The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA

When the lines between classwork and real world work get blurred, it often leads to engagement and deeper learning for our ELA students. This episode is all about finding ways to connect our classrooms to the world beyond them. Listen in for project ideas and tweaks on argument and research papers that can help teach the same vital ELA skills with a real-world relevant lens.  Go Further:  Explore...

Learn from Liz Kleinrock, Teaching Tolerance teacher of the year, about how she approaches big conversations about difficult topics with her students. If you wish you had more information about how to safely address issues of race, gender, social justice, and equity in your classroom, this episode can help. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our...

Want to help your apathetic students become more motivated? Dave Stuart Jr. knows how you feel.  In this podcast episode, learn the five key beliefs that help students with their motivation, and discover two specific ways to help banish apathy and inspire your students to be more motivated. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creat...

Grading doesn't have to be the thing that haunts you as a teacher. There are a ton of strategies out there to help you reduce your grading time and maximize its effectiveness, once you decide to take a stand for yourself. Choosing to use some of them will free up your time to enjoy creating the unique lesson plans you and your students love and to have more balance between home and school. In this...

Ready for an end to the teacher tired? The teacher guilt? The teacher busy? In this episode, I'm chatting with Angela Watson about her work helping teachers become more productive and purposeful in their choices. We're talking about her new book,  Fewer Things, Better , and her course, The 40 Hour Teacher Workweek Club. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podca...

Wish teaching vocabulary in ELA could be more creative and fulfilling? You're not alone. The old "study at home for the quiz" routine can get pretty boring.  Try these ten strategies to make studying vocabulary more engaging and the words memorable. It doesn't have to be just something to check off your to-do list every week! Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher...

We need diverse books in our ELA classrooms. In this podcast episode and blog post, discover title ideas from a stellar high school librarian - Alexandra Patterson - for diversifying your booklists in American Lit, British Lit, World Lit, and Independent Reading. It matters so much for our students to see their own stories reflected on the page!  Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spa...

Want to finish off your ELA year with as much meaning and creativity as you've brought to your curriculum all year long? Good for you!  Skip the multiple choice and short answer and try a creative English final exam. In this episode, you'll discover five great options, including one of my favorites, the graduation speech. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Pod...

In this episode, discover how to structure a successful writing workshop, what a workshop mini lesson is, and how to trouble shoot common issues that come up. Our guest today is Amanda Werner, experienced workshop teacher and host of The Workshop Teacher Podcast. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community, Creative High School English , on...

Want to try out stations in your ELA classroom? Good for you! They're a great way to get students actively engaging (and fight the after-lunch tired factor).  Find out how to set stations up for success in your next unit and get inspiration for crafting your own as we walk through eight examples. Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast . Join our community,...

In this episode of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, we're focusing in on student-choice assessment in ELA with special guest David Rickert.  By the end of the episode, you'll know:  how to get students started in creating their own assessments  how to structure your class unit  how to grade this epic project  tips and tricks to make it all go smoothly   Go Further:  Explore alllll the Episode...

Discover great podcasts to use in your ELA classroom, and get tips for how to use them successfully. Find out how to keep students focused as they listen and how to make it easy for them to access podcasts individually. 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 .  En...

You can't read every book out loud to them forever. Use blogs, podcasts, Ted Talks, spoken word poetry, independent reading and more to create a curriculum that will truly make a difference in their lives. In today's episode, discover one year's worth of strategies to help you defeat apathy and make connections with your students, paving the way for them to develop their love of language so they c...

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 h...

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...

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. Co...

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...

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...

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 o...

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  Inst...

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...

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...

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 .  E...

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. ...

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 t...