This week I want to give you a few quick ideas for using your whiteboard to help share great books with your students. First things first, your whiteboard tray. I am seeing a lot of folks making a super quick display that’s really impactful by spreading books along their tray, then writing a one-sentence teaser above the book. This display is so easy to change up, and you can even get students involved in making new versions. Next up, you can use your whiteboard to showcase what you’re reading. Create a little corner that says “Ms. Potash is reading…” and then print cover screenshots of what you’re reading. Again, so easy to change up, but it opens up conversations if kids have read or want to read what you’re reading. I recently saw the Book Wrangler on Instagram talking about magnetic book shelves that he’s using in his library under the circulation desk. These would be a great add on a whiteboard too. Small magnetic shelves would let you feature a few books front and center of your classroom, and you could write headers or descriptions next to the shelves. Finally, here’s an idea that could combine them all. You know I’ve been creating free display materials for various theme months throughout the year, most recently Hispanic Heritage Month. Caitlin Lore, who was on the podcast last year, has generously shared pictures with me of how she uses these displays as a starting point to devote her entire whiteboard to stunning displays for these various theme months. You could do the same, and incorporate all of these other ideas. Feature books from the theme along your whiteboard, add some to magnetic shelves, read one yourself and feature it in your corner, and then add display materials and posters wherever there’s still room.  So if you’ve got room on a whiteboard this year, I highly recommend trying one or all of these quick flips to turn it into a P.R. station for books and authors. It won’t take long, but it may just inspire a lot of new reading.  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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

Need a creative approach to your next short story? Or short story unit? (By the way, here are some fabulous classic and contemporary short stories if you need some). Stations can provide so many inroads, while allowing students to proceed at their own pace and based on their own interests. PLUS, they give you a chance to move around the room and help out individual students or small groups that need you. So today on the podcast, I want to share some creative options when it comes to short story stations. We'll talk about the fundamental elements that can help make stations a success (like clear tasks, resources, scaffolds, and models) as well as ideas specific to approaching the key elements of short stories. Could you use all these activities with short stories even if you WEREN'T doing stations? Sure, that's definitely an option too. But they would make excellent stations.   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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

This week I want to tell you about the most beautiful, powerful, impactful classroom posters I’ve seen on the internet. And they’re totally free.  This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about Amplifier Art on the podcast, and it probably won’t be the last. I’ve even had their executive director, Emily, on the podcast to talk about their incredible wellbeing series.  But since it was Indigenous Peoples Day this week, I think it’s the perfect time to recommend their “Thriving People, Thriving Places” campaign. These posters help to rewrite old narratives and counter stereotypes by featuring modern Indigenous leaders showing strength and courage.  Here’s how Amplifer describes the series: “The Thriving Peoples Thriving Places campaign was a collaboration between Nia Tero and Amplifier, and uplifts the stories of fifteen Indigenous women leaders from locales spanning from the Philippines and New Zealand to the Brazilian Amazon and the Arctic.” To find these posters, just visit Amplifier Art’s Free Downloads section, then choose Indigenous Resistance and click down at the bottom to show all the posters. Here's the link.  While you’re at Amplifier, I highly recommend looking around at their wellbeing series as well, and all their amazing free poster downloads, to see what else might be a helpful addition to your walls. It’s really an amazing site, and you can easily sign up for their updates while you’re there. They’re hosting their first ever educator’s conference in Los Angeles soon, if you happen to be in that area.  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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

In this podcast, discover NINE creative ways to bring Taylor Swift's music into class. Find out how to have students create their own eras, practice public speaking on song-inspired topics with song-inspired tones, build book bracelets or character playlists, practice rhetorical analysis through songs and music videos, and more.  Special thanks to ALL our wonderful guests - Ashley from Building Book Love, Amanda from Mud & Ink Teaching, Delia from @mrsreganreads, Allie from @bayeringwithfreshmen, Meredith from Bespoke ELA, Melissa from Reading and Writing Haven, and Krista from @whimsyandrigor. Helpful Links: The Eras Project: Make your copy of the Canva template here Bookish Bracelets: See an example in this reel Practice Rhetorical Analysis with Songs: Grab the free rhetorical triangle templates here  Practice Character Analysis with Eras: Pick up the free resource Teach Narrative Terms with "Love Story": Grab the  free resource Help Students create their own Antiheroes:  FREE anti-hero character sketch chart Guide Students to Practice Tone when they "Talk Swiftly": use this link to download the free teaching tool   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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

This week I’ve got a productivity tip to give you so much more focused time in your classroom.   Let’s talk about email, and how often you check it.    I can still remember the exact feeling of sitting in my kneeling desk in my first classroom, watching red flags spring up in the eight different inboxes in my First Class email dashboard. No sooner would I zero out my personal inbox than there would be a new announcement to teachers, or request to coaches, or task for advisors.    It was like playing whack-a-mole, trying to respond to everyone all day long.    But I worked hard at it. Every time I was free before school, between classes, before lunch, after lunch, and before practice, I’d quickly log in so I could reduce the stacking emails in every conference.   Whack. Whack. Whack.   And so it went on for years.   Want to know how much I check my email now? Once a day. Unless I really can’t get through it all, then I might follow up later after turning my attention to another project that needed me more.    Here’s the thing. In my experience, your inbox will be as demanding as you let it be. If you feel you must respond to everyone within 20 minutes, that’s what they’ll expect from you. But really, for almost everything, a day is a totally reasonable turnaround time.   Sitting down to respond to emails when you really have the time and energy, instead of task switching in and out of your inbox constantly just to “make progress” can be a huge time saver for you. Not to mention energy and mood saver. The last thing you want is to feel frustrated and angry starting class after getting a problematic email, or to walk into lunch with your mind overwhelmed by an announcement you just read.    Try saving email for one chunk of focused time in the day, and see if you begin to feel more free - in your mood and with your time -  for other aspects of your day that are more rewarding and interesting to you.   So, if you’ve ever felt like you’re caught in an email hamster wheel that never ends, this week I highly recommend you try an experiment. Check it once (or if you must, twice) a day for a week instead of 10 or 15 times. See if it’s a win for you.   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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!     

As Banned Books Week kicks off, I know not every teacher is in a position to showcase it. In some places, it's simply too dangerous for an educator to display banned and challenged books and talk about intellectual freedom with students (the Fahrenheit 451 realities are overwhelming). But for those in a position to share about this with students, today I want to give you some options. Choose the ones that are right for your classroom and community. As usual, it's not about telling our students what to think, it's reminding them that this is an important thing to think about. The American Library Association has compiled a lot of great data about censorship and challenges taking place around the country. In 2022, there were 1,269 attempts to ban or censor library books or resources. This is the highest number in the last twenty years. You can get a concise picture of the statistics and related issues on this page of the ALA website. Banned Books Week: Display Ideas One of the easiest ways to raise student awareness of book censorship is to put up a display for Banned Books Week. Again, the ALA has amazing resources for ideas. Check out their Pinterest page here for dozens of ideas, or try one of the easy options below. Try a Fahrenheit 451 theme for a quick and easy Banned Books display. Cut large orange and red paper flames to line your shelves and/or small ones to stick into the pages of your books, then add a sign that says "Read Banned Books" and perhaps a few quotations from Ray Bradbury. Another easy option for a Banned Books display is to put up caution tape, or, if you can't easily get any, print out strips of text saying "caution" on yellow copier paper and tape them up to look like caution tape. Banned Books Week: Free Posters for your Display To complement your displays of banned books, try adding one of these free poster resources. I loved this idea I saw on the ALA Pinterest page so much I had to try making my own version for you. Rachel Moani created an amazing book display for the Lacey Timberland Library featuring characters holding up signs showcasing the insane reasons their books had been banned. You can make your copy of my easily printable version here if you'd like, or make your own. I didn't try to include every reason each book had been banned or challenged, but I included one or two. The Alexandria Public Library has some great free posters waiting for you to download as well! Check them all out here. The National Education Association has a "Freedom to Read" poster available here if you need something more subtle. These two infographics from the American Library Association can help students get a clearer picture of what's going on. You can download and print them from the ALA website. Go Further:  Explore the full show notes and alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast over at nowsparkcreativity.com.  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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

This week I want to talk about getting you in front of an audience this year. My first year in the classroom I had an amazing mentor. Anne, my department chair, invited me to her house for lunch regularly. I brought pastries, she made fruit salads, and then over oatmeal-raisin scones and papaya, she listened to me talk about everything I was learning and doing. She nodded and smiled, and focused on supporting my enthusiasm rather than telling me what to do.  If only everyone had a mentor like that in their lives.  I remember one piece of wonderful advice she gave me then, and that was to start publishing. She suggested a local teaching newsletter that I could submit an article to, and I did, and it was accepted. Even though I was 22 and in my first year of my first teaching job.  That got me started thinking of myself as someone who could share my ideas with others. I submitted an awful lot more articles after that, and began applying to present on what was going well in my classroom. Sometimes I presented to a crowd at some lovely hotel. Sometimes I presented to my colleagues at my own school. Both were satisfying, and pushed me to see my classroom as a place for trying new things, analyzing the results, and sharing what I learned.  So today I want to give you the same advice my mentor gave me nineteen years ago.  Put your work out there. Ask to present to your department, your whole faculty, or at a local or national conference. Submit a presentation proposal to your state council of teachers of English conference or to the annual NCTE conference.  Write about what you’re doing and send it off to English journal, Read Write Think, We are Teacher, or Edutopia. Pitch yourself as a podcast guest! Send in an Op Ed to the New York Times. Whatever feels like a good step to you, do it! I believe you’ll start to see your work in a new light when you share it. You’re a change-maker, an agent of creativity in a profession that is lucky to have you. And I highly recommend you share your best ideas with as many other people as you can.    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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

There are so many reasons why a student may be quiet in class. The language may be difficult. They may need more time to think than the pace of discussion allows. They may not have been able to read because of other things happening in their lives that they can't control. They may be really shy. But there are ways to help quiet students build confidence and begin to participate. In today's episode, I'll share what I learned over many years putting a strong focus on student-centered discussion in class. We'll talk about discussion warm-ups, individual conversations with kids who are dominating, discussion role cards, and my favorite strategy for student-centered discussion, The Harkness Method.  To grab the free resources that complement this episode, sign up for the Better Discussions Toolkit right here (coming by email Friday if you're already on my list!). 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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

This week let’s talk about a unique masters program - and the one I did - The Bread Loaf School of English. Quick Details: Summer Program out of Middlebury College M.A. In English, but almost all participants are teachers, so there's a teaching angle! Campuses in Vermont, Oxford (England), and California Unique Classes and Activities (Opera, "Discovering the Imagination," and my Independent Study on Travel writing were three of my personal favorites...) Learn more here: The Bread Loaf School of English   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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!   

Have you reached for a turtleneck sweater yet? Bought one of those big pumpkins or bright purple mums at the stand along the road? Sipped your first spiced latte? It's that time of year again! As the leaves turn and we move into the flow of the school year, it's a nice time to sprinkle in a little holiday fun for Halloween. Today, I've got a creative buffet of options for you, and I hope you'll find a few you can't wait to surprise your students with next month. In this episode, we'll talk about murder mystery parties, escape rooms, spooky podcasts, creepy poetry, and more. Find the Links: Make your copy of the Halloween writing prompts here. Explore episode 31, when Amanda from Engaging and Effective shared several year’s worth of experience crafting a wildly successful high school themed classroom murder mystery lesson. Check out the full post  about student-designed escape rooms.  Read the full step-by-step instructions and pick up my free student guide to creating a blackout poem here. Grab the easy printable Halloween book display set - Make your copy here.   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 ‘gram, or tapping those ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to help others discover the show. Thank you!