The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | ELA
Betsy Potash: ELA
Want to love walking into your ELA classroom each day? Excited about innovative strategies like PBL, escape rooms, hexagonal thinking, sketchnotes, one-pagers, student podcasting, genius hour, and more? Want a thriving choice reading program and a shelf full of compelling diverse texts?
You're in the right place!
Here you'll find interviews with top authors from the ELA field, workshops with strategies you can use in class immediately, and quick tips to ignite your English teacher creativity.
Love teaching poetry? Explore blackout poems, book spine poems, I am from poems, performance poetry, lessons for contemporary poets, and more.
Excited to get started with hexagonal thinking? Find out how to build your first deck of hexagons, guide your students through their first discussion, and even expand into hexagonal one-pagers.
Into visual learning? Me too! Learn about sketchnotes, one-pagers, and the writing makerspace.
Want to get your students podcasting? Get the top technology recs you need to make it happen, and find out what tips a podcaster would give to students starting out.
Wish your students would fall for choice reading? Explore top titles and how to fund them, learn to make your library more appealing, and find out how to be a top P.R. agent for books in your classroom.
In it for the interviews? Fabulous! Find out about project-based-learning, innovative school design, what really helps kids learn deeply, design thinking, how to choose diverse texts, when to scaffold sketchnotes lessons, building your first writing makerspace, cultivating writer's notebooks, getting started with genius hour, and so much more, from our wonderful guests.
Here at The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, discover you're not alone as a creative English teacher. You're part of a vast community welcoming students to their next escape room, rolling out contemporary poetry and reading aloud on First Chapter Fridays, engaging kids with social media projects and real-world ELA units.
As your host (hi, I'm Betsy), I'm here to help you ENJOY your days at school and feel inspired by all the creative ways to teach both contemporary works and the classics your school may be pushing. I taught ELA at the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade levels both in the United States and overseas for almost a decade, and I didn't always get support for my creativity. Now I'm here to make sure YOU get the creative support you deserve, and it brings me so much joy.
Welcome to The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies!
You're in the right place!
Here you'll find interviews with top authors from the ELA field, workshops with strategies you can use in class immediately, and quick tips to ignite your English teacher creativity.
Love teaching poetry? Explore blackout poems, book spine poems, I am from poems, performance poetry, lessons for contemporary poets, and more.
Excited to get started with hexagonal thinking? Find out how to build your first deck of hexagons, guide your students through their first discussion, and even expand into hexagonal one-pagers.
Into visual learning? Me too! Learn about sketchnotes, one-pagers, and the writing makerspace.
Want to get your students podcasting? Get the top technology recs you need to make it happen, and find out what tips a podcaster would give to students starting out.
Wish your students would fall for choice reading? Explore top titles and how to fund them, learn to make your library more appealing, and find out how to be a top P.R. agent for books in your classroom.
In it for the interviews? Fabulous! Find out about project-based-learning, innovative school design, what really helps kids learn deeply, design thinking, how to choose diverse texts, when to scaffold sketchnotes lessons, building your first writing makerspace, cultivating writer's notebooks, getting started with genius hour, and so much more, from our wonderful guests.
Here at The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, discover you're not alone as a creative English teacher. You're part of a vast community welcoming students to their next escape room, rolling out contemporary poetry and reading aloud on First Chapter Fridays, engaging kids with social media projects and real-world ELA units.
As your host (hi, I'm Betsy), I'm here to help you ENJOY your days at school and feel inspired by all the creative ways to teach both contemporary works and the classics your school may be pushing. I taught ELA at the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade levels both in the United States and overseas for almost a decade, and I didn't always get support for my creativity. Now I'm here to make sure YOU get the creative support you deserve, and it brings me so much joy.
Welcome to The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies!
Episodes
Mentioned books
May 3, 2022 • 20min
152: 5 Class Podcast Projects for ELA
Want to get started with class podcast projects? Good for you! Get inspired with this creative list of options for your high school English students. Don't forget to sign up for Camp Creative: The Student Podcasting Roadmap coming June 13-15. Visit the show notes at nowsparkcreativity.com.
Apr 20, 2022 • 26min
151: Here's the Teacher Tech that Actually Helps, with Jennifer Gonzalez
Looking for the teacher technology that will really make an impact in your classroom, not just replace processes you use with newer, more complicated ones? In this fun conversation with Jennifer Gonzalez, we talk about the tools and ideas inside her Teacher's Guide to Tech and how they can help in your ELA Classroom.
Apr 5, 2022 • 51min
150: A Quiet Revolution in Reading and Writing, with Penny Kittle
Penny Kittle, a veteran educator and president of the Book Love Foundation, shares her insights on transforming literacy in classrooms. She emphasizes the power of choice reading and the use of modern mentor texts to engage students. Discover her favorite reads that inspire young minds and learn innovative strategies like writer's notebooks to foster individual voice in writing. Penny also discusses the importance of bravery in teaching, encouraging educators to adapt their methods for better student interest and personal growth.
Mar 22, 2022 • 26min
149: Two Inspiring Children's Book Projects, with Pernille Ripp
Want to try having students write nonfiction children's books? How about perform plays based on their favorite children's books? Learn all about these two wonderful children's book projects and more in this interview with Pernille Ripp. Let's connect! Facebook Group: Creative High School English Instagram: @nowsparkcreativity
Mar 8, 2022 • 29min
148: The Power of Children's Books for Older Kids, with Pernille Ripp
Picture books have so much to offer readers of all ages. In this interview with literacy dynamo Pernille Ripp (part one of two), find out how to use children's books to introduce big ideas, demonstrate writer's craft, and start important conversations.
Feb 22, 2022 • 27min
147: 6 Fresh Ideas for your Writing Program
Ready to refresh your writing program with new, creative options? In this podcast episode, learn about unique writing prompts, writing alternative endings to fiction, using collaborative writing projects, spiraling writing instruction, building an argument unit around a mock trial, and more!
Feb 9, 2022 • 28min
146: Authentic Audiences aren't Hard to Find
Want to ignite student engagement by bringing their work to real audiences? It's not as hard as it seems! In this episode, explore ten quick case studies and let them inspire new possibilities for connection with audiences in your classroom.
Jan 26, 2022 • 19min
145: Teaching Annotation just got Fun
Want to teach annotation skills in a way that's memorable and creative, instead of boring and easily forgotten? Check out this episode for four creative ways to help your students develop their own unique annotation styles. Want support along the way? Join 20,000 more creative teachers collaborating inside my Facebook group, Creative High School English. More of an Instagram person? Let's connect! I'm @nowsparkcreativity. Find the show notes and tons of free classroom resources at http://nowsparkcreativity.com.
Jan 12, 2022 • 25min
144: 3 Flexible ELA Units for an Omicron Winter
Going remote in your ELA classes this winter, or think you might? Try planning one of these flexible, engaging units, so you're ready for anything. We'll be exploring digital poetry, making tiny podcasts (don't worry, I'll explain what I mean), and adapting the genius hour format for this moment. By the end of the show, you should have lots of engaging, creative ways to guide your students through this omicron winter. Find the free resources in the show notes at www.nowsparkcreativity.com.
Dec 29, 2021 • 42min
143: What We Can Do about Teacher Demoralization, with Doris Santoro
The problem facing teachers today will not be solved by self-care. Let's talk about the real issue - demoralization - and strategies that can make an impact to help teachers stay in the profession and enjoy their work again. My guest for this episode is Professor Doris Santoro, of Bowdoin College, author of the book, Demoralization: Why Teachers Leave the Profession they Love and How they can Stay.
