My Take
Brain POP ESL is just one component of the Brain POP series. This site provided ELL students opportunities to interact in the areas of reading, listening, speaking, and writing skills through the use of games and videos. I liked the way the videos and activities were integrated into different subjects. The lesson plan ideas were convenient and easy to use. I would like to see more information on what English Language Proficiency standards are being addressed for each section. I was disappointed in the speaking activity. Students were not able to record their voices after several attempts. Since this was a free trial, maybe I didn't have full access to all of the components. Even though I’m not able to purchase Brain POP ESL this year, I plan to use the free activities and lessons available on the site. Overall, this is a wonderful supplement to any ELL program.
How I Use It
Brain Pop ESL is an excellent tool to supplement any grammar lesson. I used Brain POP ESL as a free five day trial with my beginning ELL students. The program has different levels and within each level are lessons devoted to ELA skills. For example, I used the “Be (Question)” lesson to supplement teaching question type sentences. Students viewed a short video and interacted with four follow up activities. I asked my students to help me review this product. Here is some of their feedback on Brain POP ESL: “I liked the pictures and games”, “I learned about questions like, Who is that?”, and “It (the video) was funny.” I used the lesson as a formative assessment to monitor the student’s’ learning about question sentences.