Teacher Stories
Teacher Wins and How BrainPOP Came to the Rescue
Every school year, teachers bring their best creative thinking, resilience, and passion to the table, and this year was no different. For 25 years now, BrainPOP has grown with you in the classroom, here to meet new and changing needs every year. To celebrate our silver anniversary this year, we wanted to learn more about how BrainPOP has helped support teachers in all different ways. What we heard were so many stories of huge classroom accomplishments and how BrainPOP has come to the rescue for teachers and students alike. Let’s go through some together!
- Your trusted partner for engagement, every day
- Building background knowledge (and laughs!) with every lesson
- Giving every learner the opportunity to shine
- Here in a minute to simplify your planning
- Celebrating your academic wins – in every size!
- Our best work is in supporting you
- Share your BrainPOP story
Your trusted partner for engagement, every day
In the classroom, you’re constantly adapting to new challenges in order to meet a range of learning needs. Many teachers discussed how they used BrainPOP to help lighten the load, especially when it came to sparking curiosity, introducing a new concept, or simply bringing a little more fun to the learning process.
“BrainPOP Jr. always comes to the rescue when I’m introducing new topics,” says Danielle K. “Whether it’s phonics, science, or social studies — it provides great introduction and reinforcement.”
For Tanisha D., explaining probability to her students was harder than expected: “I was struggling to find a way to make it more accessible and engaging for my students. I turned to BrainPOP (3-8) for help. After watching the movie on Probability as a class, we had such a rich discussion and my students could finally apply what they learned to solve problems with confidence. BrainPOP really came to my rescue.”
“BrainPOP Jr. really came to the rescue this year when my students needed a boost of engagement,” says Ana V. “The videos, quizzes, and activities were just what we needed to re-ignite their love of learning!”
Building background knowledge (and laughs!) with every lesson
Teachers love using BrainPOP movies to help build background knowledge across the curriculum. There’s plenty of learning science behind why BrainPOP is not only engaging and effective; but there’s one secret ingredient that simply can’t be quantified: laughing with Moby.
“Our class treats Moby as if he’s a real person,” Lisa W. shared with us. “He’s completely a part of our class, and that makes all of us so very happy.”
Daniiel O., a teacher who works with first-grade English language learners, also agrees. “They love Moby and think he is so silly. But they’re learning so much. The visuals are great. BrainPOP Jr. and BrainPOP ELL are perfect tools for making learning accessible to all.”
Bianca K.’s class can’t get enough of the laughs. “BrainPOP has become a class favorite this year. My students are constantly laughing at Moby’s antics and engaged in all of the Pause Points. THANK YOU BRAINPOP!”
The humor and relatability that BrainPOP characters create are big reasons why kids love building background knowledge with us. No two learners are exactly the same, however, and being able to meet a wide range of learning needs is also where teachers have found a reliable partner with us.
Giving every learner the opportunity to shine
There is growing attention around how the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework can make a huge impact on how students show up to learn. Teachers often lean on BrainPOP to provide different ways for students to engage, access, and express their learning.
“Our prime curriculum is very text-heavy.” says Melissa R. “When my visual learners and diverse learners are struggling with comprehension, BrainPOP makes understanding and building comprehensive skills more conducive to the learning styles of my students.”
In such diverse classrooms, having the support for differentiation can make all the difference. We heard many stories about teachers using different features in BrainPOP 3-8 and BrainPOP Science to meet the needs of all kinds of learners.
“My students love making their own BrainPOP movies with Make-a-Movie,” says Holly T. “We do this to allow them to become the teacher and teach their classmates about different topics.”
Marilyn J. loves the different modalities for expression that students have.. “My students are all at different levels on the [autism] spectrum. BrainPOP provided different ways for them to show their work,” she shares. “It allowed them to create maps or draw pictures, and it allowed them to work out questions at their skill level.”
And for classrooms with English language learners, BrainPOP is a game-changer for Ashley Z. “I love using BrainPOP as an audio and visual aid for my students to learn math concepts! My ELL students really benefit from the visual representations of academic content.”
Annabel R., a science teacher who also has English language learners, leaned on BrainPOP Science and the multi-language feature for movies. “Providing students with the opportunity to engage with CER through real world examples was a lifesaver. I was also able to elevate my multilingual learners by showing them BrainPOP Science videos in Spanish and then again in English. This feature is so helpful when trying to incorporate language learning with scientific learning.”
Here in a minute to simplify your planning
As any teacher knows, no matter how much you plan, you still have to expect the unexpected. No matter how unpredictable their day, we heard from teachers on BrainPOP becoming a reliable resource to count on.
When Martha G. unexpectedly found herself covering a math class, BrainPOP (3-8) came to the rescue. “The last time I touched middle school math was… well… when I was in middle school! When I saw the packet the kids were working on, I went to BrainPOP. The students said the lesson was fun, and they understood the concepts,” she remembers. “It would not have been the same if it were not for BrainPOP!”
And when Allison L. needed last minute plans for an unexpected absence in her science class, BrainPOP Jr. was a perfect solution. “I was able to assign them a video to watch that matched what we were learning in school and also assign them the different activities to keep them engaged, but also work independently. I was able to track their progress through the teacher dashboard.”
Despite the unforeseen challenges, teachers continued to push their students towards success and outcomes. Across the curriculum, we heard so many stories of amazing academic achievements, and social-emotional learning wins too.
Celebrating your academic wins – in every size!
For students, even the smallest victory can make a world of difference. It’s very exciting to witness countless triumphs teachers have achieved with their kids, from boosting reading scores to fostering emotional intelligence with a little help from BrainPOP.
“BrainPOP came to my rescue during SEL. The curated lessons on Mindfulness, Stress, and Anxiety were incredibly impactful,” shares Kerry-Ann R., who integrated these resources into her curriculum. “The videos really impacted our class discussions!”
Maghee F., an ELA teacher, found an ideal partner in BrainPOP (3-8) to build the foundational knowledge her kids needed for success. “BrainPOP comes to the rescue for the way I teach reading this year – we are focusing on topics, not ELA skills. We use the site almost weekly to build background knowledge and make reading more meaningful,” she says.
Meanwhile, Carlos V. leaned on BrainPOP (3-8) to strengthen students’ writing skills. “BrainPOP really stepped up to help when I introduced my students to writing five-paragraph essays. I noticed some of them were struggling with how to organize their ideas, so I used BrainPOP to give them extra help.”
And the hard work paid off! Teachers celebrated remarkable growth across the curriculum.
“With our math interventionist, a bilingual tutor, myself, and BrainPOP Jr., we were able to get all five of my math intervention students to graduate from our program,” Angelica A. proudly shared. “I currently have all students working at or above grade level!”
Nancy W., a third-grade teacher, shared her accomplishments too. “More than 70% of my students were reading significantly below grade level. BrainPOP has been instrumental in helping them catch up and make remarkable progress.”
Jacqueline Clarke is getting her seventh-graders more than ready for what’s to come in their learning journey. “We’ve been practicing writing CERs all year with BrainPOP Science by investigating phenomena. We are 50% multi-language learners, and we have succeeded in 98% writing our CERs, which they will encounter a lot in high school.”
Our best work is in supporting you
Teachers are at the frontlines of learning, tackling old and new challenges, and creating the most memorable moments for their students. Every success story you share and every “aha” moment you create fills us with gratitude and inspiration.
Teachers, thank you for inviting us to be part of your journey this year – it’s been an incredible year of learning, growing, and achievement. Thank you for all your work, and for advocating for BrainPOP–you are the reason we are loved, known, and trusted!
Jinn Liu is the Creative Manager of Copy and Content at BrainPOP. She has a Bachelor’s in Communications and currently lives in New York City. She is a creator, writer, and lifelong learner.
