To Share Our Favorite Things [S2 E40]

Well, if Oprah can do it, we can do it. In all things, obviously. And since you, our wonderful listeners have asked us so many of these kinds of questions, we thought we’d pull everything together into one, big OUR FAVORITE THINGS episode! This blog post contains recipes, recommendations, lesson plans, and so much more. Please note that this post also utilizes affiliate links, which means that if you click on any of our links to make a purchase, Marie and I will receive a small commission.

We hope these ideas and suggestions bring you some joy and fun today!

TEACHER LIFE

These are our favorite…

• National Park:  Iguazu National Park (that’s baby Amanda up there in the picture visiting the park as a 20 year old college kid!) & Glacier National Park

• Recipe & Meals:

  • Amanda: Chicken (or steak) fajitas - oven baked or sheet pan recipe; also change your life chicken

  • Marie: EASY Roasted Chicken - baked and amazing

• Work Life Balance Hacks:

  • Amanda: Keep up your grocery delivery and/or pickup!

  • Marie: Find a rhythm that works for you and your household!

• Pastries:

  • Amanda:  Everything Bagels - all day, every day! Also, anything chocolate. ANYTHING.

  • Marie: Donuts, donuts, and more donuts.

• Virtual Classroom Must-Have:

  • Amanda’s set-up

  • Marie’s Amazon List for Virtual/Hybrid Teaching

• Classroom Item:

  • BIC Intensity Dry Erase Markers

  • Marie’s Amazon List for Classroom

• Teacher Mom Hacks:

  • My crock pot!

• Non Teacher Insta Accounts to Follow:

  • @natgeotravel

  • @daxshepard

  • @emmanuelacho

  • @theconsciouskid

  • @thefamilynutritionist

  • @flyingthenest

  • @thelazygenius

BOOKS & TEXTS

These are our favorite…

• YA Books:

  • Felix Ever After

  • Clap When You Land

  • Marie’s Amazon List of YA Books

• Books to teach 12th Grade:

  • The Handmaid’s Tale

  • How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

  • A giant list of international texts to consider...

  • Pride & Prejudice

• Poems to Teach:

  • 9 Black Poets to check out this year

  • 30 Poems to use with the Big Six

• Nonfiction Texts:

  • Documentaries:

    • 13th

    • MissRepresentation

    • Girl Rising

  • Memoirs:

    • The Devil’s Highway

    • Stamped

    • The Glass Castle

    • Becoming

    • There, There

    • Killers of the Flower Moon

• Supplementary Text Ideas:

  • 7 Places to Find Supplementary Texts (Amanda’s website)

  • More Supplemental Text Ideas (BNT Episode 16)

• Guilty Pleasure Reads:

  • Again, Marie’s Book Stack Amazon List...

LESSONS & STRATEGIES

These are our favorite…

• Approaches to Vocab:

  • Vocabulary Bell Ringers

  • Free Rice.com

• Boring Lesson:

  • Close Reading

  • Quick Writes

• Engagement Strategies:

  • Literary Polaroids 

  • Virtual Field Trip

  • Student Choice!!!

• Pre-recorded Lessons:

  • If you spiral it, RECORD IT! This is especially important with writing lessons.

  • Pre-Recorded Writing Lessons (Part of my English Teacher Lab Method)

• Discussion Strategies:

  • Google Jamboard Discussions

  • Parlay Ideas

  • Build it into your regular routine (Another part of my English Teacher Lab Method)