reThink ELA Podcast: Recent Episodes
Michelle Waters
Hosted by Secondary English Language Arts teacher Michelle Waters, reThink ELA offers strategies, products, and expert advice to help teachers build student-centered, socially conscious, and real-world relevant middle and high school English classes.
In years past, teachers were seen as the authoritative, all-knowing figure who determined a student's success with their choices of literature, assignments, and tests. As you might remember from your own school years, this type of power struggle didn't benefit all the students. If anything, many students became less engaged in classroom discussion and viewed […]
I'm thrilled to welcome fellow University of Oklahoma Ph.D. program student Christine Chapman to discuss some important steps to building trust in the classroom. This topic is especially important to me as a White woman serving diverse communities. I know this topic is important outside of my context since 80 percent of public school teachers […]
How do you feel about using ChatGPT in English classes? I know, that's a loaded question with lots of teacher reactions running the gamut from loving the idea of learning something new to dreading the day students will use this tool to cheat on their writing assignments. Even if you had a middle-of-the-road reaction, I invite […]
The idea of "going gradeless" in today's traditional schools is a new concept to parents but one that will ensure their children learn instead of simply learning for the sake of passing a test. My guest is Deanna Lough who has taught for the better part of two decades, at both middle and high school levels. […]
How often do you think about the culture of your school, or even your classroom? Is it a place where different opinions are welcome? Or do your students feel like they need to tailor their assignments to please your viewpoint? Andre Daughty has spent many years of his career teaching teachers and administrators about how important […]
Sticking to your "tried and true" writing prompts can make your workflow easier, but when it comes to adolescent writing motivation, sometimes a change of pace is necessary. Just because last year's class loved what you presented doesn't mean that this year's class will find the same motivation to share their stories. In today's episode, I […]
Note: Scroll down to access the podcast player. As wonderful as the internet is in today's modern world, it also provides a host of threats that students don't understand or don't want to believe can affect them. Online safety training is one area of knowledge that seems to fall upon ELA teachers to dispense, simply […]
Note: Scroll down to access the podcast player. I’m pleased to be joined by a repeat guest today, Dr. Jennie Hanna. You might remember she was a guest on Episode 16 where we talked about how to make military children feel safe and seen in the classroom when so many feel they should recede into […]
When it comes to inspiring kids to write, it's one thing for a teacher to praise students for their skills and creativity but it's another thing entirely to SHOW them that they can become a published author. And that's exactly what Project VOICE aims to do. Jamie Hinds and Savanna Payne are the creators of Project […]
A large part of gaining the trust of a classroom full of students is to get to know them on a personal basis. Yes, it's difficult when you have a hundred or so students parading through your classroom on a daily basis; however, taking an interest in their lives leads to real, authentic learning. So, let […]
When choosing literature for your students to read and discuss, there's always much discussion about selecting books in which the students can see themselves. When they can relate to the characters in a book -- due to their environment, character traits, or life experiences -- students become more interested in the larger discussion. However, many teachers […]
Teachers around the United States are finding themselves on the frontlines of a cultural battle that has heated up significantly in recent months. Book banning and legislation that seeks to prevent teachers from doing their actual jobs have taken to new levels the historical battles between conscientious English Language Arts teachers and institutions within the […]
One of the most important things teachers can do is impact students’ lives by creating spaces for them to discover their passions and use their voices. This is integral for student success—especially for students who struggle in the confining spaces many schools create. My guest, despite successful leadership in and out of the classroom, found […]
Knowing their reading audience helps authors to craft their books and create their story arcs. Understanding the pain points of their audience and the problems they struggle with the most helps to identify which topics should be included in the manuscript. Similarly, teachers need to know their students and their background and maturity level to […]
Experienced adult writers are intimidated by the NaNoWriMo project, which entails writing a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. Who thought up such an event when writing is usually a much longer labor of love? Now imagine the faces of 8th graders when presented with this project? A teaching veteran of 30 years, […]
So much scrutiny is placed upon teachers and the classroom these days, especially when it comes to how students are learning critical thinking skills – or IF they're learning critical thinking skills. Sometimes the “old school” ways of teaching simply don't work and new techniques need to be tested. TQE is one such technique […]
Have you ever thought back to when you were in school and how you learned the rules of grammar and how to write? What techniques did your teachers use? Do you find that you're implementing those exact same rules in your own classroom today? Some things bear updating and the ways in which we teach […]
When I talk to other teacher friends, a common concern seems to be how to get our students engaged in the classroom lessons. So many students seem apathetic about their education, and it's up to us to be creative in piquing their interest. One such way to engage kids and to teach them a multitude […]
Every single person on this earth has a voice. They have a unique story to be told. But how many of us actually use our voices and make our stories, thoughts, and opinions known to others? So many adults grow up thinking their voices don't matter or that their opinions are unimportant. Some even believe […]
How would your students react if you didn't give them any parameters for a project and simply told them to “figure it out”? Is this asking for trouble by putting the kids in charge of the classroom or is it an exercise in critical thinking and collaboration? In traditional classrooms, students are often given a […]
How much time do you allow your students to write in class? What is the appropriate amount of time you think kids need to write? Or are you so busy lecturing (Just say no!) that you send them home to do their writing? While the appropriate amount of writing time may be arbitrary and subjective […]