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 year approaches once again, and my life is ONCE AGAIN in boxes, preparing for our move on Thursday for a very new and exciting job for my husband in the Midwest, I would share this episode one more time.

I hope it will make your last day of school a fun, creative, LOW-STRESS day that gives you a chance to say goodbye to your kiddos in a way that feels meaningful and relaxed. 

Lighthouse members, you'll find the last day stations in your seasonal section under "Spring." 

For folks in search of my version of these stations on TPT, here they are: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Last-Day-of-School-Stations-for-ELA-13423108

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Camp Creative: Your Shiny New Short Story Toolbox is coming June 23-27.

In this fun and free 5 day summer workshop, you’ll…

⭐ Learn about 5 fabulous short story options from me (plus SO MANY others from the thousands of other teachers at camp!)

⭐ Walk through 5 creative out-of-their-seats and/or outside-the-box short story lessons (bye bye, comprehension questions)

⭐ Take away 5 classroom-ready curriculum kits for next year (hello, major time-savers!)

Each day’s materials are designed to take just 10 minutes to peruse, and they come straight to your email so you can join us day by day or, if you're busy (or still teaching), catch up later.

Sign up here: https://sparkcreativity.kartra.com/page/CC2025

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 activities that will get students looking back over all that they've learned before a final project or exam, or just before heading off into the summer horizon, here are six. I'm going to base them on a fun review choice board I made for The Lighthouse seasonal section. So, Lighthouse members, be sure to snag it if you like the sound of all this! And if you're not in The Lighthouse yet, it will be opening up in June for new folks, so be sure you're on my email list so you don't miss the invitation.

Go Further: 

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

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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! 

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 (hundred) times.

So what do we do? How do we make the idea MEMORABLE that students must analyze their evidence before moving on?

There are a lot of helpful tricks and acronyms floating around out there - the quotation burger, "R.A.C.E." and "P.E.E." for example. And I think those are helpful bases from which to build. But this week on the pod, I want to try a humorous, real-world twist that can complement any of these. Something I hope will be memorable for your students. Something you can reference with a laugh and keep students interested.

Meet Mr. Skeptical.

Go Further: 

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

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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! 

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 of tools available to them, and mentor texts, varied writing assignments, and encouragement to try new things are all so important.

But so is a place to start.

Just as I think the 5 paragraph essay isn't dead, because we need it sometimes for skill foundations, I think a clear and simple formula for introductions can be really helpful for students who are struggling to write and organize a coherent argument.

Honestly, it's the base I used for my English papers through my B.A. AND M.A. in English literature, and the one I made sure all my students knew how to use when they needed it. It's the foundation for more complex options. So today, I'm going to talk you through it.

Go Further: 

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

Get my popular free hexagonal thinking digital toolkit

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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! 

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 love trying to tell which one is a purse and which one is a cake, and we've all exclaimed in SHOCK over those cake-based faux-leather laces.

All of which is not really an ad for the show, but just my introduction for today's idea for gamifying the study of thesis statements.

Because you guessed it, we're all about to ask ourselves... IS IT A THESIS?

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Grab the free Better Discussions toolkit

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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 music, specifically her approach to bridges.

Links Mentioned:

Watch "Diary of a Song" from The New York Times about Taylor Swift's Song "Lover" (the key section begins at 6:52): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEeWmItgdxA 

Read "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu: https://gizmodo.com/read-ken-lius-amazing-story-that-swept-the-hugo-nebula-5958919 

Short Story Unit for "The Paper Menagerie": https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Short-Story-Unit-for-The-Paper-Menagerie-13421406 

Go Further: 

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides

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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! 

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 then go full steam ahead through poetry one-pagers, blackout poetry, great performances and verse texts, I am From poems, a colorful poetry annotation activity, and more!

Go Further: 

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

Snag three free weeks of community-building attendance question slides

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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! 

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 2000 teachers over in Creative High School English for their favorites in 9th/10th grade (11th and 12th grade coming soon!), I landed on 16 great titles and we've been voting ever since.

Today on the pod, I'll be sharing the top titles and some of the comments and rationales teachers have shared along with their votes. If you're looking for a new book for your curriculum, or you're curious what other teachers are focusing on in theirs, today's show will help!

See the links below for comments and voting from teachers throughout the tournament (additional voting happened live through Instagram stories which I can't as easily share):

• The initial poll calling for titles for the tournament

The Round of Sixteen:

• Long Way Down vs. The Book Thief
• Animal Farm vs. Romeo and Juliet
• Night vs. Macbeth
• Fahrenheit vs. Of Mice and Men 
• The Odyssey vs. The Lord of the Flies
• Speak vs. The House on Mango Street
• Dear Martin vs. Born a Crime
• The Firekeeper’s Daughter vs. The Poet X

The Quarterfinals:

• Long Way Down vs. Lord of the Flies
• Night vs. House on Mango Street
• F451 vs. Born a Crime
• Romeo and Juliet vs. The Poet X

The Semifinals:

• Night vs. Long Way Down
• Poet X vs. Born a Crime

The Finals:

• Night vs. Born a Crime.

If your podcast player doesn't support links in the show notes, you can find the full show notes with graphics and links at nowsparkcreativity.com. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the voting and shared your thoughts and experiences!

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! 

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 formats, project ideas, Jason Reynolds-themed multimedia waiting around the web, and a creative writing pairing that I think you're going to love too.

Heads up, as I’m sure you’re aware, this book does have some language. You may need to give a heads up to parents, depending on your school community. But you can, at the same time, mention the Walter Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Printz Award, Newberry Honor Book Award, etc. Maybe throw in the fact that the Library of Congress named him the national ambassador for Young People’s Literature. 

Here's a quick peek at the visuals available in the FULL BLOG POST: https://nowsparkcreativity.com/2025/04/long-way-down-lesson-ideas.html. 

Discussion Option: Hexagonal Thinking

Discussion Option: Silent Discussion on the Walls

Activity Option: Flash Verse Creative Writing

Activity Option: The Open Mind for Character Analysis

Links to Explore:

• One example of conversations happening in Creative High School English about Long Way Down in our Book Brackets
• Dear, Dreamer documentary about Jason Reynolds
• Long Way Down graphic novel opening
• There was a Party for Langston read aloud
• Ain't Burned all the Bright trailer
• Jason Reynolds on working with artist Danica Novgorodoff
• Long Way Down Curriculum 

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 favorites to recommend to students, and why she likes them so much.

You'll walk away with fantastic recommendations for novels-in-verse, graphic novels, historical fiction, and much more. You'll discover Susan's top pick for First Chapter Friday, the one book she thinks every classroom library should have, and the superb (easy-to-copy) way she helps students recommend books to each other all year long as part of their regular reading routine.

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!