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
Nov 28, 2017 • 37min
022: 10 Top Books for your Classroom Library
Today on the podcast, Brynn Allison of The Literary Maven shares her top ten current book recommendations to hook reluctant readers. For example... FORGED BY FIRE (TRILOGY), BY SHARON M. DRAPER If you're going to add only one of these books to your reading library, this just might be it. It's Brynn's top recommendation. With its amazing first chapter that was originally written to stand alone as a short story, you can hook readers instantly. Read it aloud and put it on your shelf, then watch how quickly your struggling readers (and all the rest of your students) line up for it. Great for: Everyone! ON THE COME UP, BY HANNAH WEYER In this novel, a young woman gets pregnant. This is the story of how she deals with it. Though she makes mistakes, she also makes good choices. She's strong and driven, a real and honest protagonist that makes a good role model for students who may be facing difficult realities and struggling with their own choices. You can read Brynn's full review here. Great for: Young women who could use a strong and realistic role model. This also makes a great next read for students who have fallen for The Hate U Give. LIFE AS WE KNEW IT (SERIES), BY SUSAN BETH PFEFFER If the moon got out of whack, what might happen? This post-apocalyptic series follows life on earth in a fairly realistic scenario, following along as characters deal with the way the world is changing. You can read Brynn's full review here. Great for: Keeping students reading, since they can move on to the next in the series after the first book. THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO (SERIES), BY PATRICK NESS Also set in the ever-popular post-apocalyptic world, this novel follows the story of Todd, who grows up in a town with only men. Then one day he finds a girl, Viola, and together they start a revolution. You can read Brynn's full review here. Great for: Another solid series, giving students a lot to love once they get hooked on the first book. CINDER (THE LUNAR CHRONICLES SERIES), BY MARISSA MEYER This intriguing twist on a popular fairy tale is full of surprises. Who would have expected to find futuristic features like androids and life on the moon in a retelling of Cinderella? You can read Brynn's full review here. Great for: These books are long and big. And there are a lot of them. Share a bit in class and then see who is ready for months of joyful 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!
Nov 17, 2017 • 15min
021: The Best Websites for ELA Teachers
There are so many great places to find inspiration for ELA online! In this episode, I'm sharing my favorite sites for free creative lesson plans and ideas for English teachers online. 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!
Nov 6, 2017 • 12min
020: Authentic Audiences for Student Work
In this episode, I'll share five strategies for amping up student engagement by giving them authentic audiences for their work. It's more doable than it seems! Once you start looking, you'll find authentic audience options for your ELA students all over the place. 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!
Oct 20, 2017 • 22min
019: Active Learning outside the Classroom Walls
Let's talk about taking a break from your classroom space and getting out into other school spaces. Spend a day trying one of these mini-field trips and see if you and your students don't both feel better. 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!
Oct 5, 2017 • 11min
018: My Favorite Trick to Cut Grading Time for English Teachers
In this episode, I'll share the system that allows me to skip repetitive comment writing by using a list of common errors with my students. 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!
Sep 20, 2017 • 26min
017: Get Started with ELA Escape Rooms
Curious about escape rooms? For good reason! Escape rooms are an engaging teaching strategy rapidly growing in momentum across the country. Emily Aierstok, my first ever podcast guest, will share her experiences teaching with escape rooms in her New York classroom. The show notes this week are EXTENSIVE so be sure to head to nowsparkcreativity.com to find them. 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!
Sep 8, 2017 • 18min
016: ELA Maker Spaces
In this episode I'll be sharing two ways you can try out ELA maker spaces in your classroom this year. They are creative, doable and inexpensive, and I think you're going to love them! 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!
Aug 27, 2017 • 11min
015: Building Professional Community as a Teacher
Ever feel lonely at work, even though you're surrounded by people all the time? You're not alone on that. This episode is all about finding ways to build a support structure for yourself as a creative teacher. 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!
Aug 23, 2017 • 11min
014: Creative Secondary Decor in your English Classroom
A beautiful and inspiring work space isn't just for primary students. In this episode, I'll share ideas for age-appropriate creative decor for your high school classroom. 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!
Aug 16, 2017 • 14min
013: The First Day of School doesn't have to be Boring
Engage your students from the opening moment with these creative first day activities. No need to read that syllabus out loud! 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!
