Welcome to the Podcast
The Empower Students Now Podcast
Are You Blindly Following Rules?
Transcript: Every child grows up following rules. They follow the rules of their parents, they follow the rules of their teachers, They follow their friends, and there's a reason for that. We all want to be accepted. We all want to be loved. We want to be good. We...
The Absolute Best Way to Start an Argumentative Writing Unit
Over the years I've learned that the first lesson of an argumentative writing unit is key to the success of the entire unit. The first lesson needs to accomplish a lot, so it's hard to do it right. Argumentative writing can also become boring fast. I want to help you...
8 Outstanding Videos to Spark Discussion about Neurodiversity with Students
The neurodiversity movement is happening right now. It’s exciting, invigorating, and gaining more and more momentum every day. But, what is the neurodiversity movement? Why do students need to know about it? How can we introduce students to the complex and sometimes...
The Story of a Teacher Author’s Identity Crisis Part II + Why I’m Changing the Name of My Podcast
In January of 2022 I wrote a blog post about my identity crisis as an educator and teacher-author. I wrote about how I needed to go back to all the lessons and units I’ve ever written and look at them from an equity lens. I went on a quest to read all the social...
11 Ways Chat GPT Can Help You Teach Argumentative Writing
Amanda Write Now · 66. 11 Ways ChatGPT Can Help You Teach Argumentative WritingIt's about time for teachers to start their opinion, persuasive, or argumentative writing units (depending on the grade you teach). Most teachers realize that sample sentences and essays...
How to Talk to Students about Chat GPT and Increase Academic Honesty Too
The best way to handle new technology being introduced to the education world is to investigate the tools for ourselves, with an open mind, rather than getting caught up in fear and overwhelm. I know this is hard to do, believe me, I'm a fairly neurotic, anxious...
My Best Ideas to Prevent Cheating with Chat GPT + How to Handle Plagiarism Suspects
Now that students have easy access to artificial intelligence chatbots like Chat GPT, teachers are pondering how to prevent students from using these tools to do their work for them. Cheating seems to be easier than ever these days. English language arts teachers are...
7 Ways Chat GPT Will Impact Education Positively (2023)
In the last few weeks I've been playing with, talking to teacher friends, reading articles, and thinking about one thing... Chat GPT. I learned about this new AI tool in early December through a Facebook Group post that had 100+comments. The comments scared me, so I...
28 Essential Strategies to Support Struggling Writers in the Secondary Classroom
Every classroom has struggling writers. There are many reasons young writers struggle during our writing units. They may feel overwhelmed, be uninterested, have writing skill deficits because of past experiences with writing, or have learning differences. Often...
Rethinking Elementary and Secondary Reading Instruction and Assessment with Equity in Mind
I wrote this six part equity series to better understand the inequities surrounding the ways in which we teach and assess reading and writing skills in the United States. I wanted to know more. Not only that, I wanted to find practical solutions for the problems all...
Rethinking Writing Assessment with Equity in Mind
In this six-part series, I outline exactly how I’m rethinking my workshop classroom with an equity lens. You can find the other parts of this series here: Part 1: Rethinking Writing Workshop with Equity in Mind Part 2: Rethinking Reading Workshop with Equity in Mind...
Rethinking Unit Design with Equity in Mind
In this six-part series, I outline exactly how I’m rethinking my workshop classroom with an equity lens. You can find the other parts of this series here: Part 1: Rethinking Writing Workshop with Equity in Mind Part 2: Rethinking Reading Workshop with Equity in Mind...