New Year, New Season, New Ways to Empower Students

Rhetoric is All Around

🎙️ Season 2 Episode 5 - Rhetoric is All Around   Today’s episode is all about how rhetoric (like love) is “all around!” Hannah and Ana bring in their favorite ways to set the foundation for introducing rhetorical appeals, and lessons that help students confidently transfer their knowledge to more complex ideas and perspectives.   Hannah’s Favs: - Check out Hannah’s Rhetoric Bundle [https://www.teachengagingela.com/product-page/the-rhetoric-bundle] for her “hot takes” rhetoric introduction lessons, rhetoric in iconic movie monologues, and transferable to any textbook lesson on MLK speeches.   Ana's Faves: - lalala - Check out rockstar teacher extraordinaire Tabitha Ginther and her innovative approach to teaching rhetoric using a zombie apocalypse [https://www.gpb.org/innovation-in-teaching/zombie-apocalypse-introduction-rhetoric]   Rapid Fire Recs: Speeches - Barbie: Gloria to Barbies and all women - Dead Poets Society: Keaton to students - Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Elizabeth to all the pirates - Rocky Balboa: Rocky and his Son - A Few Good Men: Courtroom “you can’t handle the truth!” - Hidden Figures: Courtroom and “work like a dog” - Good Will Hunting: Bench Scene - The Dark Knight Joker “Why So Serious” - The Dark Knight Batman: “Whatever Gotham needs me to be” to Commissioner Gordon - 10 Things I Hate About You: “I hate the way you…” - Remember the Titans: “The Battle of Gettysburg” - "Dear Basketball": Kobe Bryant (go see our poetry episode for more!) - Hopper’s Letter to El in Stranger Things Season 3   Rapid Fire Recs: Tech for Writing Fun - We Will Write [https://wewillwrite.com/] - Frankenstories [https://frankenstories.writelike.org/] - My Short Answer [https://myshortanswer.com/]     If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution.   👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela   You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com [http://www.teachengagingela.com] Ana → www.simplyanap.com [http://www.simplyanap.com]   💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!

For the Love of Books

🎙️ Season 2 Episode 4 - For the Love of Books!    In today’s episode, we discuss the philosophy of “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” when it comes to fostering a love of reading in our classrooms through designated SSR and choice reads. Before this episode, we pulled 5 books from our bookshelf at random. We have no idea what the other chose; we simply let destiny run the conversation today, as our own libraries represent who we are, and the philosophy of “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.”   Hannah's Grabs: * Neverwhere: Neil Gaiman * Saga: Brian K. Vaughn * Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck * Just for the Summer: Abby Jimenez * The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: V.E. Schwab * Hope Leslie: Catherine Maria Sedgwick   Ana's Grab's: * Fragile Thing: Neil Gaiman * Just Mercy: Brian Stevenson * We Were Liars: E. Lockhart * Verity: Colleen Hoover * I Am Rebel: Ross Montgomery * The Slight Edge: Jeff Olsen   Another essential site we LOVE - Doesthedogdie.com [https://www.doesthedogdie.com/]   Ana's Freebie: Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors Annotation Task [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qQIZPXAcEvCYMcdC4dj7osWIC9IYjjmBCfFLJCy5mpI/copy]   If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution.   👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela   You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com [http://www.teachengagingela.com] Ana → www.simplyanap.com [http://www.simplyanap.com]   💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!

How We Romeo and Juliet

🎙️ Season 2 Episode 2 - How We Romeo and Juliet    One of THE most popular, and right of passage texts for 9th grade students. How do we take this tragic “love story” and make it engaging and accessible to our students?   In this episode, we dive into our favorite ways to bring Romeo and Juliet to LIFE in our classrooms, with ESSENTIALS for setting up the text, keeping engagement high through each act, and summative assessments that MEAN MORE to our students than another literary analysis essay (and how to shift your approach if THIS is the assessment your curriculum requires).    ✨ What you’ll hear inside:   * Our FAVORITE ways to “set the stage" * Strategies for in-class reading/performance days to keep the flow from becoming monotonous, and to prevent drool on the desks * “Red Flag” language for kick-starting essential questions conversations and debates * How to incorporate that required “Literary Analysis” WITHOUT a full 5-paragraph essay * Summative assessments that encourage students to see how the influence of Romeo and Juliet lives EVERYWHERE!   Rapid Fire Recs: (For use throughout the unit) * No Fear Shakespeare * My Shakespeare * Folger Digital Texts * 1996 movie version with Leo DiCaprio * 1968 Franco Zeffirelli movie version with Zac Efron dupe * Gnomeo and Juliet (Hannah's fave!) * "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" - short story by Evan Hunter * High School Musical - movie available on Hulu/Disney Plus   Rapid Fire Recs: (R + J Romance Vibes) * The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene (also a movie) * A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (also a movie) * The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (also a movie) * West Side Story (musical) * Outer Banks - show available on Netflix (focus on the relationship between John B. Routledge and Sarah Cameron) * Never Have I Ever - show available on Netflix (focus on the relationship between Devi Vishwakumar and Paxton Hall-Yoshida) * They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera * Warm Bodies (Ana's fave!) - movie available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video * These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong * Gilmore Girls - show available on Netflix (focus on Rory's relationship with Jess Mariano) * Pride by Ibi Zoboi If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution.   👉 Stay connected with us:   Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela   You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs:   Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com [http://www.teachengagingela.com] Ana → www.simplyanap.com [http://www.simplyanap.com] 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!

“We’re Still Here” - The Benito Bowl

🎙️ Season 2, Episode 2 - “We’re Still Here” - The Benito Bowl On the eve of this episode release, it has been exactly a week since Bad Bunny performed at the 60th Super Bowl, and we have a lot to say about it.  In this episode, Hannah and Ana break down all things Benito Bowl including how to guide authentic conversations that are already happening in the classroom, some of the intentional, impactful choices of the show, and the contagious joy and love from watching, even if you or your students don’t speak Spanish. Ana also shares her story of identity and what Latinidad means to her.  *Trigger warning: This episode does touch on some sensitive subject matter, including SA.  Check out Ana’s resource for The Vastness of Latinidad here [https://www.simplyanap.com/product-page/hispanic-heritage-month-resource].  If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!

New Year, New Season, New Ways to Empower Students

🎙️ Season 2, Episode 1 - New Year, New Season, New Ways to Empower Students   Welcome to SEASON 2 of The Fresh Queens of ELA IRL! 👑📚 We’re back, giving you revolutionary ways to bring ELA to life in your classroom.  In this episode, we dive into NEW THINGS exciting us inside the classroom and in our lives, as well as our FAVORITE ways for empowering student thinking and showcasing understanding through choice in formative and summative assessments.    ✨ What you’ll hear inside:  * Hannah and Ana’s exciting LIFE UPDATES, joys, and goals heading into 2026 * Our FAVORITE student choice assessments, including * Character choice boards and writing prompts: bringing meaningful application to complex characterization. * Characterization charts, graphs, and interactive scenarios that bring characters to LIFE beyond the pages of a text. * Our FAVORITE student choice assessments, including * “Staff Picks” to “Student Recs” showcasing student voice from our classrooms to the community * Literary FOOD TRUCKS and giving students freedom to be creative and think differently about how they bring their knowledge of a text to LIFE * How we give students CHOICE within an essay prompt to demonstrate meaningful synthesis and analysis.    🚨Bonus: ⁠Click here⁠ for a FREEBIE - activities from this episode we are OBSESSED WITH! Characterization places [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11FIGZcrxLUMWSN2MswXPuiakosk6mXTn-TMs_glzHxQ/copy]   If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution.   👉 Stay connected with us: * Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p * Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela     You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: * Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com [http://www.teachengagingela.com] * Ana → www.simplyanap.com [http://www.simplyanap.com]     💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶