Brave New Teaching: A Podcast for High School and Middle School Teachers

In this “State of the BNT Union” episode, we’re sharing where the Brave New Teaching podcast is headed next, from a new focus on YouTube and refreshed dystopia content to better-organized resources f…

We’re calling it: independent reading is the back-to-school move of the year! In this episode, we’re getting honest about what it takes to build a reading culture that actually sticks, without burnin…

In our final episode of Camp BNT, we got to sit down with none other than TJ Klune, author of The House in the Cerulean Sea—and let’s just say, it was everything we hoped for and more! We laughed, fa…

We’ve been wanting to bring Huda Fahmy on the podcast for a long time, and this conversation was well worth the wait! From her journey as an English teacher to bestselling graphic novelist, to the po…

Some conversations leave a mark, and this one with author Libba Bray is exactly that. From the first few minutes, we found ourselves completely pulled in by her honesty, humor, and the kind of insigh…

If you've ever daydreamed about writing a novel between grading essays, this one’s for you. In this episode, we chat with former English teacher turned YA author Katie Bayerl about her newest book, W…

It’s Amanda here, and if you’ve ever hit the road with a car full of kids (or just your teacher brain trying to stay five steps ahead) you know that summer travel takes some serious strategy. In this…

This episode lit us up in the best way. Amanda sat down with Aaron H. Aceves, author of This Is Why They Hate Us, for a heartfelt conversation about identity and the power of honest storytelling. Aar…

We’re so excited to share part two of our conversation with Aimee Phan, author of The Lost Queen! If you caught part one, you already know how rich and thoughtful this discussion is. In this episode,…

What if the legendary queens of Vietnamese history were reborn as modern-day teens in California? In this episode, we chat with author and educator Aimee Phan about her brand new YA fantasy novel, Th…

In part two of our conversation with author Samira Ahmed, we deep dive into the genre of Internment—is it dystopian, speculative, or realistic fiction?—and why that label matters in the classroom. Wh…

Camp BNT is back for year three, and we’re kicking things off with bestselling author (and former high school English teacher!) Samira Ahmed. In this episode, Samira shares how her time in the classr…

We’re wrapping up our Hero’s Journey series with a fresh twist—this time through the lens of fantasy in eleventh-grade American Literature. Marie shares how she took a bold leap by introducing a fant…

Teaching The Odyssey doesn’t have to be stuck in surface-level plot points. It can be the unit where students are guided through their own epic journeys!

In this third episode of our Hero’s Journey se…

Let’s be honest—The Hobbit isn’t always a crowd-pleaser in middle school, but in this episode, we’re sharing how to turn it into a powerful, skills-based exploration of the hero’s journey. We dive in…

We’re kicking off a new four-part series all about teaching the Hero’s Journey—starting with the dos and don’ts of unit design. In this episode, we share how this timeless framework can lead to deepe…

We’ve all had those end-of-year activities that looked great on paper—but quickly turned into chaos in the classroom. In this episode, we’re sharing some of our own “what were we thinking?” moments, …

Looking for a way to fundraise and build a love of reading in your school? In this episode, we share how a well-planned Read-a-Thon can bring in big funds for books while creating a strong literacy c…

What if summer reading didn’t have to feel like a chore for students or teachers?

In part two of our Summer Reading Rescue series, I’m continuing the conversation about how we can reimagine summer rea…

What the research tells us is clear: reading skills are lost over the summer.  

And that loss is not equitably distributed among our student population.  It’s estimated that low income students can lo…