Resources for Educators
Brains On Universe makes entertaining and educational shows for curious kids and their adults. Our shows are Brains On!, Smash Boom Best, Forever Ago and Moment of Um.
We know educators are incredibly creative and have been using our podcasts in their classrooms for years. Here are just some of the ways teachers have incorporated our shows into their lessons:
I have used Smash Boom Best to introduce students to how to write interesting hooks that grab a reader's attention.
In school, we listen to Moment of Um daily to generate questions and have quick knowledge-building discussions.
I assigned a podcast as part of a science lesson as an enrichment activity to what we were studying. Students listened on headphones on individual devices and used a podcast organizer to take notes as they listened.
Here are some additional resources that we hope you’ll find useful. Please reach out to us with any questions: hello@brainson.org
Lessons and Materials
Introducing Debate with Smash Boom Best
Designed for grades 3 - 5, this curriculum engages students in the process of planning, drafting, revising, editing and presenting an argument. Customize the timeline and format to fit your classroom’s needs!
Exploring Ancient Egypt with Forever Ago
In this lesson, students will listen to an episode of Forever Ago (How the treasures of Ancient Egypt Ended Up All Over the World). Along the way, they will complete an activity packet to demonstrate their understanding of how, in the 19th and 20th century, archaeologists from Europe managed to get ahold of some of Egypt’s most significant ancient artifacts, as well as today’s efforts to repatriate the stolen goods.
Response Sheets
These worksheets can be used to help students synthesize the information in any episode of any of our podcasts.
Curiosity Kits
Curiosity Kits are recipes to help librarians and other educators engage with Brains On! These kits will help you come up with activities for 7-11 year-olds as a supplement to Brains On episodes.
Episode: Books: How they’re made and how your brain reads them
Episode: Animal Farts: A mighty wind
Download: Curiosity Kit Animal Farts
Episode: How do you catch a cold?
Episode: Deep Sea vs Outer Space
Download: Curiosity Kit Deep Sea vs Outer Space
Episode: The science of slime: What is it and why are we so obsessed?
