The Secondary Teacher | Elective Teacher Resources, Secondary Teacher Strategies, and Teacher Planning

By Khristen Massic | Elective Teacher Resources, Secondary Teacher Strategies, Teacher PlanningEducation How To Courses

The Secondary Teacher | Elective Teacher Resources, Secondary Teacher Strategies, and Teacher Planning episodes

January 28, 2025 Ep 254: How to Build Confidence as a Multi-Prep Teacher
In this episode, we're diving into something every multi-prep middle and high school teacher needs but rarely talks about—confidence.
Juggling multiple preps can feel like a circus act, but what if I told you that confidence, not just organization, is your secret weapon?
We’re breaking down how trusting yourself, leveraging what already works, and celebrating progress, not perfection, can transform your teaching journey.
We'll also explore how technology, like AI, can ease your workload.
Tune in to build those confidence muscles so you can thrive, not just survive, in the classroom!
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
7 min
January 21, 2025 Ep 253: 3 Ways AI Can Simplify Your Multi-Prep Planning
Hey there, multi-prep teachers! Are you ready to cut your lesson planning time in half?
In this episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, I'm dishing out three super simple ways that AI can become your ultimate teaching assistant.
From creating engaging bell ringers in seconds to streamlining lesson plans and repurposing existing content, it's all about working smarter, not harder. Imagine having more time to focus on what truly matters—connecting with your students and making learning fun!
Join me as we explore how AI can help you juggle those multiple preps like a pro.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
9 min
January 14, 2025 Ep 252: The Year I Finally Took Control of My Multi-Prep Chaos—And How You Can Too
Are you a secondary multiple prep teacher feeling buried under the chaos of juggling lesson plans, grading, and emails?
Trust me, I've been there.
In this episode, I'm diving into how I transformed my teaching experience by taking control of my multi-prep chaos.
From simplifying systems with batching and repurposing lessons to leveraging AI for efficiency and setting boundaries to protect family time, you'll discover practical strategies to reduce overwhelm and reclaim control.
So grab your favorite beverage and let's chat about making your teaching life more manageable and rewarding.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
11 min
January 07, 2025 Ep 251: 5 Achievable Goals to Start the Year Strong as a Multi-Prep Teacher
Join me in this episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, where I share five achievable goals to help you start the year strong.
From creating an efficient weekly planning system to harnessing the power of AI for your class tasks, these strategies will simplify your workload and protect your time.
Ready to turn that multi-prep madness into a well-oiled machine? Hit play and let's get started!
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
11 min
January 01, 2025 [Top 5 of 2024] Ep 227: First Days of School: Building Classroom Culture and Establishing Routines for Secondary Teachers
Ready to conquer those first days of school? In this episode, I've got tips on setting up your classroom, engaging icebreakers, and giving your students a sneak peek into what's ahead.
Let's kick off the new academic year with confidence and excitement.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
17 min
December 30, 2024 [Top 5 of 2024] Ep 228: Syllabus Introductions: Tips for a New School Year
This episode is all about ways to introduce your syllabus, perfect for juggling multiple preps.
Whether you're new to a school or just want to spice things up, I've got practical tips to engage your students from the start.
Tune in for time-saving approaches to make the syllabus introduction a breeze and kickstart your school year with a bang!
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
8 min
December 28, 2024 [Top 5 of 2024] Ep 231: 5 Game-Changing Hacks for Teachers
In this episode, I'm diving into some awesome teaching hacks that have saved my sanity over the years. From student conferences that foster meaningful connections to the magic of bell ringers for smoother classroom management, I've got you covered.
Plus, I'll share why proactive communication with parents can be a game-changer and how to harness the power of AI to lighten your workload.
Trust me, these tricks will help you not just survive, but thrive as a multiple prep teacher. So grab your coffee and get ready to revolutionize your teaching game with these practical tips.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
15 min
December 26, 2024 [Top 5 of 2024] Ep 229: Back to School Overwhelm: How to Prioritize Your Teacher Tasks
Hey there, secondary teachers! Feeling overwhelmed with the back-to-school buzz?
Join me on this episode as I share my process for prioritizing tasks and getting organized, especially for those first few weeks back.
From brain dumping all your to-dos to breaking them down into manageable chunks, and even delegating tasks to your students and TA's, I've got you covered.
Plus, I'll share a nifty online tool to help you break down those larger tasks into bite-sized pieces. So, grab your coffee and get ready to tackle the school year like a pro. Let's make this back-to-school transition smoother and set ourselves up for a successful year ahead.
Goblin Tools Magic To Do: https://goblin.tools/
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
11 min
December 24, 2024 [Top 5 of 2024] Ep 222: Classroom Management and Lesson Structure: Maximizing Student Engagement
In this week's episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, I'm diving into the best way to structure lessons for high school personal finance in 90-minute blocks.
Whether you're a CTE teacher or just looking for some solid teaching strategies, I'll be sharing valuable insights that I've gathered over my 10 years of teaching, as well as my experience as an administrator.
I'll break down lesson plan templates and different class period structures, so you can reduce overwhelm and thrive in your classroom.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
10 min
December 17, 2024 Ep 250: Balancing Personal and Professional Life Over Winter Break
In this episode, we'll dive into the challenges of balancing personal and professional life over winter break.
We'll tackle how to transition from the disillusionment phase to rejuvenation by setting healthy boundaries, like turning off those pesky work email notifications, and decluttering both your mind and space.
Plus, I'll share some tips on letting go of perfection and embracing grace as we enter the new semester.
Tune in for some practical advice and leave feeling ready to genuinely recharge! Don't forget to set your own boundaries and discover what brings you joy during this well-deserved break.
Grab the Secondary Teacher Systems Toolkit here: https://khristenmassic.thrivecart.com/systemstoolkit/?ref=pod
Planning for the next school year? If your day is organized by class period, your planning calendar should be too. Grab my Editable Class Period Calendar here: https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod
Get the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/reset
Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
Mentioned in this episode:
Simplify Your Preps Collective
Join us in the free community of multi-prep teachers, the Simplify Your Preps Collective www.khristenmassic.com/collective
8 min

About The Secondary Teacher | Elective Teacher Resources, Secondary Teacher Strategies, and Teacher Planning

From the publisher's feed

**Are you looking for secondary teacher strategies, elective teacher resources, and teacher planning systems that actually work when you're juggling multiple preps?**

Are you drowning in lesson planning and still taking work home every night?

Wondering if managing your workload is even possible when every class needs something different?

Let's be honest… your planning period disappears fast.

If that sounds like you, you're in the right place.

This podcast is for overwhelmed secondary teachers—especially elective teachers, CTE teachers, and any multiple prep teacher—who are tired of feeling behind and need practical secondary teacher strategies built for the reality of teaching multiple courses.

You'll learn how to simplify teacher planning, build classroom routines that reduce your workload, and find elective teacher resources that help you keep students engaged without creating everything from scratch.

Because you don't need a better planner.

You need systems that fit the reality of your secondary classroom.

Hi, I'm Khristen Massic.

I'm a former high school teacher in career technical education who spent 10 years teaching courses like engineering, drafting, robotics, digital media, and more—and at one point, I taught **nine preps in a single school year**.

I've also worked as a middle school assistant principal and now support teachers at the district level, so I've seen the teacher workload from multiple angles.

And here's what I learned the hard way:

It's not that you're bad at teacher planning.

It's that most planning systems were never built for teachers juggling this many different classes.

I used to overplan, rebuild everything from scratch, and try to make every lesson perfect—until it became completely unsustainable.

What changed?

I stopped chasing perfect plans and started building simple, repeatable systems.

Now I help secondary teachers simplify teacher planning, reuse what already works, and actually finish something during their prep period.

Inside this podcast, you'll find:

* Secondary teacher strategies for managing multiple preps without constant overwhelm

* Teacher planning systems that help you decide what to work on first and actually finish it

* Elective teacher resources that save time without sacrificing meaningful learning

* Classroom routines that reduce decision fatigue and keep your day running without constant effort

* Low-prep classroom games and engaging lessons that support student engagement without hours of prep

* Secondary teacher tips for protecting your planning period and getting more work done during the school day

* Systems for repurposing lessons across career technical education, electives, and other courses

* Practical strategies for CTE teachers, elective teachers, and any multiple prep teacher constantly switching between courses

* Teacher productivity strategies that help you reduce your Teacher workload and protect your time

* Practical ways to use AI to support teacher planning without turning it into one more thing you have to learn

You don't need to do it all.

You need systems that work.

If you're ready to spend less time reinventing lessons, feel more in control of your planning, protect your evenings, and still show up for your students…

**Hit play.**

### Next Steps

Grab your free resources to start simplifying your teacher planning right away:

🎯 **2026–2027 Secondary Teacher Editable Unit/Lesson Planning Calendar**

https://khristenmassic.com/secondarycalendarpod

🎯 **Planning Period Reset Toolkit**

https://khristenmassic.com/reset

Find more ready-to-use elective teacher resources in my Teachers Pay Teachers store:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/khristen-massic-cte-teacher-coach

Learn more at:

[www.khristenmassic.com](http://www.khristenmassic.com)