The BBC Studying Hub is a free, story-driven academic platform created by BBC Studios to assist academics, college students, and households. Designed primarily for grades pre-Okay by means of 12, the BBC Studying Hub presents greater than 1,000 free classroom sources together with ad-free video clips, standards-aligned lesson plans, leveled studying passages, and printable pupil actions.
We requested Colorado STEM educator Naomi Meredith to check out the brand new hub and provides us her knowledgeable opinion on it. Right here’s her Trainer Picks evaluate and why she recommends this web site for different educators on the lookout for one place to seek out and arrange high-interest, supplemental sources for his or her classroom.
The BBC Studying Hub has sources for college students in Okay-12. What had been you drawn to as you explored?
After exploring this web site, I undoubtedly noticed one thing for all Okay–12 college students. Youthful grades will benefit from the movies. The articles, that are differentiated for studying ranges, and their associated actions are extra geared towards grades 3–12. As a result of I’m at all times on the lookout for high-interest nonfiction in several topic areas, I plan to make use of the BBC Studying Hub for studying, writing, science, and social research.
The BBC Studying Hub and its sources are aligned to NCSS and NGSS. Did you discover this convenient?
Sure, this is among the causes I used to be amazed that the whole lot is free. The BBC Studying Hub’s alignment with NCSS and NGSS is essential for STEM academics as a result of it ensures the sources assist nationally acknowledged requirements, making it simpler to ship interdisciplinary, standards-based instruction that prepares college students for real-world problem-solving, civic engagement, and tutorial success.
The BBC Hub has a video library and printable assortment. How are you planning to make use of it in your classroom?
Issues that basically stood out to me whereas trying out the BBC Studying Hub embody:
- Excessive-quality and interesting video library: I’ve at all times discovered YouTube to be arduous to navigate, however the whole lot on the BBC Studying Hub is high-quality and punctiliously curated. Once I was trying by means of the BBC Studying Hub video library, I discovered and completely beloved this flamingo video. And the lesson actions are listed proper underneath every video.
- Video playlist creation: I can’t wait to create extra playlists of my favourite movies that align with a specific matter, which is extremely useful when lesson planning. For instance, if you’re instructing a unit about ecosystems, you can create a playlist of the rainforest, coral reef, and desert with the animals that stay there. As soon as the playlist is created, you possibly can share it with college students in Google Classroom by means of this platform. I’ve labored in three completely different college districts and YouTube was blocked in all three of them, so having this selection the place there are nice movies which might be ad-free and centered on our studying objectives is superb!
- Comprehension questions aligned to movies: They assist me take into consideration learn how to create an energetic expertise for college students. I’m pondering of posing the questions forward of time to information their pondering whereas watching. I additionally love what number of different sources—vocabulary, writing prompts, and pupil actions—are situated underneath every video.
- Leveled articles: Most passages can be found in three completely different variations: Stage 1 (Grades 3–5), Stage 2 (Grades 6–8), and Stage 3 (Grades 9–12). You possibly can print every article, and the whole lot is formatted accurately (an enormous battle if you happen to attempt to do it your self with AI!). There may be additionally key vocabulary famous on the aspect. In the event you don’t wish to print, the articles can simply be shared in Google Classroom.
- Easy login course of: The positioning is free, however login is required for video and downloads. You’ll wish to log in anyway to save lots of your playlists, which make planning a lot simpler. I used to be on the location navigating the whole lot inside minutes.
- Shareable pupil web page hyperlinks: Pupil pages look completely different than trainer pages, which makes it really easy to seek out what you want for instructing and to share what you need your college students to see. This really is such an ideal function that makes lesson planning simpler and extra partaking for college students.
How did your college students react to the BBC Studying Hub?
My college students thought the movies had been humorous, particularly the animal movies. They beloved seeing how the animals reacted and responded in actual life. Too usually, my college students are studying about animals however not in a position to see them, so accessing these movies opened up an entire new perspective in regards to the pure world. Additionally they actually preferred the video The Secrets and techniques of a Police Canine’s Coaching. They had been guffawing when the video confirmed Scooby the canine’s sneakers in the beginning. Nevertheless, they quickly realized why it mattered. They obtained so excited when Scooby obtained to put on his sneakers at work when trying to find a scent exterior. They wished to observe extra of the canine movies after I scrolled down the web page.
How would you sum up your total expertise with the location?
I’m shocked it is a free useful resource for academics! There’s a nice mixture of nonfiction and fiction sources which might be fashionable and related for academics to make use of of their lecture rooms.
I loved the choice of with the ability to print sources but additionally share them digitally. Lecturers sometimes want each choices all through the college yr, and simply accessing each was nice.
The BBC Studying Hub has some ways to go looking and save sources. How simple was it to make use of and implement in your classroom?
Stepping into the web site was extraordinarily simple, as was navigating by means of the sources and saving them in playlists. It was useful with the ability to kind sources by kind: movies, collections, lesson plans, weblog posts, pupil articles, printables, and information clips. When you clicked on a useful resource kind, there was a search bar the place you can get extra particular in regards to the matter.
What makes the BBC Studying Hub particular in comparison with different websites you’ve utilized in your classroom?
The high-quality manufacturing of the sources which might be ready-to-use—I didn’t must click on 1,000,000 issues to get to what I wished.
I felt like there was an abundance of data and matters to select from that will connect with the content material that’s taught in lecture rooms, but it surely’s not overwhelming. Some web sites have TOO MUCH to sift by means of, and academics don’t have time for that. They want one thing that hits their studying targets and engages their college students, and I really feel just like the BBC Studying Hub suits these wants.
This could reduce down on time conducting random Google searches when discovering real-world movies that embody sources to attach along with your present curriculum. Particularly in case your college limits YouTube entry, this protects academics a step and has the content material able to go. The function of with the ability to print sources and likewise share on Google Classroom is a time-saver as effectively. Lecturers received’t should format the knowledge to make it work because it’s already performed for them. BBC is a trusted supply, which additionally makes me really feel extra comfy sharing these sources with my college students and their households.
How do you propose to make use of the BBC Studying Hub once more sooner or later?
I’m at all times creating elementary STEM sources to make use of for my very own applications and for academics. I’m very choosy in regards to the sources I take advantage of for analysis to assist my STEM actions, and I’m so glad that I now have one other high quality useful resource in my again pocket.
Seeing the matters which might be being created and posted on this platform may also assist encourage me to create hands-on classes that might pair effectively with the sources and movies on this web site. I’m excited to proceed to make use of this useful resource and share it with academics as effectively.
Trainer Picks is a sponsored program out there from We Are Lecturers. All opinions shared within the evaluate are trustworthy and based mostly on the trainer’s direct expertise. To be taught extra about our pointers and evaluate course of, click on right here.
