for everyone to see.

Is the spelling correct on the page? Yes

Is the author's name and e-mail address on the page? The company name and email address are available.

Is there a picture on the page that you can use to choose links? Yes

Is there information in columns on the page? There are several boxes that link to various activities and/or videos.

If you go to another page, is there a way to get back to the first page? Yes

Is there a date that tells you when the page was made? Yes

If there are photographs, do they look real? They are drawings.

If there are sounds, do they sound real? Yes

Part 2: What did you learn?

Does the title of the page tell you what it is about? Yes

Is there an introduction on the page telling you what is included? No

Are the facts on the page what you were looking for? Yes

Would you have gotten more information from an encyclopedia? The information provided here is more age appropriate.

Would the information have been better in the encyclopedia? I don't believe so

Does the author of the page say some things you disagree with? No

Does the page lead you to some other good information (links)? It provides links to great videos.

Does the page include information you know is wrong? No

Do the pictures and photographs on the page help you learn? Yes

Part 3: Summary

Looking at all of the questions and answers above, write a paragraph telling why this Web site is helpful (or not helpful).

BrainPOP junior is a great supplement to any subject area. It provides short videos on a wide range of subject areas. It also includes activities (reading and writing) that go along with their videos. A short quiz is also available. My children love it and so do I. I have found it useful as a quick recap and brief introduction to what we will be or have been learning about.
April 25, 2007:
Grade: A

Cost: $95 Annual fee for teachers (School, Parent, and other licensing options are available)

I have looked at Brainpop before and have given it a positive review. The addition of Brainpop Jr. which is targeted more to the primary grades, makes it even better. In addition to providing many great educational films featuring fun animated characters, it also contains many learning games and activities to solidify the concepts taught. Student can do Games, Writing, Drawing, read a comic book that teaches the concepts, as well as take a quiz on the subject. It also contains a link for teachers with suggestions of activities that correspond with the video. I can't say the animation is spectacular, but it is sufficient to keep students interested, especially with the well written scripts.

Is it worth the $95? With research you could probably find free resources to teach many of the concepts taught on this site. But if your time is at all valuable it is worth the $10 per school months to have all of these resources in one location. I personally think it is a bargain. My resource students have learned concepts on Brainpop with ease that they struggled to grasp in a traditional classroom setting. To me that is also worth a lot.
April 25, 2007: I taught a math lesson about plane shapes to a group of nine 1st graders in the cafeteria of D.J. Montague Elementary School. Please click here to go to my wikispace account and view my full lesson plan.

I originally had no technology in this lesson, but after receiving suggestions from Sheryl, our Technology Enhanced Learning professor, I decided to add in a Brain Pop Jr. video. Since I was only teaching the lesson to 9 students and it was being conducted in the cafeteria it was only appropriate to use one computer. I had the students sit around the computer as I played the video from Brain Pop Jr. about Plane Shapes. On the wall I had a cut out of each of the four shapes taped to the wall and when the video got to the question “What is a Triangle?” I paused the video and had the students respond to the question and write their answers on the cut-out of the triangle. Then we listened to what the girl in the video said about what a triangle is. We did this for all four shapes. After we reviewed the video and wrote on the cut-outs I did a demonstration of what the students would do for independent practice. I showed them a credit card (a rectangle from their environment) and showed them a chart that they would fill out when describing the shape. I filled in the section on how many sides, how many corners and how many square corners the rectangle has. The students were then split into groups of 3 to do the same thing with an example of each shape from their environment. After completing the activity each student got in front of the rest of the class and presented one item they examined with their group and told the rest of the class what shape it was, how many sides it had, number of corners and number of square corners. After completing this activity I collected the charts to grade.

During the video the students were really involved and freely responded to the question of what is a triangle, square, rectangle or circle? They had great answers and most of the answers were the same thing the girl in the video came up with to describe the shape. The students really enjoyed being able to come to the front of the class and write their answers on the cut-out of the shapes. They also felt very smart when what they said was the same things the video said afterwards. When the students were split into groups to work with the examples of plane shapes from their environment they stayed quiet and worked nicely with their other group members. The students wanted to go beyond the four shapes they were given and trade with the other groups to explore their objects. When the students were asked to present their answers to the rest of the group some of them shied away but in the end were able to successfully present. It was great for them to practice their presentation skills.

Strong points of this lesson were the technology and the hands on activities with shapes from their environment. The students loved the technology and were extremely engaged. While technology was a strength it also turned into a weakness because of the added excitement the students had. They were ecstatic when I presented them with a laptop and they were further excited by the Brain Pop Jr. characters and music. They wanted to touch the computer and get as close as possible to it so it made it hard for other students to see. In the future I would do many things different with this lesson. I left the lesson very frustrated and not because I didn’t feel that I was able to teach it was because I felt like I had no control over these 9 students. I was dealing with unusual circumstances which I definitely had to take into consideration. I got them right after there recess time and during their snack time and we were doing the lesson in the cafeteria, which is normally a loud and fun place for them. Also, since I wasn’t able to project the video onto a large screen I had nine kids looking onto 1 small laptop screen. The students were sticking their heads in front of others trying to see and some decided to try and climb on the table to see. I felt like I was constantly telling them to stop doing this or stop doing that.

Most of my modifications for future use are revolved around classroom management. I would definitely lay down the rules before we get involved in the activity and let the students know what will happen if they don’t follow the rules. I will also explain all directions before we get started to so the students know what to expect before getting into the work. Also, in the future I would separate students that I know will be problems and pair students who need help with students that are more advanced. Also, if the students do not listen to my instructions in the future I will close the laptop or stop the activity and tell them that we can’t continue until they begin listening. As far as technology I would ensure that I have somewhere to project the video so everyone can easily see it or I would provide each student with a laptop or computer and headphones to watch the video on their own.

The most valuable lesson I learned during this activity was that young students are extremely fascinated with laptops. As soon as the laptop was brought out the students got squeamish and excited and wanted to touch it, smell it, hold it and hear it. They couldn’t get enough of the computer and wanted more of it. I never expected the students to be in such awe over this piece of technology, but it made me realize that technology is still very unique to some people and it creates an excitement about learning that I have never seen in a classroom. When the video was playing I had no attention problems and the students wanted more. They were able to learn without realizing they were learning and it was amazing to watch. This experience was a major learning experience and while I felt very overwhelmed afterwards I was definitely able to stop and look back at what I did and what I could have done and I know that if I taught this lesson again with the same group of children it would go a lot better than it did that day. Another thing I learned during this lesson was to know the password of school laptops. I couldn’t figure out the password and it wasn’t the password that was used on most other things in the school and if it wasn’t for another pre-service teacher that was observing my lesson, I would have had to drag all of the students to the technology classroom to ask what the password was before I could start the lesson.

This lesson was created originally without any technology, but when we were requested to put technology into one of our lessons I decided this would be a fun one to do it with. I searched for hours for activities involving plane shapes and after a while I became frustrated and asked my professor for assistance. She presented me with three activities she found that were relevant and when I found this Brain Pop Jr. video I knew it was perfect for my lesson. It fit right in with what I was teaching and I could easily use it to help with the engagement of my activity. Only one of the students had seen the video before but he was just as engaged as the rest were.

I can’t put into words how shocked I was by the student’s reaction to the laptop, it was the equivalent of buying a new driver a brand new car when they get their license. They were absolutely thrilled and their excitement for technology really made me think about how much I take computers and my laptop for granted. It also made me think about how little the students must be using the computers in their school if it seems so novel to them when I presented them with a computer. I also found it unique how I was able to take a technology free lesson and turn it into a technology friendly lesson. I know that it strengthened this lesson.
April 30, 2007: Avraham Kadar was 1 1/2 years old when he developed polio. He spent his early years in and out of the hospital near his family's farm in a small town in Israel.

He remembers his hometown as "a place where you dream, basically that's all you're able to do." But Kadar was also able to read, and he devoured as many books as he could.

Today, he's a doctor who specializes in treating people with immune deficiencies. In keeping with his own lifelong interest in learning, he also runs a Manhattan-based company with the slogan "The more you know, the more you know."

It's called BrainPOP, and in eight years since its founding it has gained attention and industry awards for a continually expanding library of brief educational animations aimed at students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

A character named Tim, wearing a white T-shirt, and his sidekick, a robot named Moby who communicates only through beeps and gestures, work their way in simple, colorful drawings through the typical school curriculum.

The brief animations explain allergies, amphibians, birds, carnivorous plants, earthquakes, hurricanes, the causes of the Great Depression, the rise of the Roman Empire, the life stories of Galileo, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Helen Keller, the Pythagorean theorem, electric circuits, similes and metaphors and hundreds of other topics, some of which you might only dimly remember from your days in school. There's always a bit of low-key humor, enough to bring out a chuckle, if not a laugh.

Among the schools subscribing to the service at brainPOP .com is the Bethpage district, where Terrence Clark, assistant superintendent for instruction and technology, says, "We think Tim and Moby are very engaging characters. We use it pretty extensively in the K-8 curriculum."

One Bethpage fourth-grade teacher, Denise Caliguri, uses it to introduce and review topics in science, social studies and math at the Kramer Lane Elementary School. She says, in an e-mail, that students "like to challenge themselves to take the graded quiz at the end of the movie to see how well they did." Kadar says each school pays $975 for an annual subscription. Parents can buy a yearly subscription for home use for $100.

Kadar, who still sees patients about two days a week near his home in Westchester, devotes most of his time to overseeing the company. Still hobbled by the effects of polio, the 56-year-old doctor walks slowly as he shows a visitor around the company's crowded West 24th Street office, explaining his role jokingly: "I try not to disturb."

The youthful staff of more than 40 animators, editors, educators and administrators produces animations for the U.S. market. BrainPOP also has offices in Mexico and in Israel, where it produces several foreign-language versions.

His story is noteworthy partly for what it tells us about business on the Internet. BrainPOP found its way into a sweet spot on the Web - relying on subscription income rather than advertising to pay the bill and using a relatively simple technology that can work for schools and families even if they lack sophisticated equipment and high-end Internet connections.

Kadar went to medical school in Tel Aviv and worked as a pediatrician before moving to the United States. After a stint at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, he trained at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland, developing a specialty in immunology.

Through decades of experience as a doctor, Kadar realized that most of his job involved teaching his patients how to understand and cope with disease.

So it wasn't a surprise that he decided in 1994 to branch out into medical education, founding a company that made CD-ROMs to better inform patients and nurses about asthma and diabetes.

As Kadar describes it, the venture was an artistic success, gaining good reviews. But it was a financial failure.

Like many failures, this one was a learning opportunity. The CDs could hold a deep collection of information, including high-resolution photos, videos and graphics. But with the growth of the Internet in the late 1990s, CD-ROMs were overtaken by Web sites providing equivalent information without the hassle of having to obtain and run a disc.

"The platform changed," Kadar says, and the company's future was bleak. To create the CD-ROMs, Kadar had put together a production team. "There was a need to either let those creative individuals go home or change direction," Kadar says.

Just transferring the CD-ROM content to the Web wouldn't work, at least in those days, because most people were still dialing in over modems, and the site would take too long to download.

What would work were the animations done using a program called Flash that minimizes the demand they make on computer resources. And Kadar's team included an animator, Mike Watanabe, who developed the characters and style of the BrainPOP animations.

Kadar says the company is profitable and growing fast, though he won't reveal revenue numbers. Michael Salort, the company's chief operating officer, says about 2,500 schools and more than 20,000 families have signed up.

More than a million users have taken advantage of a two-week free trial on its site, Salort adds. Kadar explains its growth by saying, "Almost every school in the country is wired, and there is nothing to go on that wire."

But there are other companies that provide online content to schools, most notably Discovery Education's united streaming.com, which offers access to thousands of educational videos.

BrainPOP has not conducted a study to show whether its animations improve student performance. Neither it nor unitedstreaming were included in a study done for Congress and released last month that found no significant increase in test scores for students in classrooms using reading and math software products, according to one of the study's authors, Mark Dynarski.

Kadar says, "We are talking to a lot of academic institutions to try and design a real controlled study, which is very, very hard to do."

He says he is glad he resisted the argument that he could make millions by accepting advertising on BrainPOP. "It can taint the brand," he says, making a sale to schools more difficult. He says he believes other companies that produce "quality content" on the Web will eventually go the subscription route to ensure that they get paid for producing that content.

With all the success he's had, Kadar seems a little regretful about giving up medical research. When he left the National Institutes and went back to Albert Einstein, he began seeing patients while he was doing medical experiments. "I thought I could do it, but I was young and naive," he says. You must be able to respond to a patient at any time, and that can make it difficult if not impossible to correctly run a medical trial, he says.

When he talks to his former mentor at the Institutes, a doctor known for his research on many diseases, and tells him how he is spending his time these days, the mentor says, "Your contribution is much more important than mine."

Kadar's theory: "The more knowledge there will be in the world, the world will be better. It's as simple as that."

by Richard Galant
May 17, 2007: Website Review: Kathleen Schrock’s form, Critical Evaluation of a Web Site.doc , was helpful in reviewing a web site. The name of the site that I chose to research is BrainPOPjr. http://www.brainpopjr.com/. I must admit that I have used this site on occasion to enhance a lesson but never thought about evaluating the site before using it. The powers that be in the district allowed me access to it, so I assumed that it was a child-friendly site… BrainPOPjr. is an interactive website geared to elementary school children. It does not take a long time load and there are colorful, medium-sized pictures on the page. The site is user-friendly and immediately engages the students with its main characters, Annie and Moby, who guide the learner through the lesson and animated movie. Each page has an updated copyright (©2007), not an actual month/day, indicating lesson updates. On the bottom of each page are links for help if you have a question and there are also links to copyright guidelines and how lessons are created and updated. You can also click on a link to contact BrainPOP if you have a question. When you type in the web address, a table appears, listing the content of the web site. BrainPOPjr. has lesson ideas for science, health, writing, reading, social studies and math. Each lesson lists background information and supporting activities as well as an animated movie. The Talk About It section provides a worksheet which sparks conversation about what was just learned. The Word Wall highlights key vocabulary words associated with the lesson. When you click on the word, there is audio and you hear the word being read as well as the definition. The audio feature helps the struggling reader keep up with the rest of the class. There is a Pop a Joke section as well as a Write About It section which provides a lined writing template that can be printed. This section poses a question about the lesson. For example, when my students viewed the Ancient China lesson and learned about Confucius, the question posed was, “A philosopher comes up with big ideas for the world. What ideas do you have to make the world a better place?” In the Game section there is a card game. In the Ancient China lesson, the card game was composed of matching Chinese inventions. My students enjoyed this game and in the process the game helped them solidify the newly-learned information. The Read About It section provides a list of books that correlate with the topic. This is helpful when you are teaching a subject you are not familiar with and are looking for books to read aloud to your students. Just like the Image Lab at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab, BrainPOPjr. has a link that allows students to make connections to real life through drawing. In the Ancient China lesson, the guiding question reads, “What were some ancient Chinese inventions that we use today? Draw your answer.” This activity helps the visual learner make connections. Lastly, BrainPOPjr. has hard and easy quizzes that you can download and give individually to your students or give whole group as a game. My students enjoy taking the quizzes as a group on the screen. In conclusion, the critical evaluation form made me stop and think about all of the other web sites that I access to enhance my lessons. Having a form to guide your thinking helps to keep one focused. I have shared Kathleen Schrock’s site with my colleagues in hopes that it will spark conversations about looking more closely at web sites as well as researching web sites for future use. Regarding my research on BrainPOPjr., I am pleased with the results. The activities listed under each lesson in BrainPOPjr. are differentiated in many ways which addresses varied learning styles. For example, a wide range of research resources are available, including books with varied readability levels, video, and activities. Having a variety of tasks helps each student reach his/her zone of proximal development. While gaining knowledge, my students take charge of their learning and challenge themselves to seek knowledge beyond the unit I present to them.
Summer, 2007: Summer holidays are fun, packed full of travels and adventure that offer many opportunities for new learning experiences. They are also very long, and you may like to supplement your child’s vacation with access to some fun educational websites. Links to our recommended sites can be found on our menu bar on the right of this post. We also draw your attention to following outstanding sites: BrainPOP Jr. (www.brainpopjr.com), is a new learning program specifically geared for children between 5 and 8 years old. Topics are carefully chosen and presented in animated cartoon movies that are narrated with fun and understandable language for children. It is the successor to BrainPOP (www.brainpop.com) which is more suitable for 9-11 year olds.

The audio-assisted, kid-friendly navigation of both sites allow children to easily move through various sections, including Science, Health, Reading, Writing, Social Studies, Technology and Math. Each entertaining, animated movie is also supplemented with quizzes that are read aloud, as well as games and innovative features to assist parents. You can sign up for a free two week trial and after this can purchase a subscription if you wish.

More about BrainPOP Jr.

www.brainpopjr.com

“The extraordinary success of BrainPOP inspired us to create BrainPOP Junior, designed specifically for younger children,” says BrainPOP chairman and CEO, Avraham Kadar, M.D.. “We think we’ve developed a ‘magical’ mix of joyful exploration and education that will allow children of all backgrounds to understand subjects like never before. We truly believe BrainPOP Jr. is an important milestone in the future of education, and we look forward to receiving feedback from parents, teachers and children.”Developed to be used by families at home and as part of lesson plans at school, BrainPOP Jr. allows users to customize the pacing of the movies and to give children the chance to answer questions independently or make predictions before proceeding.”We were repeatedly asked by teachers, ‘What do you have for younger students who love BrainPOP but need content that is easier for them to digest?’” says Karina Linch, a vice president for BrainPOP Jr., who as a teacher used BrainPOP in the classroom before recently joining the company. “BrainPOPJr. is the perfect tool for children as early as kindergarten.

More about BrainPOP

www.brainpop.com

BrainPOP, founded by Avraham Kadar, M.D. in 1999, is the leading producer of animated educational movies for grades K-12. Millions of students regularly watch BrainPOP movies and exchange messages with a dynamic cast of five characters who lead them through related activities on the BrainPOP web site: interactive quizzes, comic strips, and experiments. BrainPOP has won multiple education and media awards. In early 2006, BrainPOP also launched BrainPOP en Español (http://es.brainpop.com/) designed for Spanish-speaking students.
Summer, 2007: Designed for young elementary school students, this cool site plays movies to explain topics commonly studied in the classroom including reading, math, social studies, and science. Students who benefit from auditory, visual, or both types of instruction will be drawn to these engaging animated movies.
June 8, 2007: I am finding the NECC 2007 e-mails to be more intriguing by the day. One wonderful e-mail which discussed BrainPop and BrainPop Jr., was sent to me this morning. I found this e-mail unusually timely because I just completed a voluntary class on both of these interactive cartoons/websites in my school system this week. I am a big Tim and Moby fan (BrainPop fan). I was pleased to see the topics of the new movies that they are releasing. Finally, something new on decimals! On the other hand, I like BrainPop Jr. too. Annie, one of the newest characters in the BrainPop family, is very easy to listen to and she has a lot of information that even middle school students would want to hear. Annie is a sassy throw back to a middle school student's primary school years (K-3 is her actual audience). She gives hefty explanations and is inquisitive enough to hold the interest of all age levels. Finally, I am extremely pleased to say that I watch these entertaining cartoons with my math students without reservation. However, these animations have more than simple entertainment value. They are very educational and I know my students get a lot out of them. If you have not mentioned to your school system that they should join this phenomenal website, then I suggest you do so. These educational cartoons add flavor to my lesson plans because they spawn discussion and give a twist to all subjects. They are also aligned with the curriculums of most if not all states. I cannot wait to visit this booth at the NECC.
June 14, 2007: So school's out for the summer...and we have taken the better part of this week off from all pursuits academic lest there be an uprising amongst the natives here at my house. I have introduced the notion of 1 hour of reading per day so Cam is reading the Joey Pigzma books. We are working our way up to the Moby Dick/Huck Finn/Treasure Island etc classics that I have that are on about a 5 or 6th grade level. They were my brothers' in the 50's....my son (a reluctant reader himself) used them and loved them in the 80's and 90's. Looks like they'll get a workout again. He testified to how wonderful Moby Dick was and how he loved it....and if Uncle Mikey likes it then it must be cool. So I imagine I won't have a lot of whining about reading it. Even though it is a very simplified version (none of Melville's soliloquies are in evidence), my son still took away from it that it wasn't about a whale at all. It was about the destructive nature of obsession. (YEAH!) Anyway, reading an hour a day has been a bit unpopular...but that's me. The unpopular nana. Today I introduced the notion of 4 hours per day of school at Nana's little red school house throughout the summer. They were aghast. I reminded them of how bored they have been in just a week. They are relenting.

I was perusing the web this morning and discovered Brainpop and Brainpop Jr. What wonderful products!! There are flash based animated videos with a guy and his robot friend who "teach" a variety of subjects and lessons across the curriculum. Very budget friendly for mom and dad (or teachers). Wonderful ties to the state standards. Activities to tie to the videos. Quizzes to ensure learning. I LOVE IT!!! My Cam (who is going to 9th grade but has missed some fundamentals) is going to be able to pick up on important topics that he's missed...painlessly. And my Justin (who's going to 3rd grade) can review important topics like time, measuring, money etc in BP Jr. so he can reinforce his understanding...and it will be fun for him. Both of them will be able to choose any topic that interests them to learn over and above what they have already covered in school.

Now...for the kid tested review. I used the Brainpop with Cameron. Now truth be told, today he is a bit edgy. I suspect he forgot to take his Concerta this morning although he says he did. And even if he did, by 4 pm it is pretty well worn off. We did some math review. He was quite opposed. I did my sales spiel as to why this was important. I suggested fractions. He pointed out that was a topic he actually knew. I said fine. Take the graded quiz. If you get 8 out of 10 questions right on a pretest you need not watch the video. He did not...he got 4 out of 10. He watched the video. On the post quiz he got 8/10. He moved on to the Advanced version of adding and subtracting videos. This time he watched the videos first. We moved to adding and subtracting integers. This had been a bit of an issue for him in pre-alg this year. He watched the video. On both the regular and advanced post quizzes he got 9/10. I'm a believer. I think he is too. The length of time it took to reinforce these positive concepts was very short...he's attuned to video/computer games so it was not as boring as a book....and appeals to visual and auditory learners and he was able to focus on it well enough in spite of his edginess today.

I am sure I haven't even scratched the surface of what all Brainpop has to offer. And the Jr version still has some "coming soon" features in Math....so I know I haven't scratched its' surface. But I am a true believer. They have different levels of subscriptons you can purchase. I'll use FAMILY access for us...payable monthly...and the boys will just use it when the other is finished. If you are a homeschooler who has multiple kids who will use it independently, there is a special right now and it's still quite affordable although I don't think I saw a monthly payment plan.

Overall I give this product A+ and say THANKS to the developers and creators. To parents...I say make the small investment. I doubt you'll regret it!
June 22, 2007: Promethean, a global leader in interactive learning, today announced an exciting new partnership with BrainPOP, the world's leading producer of online, animated educational movies for grades K-12. The web sites for BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr., its K-3 edition, welcome more than one million new viewers each month. Both sites' content will be optimized to integrate seamlessly with Promethean Activclassroom technology, allowing teachers to develop and deliver more dynamic, engaging and effective lessons.

"Using Promethean and BrainPOP together provides the resources that any teacher needs to engage interest, meet learning styles and differentiate instruction for all students," said Jill Meeker, a Fulton County, GA elementary school teacher who uses both technologies in her classroom. "I know the impact of this partnership will be tremendous."

For the first time, BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr., BrainPOP Español and all combo and premium packages will be available as part of a "bundle" sold alongside Promethean products and on Promethean's new eCommercial portal. BrainPOP will also continue selling directly to schools, districts, teachers and families. "The partnership between our two companies provides the best of both worlds," said Mark Elliott, President of Promethean, Inc., who described the collaboration as part of Promethean's ongoing commitment to give teachers the most effective tools for improving student engagement. "BrainPOP's award-winning educational content delivered on the Promethean Activboard keeps students enthusiastic and interested in the lessons, which results in an increase in participation and knowledge."

BrainPOP, geared toward grades 3-12, provides more than 650 curriculum-based movies spanning seven subjects: Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health, Arts and Music and Technology. BrainPOP Jr., designed specifically for grades K-3, consists of movies, quizzes, games, lessons and printables on Science, Health, Writing, Reading, Social Studies and Math. All animated topics are developed in accordance with national education standards (NCTM, NSES and NCTE).

"This partnership between BrainPOP and Promethean is a natural fit," said Avraham Kadar, M.D., founder and CEO of BrainPOP. "Teachers and students already love using BrainPOP in the classroom. With Activboard as a stage for our content, there's even more opportunity for long-term student success." Educators and journalists are invited to attend a press conference and demonstration of the Promethean-BrainPOP collaboration during the National Education Computing Conference in Atlanta on Tuesday, June 26th at 12:30 pm.

Location: Omni Hotel Maple Room
100 CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30303

Agenda: 12:30-12:45 Meet and Greet 12:45-1:15 Demo (followed by Q&A)

About BrainPOP: BrainPOP (www.brainpop.com) is the leading producer of animated educational movies for grades 3-12. Guided by their hosts, Tim and Moby, millions of students regularly watch BrainPOP movies and exchange messages with a dynamic cast of characters who lead them through related activities on the BrainPOP web site, including homework help, interactive quizzes, comic strips and experiments. Founded in 1999 by Avraham Kadar, M.D., BrainPOP has won multiple education and media awards and has developed partnerships with a number of international brands, including McGraw-Hill, National Geographic, Yahoo! and AOL. In 2006, the company launched BrainPOP Jr. (www.brainpopjr.com), targeted to children in grades K-3. Like BrainPOP, BrainPOP Jr. teaches core curriculum topics in a fun and easily digestible manner, while correlating to national standards and testing mandates. BrainPOP is also available in Spanish at es.brainpop.com. BrainPOP's first print title, The Science Almanac for Kids, was published in 2004. About Promethean: Promethean, the world's most admired education technology company, is a global leader in interactive learning technology that empowers teachers to engage, educate, assess and motivate learners. Developed by and for educators, its award-winning products help teachers to prepare digital lessons quickly and with greater ease. The technology enables them to create, customize and integrate text, web, video and audio content, so they can more easily capture students' attention and accommodate different learning styles.

The company supplies Activboard, the world's most durable interactive whiteboard technology; Activstudio, a software platform for secondary teaching; and Activprimary, the only product designed specifically for use in primary schools and kindergarten. It also offers hand-held Activotes that permit instantaneous assessment of pupils' comprehension of lessons. Beyond the classroom, Promethean offers training and support to ensure maximum results and return on investment. Promethean USA is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with flagship headquarters in Blackburn, UK. For more information on its major products visit www.prometheanworld.com.

For more information, please visit www.prometheanworld.com.


June 28, 2007: Usually, I don’t have time to look through conference bags, especially those given away as part of registration. However, at the conference, I found that I had a little free time between sessions. One of the first brochures I picked out of my goody bag was one that promised fun, learning, student interaction and no software installation required. Eager to test the allegations made I marched upstairs and found the BrainPop Jr. website. To my amazement it held up to its promises. The movies were entertaining and inquiry based. At the end of each movie I was allowed to choose between an easy or hard on-line quiz and/or explore various games and activities related to the video. Additionally, I was able to locate resources for teachers which offered differentiated instruction and lesson plans. This program appealed to me because it seemed easy to use, provided loads of entertainment with built in assessments, and allowed students to navigate the program.
July 26, 2007: Hi Everyone, I just wanted to share a site with you that we use all the time in school with our 6th graders. Have you heard of BrainPOP and BrainPOP Jr? They are wonderful sites with kid-friendly video clips and quizzes in every subject area and topic you can think of. We especially use it often in science and language arts. It is a great resource to use no matter what you are teaching. BrainPOP is for middle schoolers and BrainPOP Jr. is for the younger grades. You have to sign up to become a member, last year our school had a grant, so we had unlimited access to it. Right now, you can sign up for a free 14-day trial to check it out. Please look at this site if you haven't already! Hope you can use it. We don't go a day without it!!
November, 2007: Our school was just updated with technology, not completely up to date but much better than what we did have access to. While exploring, I noticed BrainPOP. I’ve heard other classmates talk about BrainPOP as a great, educational resource for all subject areas but didn’t actually explore it personally. However, I was curious about BrainPOP so I checked it out. Since I work with students in the primary grades, I also checked out BrainPOP Jr. which had great games and resources that you can use in school and at home. For some of the games, you do need to have a subscription but most of the games I explored, I was able to access and play without being a member. The games were colorful, attractive and fun! I like how the games are “challenging” as they’re not always straight forward answers. Thought has to be processed to respond to the games and/or quizzes offered. There are also great lesson plans (like seasons, basic adding, etc.) and videos ~ even & odd numbers. There’s a free 5-day trial, if your school does not hold a membership or you can subscribe and pay for your own subscription. What a great tool to get students motivated about learning in all subject areas! What are you waiting for…check it out!
November 3, 2007: You may not know this about me, I educate my children at home, at the grocery store, at the park, via Community Bible Study, field trips, at the local food bank, whenever the opportunity presents itself. One of my favorite online learning tools is BrainPOP.

We have been happy members for two years. It's absolutely fun and I couldn't see living without it.

• BrainPOP is an educational program that provides curriculum-based content spanning seven main subjects including: Science, Math, English, Social Studies, Health, Arts & Music, and Technology.

• BrainPOP currently features more than 600 animated movies. Each movie is supported by activities such as a quiz, comic strip, experiment and other printable worksheets, all of which speak to kids in a language and voice that they can understand.

• Although many of BrainPOP's movies are appropriate for all ages, the main focus grades for BrainPOP are 3-12. For content aimed at grades K-3, please visit BrainPOP Jr .

• BrainPOP is a subscription-based product, fortunately, there is a Free Trial available.

I have used BrainPOP to edutain my kids while I'm trying to get dinner to the table. BrainPOP is a perfect site to send your kids for entertainment and education. They will not want to turn off the computer, once they start watching Tim & Moby's animated videos.

Check it out. BrainPOP is worth having, whether you educate at home or not. Your kids will learn tons, while you get dinner on the table.
November 28, 2007: Last year I discovered BrainPOP–an educational site for kids filled with movies, information and activities about science, social studies, English, etc. While browsing through the site recently, I learned about BrainPOP Jr. The site states:

BrainPOP Jr. provides educational movies and homework help for K-3 students. Each animated movie has quizzes, games, vocabulary, and activities for kids. BrainPOP Jr. is a great resource for teachers and homeschools, offering lesson plans and lesson ideas that develop critical thinking and inquiry skills.

I love this site because it is filled with wonderful animations that are exciting for children (and adults) to view. Plus, resources like the reading word wall and games page are great links to send home to parents, so that they can help their children learn key vocabulary and skills at home.

Since many of us will celebrate Thanksgiving this week. Why not share this BrainPOP Jr. Thanksgiving video with your students titled, “Who were the Pilgrims?“
February 14, 2008: When I was in 3rd grade I had to write a report about Abraham Lincoln. I remember falling asleep in the library at school while reading a book about him. Not because the book was boring, but because the new couch was really comfortable.

Zoe, my niece, is in second grade. Not only does she have to learn about Abraham Lincoln, but she has create a fact sheet and a puppet. Aunt Dani is making her turn the fact sheet into a PhotoStory, but that's just for fun.

We're using netTrekker to find the web resources and images. But I found another great source for her to get some great information, and she didn't fall asleep watching it. It's BrainPop, Jr. For those of you haven't seen it lately, go check it out. Not only did Zoe watch the video, but there were other goodies too. One of the things I liked about the video was that it gave tips on how to take notes. On the side of the video was a notebook and Annie used it to write the question that segment was answering.

The other thing I liked was that it gave Zoe suggestions for what other age-appropriate books she should read, a cute little joke, a comic (which was the only thing she went "hmmm" on) and other activities. I liked the activity that was designed to get the class to start talking and the writing activity. Zoe on the other hand liked the craft activity and said it was perfect for the puppet that she has to make.

She has also decided to create her digital story with a similar touch as BrainPop. She's going to draw the pictures either on the computer or by hand and then scan them in. They won't be animated like BrainPop, but at least she'll have the concept available to use.

Joey and I wrote to BrainPop this afternoon and asked what were seizures. He wants to share the video with his classmates. I hope they answer!
January 30, 2008: Hey Everyone!

The Brain Pop Jr website is fantastic! This website can be used with so many different subject areas. It has great videos that explain so many topics in kid friendly language. The different subjects that appear on this website are Science, Health, Writing (ELA), Reading (ELA), Social Studies, and Math. Other things that this website contains are a word wall, interactive games, a bulletin board, a grown-ups guide, comics, lesson plans, step-by-step explanations on how to do things or how to learn skills, pictures, etc. The only downside to this website is that you have to subscribe to have access to the full website and the subscriptions are quite expensive. However, without a subscription you can still use most of the site, so that's pretty cool and there is a free trial so you can check out what the whole site has to offer for a short time.

Even though this site can be used with many different subject areas I choose to use it for Grade One Science in the Animals unit. It will fit the following objectives:

1. Explain how animals are adapted to their environments.
2. Explore the ways that animals adapt to their environments.
3. Explain how animals depend on their habitats for their basic needs.
4. Observe, describe, or imitate how animals behave in their natural environments.

I would use this website for a lesson on hibernation. I would show the students the video on the Brain Pop Jr. website and then as a class discuss the video. This discussion would be very interactive and get the students thinking about what hibernation really is. After the discussion I would have the students do a "draw it" activity in which they will draw an animal hibernating.

I believe this resource would be beneficial for the students because they are able to get visual, audio, musical, and kinesthetic explanations of a variety of different topics. This beats the regular direct instruction style of teaching because it reaches a variety of different learning styles. Also, it allows students to construct their own knowledge through discussion, asking questions, and taking part in activities. The teacher is merely a facilitator here rather than a director.

Check out this website! It's awesome!!
January 30, 2008: Brain Pop Jr. is another great website that is fairly new. Our district subscribes to the original Brain Pop, but next year we will have access to the Jr. version. It is an educational website that provides brief movie clips explaining various subjects and skills that are taught at the K-2 grade levels. My students are fully engaged when viewing the movies and each movie is followed by an optional quiz. A five day trial membership is available for this site, and each week there is a free "movie of the week" that can be viewed.
2007: BrainPOP Jr. is the latest addition to the BrainPOP family. BrainPOP Jr. provides educational movies for K-3 learners. Through the adventures of Annie and Moby, BrainPOP Jr. addresses a wide range of grade-appropriate topics, such as the food pyramid, soil and shapes. The movies encourage active viewing and are easily paused for students to make predictions and form their own ideas.
April 2, 2008: For the younger set, there's BrainPOP Jr., which features Moby and Annie, a little girl with red glasses and black hair in pigtails. Together, they discuss topics in science, writing, social studies, health, reading and math in language and concepts appropriate for kindergarteners through third-graders.

The junior site offers free educational games that the kids can play and better still, ideas for teacher and parent activities. Also cute: an online bulletin board where you can view artwork and writing submitted by kids who have used the site.


See all Topics and Lesson Plan Ideas

BrainPOP Jr. provides educational movies and homework help for K-3 students. Each animated movie has quizzes, games, vocabulary, and activities for kids. BrainPOP Jr. is a great resource for teachers and homeschools, offering lesson plans and lesson ideas that develop critical thinking and inquiry skills.

Can't see the movies? • Visit BrainPOP.com • Press?

© BrainPOP Jr. 2008. All rights reserved. Annie and Moby are registered trademarks of BrainPOP Jr.
This Internet site provides information of a general nature and is designed for educational purposes only. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by the Terms of Use, Membership Agreement, and our Privacy Policy.

Find us on Google • Find us on Yahoo! • Find us on MSN