Best English Elevator Podcasts (2025)

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401: Easy Wins on the Sensory Dashboard (yes, in ELA!) 19:22

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22h ago19:22

19:22

The other day I found myself walking through a parking garage stairwell in Iowa City, and I realized they were using the same scent design as the local mall in Bratislava where we used to live. Half-shocked, half-amused, I climbed the cement stairs as I remembered riding the escalator through the same subtle scent cloud two years ago. The memory wa…

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400: #evolvingEDdesign: Giving Students Real Agency 34:34

8d ago34:34

34:34

Imagine you and I were about to make a dinner together. Now, I bring a love of baking to our project, and a decently strong roast chicken game. But I don't want to dominate the conversation too much. "Let's make roast chicken and vegetables," I say, "and cookies." Your face falls a little. "Oh, but you can choose which vegetables we roast, and what…

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399: #evolvingEDdesign: Crafting a Flexible Classroom 21:19

16d ago21:19

21:19

My first classroom was a little blue trailer on the edge of the soccer field. Every morning, I got my shoes clogged with mud hiking across the field, but I loved my corner of campus, and I felt pretty free to design it to work best for my students. And it turned out that what really worked best was constant change. Our desks were attached to our ch…

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398: A Simple Trick to Elevate Poetry Analysis: Poetry Blackout 21:29

22d ago21:29

21:29

The first time I had much use for poetry came in college, freshmen year. My professor assigned each of us to memorize a poem and recite it in class. Horrified, I chose ee cummings' "anyone lived in a pretty how town" and began the process of reading it a million times between tennis practices and snowball fights. Over and over and over I read it, t…

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397: The Humble Webquest Levels Up (How-To + Templates) 23:05

29d ago23:05

23:05

I've got more and more respect, these days, for the humble webquest. Slash hyperdoc. Slash game board. Slash immersive digital multimedia experience. Slash clickable infographic. Slash playlist. Slash choice board. When it comes to sharing information and contemporary texts with your students, there is SO MUCH available online right now. Students c…

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396: Try these Inviting Alternatives to the Research Paper 24:07

1M ago24:07

24:07

Recently I had to learn APA citation. Oof. It was a heavy lift, after a few decades with MLA. It gave me a refreshed sense of how overwhelming students likely find MLA. I found myself thinking, why can't I just link my sources in parentheses? Why can't I just reference the authors who informed my thinking inside my sentences? Why on earth does it m…

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395: The American Dream: A Multimedia Introduction Lesson for ELA 14:04

2M ago14:04

14:04

If you teach American literature, chances are you're touching on the theme of the American Dream somehow, through book clubs, a poetry unit, a look at Gatsby, or an essential question that binds together a variety of genres and perspectives. So when I received this request for our Plan my Lesson series, "How about a fun way to introduce the America…

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394: Quick Win: Build your Reading Culture with this Fun Fall ELA Display 10:29

2M ago10:29

10:29

I worked at the cutest little bookstore coffee shop last week. In that small space, the collection had to be heavily curated, with just one or two books by popular authors and launching points for popular series books for kids. But the shop still held one full bookshelf for staff recommendations, covers out. Each employee had their shelf: "Sarah re…

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393: Research-Based Practices to Ignite Creativity, with Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle 1:03:03

2M ago1:03:03

1:03:03

We know employers want creative thinkers. We know creative thinking is necessary to solve the problems we see everywhere in our world. We know we want our students to learn to be more creative. But what does that mean exactly? Where does the science of creativity meet the cultural definition we all build for ourselves just by swimming in the 21st c…

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392: A Mentor-Based Grammar Lesson Blueprint 18:21

2M ago18:21

18:21

When it comes to teaching grammar, the research is clear. Drill and kill is not what we're looking for. You don't want to march through a series of grammar lessons unrelated to your students' writing and reading. Here's what NCTE's "Resolution on Grammar Exercises to Teach Speaking and Writing" has to say about it: "This resolution was prompted by …

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391: A Done-For-You Literary Food Truck Lesson 🎁 19:23

3M ago19:23

19:23

Think of your favorite book. Now think of your favorite food. Now match those two together - your favorite book and your favorite food - into some kind of experience. Maybe you've slipped into the world of the book and you're eating your favorite food with your favorite characters. Are you smiling yet? Today's "Plan my Lesson" episode is all about …

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390: A Lesson for Book Clubs with a Genius Hour Twist 29:19

3M ago29:19

29:19

Have you been hooked by the idea of book clubs lately? Wondering how you can integrate book clubs with essential questions, supplementary short stories and podcasts, and everything else you're up to? Then today's episode is for you. Today's "Plan my Lesson" request comes from a creative teacher trying to blend a lot of wonderful things into her new…

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389: A First Week Project Lesson: Building Research Skills + Community 15:16

3M ago15:16

15:16

Today's request for "Plan My Lesson" is from a teacher searching for a first week project that helps students get to know each other AND introduces a few key skills along the way. Perhaps you can relate? Here's what she writes: "It's time to switch up the first project I do in English 10… For the last few years I've had the kiddos research their fi…

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388: A Low-Stress (Dare I say Fun?) Lesson Plan for Day One 18:13

3M ago18:13

18:13

If there's one thing I want for your first day of school, it's for the pressure to be off you. You've got enough to worry about without needing to pull off a 45 minute lecture that magically holds students' attention before they even know you five times in a row. That's why for this lesson, requested for our summer "Plan my Lesson" series, our goal…

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387: A Summer Reading Lesson with Clear Creative Purpose 15:28

4M ago15:28

15:28

A summer reading lesson is a nice chance to start off the year with a creative tone, while creating some of the norms you want to establish. For today's "Plan my Lesson" series episode, I'm answering requests from two different teachers in search of a back-to-school lesson on summer reading. One teacher's class will have read Scythe, another's The …

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386: An Essay-less Argument Lesson Tapping Humor & Visuals 21:47

4M ago21:47

21:47

Students need to be able to make a great argument to find success at school, and in many professions. They need to come up with an idea, find evidence, analyze their evidence, and tie it all together with a well-written bow. Thus, for many decades, students have written essays. We've taught them to write thesis statements, organizing sentences, tra…

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385: Re-engaging Rusty Readers: A Stamina Building Lesson 26:29

4M ago26:29

26:29

There's a lot of conversation happening lately around student reading stamina. Rose Horowitch's Atlantic article, "The Elite College Students who Can't Read Books," helped stir the pot. I'm sure you've seen evidence of the same issues she brings up - that students are struggling to stay focused through books, and often come to you having read a lot…

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Ep. 11 Think Like a Winner: Mental Strategies to Elevate Your Pickleball Game 12:33

5M ago12:33

12:33

You’ve trained your body. Now it’s time to train your brain. In this episode, Coach Kevin dives into the overlooked side of performance: your mindset. Whether you’re playing casual rec games or high-stakes tournaments, mental fitness is the edge that separates the players who stay composed and confident… from those who unravel under pressure. You’l…

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Documenting, Discovering, and Developing Our Instruction with Anglea Stockman | EP 28 33:23

5M ago33:23

33:23

How often is our classroom teachers' potential power as researchers neglected? Before them is a wealth of information about teaching and learning. Yet they often aren't encouraged or permitted to fully digest the information, and as a result, miss opportunities to transform the mindsets and skillsets of everyone in their classroom. Fortunately, I g…

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384: A Lesson for "The Paper Menagerie"(and the Cultural Revolution) 21:37

5M ago21:37

21:37

Ken Liu's short story, "The Paper Menagerie," is an easy and powerful add to your curriculum. Not only does it explore family relationships, The American Dream, and identity (themes you can easily connect to other texts as you build units), it introduces - briefly, painfully, powerfully - China's Cultural Revolution. I'll admit I've never studied t…

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Ep. 10 Fuel Like a Pro: What to Eat Before, During, and After Pickleball 16:22

5M ago16:22

16:22

Download your FREE Nutrition Basics for Pickleball Athletes Guide here: https://silveredge.ac-page.com/eat-smart-play-strong-guide Pickleball might be your passion - but without the right fuel, your performance (and recovery) can suffer big time. In this episode, Coach Kevin breaks down exactly what to eat and drink before, during, and after playin…

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383: Bleeds, Ghosts, & Flash Verse: A Lesson for Long Way Down 23:52

5M ago23:52

23:52

It's a rare curriculum book that inspires NO negative comments. Ever. To hear, month after month, year after year, that a certain book turns kids into readers, ignites interest and discussion in class, hooks unengaged students like nothing else has. Long Way Down is one such book. It's a fast read, a novel-in-verse, by the former U.S. Ambassador fo…

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Ep. 9 The #1 Training Mistake Pickleball Players Over 50 Are Making 14:09

5M ago14:09

14:09

Download your FREE Nutrition Basics for Pickleball Athletes Guide here: https://silveredge.ac-page.com/eat-smart-play-strong-guide If you’re over 50 and still doing traditional workouts to support your pickleball game… this episode might ruffle a few feathers. In today’s show, Coach Kevin breaks down why conventional gym routines fall short when it…

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382: An Action-Packed Born a Crime Lesson Especially for Gen Alpha (Bet That) 30:14

5M ago30:14

30:14

Trevor Noah's Born a Crime is trending, and for good reason. I'm seeing the evidence everywhere. This spring, as I ran our curriculum book choice tournament across the high school levels and hundreds of teachers weighed in, I watched it soar to the finals in BOTH the 9th/10th category and the 11th/12th category. Then, as summer began and I opened u…

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381: What if We're thinking Too Small When it Comes to Short Stories? (And Sometimes, Not Small Enough) 7:21

5M ago7:21

7:21

I never met a short story I liked back in high school. If I was going to read, I wanted to READ. I wanted to get caught up in the plot, get to know the characters, inhabit the action, spend some time in another world. I certainly didn't want to finish half an hour after I began. No matter how lovely the language or innovative the miniature plot. My…

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380: The Easiest Last Day in ELA (Community Favorite) 8:19

6M ago8:19

8:19

Last year, at this time, I was preparing to move from Bratislava to California when I released the episode we're revisiting today, all about the easiest way to approach the last day in ELA. And it turned out to be the most popular episode I've ever released, with more than 25,000 teachers tuning in. So it seems only fitting that as the end of the y…

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379: 6 ELA Review Activities for a Strong Finish 13:44

6M ago13:44

13:44

A few engaging review activities for ELA come in handy around this time of year, as the calendar takes over and students pop off to random awards ceremonies, spirit events, and slideshows. Sometimes you see them for one day in a row, sometimes two, but getting in a groove is definitely a challenge! So, in case you're in search of creative review ac…

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378: Improve Student Evidence Analysis: Meet Mr. Skeptical 8:45

6M ago8:45

8:45

When it comes to evidence in their argument papers, students have a tendency to mic drop way too soon. "Here's my evidence, BOOOOOOOM!" you can almost hear them saying. Because right after the evidence, they move on. Oops. That's not what we want, and I bet you've written "be sure to analyze this evidence and explain how it proves your point" a few…

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377: Teaching Students to Write an Argument Introduction with Easy Puzzle Pieces 10:04

6M ago10:04

10:04

Sure, there's no one right way to write an argument paper. It can be three paragraphs, nine, or even seventeen. It can be loaded with research. It can be full of voice and personal anecdotes. It can be intensely academic, with a formal objective perspective and thirty-two sources cited with MLA. We want our students to understand the rich palette o…

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Conversations that Build Literacy Skills For All Students with Tricia Zucker | EP 27 32:01

6M ago32:01

32:01

It has long been said in the world of literacy education that reading and writing float on a sea of talk. What should we do when navigating students through those seas isn’t always easy? At times, it can be challenging to ensure that the academic discussions you have with students about a text avoid confusion and coddling. Fortunately, I got to tal…

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376: Gamifying Argument Basics 11:46

6M ago11:46

11:46

I have to admit my kids have got me fully invested in "Is it Cake?" At some point in England last year, someone begged for us to watch the show while we ate green pesto pasta on the couch after a long day of hiking in the New Forest, and I said sure. It was the beginning of our "Is it Cake?" era. We've gasped, we've squinted, we've cheered. We all …

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375: Try this Engaging Swift-Inspired Prompt with any Text 9:34

7M ago9:34

9:34

I miss the Eras tour. Even though it hasn't been that long. My daughter is requesting Wicked songs and Katy Perry in the car all of a sudden, instead of our usual Taylor Swift-a-thon. But I haven't forgotten the joys of the Swiftiverse. And today I want to share a prompt you could use with any poem, short story, or novel that comes from Taylor's mu…

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374: 5 Top Poetry Activities Worth Trying 14:35

7M ago14:35

14:35

It's poetry month, and that means it's time for me to share as many poetry activities, poetry projects, and poetry workshops as I can muster over here! Today, I'm going to walk you through a toolkit of creative poetry options for your ELA classroom. We'll start with one of my favorite introductory activities for any poetry unit, poetry collage, and…

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373: The Most Popular Books to Teach 9th and 10th Graders (Tournament Results) 22:27

7M ago22:27

22:27

This winter, inspired by cool bookish tournament projects by Melissa Alter Smith of Teach Living Poets and Jared Amato of Project Lit, I decided to launch my own English teacher-y tournament. I wanted to know - of the hundreds of amazing books out there - which were working BEST in the classroom for the teachers in our community? After polling over…

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372: Teaching Long Way Down? Flash Verse, Colorful Character Analysis, and Outside-the-Box Discussions 32:26

7M ago32:26

32:26

If you're teaching Long Way Down (and ready for some Long Way Down lesson plan ideas!), let me just start by saying "YAY!" It's a reader-maker, an incredible book you can teach in a short time with a high impact. Today, I'm going to be sharing some of my favorite ideas and resources for you to pair with this book. We'll talk about discussion format…

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371: Top Middle School Book Recommendations (A Teacher's Perspective) 28:06

8M ago28:06

28:06

Today's guest, middle school teacher Susan Taylor, has repeatedly gone the extra mile to build a reading program that makes an impact. Not only does she guide her students towards the best books available, she guides her teaching network the same way, through her podcast, Wonder World Book Cafe. Today, we're going to go rapid fire through her favor…

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370: An Easy Win for Differentiating Writing Instruction: Video Lessons 32:30

8M ago32:30

32:30

If you've ever felt stymied over the fact that some of your students aren't sure how to write a thesis while others are ready to tackle counterargument, today's episode is for you. Not so long ago, Kareem Farah of the Modern Classrooms Project was here to share the MCP vision for a differentiated blended classroom, and how it can support all learne…

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369: Highlight Real-World Connections for Any Book with this Easy Activity 5:08

8M ago5:08

5:08

It all started with 1984, as so many things do. I wanted students to see how the ideas in the book were splashed across the world around them - yes, in their magazines and ads, but also in the current events they saw on the news and the news sites covering them. So I asked them to create collages, connecting 1984 to their lives. As we put the colla…

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Students Owning the Learning With Starr Sackstein | EP 26 27:57

8M ago27:57

27:57

To what degree can students manage their own assessment process? The culture of our classrooms can reflect a fear of finding nuanced answers to this question. Fortunately, I got to talk with Starr Sackstein about her book, Student-Led Assessment: Promoting Agency and Achievement Through Portfolios and Conferences. Join us as we discuss what it mean…

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368: The Glue: One Thing You Need in Every ELA Unit 4:46

8M ago4:46

4:46

You've probably heard me talk about my first poetry slam. The project that became my go-to vehicle for teaching poetry every year that followed. The book I was handed - 6 American Poets - was chock full of great poetry. Dickinson, Whitman, Hughes… but I knew that I, like every paper worth reading, would need a solid hook. That's how I ended up stay…

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367: Gamify ELA Review with a Colorful Memory Game 8:04

9M ago8:04

8:04

I can still remember the faded, chipped blue print of my childhood game of Memory. The thick cardboard squares we flipped in search of pairs, thrilled when we found a match, frustrated when we accidentally revealed a match to our opponent. I've played a million games now as a parent too, watching my children's eyes light up when they rack up more m…

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366: ELA Electives with a Twist: Outside-the-Box Ideas to Inspire You 18:37

9M ago18:37

18:37

Teaching an ELA elective that you've dreamed up yourself is such a joy. Today I want to stir up some ideas together for the next time you've got the chance to put your own spin on an older course or propose a new course altogether. So let's start with a few questions: Would you rather take a course called "Theater" or "Contemporary Theater: The Tri…

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365: 3 Easy Ways to Help Kids Build Better Arguments 26:29

9M ago26:29

26:29

Like most of us, Christina Schneider didn't find teaching writing one bit easy at first. Despite her background as a journalist, putting all the puzzle pieces together in the classroom to help her students understand how to build a thesis, introduce and analyze evidence, and express their ideas felt like a pretty tough task. But over time she had o…

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364: Contemporary Authors to Feature this Black History Month (and all year long) 12:14

9M ago12:14

12:14

It's February, the perfect time to feature work by contemporary Black authors in your book talks, poetry clip showings, First Chapter Fridays, book displays, and bulletin boards. It's also a good time to look ahead to next year and consider whether you want to order some of these books for book clubs and whole class texts in the 2025-2026 school ye…

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363: The Secret Sauce to Help Students Care 14:00

9M ago14:00

14:00

How many times have you sat in a PD meeting that didn't apply to you? One where you were learning an 11 letter acronym for a strategy you'd never use, a 3 point plan for a new program that wouldn't fit with your curriculum, or a training you'd already had? A PD meeting that was... irrelevant. In their book, Disrupting Thinking: Why How We Read Matt…

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362: Art as Influencer: The Reason my Orwell Unit Failed and Why it Matters for your Students 23:39

10M ago23:39

23:39

I've been reading Kylene Beers and Bob Probst's Disrupting Thinking: How Why We Read Matters this week, and one of their points that has really come home for me is how often the standards and the pressure to boil books down to skills leads to pulling plot-based facts and point-based evidence out of a book, blocking opportunities for students to thi…

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361: Amplify Argument Engagement with a Mock Trial 4:24

10M ago4:24

4:24

This week I want to share a project idea that you can use for a ton of different texts - the mock trial. I'll tell you why the mock trial was one of my FAVORITE projects as a student, and one fun way I used it as a teacher. By the time you finish listening to this quick episode, I hope you'll be excited to put a mock trial into play in your own cla…

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360: The Ultimate Guide to One-Pagers 34:46

10M ago34:46

34:46

Open The New York Times today and you'll see photos, headlines, interactive infographics, audio, videos, and text articles. I could name almost any newspaper, magazine, social media platform, campaign website, or brand home page, and say the same. Communication today switches mediums like a chameleon switches colors wandering in a field of Skittles…

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359: Don't Send Emails that Make your Heart Race 3:49

10M ago3:49

3:49

This week I want to share a piece of advice that really comes from my wonderful husband and it's this: Don't send emails that make your heart race. That email will only make it worse. Let me explain. Just a few days ago I found myself in bed at eleven, eyes wide open in the dark, building an email in my mind. I laid there meticulously building a ca…

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358: Try this Easy New Year's Vision Board Activity 8:15

10M ago8:15

8:15

There's a lot of takes on the New Year and how it fits into our lives. There's the change-everything-starting-January-1 take. The New-Year-Same-Me take. The choose-your-word take. The pick-your-theme-song-take. There are SMART goals and stepping stone goals, personal goals and professional goals. Then of course there's the gentle twist that takes g…