If you tuned into the podcast last week, you know I received an email from Shannon, an ELA teacher with big questions. In a nutshell, she asked - how do we fit it all in? 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 a unit for one whole class text, and how to make all the decisions that go with it. Discover my process for choosing a path through the reading, adding complementary texts, choosing consistent progr ..read more

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 for Camp Creative, coming in June! In this totally free week of PD all about teaching grap ..read more

Last week I received this email from Shannon, a teacher with questions I think we can all relate to. Here's what she wrote... "I am in my 8th 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 to do a good job teaching both reading and writing, and getting in all the skills. How do you do wh ..read more

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, discover a simple - and maybe surprising - strategy for finding community with your pee ..read more

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 Creativity Teacher Podcast. Join our community, Creative High School English ..read more

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 number of decisions you have to make in a busy school day. Plus, when you start the daily tasks yo ..read more

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 RIGHT NOW, and it's completely free to download. So today join me for a conversation with Emi ..read more

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 easy to find the kind of writing you want your students to do. You can choose from creative think ..read more

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 fifteen years, I just can't resist the chance to try it for myself, just this once. So today we ..read more

This week on Highly Recommended  I’m sharing a hilarious podcast episode you can use from Smash Boom Best titled “Baths vs. Showers.”  I discovered Smash Boom Best this year while I was on the hunt for great class podcasts. It’s a debate show, in which two guests come on and argue for their side of an argument topic suggested by kids. I’ve listened to shows on Dogs vs. Cats, Trick-or-Treating vs. Birthday Parties, Kung Fu vs. Tap Dancing, and Books vs. Movies. They’re pretty much all hilarious.  A student calls in as judge, and awards points in each round of argument, and you an ..read more