In this week’s team meeting, we share what we’ve been reading and swap book recommendations (and a few that didn’t quite land). Then we dive into an Edutopia reel about being a “warm demander” in the classroom, exploring how to hold students to high expectations while building strong, respectful relationships. We break down what this actually looks like in real moments, plus share tips that you can apply in your own classroom!

Resources:

• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University.
• Edutopia’s warm demander reel
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 223, The Sherlock Society: An Interview with Author James Ponti
• Episode 283, Resistant Readers Need the Four Reading Realms: A Walkthrough - BNT Team Meeting
• Episode 288, Pardon Us - STOP Meeting Students Where They Are?!?! - BNT Team Meeting

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode289

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Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

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📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Ever feel like every headline about teaching is trying to make you panic? That was the reaction this week when reading The Atlantic article claiming teachers should stop meeting students where they are. We unpack what it really means, share recent reads, and highlight classroom and library projects. Check out the article, and see what conversations it sparks in your own teaching!

Resources:

• Atlantic Article: Stop Meeting Students Where They Are
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.
• Let us know what you think! Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 281, SEL and Organic Community Really Are This Simple - BNT Team Meeting
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix It - BNT Team Meeting
• Episode 283, Resistant Readers Need the Four Reading Realms: A Walkthrough - BNT Team Meeting

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode288

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

🔗 Grab our FREE 100% Engagement Listening Guide to get even more out of this episode!

What if 100% engagement isn’t about doing more, but about choosing differently? After two episodes with the authors of 100% Engagement, this is our real classroom debrief. We share what happened when we actually tried the strategies, from reworking Book Snaps to spark better conversations to adapting a musical chairs–style activity into a fast-paced fiction preview. We unpack engagement vs. compliance, small shifts that changed lesson energy, and why engagement is part of our professional responsibility...not a performance!

Resources:

• 100% Engagement Listening Guide (FREE!)
• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University.
• Take our quiz, and we’ll send you an episode playlist that’s tailored just for you!
• 100% Engagement by Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves

Related Episodes:

• Episode 285, 100% Engagement (Part 1)
• Episode 286, 100% Engagement (Part 2)

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode287

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

What do you do when last period feels like it’s dragging and everyone, including you, is running on fumes? In part two of our conversation with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, we share quick, high-energy strategies to reset the room, from Top Chef–inspired build challenges to two-sentence horror stories and poetry puzzles that get students moving and thinking fast.

We also talk meme projects for Pride and Prejudice, character playlists for Frankenstein, and how to build a classroom culture where it’s safe to care. Most importantly, we remind you that engagement doesn’t have to be nonstop chaos. Sometimes quiet reading and plot review are exactly what your students need, and what you’re doing already matters.

Resources:

• 100% Engagement Listening Guide (FREE!)
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 96, How to Select Choice Reading + Our 20 Favorite Classroom Books
• Episode 191, Project Based Learning: An Interview with Danielle Hicks
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix It
• Episode 284, 100% Engagement (Part 1)

✨ SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode286

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

🔗 Grab our FREE 100% Engagement Listening Guide to get even more out of this episode!

Ever feel inspired by great teaching ideas, but they never quite make it into real lessons? In this episode, we kick off a special 3-part series with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, co-authors of 100% Engagement, to share practical, doable ways to boost participation, collaboration, and authentic engagement - without a total classroom overhaul.

From their journey as co-authors to honest conversations about student buy-in and boredom, we dig into what real engagement actually looks like. You’ll also hear rapid-fire classroom scenarios and strategies that get students talking, moving, and genuinely invested.

Resources:

• 100% Engagement Listening Guide (FREE!)
• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University.
• Take our quiz, and we’ll send you an episode playlist that’s tailored just for you!
• 100% Engagement by Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber
• Much Ado About Teaching
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 96, How to Select Choice Reading + Our 20 Favorite Classroom Books
• Episode 191, Project Based Learning: An Interview with Danielle Hicks
• Episode 199, Lesson Plan Rescue: Not Enough Books

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Super Bowl weekend is here, and while the game is fun, we’re really here for the commercials, and how to teach them well! In this team meeting, we share book talk and a clear plan for tackling Super Bowl commercial analysis. You’ll hear practical, classroom-ready steps using tools like the Four Reading Realms and SPACE CAT to help students have stronger conversations, deeper analysis, and way more buy-in!

Resources:

• My 2026 Amazon List
• 4 Reading Realms Webinar (free!)
• Rhetorical Analysis Starter Kit
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 178, Unit Makeover: Rhetorical Analysis
• Episode 280, New Year Teacher Trends for 2026: Goals, Books, and Real Talk
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix it.
• Episode 283, Resistant Readers Need the Four Reading Realms: A Walkthrough - BNT Team Meeting

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode284

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Resistant readers are often reacting to confusion, not a lack of ability, and that’s exactly where the Four Reading Realms come in! In this episode, we walk through a framework Amanda developed to clarify the purpose behind different reading tasks, helping students understand what kind of thinking is required and why it matters. By separating reading into intentional realms (focused on identity, perseverance, efficiency, and discernment), we can set clearer expectations, build trust, and support deeper engagement, even for students who have struggled with reading in the past.

🔗 Resources:

• Webinar: The Four Reading Realms
• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University!
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 276, Ok, but what if the secret to getting them to read is getting them to WRITE???
• Episode 280, New Year Teacher Trends for 2026: Goals, Books, and Real Talk
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix it.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode283

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

What if our obsession with data is actually distracting us from the real work? In this team meeting, we dig into how a “data first” or “book first” approach can miss the human side of learning and why culture and engagement have to come first. We look ahead to what teaching needs to look like in 2026, sharing a conversation-first planning workflow that starts with what students actually care about and then selects the skills and texts that support those conversations!

Resources:

• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University!
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 221, Back to School Survival Kit for Teachers
• Episode 280, New Year Teacher Trends for 2026: Goals, Books, and Real Talk
• Episode 281, SEL and Organic Community Really Are This Simple

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode282

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel