Though you're constantly surrounded by people, teaching can be lonely. This episode is all about finding ways to build positive personal and professional relationships with other teachers at your school and in your area. It's definitely possible! Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a scr...
Feb 17, 2019•24 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast Your ELA students may struggle to find the books that will light them up. That's where you come in! Your choice reading program will be most successful when you can help student readers find the books they'll truly love. It's a fun job, and it will help you build relationships as well as ignite a love of reading for your students. Check out this episode for nine simple strategies to make it easy for you to help guide your students to boks they'll truly enjoy. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episo...
Jan 30, 2019•21 min•Ep 58•Transcript available on Metacast Want tech that unlocks student creativity instead of replacing what's already working? Join me as I chat with Jennifer Gonzalez, from Cult of Pedagogy, about her current favorite creative tech tools and tech-based class projects for English teachers. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a...
Jan 15, 2019•33 min•Ep 57•Transcript available on Metacast If you're spending too much of your salary to equip your (public school) classroom to meet your students' needs, find out how to leverage Donors Choose to get what you need. Starting a project on Donors Choose can help you update your library, gather books for a novels-in-verse or graphic novels book club, purchase new technology, or whatever else you need for your clasroom! But there are ways to go about it that will help your project be more successful, and ways that will sink your funding shi...
Jan 03, 2019•24 min•Ep 56•Transcript available on Metacast So many stellar ELA strategies on tap for today! We're talking about how to use hyperdocs to teach writing more effectively, giving kids a truly authentic audience for speech projects, and how to use Screencastify to save so much time. This one's action-packed! Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend,...
Dec 18, 2018•30 min•Ep 55•Transcript available on Metacast Sick of trying to compete with holiday madness in December? Stop trying! Bring the holidays in and enjoy teaching all your usual ELA skills in a new context. My favorite option? Gingerbread house short stories! Listen in for the details. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot t...
Dec 04, 2018•17 min•Ep 54•Transcript available on Metacast Need help planning your ELA units? I hear you. Let me take you through my personal strategy for planning units, weeks, and days for English classes in three simple steps. Starting with the big picture makes it soooo much easier. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share o...
Nov 20, 2018•11 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast If your students would rather eat a ghost chili than dive into poetry workshop, blackout poetry is your new best friend! In this episode, I'll teach you the simple steps you can use to guide them in creating stunning blackout poems. You can dive straight in and do them tomorrow! This is one of the easiest and most effective poetry workshops for ELA across many grade levels. Without the blank page to scare them, writer's block drifts away for most students as they get busy with their Sharpies. Go...
Nov 07, 2018•11 min•Ep 52•Transcript available on Metacast Want to try mock trials with your ELA students? Wish they didn't email you things like "hey i need to know what my grade is tonight if possible thx"? Wondering if there's really a way to use board games in class that will help kids learn? Christina from The Daring English teacher is here to help! Learn about how to get started with mock trials, a funny way to teach your students to write a good e-mail, how to wrap up a unit with a board game final project and much more in today's jam-packed epis...
Oct 24, 2018•29 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast If you've ever felt like you just didn't have time to learn enough about something new you want to try in your classroom before rolling it out, this episode is for you. It's time to take action, even if it isn't perfect. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on the ‘g...
Oct 10, 2018•19 min•Ep 50•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, learn how to leverage Google Classroom to create more creative, more organized lessons, and to make your feedback process faster and more effective. Matt Miller brings a wealth of expertise and experience to this conversation, so get ready to dive deep with how Google Classroom can help ELA teachers with their workflow and lesson planning. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community,...
Sep 26, 2018•45 min•Ep 49•Transcript available on Metacast Keeping students accountable to some expectations while helping them fall in love with reading is not easy! I know you know. Reading logs or book reports are not the way to go. But that doesn't mean you're not allowed to check in with your ELA classes about their reading at all. After all, you want to hear about what they're taking away from their books so you can help them if they need you. In this show, discover four creative ways to check in with your readers in a way that won't make you feel...
Sep 19, 2018•15 min•Ep 48•Transcript available on Metacast Guiding students in using maker elements to build their arguments and ideas leads to greater complexity in their thinking and writing. Plus, it helps overcome writer's block! Their are sooo many ways to incorporate the writing makerspace in your writing curriculum, and Angela Stockman is here to help you get started! Get ready for more engagement and enthusiasm for writing in your ELA classes. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, C...
Sep 06, 2018•32 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast Heard the buzz about sketchnote? Wondering how to incorporate this powerful strategy in your ELA classroom? Fabulous! Sketchnotes can help your students use their critical thinking as they listen to lecture, tune into podcasts, watch Ted Talks, and read or listen to books. They'll be more likely to remember the information they sketchnote, and the process is more fun than rote note-taking. In this episode, find out what sketchnotes are and why they matter to your ELA classroom as I interview Mik...
Aug 23, 2018•40 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast Do your students love memes? Want to learn more about the popular strategy, interactive notebooks? Wish you understood YA just a bit better? In this episode, I'm chatting with Tracee Orman about some of her favorite classroom strategies, and we'll be hitting on all of these fun ELA topics! Discover how to use memes to help your students connect to literature, when and why to use interactive notebooks, and the true power of YA fiction. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativi...
Aug 16, 2018•26 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast Looking for more creative assessment options at the end of your novel units in ELA? Good for you! Goodbye multiple choice tests, hello engaging final English projects! Discover twenty-five new ideas in this episode, plus the secret sauce to keep them meaningful in terms of analysis. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sha...
Aug 09, 2018•17 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Are you in your first year or two? There's sooooo much happening! I remember it well, working until 11 pm and then getting up at 6 to do it again. Phew. It does get easier! But there are also some things you can do now to help make your first year smoother. In this episode Kristy Avis, the blogger behind 2 Peas and a Dog, shares specific ideas to help new ELA teachers make their first year more positive, effective, and fulfilling. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity T...
Jul 25, 2018•19 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast When I took Shakespeare in college, my legendary professor Martha Andresen had us perform A Midsummer Night's Dream on campus. We split into groups, worked on our scenes all term long, and then performed them in order in various locations around campus. It was one of the most memorable projects I ever participated in, and you better believe I put it right into practice as a teacher! In this episode, I'll walk you through a few easy steps to split any play into key scenes and then have students p...
Jul 12, 2018•9 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast If you're feeling overwhelmed in your teaching life, and you'd like guidance with how to adjust your mindset, routines and goals to feel happier in the profession, this interview with Angela Watson will help you find your way. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend, snagging a screenshot to share on ...
Jun 26, 2018•29 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast Planning the layout and components of your ELA classroom? It's so fun, right? But it can also be a bit intimidating. These days I wish I could have my first classroom to design all over again, because I did not know about all the amazing possibilities! My seating was not flexible, my bulletin boards were not layered, and the special fonts I used for my posters came from a CD Rom, not Canva. There are so many wonderful ways to create opportunities for creativity throughout the year through the wa...
Jun 14, 2018•21 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast I didn't hear about "The Ideal Week" until at least a decade after I started teaching, but it's such a simple and helpful tool to help you cut overwhelm as an ELA teacher. It's the difference between a thirty item to-do list hanging over your head all the time, and specific days and times when you know you'll complete certain tasks (work ones AND fun ones!). In this episode, I'll share how this simple strategy can help you prioritize what's most important to you and schedule your week so you don...
May 31, 2018•10 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast Got a day between testing and your new unit? A week between the end of term and a break? A month before the end of school and no new books left? No problem! In this episode, discover ten great options for that hole in your ELA curriculum, whether it's large or small. This is also a helpful episode if you're writing a new course, restructuring a course, or looking to add a unit into a course you've already got. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join...
May 17, 2018•19 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast As the end of the year comes at school, there's so much to do! And yet, engagement and persistence start to drift as the cares of the year pile up and summer beckons. What's a creative ELA teacher to do? In this episode, discover five simple strategies for ending the year with less stress and more creativity. Plus, I'll share some small tweaks you can make so you head for summer feeling less exhausted and more fulfilled. Which is always a good thing! Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of Th...
May 02, 2018•15 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast Ever wanted to put on a class play with your ELA students? With an audience and costumes and programs? Don't be intimidated, it IS possible! In this episode, Danielle from Nouvelle ELA, theater guru, shares her structure for a successful class play. This awesomely engaging activity is more doable than you might think, and OH so much fun. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out ...
Apr 19, 2018•23 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Book clubs are such a great way to give students choice and include a wider variety of books in your curriculum! Try novels-in-verse clubs, graphic novel clubs, memoirs, coming-of-age stories, or whatever theme suits you. But how do you get started? And what will kids do in class during your book clubs unit? And is there a difference between book clubs an lit circles besides the name? Join me as I talk to special guest Melissa Kruse of The Reading and Writing Haven all about book clubs. Get the ...
Apr 05, 2018•26 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast STEM, STEAM, or is it STABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPEAM? STEM gets a lot of attention, but we all know the ELA skills play a huge role for scientists, engineers, and technology leaders. In this episode, discover how to create interdisciplinary bridges between STEM and ELA through creative novel projects, nonfiction articles that will peak student interest, the ELA makerspace, and social media campaign projects for change. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join...
Mar 29, 2018•12 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, I'll give you the roadmap for using genius hour in ELA. Find out how it fits the standards, how to structure it, how to grade it, and where you can find an amazing free resource set to get you started using genius hour in your English classroom. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram . Enjoying the podcast? Please consider sharing it with a friend...
Mar 15, 2018•22 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Teaching Shakespeare? So often we're trying to help our students understand the language and context of the era, and make a real connection to the Bard. So whether you're teaching Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Hamlet, or one of his others, there are certain solid go-tos you can weave in to help your students get excited about reading a Shakespeare play. In this episode, find six creative new ideas for writing and performance activities that will work for ANY Shakespeare p...
Mar 02, 2018•10 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast Want to engage your students with murder mysteries? Make them laugh while they learn with SNL clips? Hook them with great Ted Talks? Uh, yeah, of course! Learn more about all these great strategies in this popular episode with special guest Amanda from the "Engaging and Effective" blog. I think you're going to love Amanda's fresh take on engaging students and helping them to buy in to your curriculum. Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our comm...
Feb 22, 2018•25 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast One-pagers combine visuals with text to make ideas come alive in students’ minds and memories. But it’s easy for students to struggle with one-pagers if they're not naturally inclined toward art and have not previously been encouraged to represent their ideas this way. They may feel they're being graded unfairly on their artistic abilities. Some students will hear directions to create a graphic representation of a reading and dive right in. Others will moan and mutter things about “ridiculous ar...
Feb 16, 2018•6 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast 
