This week I want to share one of my favorite recent reads - Alone, by Megan E Freeman. I picked up this book after hearing what a smash hit it was with Caitlin Lore’s seniors back when I interviewed her for our episode about verse novel book clubs. If a ton of seniors loved it AND it was middle school appropriate with a younger protagonist, I figured it was a must-read! I knew coming in that it was a survival story, set in a dystopian future, and that it was a novel-in-verse. I read it in two da...
Aug 03, 2023•5 min•Season 8Ep. 209
Today on the podcast, I’m glad to welcome Kareem Farah, founder of the Modern Classrooms Project. As a teacher in Washington D.C., Kareem faced problems that many teachers can relate to - students missing class all the time, and classes made up of students at hugely varied levels. He wanted to try something new, because he felt the practices he had been taught were not working. Together with his friend Rob Barnett, he created a new instructional model that took into account the fact that student...
Aug 02, 2023•24 min•Season 8Ep. 208
This week I want to share a quick push for trying book clubs this year. If you haven’t jumped on this trend yet, I want to give you a few quick reasons why I hope you will! Book clubs allow you to give students... more choice in their curriculum more diversity in the voices you share a deeper exploration of a theme or genre (since they end up hearing about so many different books from their peers) Book clubs allow YOU... to consolidate required texts to make room for other options to bring in a ...
Jul 27, 2023•10 min•Season 8Ep. 207
AI is here. And everyone is paying attention. Many people are wondering if AI will take over their jobs, others how it can help them do their jobs. Some folks are asking if AI can help us solve global warming, while plenty of people fear that SuperIntelligence might eventually evolve beyond humanity and stop caring about us, dystopian sci-fi style. And what about our students? Maybe they're wondering how it can help them with their work, while still making room for their originality, creativity,...
Jul 25, 2023•16 min•Season 8Ep. 206
As the back-to-school season rolls around, attendance questions are a super easy strategy to help you build community and get to know your students. In today's episode, I'll share what they are, how to get rolling with them, and how to use them flexibly throughout the year. Here’s how they work…. At attendance time, instead of calling roll and having students say “here,” have them share their answer to a question. The question should usually lead to a SHORT answer – one or two words – but if you...
Jul 20, 2023•4 min•Season 8Ep. 205
Today on the podcast, we’re talking about why offering our students diverse texts and giving them choice over their reading is so vitally important. My guests, Dr. Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica and Dr. Allison Briceño, have recently written a carefully-researched and well-crafted book called Conscious Classrooms , all about why students need to be surrounded by diverse texts and how teachers can choose and integrate these texts. While Claudia and Alison share examples in their book from their work wi...
Jul 18, 2023•35 min•Season 8Ep. 204
This week on "Highly Recommended" I’m sharing my absolute favorite way to start school - the name tent one-pager. Long-time listeners to the show will know that my first ever first day of school was an utter disaster. It was probably the day I came closest to leaving the profession. But at least I learned a valuable lesson - NEVER read the syllabus out loud on day one! A few years after my first first day, I discovered name tents. I was struggling so much with remembering my students’ names, and...
Jul 13, 2023•6 min•Season 8Ep. 203
Silent discussions are a handy go-to option for helping every student participate in a discussion. They can help break up discussion ruts, show your classroom community how much quieter students really have to contribute, and let everyone think carefully about a topic before diving into a big oral discussion or related writing prompt. Sounds pretty good, right? I've found them to be gold. So in today's episode, let's talk about three easy ways to try your first silent discussion. Sign up for the...
Jul 11, 2023•10 min•Season 8Ep. 201
This week I’m sharing an idea from Penny Kittle that is so lovely and adaptable, I’m sure you can find a wonderful way to use it - the "Beautiful Words" project. Penny Kittle often shares strategies that involve looking to writing for inspiration and beauty. I’ve learned a lot from her about how to make mentor texts valuable, and how they are EVERYWHERE. One of her prompts to students is that they search out beautiful words as they read the books they're reading in book club, and write them down...
Jul 06, 2023•3 min•Season 8Ep. 201
I know how it is. One minute you're paddleboarding along the lake, the next your mind is back-to-school as you consider whether to add book clubs in September, buy new plants for your windowsills, or try to fight a Jason Reynolds book into your 9th grade team curriculum (Yes! Do it!). Don't try to tell me that's not you, because here you are, reading this teaching blog in July. It's nothing to feel bad about! Mixing a little fun creative work into summer relaxation is allowed. So is taking the s...
Jul 04, 2023•13 min•Season 8Ep. 200
A few years ago I read Sarah Fine and Jal Mehta’s book, In Search of Deeper Learning . These two researchers criss-crossed the country, searching out schools, programs, and classes where deeper learning was truly taking place behind the marketing hype about how “innovative” the school aimed to be. One of the key concepts that stayed with me was an idea they shared from another education writer named David Perkins, who argues that students need to “play the whole game at the junior level.” Mehta ...
Jun 29, 2023•5 min•Season 8Ep. 199
As I sat in the warm theater watching my son's sixth grade class recount their favorite memories of school last week, I couldn't help but notice how many of them involved a field trip. Probably 95% of the kids' recollections revolved around special, memorable events that didn't happen every week - a trip to Austria, a trip to the river, a trip to a kitchen space where they learned to cook a lunch and then eat it following a project-based-learning unit on restaurant design. I remember field trips...
Jun 26, 2023•15 min•Season 8Ep. 198
This week on "Highly Recommended," I’m sharing my absolute favorite tool on the internet, which just so happens to be free for educators - CANVA! So here’s what Canva does - it give you (and your students) the ability to do the kinds of things that only designers used to be able to do. Once upon a time, you needed to spend fifty hours learning Photoshop to layer colors and images, get rid of backgrounds, match image colors to font colors, and so many other small strategies that made a visual pro...
Jun 22, 2023•3 min•Season 8Ep. 197
Today on the podcast, I’ve got a great story for you. It’s the story of how one senior class stayed engaged right up to the end through an incredible book club unit on verse novels. The heroine of this story? English teacher Caitlin Lore. She’s about to tell you how she captured her seniors’ attention and held it. Wait till you hear about her title selections, her book tasting, her pop-up poetry workshops, her book club meetings, and her poetry Palooza! I think you’re going to love this episode!...
Jun 20, 2023•35 min•Season 8Ep. 196
So here’s the thing. High school kids have about 10,000 things on their agenda just above going to the library to pick out a book. And if they do make it to the library, the librarian (through no fault of their own!) likely won’t know them well enough to help them get the book that is going to have them flipping the pages at midnight when they know they should be asleep but the plot is just so amazing they can’t help but read. These days I see a classroom library as an absolutely essential part ...
Jun 15, 2023•4 min•Season 8Ep. 195
Today on the podcast we’re sitting down with Laura Lee Gulledge, the graphic novelist behind The Dark Matter of Mona Starr . She's an Eisner Award nominated cartoonist, teaching artist, musical librettist, and collaborative muralist based in Charlottesville, VA. Her books include YA graphic novels The Dark Matter of Mona Starr , Page by Paige , Will & Whit , and the interactive Sketchbook Dares: 24 Ways to Draw Out Your Inner Artist . If you've ever wondered where to start with getting students ...
Jun 13, 2023•27 min•Season 8Ep. 194
Do you know about Libro FM's free audiobook program for educators? It's easy to sign up - they approved me in just one day! You can register for a free account and sign up here. Once you’ve enrolled in the ALC program, you’ll quickly build an audiobook library in your account. Even if only a few books a month in the educator program feel exactly right for your classroom, that could be 30+ books a year you’re adding to your device, for free. Then you can use them for First Chapter Fridays, a clas...
Jun 08, 2023•7 min•Season 8Ep. 193
Interactive wall displays are one of my favorite new things. Adding a QR code to a poster gives students the opportunity to take things further. If you've been hanging out with me this year, you know I've created interactive displays for you to celebrate Black History Month, Women's History Month, and AAPI Heritage month. Now it's Pride Month, and I've got another one for you. Maybe you're already out of school, or maybe you've still got a few weeks left (here's looking at you, New York teachers...
Jun 06, 2023•12 min•Season 8Ep. 192
This week on “Highly Recommended” we’re talking about the guy who has been one of my top go-tos for years when someone asks for a book recommendation for a student. Jason Reynolds. In today’s episode we’re talking about a whole range of his fabulous books, including: Ghost, Lu, Sunny, Patina (The Track Series) As Brave as You Stuntboy in the Meantime Long Way Down - graphic novel or regular All American Boys Stamped Ain’t Burned all the Bright For Everyone Check out his website here , where he d...
Jun 01, 2023•16 min•Season 8Ep. 191
I see a lot of posts each month inside our Facebook group, Creative High School English, asking for text recommendations for different courses. What's the best book to teach ninth graders? The best short story to teach tenth graders? The best performance poetry for seniors? I love this type of collaboration, because we all make discoveries at our local libraries and bookstores, and in our own little internet corners. You may not know about my absolute favorite yet, and I may not know about yours...
May 30, 2023•19 min•Season 7Ep. 190
This week on Highly Recommended I’m sharing my favorite online tool for Shakespeare, the free website My Shakespeare. So what makes it so great? Well, let’s start with the fact that it as FULL texts available for Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream , and Julius Caesar. That give you OPTIONS. You can choose one for a full class text OR have students choose plays that interest them for Shakespearean book clubs. But whole texts are jus the tip of the iceber...
May 25, 2023•6 min•Season 7Ep. 189
If you tuned into the podcast last week, you know I received an email from Emily, an ELA teacher with big questions. In a nutshell, she asked - how do we fit it all into our English classes? The writing, the review, the whole class novels, the skills... Last week, we took a look at the big picture - how to plan the year to cover what you want to cover without getting overwhelmed. This time we're zooming in on planning an ELA unit for one whole class text, and how to make all the decisions that g...
May 23, 2023•25 min•Season 7Ep. 188
The Dark Matter of Mona Starr , by Laura Lee Gulledge, is a STELLAR book to consider for your choice reading library, book clubs, or even full class text. Here's why... It takes on the issue of mental health and well-being in a positive, real way without being prescriptive or moralistic. It showcases healthy friendships and family communication. It has INCREDIBLE art, art that goes beyond bringing the story to life and takes on a life of its own. Listen in for my review, and be sure to sign up f...
May 18, 2023•7 min•Season 7Ep. 187
Last week I received this email from Emily, an English teacher with questions I think we can all relate to. Here's what she wrote... "I am in my 8 th year of teaching, and while I love aspects of it, I work 10-11 hours a day and am burning out. And, I feel that I'm on an island sometimes at my school—I have to re-teach skills that they should have been taught in earlier years, etc. I have one foot out of the door of the teaching profession. I find myself awake at night trying to figure out how t...
May 16, 2023•21 min•Season 7Ep. 186
This week on Highly Recommended I’m sharing a rather unusual strategy to help you create connection among your faculty. Unless you've already found that magic teacher down the hall who turns into your best friend, teaching can feel pretty lonely, even though you’re surrounded by so many people all the time. Finding community among the adults at your school isn’t easy, especially with everyone juggling a ton of professional commitments with busy home lives. In this short Thursday podcast, discove...
May 11, 2023•8 min•Season 7Ep. 185
Celebrate AAPI month in your ELA classroom with a bright display I made for you, featuring bios and QR code links to the work of ten AAPI creators. In this episode, discover easy ways to use the display for classroom activities in this busy month, as well as learning more about some of the authors and creators featured, like: Ken Liu Amy Tan Malala Yousafzai George Takei Gene Luen Yang SEE THE DISPLAY (and get your free copy of the display) Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Cr...
May 09, 2023•14 min•Season 7Ep. 184
This week on Highly Recommended I’m sharing one of my favorite strategies for saving time AND adding quality to daily work tasks. Doesn’t seem possible, right? Have you heard of decision fatigue? We make thousands of decisions every day, and it gets harder to make good ones as they stack up. That’s one good reason for having a set wardrobe you like - Steve Jobs-style - or always making tacos on Tuesdays. It’s also a great reason to use templates in your work. They save time and they cut the numb...
May 04, 2023•12 min•Season 7Ep. 183
You've probably seen me amplifying Amplifier already this year, in the episode about featuring contemporary Indigenous voices in your ELA classroom or the one about spotlighting Black artists, activists and authors in your ELA classrooom . Amplifier.org is doing such powerful things with art. Empowering things. And I love it! That's why when I saw their new interactive poster series on wellbeing and mental health , I just had to put a big spotlight on it. Because this is a resource you can use R...
May 02, 2023•27 min•Season 7Ep. 182
This week on Highly Recommended I’m sharing one of my favorite sources for writing prompts, Dr. John Spencer’s video writing prompts channel . Personally, I love his short, impactful videos for educators as well as for students. I like how they get to the point in three or four minutes, and how they incorporate sketchnotes - one of my favorite things - to help us as viewers to visualize the most important ideas John shares. The video prompts are organized into four categories, making it super ea...
Apr 27, 2023•6 min•Season 7Ep. 181
Thinking about a trip overseas to Europe someday? Or in the mood for a little armchair travel? OR, maybe you're thinking about teaching abroad, and you're curious about the travel part of living in a new place... I've been getting some fun requests for tips about travel to this region of Europe where I live now, and they make me so happy! I love sharing about the beautiful places we've been lucky to visit since moving to Bratislava, and since I've been listening to travel podcasts for the last f...
Apr 25, 2023•38 min•Season 7Ep. 180
