Bilingual Education with CBE of the Month Natalia Rasavong
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We want to welcome April’s Certified BrainPOP Educator of the Month, Natalia Rasavong, to the blog! Natalia joins us from Racine, WI and has harnessed the power of BrainPOP in two languages! To learn even more about Natalia’s experience with BrainPOP, be sure to check out her past blog post.
What grade(s) do you teach? Subject area?
I’m a Technology Integration Specialist in my district and I support 5 different schools – four elementary and one K-8th. I also was a Dual Language teacher before this job.
How long have you been teaching?
I’ve been teaching for 14 years.
What inspired you to go into education?
The teachers I had when I was a child inspired me to go into education. I loved most of my teachers. They were passionate and dedicated to teach not only knowledge but life skills.
Which CBE class were you a part of? What do you like about being a CBE?
I joined the online class in May 2017.
What is one of the most memorable projects you’ve done with your class using BrainPOP resources?
When I was a classroom teacher I used BrainPOP on a daily basis. I used BrainPOP for content knowledge but also for language acquisition. One of the greatest projects I used BrainPOP for was when I was teaching my students about immigration. We use several BrainPOP movies and activities but my students were hooked on the “Mission US: City of Immigrants” game fromBrainPOP. At that time we were electing a new president and immigration was a hot topic. The game allowed the students to understand that the United States is a country made up of a lot of diverse backgrounds. It made it possible for them to compare and contrast immigration back in the day and now. It was a terrific learning experience not only for the kids but for me.
How has BrainPOP impacted a specific student (or group of students)?
Since I started teaching, BrainPOP has been a great tool to teach my students. All my students have been impacted by BrainPOP one way or another. However, I feel that not only my students but their families have been impacted by it. When parents don’t know how to support their children academically, I always refer them to BrainPOP. I know thatBrainPOP explains topics that are difficult even for adults in the easiest way possible. My best ally all these years has beenBrainPOP Español. I found my students learning a lot vocabulary fromBrainPOP Español and use that content language constantly, thanks to the material. I wish I had all the activities in both languages, but I use BrainPOP English activities to bridge the language.
How has becoming a CBE impacted you?
Becoming a CBE has opened the doors to a wonderful community of colleagues that use BrainPOP in different settings. That community has resources, questions and support. Becoming a CBE has made me a more aware teacher.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to education, technology, and your approaches to teaching?
I’m passionate about differentiation. I love to be able to support all students in the classroom. BrainPOP has helped me to differentiate and become a more flexible teacher.
What’s on your BrainPOP wish list?
I wish we haveBrainPOP Español Jr and all the resources in Spanish – games, Related Readings, Make-a-Map, Make-a-Movie etc.
