

Brave New Teaching: A Podcast for High School and Middle School Teachers
Marie Morris & Amanda Cardenas, Secondary ELA Teachers
Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 23, 2023 • 1h 9min
EPISODE 140: INDEPENDENT READING SERIES (INTERVIEW WITH ABBY GROSS)
Did you catch episode 139 with Dr. Jenna Copper? We talked all about independent reading and student choice at the high school level. Today we’re continuing our independent reading series with our friend, Abby Gross.This one is for all of our middle school teacher friends! Abby was a high school teacher who recently moved to middle school. This transition is what gave her the chance to wake up to a whole new set of possibilities for what independent reading could look like in her classroom.We have a feeling that this conversation with Abby will reinstate your love of independent reading and spark so many new ideas that you can take straight to your classroom. You’ll hear about the functionality of independent reading, ways to get your students curious and excited about different kinds of books, and we’re even addressing the big question of, how do you create accountability between you and your students with independent reading?Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode140 Support the show"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Feb 16, 2023 • 53min
EPISODE 139: INDEPENDENT READING SERIES (INTERVIEW W/ DR. JENNA COPPER)
When we decided to do a series on independent reading, the first name that came to mind was our friend, Dr. Jenna Copper. Jenna has just as much passion and excitement for independent reading and student choice as we do. Plus, she shares Marie’s love of YA fantasy books, which is just the icing on top!In this conversation, we talk about what independent reading has looked like in our classrooms. We also discuss a lot about the exciting ways to position units within your curriculum and how to approach student choice strategically. You’ll love hearing how Jenna uses backward design for her independent reading units and how this idea of ‘student choice’ has evolved for her over the years. Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode139"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Feb 9, 2023 • 33min
EPISODE 138: CHOICE READING 101 (RE-RUN)
Does giving your students choice come easily to you? For some teachers it does, but for others it can be extremely difficult to release that control! Incorporating choice requires a major mindset shift as you learn how to navigate your students all doing something different. In this listener favorite rerun, we’re showing you how you can allow students to have choice without letting go of having a central focus and common skill that the whole class is learning.Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode63Join BNT Happy Hour: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhourMentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Feb 2, 2023 • 42min
EPISODE 137: VALENTINE'S DAY ACTIVITIES FOR THE SECONDARY ELA CLASSROOM (RE-RUN)
We're bringing you a re-run of one of our favorite episodes - an exciting COLLABISODE with listeners to the podcast! Valentine’s Day is a fun “holiday” to celebrate in the classroom and we thought we’d bring some new ideas your way by handing off the microphone to six amazingly creative teachers. These six teachers have ideas that will help you brainstorm your own take on a Valentine’s celebration ranging from week-long kindness activities, to poetry lessons, and more!CLICK HERE FOR SHOW NOTESMentioned in this episode:Teaching Memoir and Biography WorkshopJoin the Workshop Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Jan 26, 2023 • 34min
EPISIODE 136: TACKLING THE THREAT OF AI IN THE SECONDARY CLASSROOM
We’ve got a lot of things to worry about as teachers, and now we get to add ‘plagiarized stuff that was written by a bot’ to the list! That’s right - it’s time to chat about ChatGPT.If you haven’t heard of ChatGPT, it’s an AI chatbot system that can be used to help you write all kinds of things. It’s building buzz quickly in the teaching world, and causing a lot of panic because students have used it for things like writing assignments and assessments. Before we all completely freak out, let’s take a look at what this AI technology really means for the world of education and ask the burning questions that are running through our minds.We’re even bringing on words of wisdom from Krista Barbour and Shana Ramin. They have some great insight about ChatGPT that will validate your feelings, but also give you some incredible ideas for how you can use this technology to your advantage.So, take a listen, and a collective deep breath with us. It’s normal to feel scared about the rise of AI in classrooms, but it’s also not going anywhere anytime soon. Let’s familiarize ourselves with it and determine how we can make it work for us instead of against us!Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode136Join BNT Happy Hour: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhourMentioned in this episode:Teaching Memoir and Biography WorkshopJoin the Workshop Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Jan 19, 2023 • 47min
EPISODE 135: UNIT MAKEOVER: TEACHING NIGHT WITH GUEST ANDREA MICHELLE [PART 2]
Welcome to part two of our series with Andrea Michelle. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, (episode 134) then push pause on this one, and check that out first! In this series, we’re doing a unit makeover on Night, by Elie Wiesel.Andrea has taught this unit before, but she wants to make some tweaks to improve the experience for her and her students. So, that’s exactly what we’re doing in this series! From the activities, to the essential questions, to assessments, and more, we’re looking at how we can really step things up. Inside part one of this series, we went through the unit makeover process with Andrea. If you aren’t familiar with this process, the idea is to take something that’s doing “fine” and give it a fresh new look to make it better.In our conversation today, we’re going to unveil our thoughts, suggestions, and what we would do to change and improve this unit. Buckle up because there’s lots of ideas and brainstorming ahead! You’ll gain insight as to how you can implement this process and take on your own unit makeover with your own team or department.Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode135Join BNT Happy Hour: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhourMentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Jan 12, 2023 • 48min
EPISODE 134: UNIT MAKEOVER: TEACHING NIGHT WITH GUEST ANDREA MICHELLE [PART 1]
If you’re a long-time listener of Brave New Teaching, then you know how much we love a good unit makeover. If you’re new to the show, then today will be a great introduction!We are joined by high school teacher, Andrea Michelle, who is sharing all about a unit that she has taught using the anchor text, Night. This episode will be part one of a two part conversation with Andrea.In part one, Andrea tells us all about how she taught this unit, including what her goals were, the themes explored, and what types of assessments were used. You’ll get to hear what went really well throughout the unit, and what didn’t go so well. Meet us back here next week where we will share our suggestions for how Andrea can give this unit a makeover before the next time it’s taught. We’ve got so many ideas for how she can make this complex unit even more engaging, memorable, and impactful for her students!Show Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode134Join BNT Happy Hour: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhourMentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Jan 5, 2023 • 33min
EPISODE 133: BACKWARDS PLAN WITH US: EMPOWERING YOUR CALENDAR
We’ve officially entered into 2023, and you’re probably either feeling like you are ready to take on the world or feeling like you need [at least] another two weeks of winter break.Today’s episode is going to walk you through an exercise that will help you to feel prepared to take on the second half of the school year. We’re going to talk about how you can get things on your calendar now, and plan your future units accordingly, so that ‘future you’ will be way less stressed.So, grab your planner, school calendar, and a fresh set of pens, because we’re doing some backwards planning!Grab your FREE Backwards Planning Checklist: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/checklistShow Notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode133 Join BNT Happy Hour! https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhour Mentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Dec 29, 2022 • 41min
EPISODE 132: THE YEAR TO COME - BOOKS WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ
It’s the last Brave New Teaching episode of 2022, and the time of year for reflection, goal-setting, and thinking about next steps. But first, books! Today, we’re sharing our top picks of books we can’t wait to read in 2023 because if we’re being honest, that’s kind of a top priority for us. Books are a form of self-care, and that includes talking about them and finding different types of books to add to our TBR list. Does that make you as happy as it makes us?You can check out all the books we mention inside this episode here:Amanda’s listMarie’s listJoin BNT Happy Hour!Check out the show notes: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode132 Mentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Dec 22, 2022 • 49min
EPISODE 131: A YEAR IN REVIEW - THE BOOKS WE'VE READ
We are constantly gushing over our latest reads to each other behind the scenes, and realized that we should probably record these types of conversations for you! As English teachers, books are a huge part of our lives, but not just in the classroom. We love books because they bring us joy, they entertain, they educate, and they can be a great way to connect with others. So, why not talk to you about the books that we read and enjoy?Today you’ll hear our top books from 2022. Happy book browsing, brave new teachers! Shop Marie’s list here.Shop Amanda’s list here.SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode131Join Happy Hour: https://www.curriculumrehab.com/happyhourMentioned in this episode:Get more Brave New Teaching each week:Join BNT Happy Hour Here!"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudyCheck out Curriculum Rehab here!Support the show📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩💻 Join Happy Hour! Curriculum Rehab Down with the Reading Quiz Shop the BNT Resource Library Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching Subscribe to our YouTube Channel


