BrainPOP Related Reading Special Agents Lesson Plan: Enrichment and Extension Throughout the School Year

Lesson Procedure:

1. Part One: Creating, Presenting, and Displaying Related Reading Special Agents - Review the Related Reading section of several BrainPOP videos, discussing and exploring the various categories of Related Reading features. You may wish to show or revisit movies related to topics you have recently studied.
2. Brainstorm in groups or as a class how students would conduct research to create the Related Reading section if they worked at BrainPOP (e.g., Internet search engines, textbooks, YouTube, library trip, newspapers, comics).
3. Announce to your students that they are going to create their very own BrainPOP Related Reading Special Agent character on a task force to create new Related Reading content for all the videos viewed in your classroom.
4. In preparation for creating the individual characters, discuss as a whole class what Tim or Moby are like on the inside, what they are like on the outside, and some basic character traits of each. You can use the Character Map Graphic Organizer either laminated, as a handout, or projected from your computer to record student observations.
5. Using a fresh copy of the graphic organizer, students should brainstorm their BrainPOP Related Reading Special Agent and give him/her a name. On the back of the graphic organizer, ask students to sketch out how they envision their agent.
6. Students can then create their character using art supplies, magazine cut outs, photo sharing website (e.g., Flickr), or computer-based/app-based option (e.g., Scratch, Microsoft Paint, Avatar).
7. Students then present their Related Reading Special Agent to the class, explaining what the character is like on the inside and what he or she is like on the outside.
8. Collect hard copies of all the Related Reading Special Agents and enlist the help of your students to bedazzle a wall or bulletin board with your class agents (leave space around each for future work to be displayed). Use the Character Clip Art from BrainPOP Educators if you want to include BrainPOP characters in your display. Your students now have a Related Reading Special Agent to be in charge of “schooling” Tim and Moby!
9. Part Two: Integrating Related Reading Special Agents into your BrainPOP Lessons - Introduce the topic of the day and complete your regular BrainPOP classroom activities (e.g., view video, activity pages, quiz). Carefully review and discuss the Related Reading section with your students and explain that your Related Reading Special Agents are on the job to create new Related Reading content. You can assign the type of Related Reading content they will be creating (e.g., Arts and Entertainment, Language, Comic Strip, etc.), have students select their own category, or allow them to create a new category.
10. Allow your students plenty of time to brainstorm, research, and create. They can record their findings in one of the graphic organizers provided by BrainPOP Educators or in your preferred format (e.g., list findings on an index card, write/word process one or more paragraphs, display art or comic on a template). Check their content.
11. Each student should stand next to their Related Reading Special Agent and present their information, comic strip, or artistic display. Students should compare and contrast agent information and how it ties in with the video. With assistance from you, showcase their Related Reading Special Agent document around their displayed character.
12. As you watch videos throughout the year, you can repeat the process outlined in part two. By the end of the year you will have an artistic Related Reading Special Agent display that gives kudos to your students’ ability to research, think critically, be creative, and extend their learning.