The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA

Looking to bring more Antibias Antiracist work into your creative ELA classroom and curriculum? Liz Kleinrock of Teach and Transform has written a wonderful book to help, and she joins me on the podcast today to share some of the highlights.  In this episode for creative ELA teachers, you'll learn specific strategies for helping make your classroom a place where students can share their identities, have difficult conversations, make mistakes and repair those mistakes, and learn through units that incorporate many voices and perspectives (even if you're stuck with a certain book list). Find the show notes here.  Connect with Liz Visit the Teach and Transform Website Follow Liz on Instagram 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.

This creative spin on classroom decor gives you dozens of options for creative, interactive writing, reading, and arts integration lessons in your ELA classroom. Get inspired with these fifteen fun ideas. Ever since I interviewed Brown Professor emeritus Eileen Landay in episode seventy-seven about arts integration, I’ve been wanting to return to one particular concept she shared, Brazil’s “Literatura de Cordel” and the many creative possibilities it provides. It’s such a simple idea, stringing up a line across your classroom and filling it with different media. And it’s so easy to use in many different ways. I think every classroom would benefit from a cordel, so in today’s episode, let’s talk about how the cordel was first used in Brazil and how you can use it as an effective go-to tool now. Visit the show notes for all the links and lots of illustrations here.  Explore Alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.  

Want to teach rhetorical analysis in a way that's creative, engaging, AND gets the job done? Mix and match these fun ELA strategies to suit your needs. This week on the podcast, let’s talk about why rhetorical analysis is actually a blast. Sure, it sounds complicated to students at first. Ethos, pathos, and logos? Rhetorical situations? Logical fallacies? Rhetorical techniques? Phew! But soon enough all these bits and pieces combine into a really interesting way to see how the songs, conversations, commercials, and speeches in our lives are persuading us to change how we view the world. In today’s episode, we’re talking about creative, engaging ways to get students in your ELA classroom thinking about these different elements and how they relate to each other. Find the show notes, complete with visuals and links, right here. Explore Alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.   

Want to showcase Black authors, poets, artists and activists in your ELA classroom? Celebrate Black History Month all year long with these ideas.  Black History Month is here, and while it’s vital that we celebrate Black poets, authors, leaders, playwrights, and activists throughout our curriculum, this is a great time to put a special focus on spotlighting all the wonderful Black voices in the ELA world. There are so many to choose from!! So today, I want to share some easy ways to do that, today, tomorrow, all through February, and all year long. Start with the free QR code display featured in this episode. This easy display lets students explore the life and work of greats like Langston Hughes and Ralph Ellison alongside contemporary figures like Jason Reynolds, Trevor Noah, and Michelle Obama. You can use the QR codes for bellringers and other activities throughout the month, and send early finishers over to explore. Make your free copy here. Consider printing on cardstock for more durability. Check out the show notes here for more activities and links mentioned on today's episode.  Explore Alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Join our community, Creative High School English, on Facebook. Come hang out on Instagram.

Try using graphic novels in your ELA classroom to create powerful reading ladders, launch literature circles, help make the classics accessible, and more! Today on the podcast, you’ll find six perspectives on why graphic novels are a GREAT addition to your ELA program, and how you might use them in different creative ways. Each of our five creative guests brings something wholly unique to the table, and I’m so pleased they all took the time to come on and share their experience and innovation. Tune in to this podcast episode for six helpful perspectives on how the graphic novel can ignite engagement in ELA. Find the show notes (with all the links and visuals) here.   Connect with our Guests!  Follow along with Pernille on Instagram here. Follow along with Ashley on Instagram here. Follow along with Melissa on Instagram here. Follow along with Brynn on Instagram here. Follow along with Jessica and Caitlin on Instagram here. 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!    

Want to introduce your ELA students to the creative joys of graphic novels? Find out how to run a quick and productive book tasting to help introduce them to the genre.   Maybe you’ve got some new titles for your choice reading library, a graphic novel or two lined up for First Chapter Friday, or even a graphic novel on the horizon as a whole-class read, and you wish your students were more aware of and excited about the graphic novel genre. Ooooh boy, have I got an easy win for you. Head for the library and bring your brightest Trader Joe’s shopping bag along, because it’s time for a graphic novel book tasting! Today on the podcast, find out how to easily host a graphic novel book tasting and why it’s a great option for your students. Related show: 6 Wonderful Ways you can use Graphic Novels Get book recommendations, a digital bookshelf template, the book tasting takeaways sheet, and more in the show notes at nowsparkcreativity.com.  Connect on Instagram!  Join the community in my free Facebook group, Creative High School English. 

Gareth Hinds has created appealing  graphic novel versions of many great classics of English literature, like The Odyssey, The Iliad, Beowulf, and Shakespeare's plays. In this episode, find out how to use them in class to help deepen engagement. Gareth Hinds is an English Teacher’s superhero. He takes the most challenging works of classic literature for our students, spends years studying them deeply, and creates graphic adaptations students get excited about reading. I mean, come on! How great is that? With highly regarded adaptations of The Odyssey, The Iliad, Poe’s stories, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, Beowulf, and more, Gareth Hinds is quickly moving through the canon to create colorful, accessible, dare-I-say FUN versions of classics students often struggle with. Today on the podcast, we’re talking about the visual language of graphic adaptation, how Gareth researches and creates his works, and his top tips for classroom teachers using his adaptations. Honestly, I wish every school in America had copies of his works, and I’m so thrilled he could take the time to talk to us. This is a great episode, and I’m so glad you’re here for it! Let’s dive in. From Gareth’s Website: “Gareth Hinds is the creator of critically-acclaimed graphic novels based on literary classics, including Beowulf (which Publisher’s Weekly called a ‘mixed-media gem’), King Lear (which Booklist named one of the top 10 graphic novels for teens), The Merchant of Venice (which Kirkus called ‘the standard that all others will strive to meet’ for Shakespeare adaptation), The Odyssey (which garnered four starred reviews and a spot on ten ‘best of 2010’ lists), Romeo and Juliet (which Kirkus called ‘spellbindin’), and Macbeth (which the New York Times called ‘stellar’ and ‘a remarkably faithful rendering’). Gareth is a recipient of the Boston Public Library’s ‘Literary Lights for Children’ award. His books can be found in bookstores and English classrooms across the country, and his illustrations have appeared in such diverse venues as the Society of Illustrators, the New York Historical Society, and over a dozen published video games.” Discover Gareth’s Website. Explore his Teaching Guides. Follow Gareth on Instagram. Connect with Betsy: 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!   

Worried about the new AI and its repercussions in the world of ELA? In this quick episode, let me share why I think it might actually be a good thing for our profession.  For many years now, students who are so inclined have been able to grab a paper off the internet. I remember the paranoia I felt after learning that the students at a new school where I was teaching a decade ago had actually created their own website for sharing work. To hear other teachers tell it, the answers to EVERYTHING any teacher had taught in the past were just waiting to be picked from the digital tree branches over there. Students could grab quiz answers, homework, exam responses, essays, you name it. I actually looked out the windows during an exam once to see if anyone was dangling answers down on strings from the roof. That’s how much people prepped me to expect cheating. But that year my students held poetry slams, created a live radio show, performed original one-act plays, and put on an independent reading festival. It wasn’t easy to cheat on any of it. And little by little, I stopped worrying so much that they would. While the internet today, and the new AI tools, make it easier than ever for students to cheat on extended writing questions sent home for completion, it’s really just a slight level up on what was already available. We’ve known kids could cheat on extended take-home writing for a very long time, and whether they’re doing it by copying and pasting or engaging AI, we know they have the option to engage help they shouldn’t. But there are so many ways to design assignments that call for creative work in modern mediums that AI can’t do for them. So today I want to share why I’m not worried about the new AI, and why I don’t think you need to be either. 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!   

Featuring contemporary Indigenous voices in your ELA classroom - on your walls, in your research and writing projects, and on your shelves - can make a big difference in fighting erasure. Help your students of all backgrounds learn about Indigenous leaders, artists, and activists.  In today's episode, I'm sharing concrete options to help. Discover the best free posters, leaders to feature in your research projects, strong contemporary titles, an easily accessible poem by our Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and more.  You can find the show notes at nowsparkcreativity.com in the podcast section. While you're there, take a peek at all the free curriculum resources!  Text ideas: We are Water Protectors is a beautifully-illustrated children’s book to display and use in class (check out episode 148, The Power of Children’s Books for Older Kids, with Pernille Ripp, if you need some ideas for how to use picture books). Healer of the Water Monster would be great in middle grade identity book clubs / lit circles or as a choice reading option. I’d suggest The Birchbark House as a whole class read. #NotYourPrincess is a multi-genre anthology of many Native American women sharing photography, art, poetry, songs, and stories about their experiences. I’d recommend every high school teacher have this book available for choice reading, but also to pull short pieces from throughout the year while crafting units around various themes and essential questions. A Snake Falls to Earth is a powerful book blending fantasy, storytelling, and environmentalism with a young Indigenous protagonist. It would make a great feature for First Chapter Friday and in high school book clubs / lit circles. Ceremony is my rec for senior electives or A.P. classes. This is a stunning, powerful, lyrical book dealing in heavy subjects best suited for older kids. Helpful Links:  The Indigenous Resistance section (choose it under categories) of Amplifier Art’s Free Downloads section features the Thriving Peoples Thriving Places campaign, with dozens of posters you can print for your classroom. From the Project 562 “About” page: “Created by Matika Wilbur, Project 562 is a multi-year national photography project dedicated to photographing over 562 federally recognized Tribes, urban Native communities, Tribes fighting for federal recognition and Indigenous role models in what is currently-known-as the United States, resulting in an unprecedented repository of imagery and oral histories that accurately portrays contemporary Native Americans. This creative, consciousness-shifting work will be widely distributed through national curricula, artistic publications, exhibitions, and online portals.” Artist Jaime Black created The REDress Project to bring greater awareness to the many missing and murdered Indigenous women who do not get the national news spotlight other groups do. 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!   

Want to help the independent readers in your ELA classroom enjoy audiobooks? Whether you want to use Audible, Libro FM (do you know about their free educator advance listening program?), Libby, or Sora, in this episode I'll walk you through the process of creating easy access for your students at your own classroom listening station. The bookstores of Bratislava, where I live now, are quite dazzling. In one, an entire wall is made of the open pages of books. A moving portrait – Harry Potter style – sits in the center, occasionally turning its head to watch you read on the pillows below. There’s a cozy book nook in one that sits in the center of an enormous circular bookcase – you actually get to read inside a nest of books. I’ve walked into a bookstore filled with fluttering book page mobiles hanging from the ceiling, and I’ve walked into a bookstore with an enormous white tree, apparently made of modge podge and pages, holding up the ceiling of the children’s section. I love it all. And today I want to share an idea I got from one such inspiring Slovak bookstore. In my favorite one, Martinus – where I sometimes go to drink chai latte and write curriculum for you – there’s a large green velvet chair in a little corner. Above it hang fifty or so fluttering bookmarks, and beside it there’s an ipad waiting for passersby to plug in their headphones or connect their airpods. On the screen? A couple dozen audiobooks, always ready for a listener. It’s an audiobook listening station, and today I want to show you how to add one to your classroom. Related episode: 141 - How to Set up your Classroom Library Go Further:  Check out the show notes at nowsparkcreativity.com for visuals and links.   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!