Secondary Teacher Podcast Podcast By Khristen Massic Multiple-Prep Teacher Coach cover art

Secondary Teacher Podcast

Secondary Teacher Podcast

By: Khristen Massic Multiple-Prep Teacher Coach
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This show will deliver strategies for multiple prep middle school and high school teachers about how to manage time, plan, and thrive as a secondary teacher. If you are looking for strategies and support from a former multiple prep career and technical education teacher, former administrator, and current instructional coach, you are in the right place. This show will provide answers to questions like: How do I manage the workload of teaching multiple preps? How do I plan for multiple preps? How do I keep up to date with best practices while juggling multiple preps?Copyright 2026 Khristen Massic, Multiple-Prep Teacher Coach Education
Episodes
  • Ep 329: Test Prep Strategies for Secondary Teachers: Teaching Students How to Take Tests

    Ep 329: Test Prep Strategies for Secondary Teachers: Teaching Students How to Take Tests
    Apr 14 2026
    Ever wondered if the reason your students struggle on end of course exams isn’t actually about what you’ve taught them, but how they take the test? In this episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, host Khristen Massic tackles the real reason many middle and high school students freeze up during exams. The big idea is right there in the title: “test prep strategies for secondary teachers.” This one’s a full-on wake-up call if you’re tired of watching solid students trip over standardized tests, and it’s especially right for you if you’ve got multiple preps and zero time to waste.Here’s the dirty little secret: it’s not about blitzing through endless practice questions or shaving down your curriculum to the same tired content. So many teachers feel guilty for not “doing more” test prep, but Khristen Massic turns that old thinking on its head. Instead of feeling stuck between teaching content and so-called “teaching to the test,” imagine arming your kids with skills they’ll actually use beyond your classroom—on the SAT, for job certifications, and anywhere else standardized tests lurk. That’s not cheating; that’s called doing them a favor.Early in Khristen’s teaching journey, it took prepping for her own GRE to pull back the curtain. Picture this: four years in, staring down a test she hadn’t faced in years, armed with content-heavy notes only to find out the real power move was so much simpler. That moment when the GRE prep book said, “take the easy test first”—it was a lightbulb moment. She realized that many of her students knew the content, but didn’t have a clue how to hack the system and play the test’s game.So how do you flip the script for your own secondary classroom? Khristen lays down three core test taking strategies for teachers to put straight into play. First up: teach your students to take the easy test first. That means skimming through the entire exam, attacking the sure bets, and coming back for the toughies. It’s a classroom routine that conquers test anxiety and mental drain, and frankly, it’s a killer move for building classroom confidence.Second, she debunks the myth that guessing is pointless. Khristen urges you to train students to narrow down before guessing. When kids eliminate the obvious duds instead of leaving blanks, they increase their odds—and their scores—by simply working smarter, not harder.Then there’s the under-the-radar test killer: vocabulary. Khristen’s classroom experience is a perfect example—students lost points not because they didn’t know the skill, but because the state test called it something different than she did. “Constraints” became “limitations” on the exam, and kids got stuck. The fix? Make sure they know how to decode the language of the test, not just memorize your words.This approach isn’t just for test season. It’s for every teacher swamped with multiple preps and not enough hours. These strategies work across every subject and classroom, so you can stop burning yourself out trying to create custom review sessions for each prep. Instead, you’re building life skills that will propel your students beyond your four walls, while also preserving your own work-life balance.The episode isn’t about lowering the bar; it’s about tearing down the myth that strategic test taking is somehow less than pure teaching. Khristen is clear: teaching students how to test does not equal teaching to the test—it’s about equipping young people to think strategically, for every test they’ll ever face, school or otherwise.If you’re the kind of teacher who questions the old ways, who wants more for your students than rote memorization, this one will hit home. Test prep isn’t about cranking out automatons—it’s about creating flexible thinkers. Khristen’s challenge: try teaching one test taking strategy this week and see what happens.Test anxiety doesn’t stand a chance against smart strategy, and neither does that old-school guilt trip about “doing enough.” So shake up your test prep—teach your kids how to take these tests, not just what’s on them. That’s how you build thinkers, not just memorizers.Keep it rebellious—and go make those standardized tests wish they never met your students.Too many preps and not enough time? Let’s make your planning period actually work for you.Unlock 20 time-saving strategies designed to keep your students engaged and your sanity intact with the free Simple Teaching Strategies Toolkit. Each strategy comes with detailed instructions, objectives, and a materials list, all editable in a convenient Google Doc. https://khristenmassic.com/toolboxGet the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/resetShop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/...
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    7 mins
  • Ep 328: You Don't Need More Ideas—You Need a Go-To Plan

    Ep 328: You Don't Need More Ideas—You Need a Go-To Plan
    Apr 7 2026
    Teachers spend hours collecting ideas for classroom routines—bookmarking activities, screenshotting games, saving posts “for someday.” The truth is, someday rarely arrives. Host Khristen Massic has been there, just like you, juggling multiple preps and thinking the solution is more fresh inspiration. But in this episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, Khristen gets real: more ideas aren’t the answer. What you actually need is one go-to plan you can count on, every time your brain is tired or the class vibe shifts.Too many choices, too much decision fatigue. If you’re walking into your secondary classroom with a Pinterest board full of options, you still end up stuck choosing from scratch every time the lesson runs short or students finish early. That scramble is exhausting, and it’s stealing your energy. Host Khristen Massic reveals why collecting feels productive—but it’s really just another hidden drain on your work-life balance.Khristen’s breakthrough came during a year when her time was maxed out: teaching at a magnet center with students from five high schools, finishing a second master’s degree, and being pregnant with her third child. Survival mode wasn’t an option—she needed a strategy that actually worked in real life, with repeatable structure and zero extra prep at home. That’s when “Would You Rather” became her anchor: a simple, teen-ready game that turned from icebreaker to essential routine. It filled time, built community in a room full of strangers, and kept things steady. No more last-minute reinvention.Here’s the better way: choose one predictable, whole-class routine—something age-appropriate, no prep, capped and easy to transition out of. Decide when you’ll use it: students finish early, the room drifts, or you’re underplanned. Then teach it like a routine, not just a fun occasional treat. Same directions, same time limit, same transition phrase. This kind of default anchors your classroom and protects your energy, especially when everything else feels unpredictable.And don’t make the classic mistake of overcomplicating it. Your go-to plan shouldn’t live in your head, where you’ll forget it under stress. Make it visible—a sticky note, clipboard, reminder on your phone—so when your brain wants relief, you have something concrete to grab. Stressed brains don’t remember, they recognize. Simplify for sanity.Once your routine is solid, add one more—but only when the first is truly automatic. This is how you build a bank of classroom routines without turning it into yet another project. Default first, grow slowly. Steady classrooms aren’t about novelty; they’re about structure that you—and your students—can rely on. Doesn’t matter if you feel pressure to entertain; your students appreciate knowing what to expect and how to participate.This episode is for middle and high school teachers feeling stretched thin, especially the multi-prep crowd. If you’ve ever felt guilty for not being creative enough or wished you had magical classroom management tricks up your sleeve, host Khristen Massic has your back. You don’t need to be more prepared or engaging—you just need one anchoring routine that protects you and brings stability to your classroom.She wraps things up by pointing out that the most sustainable classrooms—and the best work-life balance—are built on repeatable routines, not endless novelty. Whether you want to try a ready-to-go bundle of student engagement activities or start with a free toolkit, Khristen reminds you to commit to your plan, make it visible, and trust it to show up for you when you need it most.So stop collecting and start committing—ditch the overwhelm and build your go-to plan. Share this episode with a friend, and keep building systems that work for your reality.Be brave enough to choose structure—don’t let chaos win.Too many preps and not enough time? Let’s make your planning period actually work for you.Unlock 20 time-saving strategies designed to keep your students engaged and your sanity intact with the free Simple Teaching Strategies Toolkit. Each strategy comes with detailed instructions, objectives, and a materials list, all editable in a convenient Google Doc. https://khristenmassic.com/toolboxGet the Planning Period Reset Toolkit—a free set of quick-start tools to help you protect your time, focus faster, and finally finish something… even during chaotic school days. https://khristenmassic.com/resetShop my Teachers Pay Teachers store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Khristen-Massic-Cte-Teacher-Coach
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    9 mins
  • Ep 327: I Stopped Googling ‘Classroom Games’—Here’s Why

    Ep 327: I Stopped Googling ‘Classroom Games’—Here’s Why
    Mar 31 2026
    Ever found yourself standing in front of your middle or high school class, eyes on you, realizing your “finished” lesson plan is running out of steam with half the period left? You’re not the only one. In this episode of The Secondary Teacher Podcast, host Khristen Massic drills deep into why so many teachers—especially those juggling multiple preps—fall into the trap of Googling “classroom games” last-minute, why that never actually saves you, and a rebellious-but-practical way to stop scrambling for extra activities.Let’s get real: the primary keyword phrase you’re looking for here is “Googling classroom games at the last minute.” If that’s your go-to safety net, Khristen gets it—she’s done it too. And it’s not because you aren’t prepared, lazy, or disorganized. In truth, it’s because your teacher brain is forced to check off a plan as “done,” even when it isn’t. She describes that gut-sinking moment when what looks like a solid 85-minute plan turns out to be thirty minutes of “core activity,” with nothing left to carry you (and your students) through the rest.The secondary struggle isn’t just about “multi-prep teacher stress,” but about the lies our brains tell us when planning gets interrupted. Your intention was to add the extension activity, the closure, or the extra discussion piece—later. But surprise, later almost never shows up. The bell’s about to ring, your planning period just got hijacked for the hundredth time, or maybe you’re just too wiped at the end of a long day. The class arrives, and you’re caught in that slow-motion panic, thinking: what fills the gap now?So you start frantically searching for “quick classroom activities” or “student engagement ideas mid-class.” Here’s why, Khristen argues, this method always falls short. First, searching the internet when you’re stressed and pressed for time gives you too many choices—and none of them are tailored to your kids, your content, or your classroom routines. Even if you stumble on something promising, it probably requires tech, printouts, or more setup than you can manage. Worst of all? Cobbling something together on the spot almost always ends with a shaky, disconnected class ending that benefits no one’s work-life balance.Instead of relying on a moment of inspiration or a lucky Google find, Khristen makes a case for building predictable routines and having a go-to “default plan.” In her words, you don’t need ten backup options. You just need one solid, repeatable, whole-class routine that you can drop in at a moment’s notice—one that doesn’t require supplies, endless directions, or new materials. For her, it was “Would You Rather”—an activity originally meant as an icebreaker, but one she turned into her safety net for any class that finished early or lessons that ran short.She challenges you to tweak your planning system: every time you finish a lesson, add one simple line—“If we finish early, we will __.” Make it a routine that fits your class vibe, that’s easy to explain, and lets everyone participate. Khristen saw a dramatic drop in her own stress once she adopted this default approach. No more last-minute scrambles. No more relying on your tired brain to whip up magic with five minutes’ notice.Who needs this episode? Any secondary teacher who’s ever walked into class almost “finished” and then felt the burn when their plan didn’t make it to the bell. Especially those balancing multiple preps, labs, or back-to-back classes, where time and mental energy are perpetually short.Khristen wants you to know—you’re not under-planned because you’re failing as a teacher. You’re under-planned because the school system piles too much onto your plate and your mind is just doing what it takes to survive the week. The trick isn’t to hustle harder or memorize every new activity you find online. The fix is to protect yourself with one repeatable move that takes the pressure off, so you can keep your sanity and focus on the teaching moments that matter.If you’re tired of paying for short lessons with extra stress, it’s time to trade that Google search habit for a plan that truly works for your secondary classroom. Classrooms don’t need chaos—they need routines that have your back.Being a powerhouse secondary teacher isn’t about having all the answers at your fingertips. It’s about choosing systems that save your energy and respect your life outside the classroom. So next time the clock turns traitor—remember, you only need one go-to plan.You don’t need another desperate Google search. You need a default. Slay that stress, and keep your rebel heart strong.Too many preps and not enough time? Let’s make your planning period actually work for you.Unlock 20 time-saving strategies designed to keep your students engaged and your sanity intact with the free Simple Teaching Strategies Toolkit. Each strategy comes with ...
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    8 mins
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