We’re Building our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix it. - BNT Team Meeting [S7 EP. 282]

Listen to the full episode below:

What if our obsession with data is actually distracting us from the real problem? In this team meeting, we dig into a thought that’s been lingering after last week’s conversation: when schools spotlight numbers and benchmarks, are we sometimes avoiding much harder work around culture, engagement, and student experience? We reflect on what it looks like when schools prioritize culture first, why that work is harder than chasing metrics, and how those investments often lead to deeper, more lasting change for students.

From there, we zoom out and start thinking ahead to what teaching will need to look like in 2026 and beyond. We talk honestly about why being “data first” or “book first” isn’t working anymore and why engagement has to start with the human in the room. Instead of designing units around skills or texts and forcing meaning to fit, we explore what it looks like to begin with the conversations students are already desperate to have, and then choose the skills and texts that help them participate in those conversations well.

We wrap up by sharing a new planning workflow we want more teams experimenting with: identify the gap, name the conversation, select the skills, and then choose the texts that serve the purpose. This is the kind of thinking we want sitting on your table this year, and something we hope you’ll feel brave enough to bring into your next team meeting.

topics discussed:

  • Why school culture matters more than obsessing over data, and how focusing on numbers can mask bigger issues

  • The bean salad lunch hack every teacher should know (seriously, it’s a lifesaver)

  • Starting unit design with urgent, real conversations students are desperate to have

  • Workflow for developing units: identify gaps, draft conversations/essential questions, select skills, then choose texts

  • Examples of engaging essential questions, including identity, AI and truth, inheritance, and monsters

  • How to retrofit skills and book selections to support bigger, student-centered conversations

resources:

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More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

Tune in on your favorite podcast apps like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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