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

November 08, 2022 Ep 110: 3 Productivity Mistakes that You Should Avoid as a Teacher
Being able to leave at the end of your contracted time means learning how to be more productive during the school day. While you may intend to get things done, you may make some productivity mistakes.

Good news! These 3 productivity mistakes can be fixed with a little effort and some mind-shift tweaks. In today's episode, we talk about the mistakes that may be holding you back PLUS the solutions to how to fix them.

If you've been wanting to know how to get more done during your school day so you can leave at your contracted time, this episode is for you.

Join the Black Friday waitlist to in-the-know:

https://khristenmassic.com/blackfriday

Download my FREE editable unit planning calendar:https://khristenmassic.com/calendar

Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach

Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khristenmassic/
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
November 01, 2022 Ep 109: 5 Ways to Maintain Work-life Balance While Being a CTSO Advisor
Have you been asked to be a CTSO advisor and yet want to maintain a work-life balance? Between myself and my welding-teaching husband, we have over 20 years of experience being CTSO advisors for SkillsUSA and TSA. Today I am going to be sharing 5 ways to maintain a work-life balance while being a CTSO advisor. We'll discuss everything from being co-advisors to setting boundaries. Plus, I'll share some examples of how we have adjusted our boundaries to support our CTSOs as the seasons have shifted in our lives. So, if you've been wondering whether or not you can be a CTSO advisor and yet still maintain a work-life balance (and leave the school at your contracted time on the majority of days), this episode is for you. Join the Black Friday waitlist to in-the-know: https://khristenmassic.com/blackfriday Download my FREE editable unit planning calendar:https://khristenmassic.com/calendar Shop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khristenmassic/
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
12 min
October 25, 2022Ep 108: The Quick and Effective Classroom Management Strategy for Any CTE Class
In this episode we discuss:

A simple whole-class reward system that is effective for classroom management

How to set up the system (with examples)

Why it works better than many other systems

Useful Links

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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
14 min
October 18, 2022Ep 107: The One Simple Planning Shift to Avoid the Sunday Scaries
In this episode we discuss:

How to adjust your planning so you escape the Sunday Scaries

What your planning for the following week’s lessons could look like

How you can save time by “rinsing and repeating” lesson types

Useful Links

Get Your Free Unit Planning Template

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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
13 min
October 11, 2022Ep 106: 3 Easy to use Time-Saving Apps for the Multi-prep CTE Teacher
In this episode we discuss:

The three apps that can save you time as a teacher

How to use each of the apps to help you be more productive

Useful Links

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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
October 04, 2022Ep 105: Why I Believe You Should Begin Promoting Next Year's CTE Classes Now
In this episode we discuss:

How planning now can save you from stress and overwhelm

What you can update now to prepare

How to easily “promote” your current courses on your school’s website

Useful Links

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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
12 min
September 27, 2022Ep 104: 5 Steps to Stop Feeling Overwhelmed During Your Prep Period
In this episode we discuss:

How feelings of overwhelm come from not knowing what to do next

How to utilize a braindump any time of the day

The steps to take to prioritize your planning time blocks during the school day

Useful Links

5 Steps for Getting Things Done FREE Guide

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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
September 20, 2022Ep 103: 3 Tips for Avoiding Teacher Burnout as a Multi-Prep CTE Teacher
In this episode we discuss:

What boundaries you should set for yourself to keep your work at the school

How to combine focused work and breaks to get things done

How to reduce overwhelm by narrowing your focus

Useful Links

Truth for Teachers Article

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Find me on Facebook

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
September 13, 2022Ep 102: 3 Simple Ways to Help Your Students Feel Comfortable in Your Classroom
In this episode we discuss:

How predictability and familiarity can help your students feel comfortable

Where you can focus in your classroom to help students

Quick adjustments you can make

Useful Links

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Find me on Facebook

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
12 min
September 06, 2022Ep 101: Start Doing These 4 Things Now to Leave School at Your Contract Time
In this episode we discuss:

Mindset shifts that can help you get more done during the school day

What do these shifts look like as a teacher

What you can start doing during your prep to be more productive

Useful Links

Faith Mariah's Website

Shop My Teachers Pay Teachers Store

Follow Me on Instagram

Connect with me on LinkedIn

Find me on Facebook

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

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)