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 for Youth Literature, Jason Reynolds. In my opinion it’s perfect for 9th and 10th graders, but really, there’s a lot there for students of any age. It tells the tale of Will Holloman, a teenager trapped in a cycle of violence by “The Rules” of his neighborhood - No Crying, No Snitching, Get Revenge. He’s watched every man in his life fall to gun violence because of the rules, and now that his brother has been killed, the rules are set to snare him. Until he steps onto a very unexpected elevator ride.

In today’s episode of “Plan My Lesson,” we’ll be planning a class period focused on the dialogue between Long Way Down, the novel-in-verse, and Long Way Down, the graphic novel.

This week's request comes from an educator teaching a new graphic narratives course - which, by the way, sounds amazing. She’d like help crafting a lesson that guides students in comparing the two texts side-by-side, so that’s what we’re going to do!

Whether you teach a version of Long Way Down, a different text that’s been translated into a graphic novel, any other graphic novel, or even none of the above, I think you’ll find new ideas for your lesson planning today. After we walk through the lesson itself, we’ll be talking about helpful takeaways from designing THIS lesson that you can apply to designing ANY lesson, so be sure to stay tuned to the end.

Grab the free Long Way Down lesson plan curriculum set here: https://sparkcreativity.kartra.com/page/1Eq309

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

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.

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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 up this new podcast series, "Plan My Lesson" (which starts today, right now), I immediately received three separate requests for Born a Crime lessons. Naturally, with this book soaring in popularity but new to the scene, there isn't that much out there being shared yet.

One teacher was searching for ways to get students connecting the text to the 5 key themes of the I.B. curriculum (identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization, and sharing the planet). Another teacher was planning to use it as an anchor for a memoir class, and still another wanted to help students identity rhetorical devices inside while also developing their question-asking skills and connecting key moments in the text with argument claims.

Is it possible to fulfill all these needs with one lesson? I think so. What we want is an in-depth lesson on a section of Trevor Noah's Born a Crime, with a focus on connecting its big ideas to big ideas in our world today and in students' own lives, exploring text passages carefully along the way for writer's craft moves and theme development. And of course, we want it to be engaging. And fit neatly in one class period.

So today, in the first of our summer "Plan My Lesson" series of podcasts, let's dive into planning an engaging, goal-fulfilling lesson for Trevor Noah's Born a Crime. Whether or not you're teaching this book, you'll find lots of ideas for lesson planning here. After we walk through the lesson itself, we'll be talking about helpful takeaways from designing THIS lesson that you can apply to designing ANY lesson, so be sure to stay tuned to the end. I'll also be telling you how to grab all the curriculum for this lesson totally free. So let's dive in!

Grab all the materials for today's lesson free here: https://sparkcreativity.kartra.com/page/bornacrimelesson

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!

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

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 eyes just drifted over short story sections at bookstores and libraries like they weren't there, and I honestly can't remember the name of a single story I read in high school that has stayed with me.

I know, I know, I should start my podcast with a more chipper intro. But here's the thing - I've got a new take on the world of short stories. Yes, I could talk to you about the stunning language of Hemingway short stories I discovered in grad school. (Here's looking at you, "Hills like White Elephants"). Or I could share Ursula LeGuin's unique Giver-in-miniature, Those Who Walk Away from Omelas (though you might have a little trouble keeping everyone serious during the paragraph about orgies). I could even dig into Poe, that intriguingly murky figure, with his loveably creepy Raven, and how well he lends himself to escape rooms.

But I've shared about popular classic short stories before. And reviewed popular contemporary collections for teens too. Even given you a walkthrough of designing an escape room for Poe.

Today, my aim is a bit different. As Camp Creative: Your Shiny New Short Story Toolbox, my summer Pd session gets closer (you can join us free here), I've been thinking a lot about different takes on the short story. Flash stories, audio stories, verse stories, graphic stories, multigenre stories. What if we added THESE to our short story toolbox?

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

Go Further:

Explore alllll the Episodes of The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast.

Grab the free Better Discussions 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!

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

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!

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.

Get my popular free hexagonal thinking digital 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!

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.

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!

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

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!