Topic Roundup
BrainPOP Recent Topic Roundup: January 2022
We’re kicking off the year with a review of BrainPOP topics published during the first half of the 2021-22 school year!
You’ll find nearly 900 topics on BrainPOP in all major subjects across the curriculum—and the Editorial Team is always hard at work creating new topics and updating existing ones. All BrainPOP content is designed to meet a wide range of standards, so teachers can always find relevant, engaging topics to support their lessons and drive learning outcomes. Here’s a look at what has been keeping us busy in recent months:
English
Similes and Metaphors (update): Figures of speech carry certain connotations, suggesting specific images, ideas, or feelings for a particular effect. Similes use “like” or “as” to compare two things. Metaphors, comparisons that don’t use “like” or “as,” can have even more impact. Learn how to use figurative language in writing and speech.
Science
Food Webs: All living things need food to survive, whether they make it on their own or eat other organisms. Food is so important because it’s how organisms get the energy they need to live and grow. That’s why scientists map out food webs, models that show who eats whom in an ecosystem.
Density: Density is a fundamental property of matter, and you can figure out the density of any substance by calculating the ratio of its mass to its volume. Atoms give matter its mass, and their arrangement determines the matter’s volume. Changes in their arrangement affect the substance’s density—and can turn solids into liquids, or liquids into gases.
Chemical Equations (update): Chemical reactions happen when atoms break chemical bonds and form new ones. And because matter can’t be created or destroyed, you always end up with the same amount of matter before and after a chemical reaction. We can represent the inputs and outputs of a reaction with a chemical equation.
Social Studies
Reservations: Ever wondered why some laws on Native American reservations are different from the laws in the surrounding state? It’s because Native American nations are sovereign, or independent, and there are more than 300 of them within U.S. borders.
Sonia Sotomayor: As a girl growing up in the Bronx, Sonia Sotomayor dreamed of being a judge. With drive, smarts, and a passion for hard work, she became the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court.
Trans-Saharan Trade: Learn how the camel helped spur trade across the Sahara Desert in the third century, making Western Africa a major player on the world market.
Labor Day: These days, Labor Day weekend means sales, parades, and picnics. But more than 100 years ago, it began as a way to honor American workers as they fought for better pay and job conditions.
Health & SEL
Autism (update): Autism is a condition that disrupts the brain’s development, affecting how someone sees and understands the world, how they act, and how they relate to other people. Autism can affect people in a range of ways, which is why it’s known as autism spectrum disorders, or ASD. It’s not about being normal or abnormal—different people are just different. And we all have a lot to learn from people who are different from us.
Back to School 2021: For most kids, school has been anything but normal for nearly two years—which means back-to-school 2021 probably felt different, too. Moby and friends share tips to set kids up for a successful school year.
We’ll continue to share periodic updates on the blog, so keep an eye on this space for newly released topics.
Lindsey Palmer is a senior editor at BrainPOP.
