Answers May Vary
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Reflections on Leaving the Classroom: One Year Later
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We left the classroom a little more than a year ago and are reflecting on what we've learned and new perspectives we have gained as a result of o...
Plays to Teach in Your High School English Classroom
07 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As a teacher, deciding which plays to teach is a rite of passage all its own. Will you stick to the classics or branch out and try something new? Will...
Is English Class Still Relevant? ELA Skills Students Need
24 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode of the podcast, we're discussing whether traditional ELA instruction provides our students with the skills they most need outside...
Class Discussion Strategies to Get Everyone Participating
10 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ideally, we'd like to have all of our students participating in class discussion. When too many students aren't participating, we start wo...
What We've Learned from Our Most Challenging Students
26 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The difficulties posed by challenging students and classes can really wear a teacher down. Our misery will often make us desperate and open us to all ...
Five(ish) Simple Strategies for Building Reading Stamina
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you dread those days when you're expecting your students to read in class? If your students don't like to read: not independently, not co...
Improving Parent-Teacher Communication
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How do you feel about your level of parent-teacher communication? Is it something you've got down? Is it your teacher superpower? Or, are you lik...
Long Time, No Break
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
March is, arguably, the worst month for teachers, though October certainly puts up a good fight for itself. We’ve been teaching the same students fo...
Writing a Research Paper? Try Career Research
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Many students are overwhelmed by the seemingly insurmountable task of writing a research paper and emerging writers often shut down because there&apos...
Teaching Writing Can Be a Struggle
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do you feel like you’re trying strategy after strategy to improve your students’ writing . . . and none of them is really working? You’re not al...
How to Introduce a New Book Into Your Curriculum
01 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Have you found a NEW text that you want to add to your curriculum? First of all, congrats! Introducing students to books (they will hopefully love) ...
Novels We Love and Hate to Teach
18 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This week's dilemma will be a familiar one for any teacher who has been teaching the same prep for a few years: “I want to change the novels I’...
School Grading Systems: Trying to Make Sense of Grades
04 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Traditional grading, standards-based grading, grade floors, it’s all enough to make any teacher’s head spin. What does a student's grade re...
How to Reset for a New Semester
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We've all been there before. At some point during the fall semester, the wheels started coming off the bus, the train went off the tracks . . . f...
Teachers Under Pressure: Semester Grades
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grades. Pressure. Anxiety. For us, these three words were inextricably linked with December (and May) for years. We started to feel the nasty pangs in...
Academic Dishonesty: How to Deal With Cheating in Your Classroom
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Cheating in the classroom is as much a part of the school experience as bad cafeteria lunches and popular cliques you're not a part of. It doesn&...
Whole Class Discussions: Finding What Works for You
17 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A lively and engaging whole class discussion. We imagine ourselves sitting perched on a stool, steaming cup of coffee in hand, listening to our studen...
Teacher Tips: Responding to Criticism (Because It's Inevitable)
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Whether it comes from parents, students, counselors, or administrators, as a teacher, you will inevitably hear criticism about the decisions you make ...
Grading Papers: Help Managing Your Grading Load
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Managing the grading load is one of the worst parts of teaching, especially in the ELA classroom where the stacks of essays seem only to grow the long...
Learning More About the Flipped Classroom
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The flipped classroom model has a lot to offer teachers and can be a great benefit to students, but many are reluctant to give it a try. We get it; ...
Navigating Assessments in the ELA Classroom
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We may not always like it, but assessments are an important part of what we do as classroom teachers. But in an ELA classroom, it’s sometimes hard t...
Classroom Management Tips for Secondary Teachers
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An often ignored topic for middle school and high school teachers is classroom management. If we get any training, the strategies and ideas are geared...
How to Improve What You Find on the Internet
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Teachers cannot do it all, nor is it reasonable to expect them to! Let's normalize purchasing lesson plans, unit plans, and resources because, ne...
How to Be an Effective Contributor in Your PLC
06 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Joining a PLC is like joining a family. Sometimes you fit right in and it feels like you were born into it. Other times there are growing pains and dy...
Being Real About What You Can (and Cannot) Expect to Accomplish as a Teacher
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part of teacher self-care is knowing what you realistically can and cannot be responsible for, and blurring those categories is one of the quickest pa...
Trying Something Different This Back-to-School Night
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are you looking for Back to School Night ideas for your middle school or high school classroom? In this episode, we share our experience making the ev...
Helpful Beginning of the School Year Lessons and Units
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first few weeks of school are an important but frantic time, and we’ve found high-interest activities that introduce or review foundational skil...
Making the Most of the First Week of School
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The first week of school is an important one, yet it can also be awkward and feel overwhelming trying to find an approach that works for you. There ar...
It's Time to Up Your LMS Game
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You've used Google Classroom, but now you want to try something more robust. You've tried Canvas, but are feeling a little intimidated. This...
Back to School Shopping: Outfitting Your Classroom
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's just about Back to School time here in California. It's a fresh start for students and teachers, and Answers May Vary. Welcome to Sea...
Why We Left the Classroom
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It’s no surprise that growing numbers of teachers are quitting, in large part due to teacher burnout. In this week’s episode, we share what led us...
Being Proactive About Teacher Self-Care
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Teacher self-care is never going to fit into our busy schedules unless we are proactive about making space for it. In this week’s episode, we discus...
Things You Can Do to Help Yourself Stay Organized This School Year
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Keeping your classroom organized is one of the first steps toward preserving your sanity. No matter what grade you teach, we’re sharing organization...
Finding an Independent Reading Program that Works for You
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Independent reading is an important part of any ELA classroom, but it can be challenging to find meaningful activities to engage students and hold the...
All That Miscellaneous ELA "Stuff"
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Grammar, vocabulary, literary devices, college application essays (if you're teaching seniors) plus our regular ELA curriculum - how are we suppo...
How to Make an Old Text Relevant to Today's Students
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Textbooks and curriculums are often slow to change, and unless your school has funding (and a desire) to purchase supplemental curriculum and texts, i...
How to Make the Textbook Work for You
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week we're talking about the dreaded textbook dilemma: "Help! I don't like my curriculum." Not all of us have the option to g...
Helping Students Meet Your Expectations
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week's dilemma: I created what I thought was a great assignment with a reasonable rubric / answer key, and students are not doing what I wan...
Why We Stopped Assigning Homework
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
While homework has long been a traditional part of the middle school and high school English class, we moved away from assigning homework to something...
Winding Down Your School Year
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Give your future fall self a helping by hand by completing some (or all) of these steps before you leave your classroom for the summer. Related blog ...
The Unit Plan Dilemma
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It can be overwhelming to plan a brand new unit. In this episode we share what we do and talk about in our first "official" planning meeting...
First Year Mistakes
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We take a trip down memory lane and recall some of the mistakes we each made in our first year(s) of teaching. Does any of it sound familiar?Learn mor...
Meet Cute
26 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this not-quite-sode, we share how we came to the profession and how we started working together. Do you relate to the "gung ho [born] teacher&...