
The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast | 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!
Latest episodes

Dec 10, 2024 • 57min
354: Classroom Management: Lifting the Veil (Finally)
Join Claire English, an experienced Australian secondary English teacher and author of 'It's Never Just About the Behavior,' as she shares her insights on classroom management. Discover how to embrace restorative mindsets, transforming disruptions into learning opportunities. Learn effective strategies like using non-verbal cues to improve student behavior and fostering emotional intelligence in your classroom. Claire also emphasizes the power of reflective conversations for accountability and the importance of community support for teachers.

Dec 5, 2024 • 5min
353: Your Poetry Video Project Roadmap
Discover how to ignite student creativity with a poetry video project! Explore the power of popular poetry videos, from Amanda Gorman to Rudy Francisco, and learn how to analyze their techniques. Students can interpret classic works or create original pieces, blending literary analysis with multimedia skills. The process involves sketchnoting, storyboarding, and considering the impact of visuals and audio, making poetry more relevant to today’s digital communication.

Dec 4, 2024 • 19min
352: Holiday Activities for ELA (with Inclusivity in Mind)
So you want to give the nod to the season, but you also want to make sure all your students feel included. Good for you! I've been privileged to see the holidays I celebrate centered in The United States for much of my life, but I've also had a lot of opportunities to see what it's like beyond this glow. I've lived in four other countries where some of the holidays I am used to are not very important at all. At one of my schools, I had the role of international-student coordinator. As part of that role I got a chance to work with kids from around the world to share their cultures through different types of holiday celebrations, like a Day of the Dead dinner and a Lunar New Year party. I married into a family with a different religious background than mine, and I've seen how it can feel difficult when other traditions take the limelight at this time of year. It means a lot to have your traditions acknowledged at any age. But I'll be the first to say it's not uncomplicated territory in the classroom. I know I've messed up, learned, and evolved. I keep trying. I very much believe that when we can expand our cultural viewpoints, we all benefit. Of course, perhaps your school or community won't allow you to discuss or celebrate any type of holiday at school. I can understand the circumstances that might lead there. If that's the case, you might want to choose one of the other hundreds of episodes to listen to today. But if you've always loved - like me - to give a nod to big days on the calendar throughout the year, I've got ideas to share today - ways to enjoy fun wintery activities in the next few weeks that make space for kids to celebrate whatever special days they want to, whether it's Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Christmas, Lunar New Year, Snow Days, or one of the many other holidays flowing out of our rich worldwide blend of cultures. Links Mentioned: Liz Kleinrock's book, Come and Join Us: https://www.amazon.com/Come-Join-Us-Holidays-Celebrated/dp/0063144476 Holiday Makerspace Project (Free download): https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Holiday-Maker-Space-Writing-Project-3505860 How to make Digital Poetry Tiles: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2020/11/109-how-to-make-digital-magnetic-poetry.html Holiday Lipogram Project (Free Download): https://spark-creativity.kit.com/c9338cdf76 Winter Book Tasting (Free Download): https://spark-creativity.kit.com/cc185a4a77 Poetry Foundation Winter Poems Collection: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/collections/144637/winter-poems

Nov 29, 2024 • 32min
351: 🤍 Gratitude Week: Revisiting Angela Stockman's Writing Makerspace
Welcome to day five of gratitude week here at Spark Creativity. Today, on our final day, we’re looking back at an interview with my friend Angela Stockman about how to get started with her innovative writing makerspace concept. She is a force of creativity, hope, care, and innovation in the education world, and I’m grateful to know her and to share her work with you. Check out the original show notes: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2018/09/the-power-of-writing-makerspace-with.html Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Grab the free Better Discussions toolkit Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides 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!

Nov 28, 2024 • 42min
350: 🤍 Gratitude Week: Revisiting Dave Stuart Jr.'s Help for Student Apathy
Welcome to day four of gratitude week here at Spark Creativity. Today we’re looking back at an interview with Dave Stuart Jr. about how to help fight apathy in the classroom. I’m grateful for Dave’s hopeful voice in the world of education, and glad to share his ideas with you today. Check out the original show notes: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2019/07/070-help-for-student-apathy-with-dave_16.html Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Grab the free Better Discussions toolkit Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides 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!

Nov 27, 2024 • 35min
349: 🤍 Gratitude Week: Revisiting Crucial Advice on Diverse Texts & Choice
Welcome to day three of gratitude week here at Spark Creativity. Today we’re looking back at an interview with Dr. Claudia Rodriguez-Mojica and Dr. Allison Briceño about just how important it is to provide students with diverse books and choice in their reading experience. I’m grateful that they took the time to talk with us, and to be able to spotlight their work here again. See the original show notes: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2023/07/students-need-diverse-texts-and-choice-heres-help.html Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Grab the free Better Discussions toolkit Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides 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!

Nov 26, 2024 • 47min
348: 🤍 Gratitude Week: Revisiting Dr. Sarah Fine's Advice for Deeper Learning
Welcome to day two of gratitude week here at Spark Creativity. Today we're revisiting a popular interview with Dr. Sarah Fine, whose insightful work around deeper learning I am so grateful to be able to share with you. She crisscrossed the nation in search of the places and programs where students were truly engaged in deeper learning, and she shares what she found in this conversation. See the Original Show Notes: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2020/02/086-take-action-for-deeper-learning.html Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Grab the free Better Discussions toolkit Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides 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!

6 snips
Nov 25, 2024 • 52min
347: 🤍 Gratitude Week: Revisiting Penny Kittle's Quiet Revolution
Join Penny Kittle, a dedicated teacher and literacy coach, as she dives into transformative reading practices that prioritize student engagement. They discuss the courage needed to challenge outdated educational methods and the importance of connecting students with relevant texts. Penny emphasizes the power of writer's notebooks in fostering creativity and confidence, while also sharing essential book recommendations that inspire young readers. With insights on community impact, this conversation is a heartfelt look at the role of choice in literacy.

Nov 21, 2024 • 3min
346: Highly Recommended: The Extensive Research to Support English Teachers Grading Less
In today’s short episode of “Highly Recommended”, I want to recommend an article I read at Edutopia this week, because it’s chock-full of the research you need to support conversations at your school about grading less. Changing the culture of grading in our ELA classrooms won’t just benefit teachers, it benefits students too. So today I want to share two highlights from the article, “Why Teachers Should Grade Less Frequently,” by Stephen Merrill and Youki Terada, and then give you the link in the show notes so you can go read it and send it to everyone in your department. Seriously. Terada and Merrill share the research around nine reasons that grading less benefits both educators and educatees (students). This is not a both-sides-of-the-story type of article. It is VERY clear about its argument. Less grading for the right reasons is the way to go. Hopefully, if you’ve been around here for long, that sounds like a familiar story. One of my favorite points in the article is #3, “Grading Obligations reduce teacher creativity and innovation.” According to the research, most teachers are splitting their time between grading and lesson planning, devoting about the same amount of time to each. As a result, and I imagine you’ve experienced this at some point or another, many folks are unable to give the necessary time to the reflection and discovery that would let them unlock their most creative classroom ideas. Another key idea comes in #6: “Grading reduces opportunities for student practice.” According to the research, repeated practice counts for a lot when it comes to improving writing, and prioritizing feedback over reps isn’t the answer. If teachers feel they must grade everything students do, students won’t have as many opportunities to build the pathways that lead to better writing. The big components of this article are ones our teaching community has been talking about for a long time. But what I love about this article is how it boils the ideas down into a three minute read with clear evidence and research links to back up what English teachers have learned through experience. That means you can point to the evidence online as well as the evidence in your classroom when you take these ideas to your colleagues, and explain your methods to parents who think papers are meant to be coated in red ink before they’re returned. Remember, I’m dropping this link in the show notes right now, so be sure to click over and read this great article from Stephen Merrill and Youki Terada! READ THE ARTICLE: https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-teachers-should-grade-less-frequently Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Get my popular free hexagonal thinking digital toolkit 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!

Nov 19, 2024 • 11min
345: How to use First Book Marketplace to Grow your Library Fast
If you’re a teacher in a Title I School, you need to know about First Book Marketplace. I’ve heard about it in passing so many times, and this week I decided to dive in and figure out how it works. And boy, does it work. Today I just want to walk you through how this site works so that you can start taking advantage of its many resources as soon as possible. Now, if you’re NOT a teacher in a Title I School, and you’re also trying to find resources to support your wish to bring incredible books to your students, I’m going to refer you back to episode 56, The Dos and Don’ts of Donors Choose, where I’ll walk you through the best way to get funding on that site. OK, for now, let’s dig into First Book Marketplace and how you can get started with it right away. Are you a Title I Teacher? Register for First Book Marketplace: https://www.fbmarketplace.org/register/ Not a Title I Teacher? Check out the "Do's and Don'ts of Donors Choose" post here: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2019/01/the-dos-and-donts-of-donors-choose-for.html Go Further: Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast. Launch your choice reading program with all my favorite tools and recs, and grab the free toolkit. 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!