Special Guest Series: BrainPOP in Berlin! Week 2
Posted by allisyn on
Chris Carter’s saga with BrainPOP ELL in Germany continues…
Day Six (Week Two)
Student C is still not satisfied. She’s frustrated that Ben has spent all this time explaining every little thing to Moby and he still can’t say one word. She points out that student D, who has only been watching Ben for a week, can already make whole sentences.
Day Seven
At level 1.3, I made the mistake of showing the movie, Words to Know, and Facts to Know straight through without a break. We only got about three seconds into Facts to Know before Student C called out (in German) “Boring!” A quick scan of the room showed me she wasn’t the only one who thought. I quickly went to the Play It activity and called three students up.
I always call three at a time. It goes faster that way. I also allow them to whisper to each other at the board. I like to see knowledge spread. The first three students listened to the prompts and clicked off the first three cascading pictures. Actually, we all listened to the prompts. There was a great deal of calling out from the rest of the class when Student H let the right picture slide by. They were relieved when it came by again a few seconds later and she nailed it. Then I called up the next three students. I use a class list to make sure everyone gets on the whiteboard every day.
Day Nine
Today we walked to Alexander Plads and took a train to a forest in West Berlin. I found myself mimicking Ben. Not just what he says, but his careful enunciation too. “Be Careful!” I said. “Don’t stop!” I called.
Some of the students picked up on this. In the forest, Student B picked up a rock and pretended to make a phone call with it. Then she said, “It is not a telephone. It’s a rock.” Student P said to student L, “You are not a pretty flower.”
Stay posted as the journey continues! Using BrainPOP internationally? We’d love to hear about it!
