We’ve all had those days where an odd 5 or 10 minutes needs filling in class. Perhaps the children have worked so well that they finished the session ahead of schedule. Perhaps they’ve been struggling to understand a session and just need a break. Perhaps the workings of a school have fought against you with a fire drill, an overrunning assembly or an interruption with the hall being used for school photos or voting!

The Brain Pop app is not just an excellent way to fill those gaps, it also promotes discussion. The principle is simple. On the homepage is a feature movie. Today it is about Roald Dahl. Yesterday is was about chocolate. The day before it answered key questions that children have about 9/11.

The film is animated, fun but clearly gives a message, a process or a piece of information. This can be followed up by a quiz which helps to promote listening, concentration or note-taking among the class. The questions are multiple choice and tackle inference as well as deduction. It’s a smart looking app and one that the team are looking to build into their weeks as a fundamental part of the day to promote speaking and listening skills.

The catalogue of videos available makes for interesting starters to sessions as well and cover a range of topics such as Science, English, Maths and the Arts. It’s well worth a look.