When we don’t talk to kids about social justice, they learn about it from social media, friends at school, and other sources that may not always be accurate or even well-intentioned. Without a trusted adult to speak to about these topics, kids are likely to develop confusion, fear, anxiety, bias, and in some cases, even hatred.

The way we discuss social justice with young people is important. It’s crucial to approach these conversations thoughtfully, ensuring we provide support, clarity, and hope.

Here is a simple, step-by-step process to guide any conversation about social justice:

1. Acknowledge the Topic

When you want to talk about a social justice topic, the first step is simply to bring it up. This is particularly important if the topic has become an event or discussion in the media, as your learners are probably already hearing about it. In this case, ignoring or dismissing it can lead to confusion and anxiety. Acknowledgment shows children that their concerns are valid and that it’s okay to talk about difficult subjects. Often the best way to introduce a new social justice topic is through a children’s book. Read the book together, and use that story to start the conversation. If you’re just getting started with teaching social justice, here are 5 social justice picture books for beginners.

2. Check for feelings and understanding.

Engage with learners to understand their emotions regarding the topics or events. After reading a book, you could ask: “How did this story make you feel about [topic]?” When it comes to world events, this step is essential for understanding their level of fear, confusion or misinformation, helping you tailor your explanations to their needs. Encourage kids to share what they know, think they know, or have heard about the topic in the past. For example, you might ask: “In this story, we learned about the environment and climate change. What have you heard about climate change before?” This conversation can reveal misconceptions and provide a clearer picture of what information they need or want to know.

3. Encourage Questions

Create a space where children feel safe to ask questions. This helps them understand the world around them and reassures them that their curiosity is both valid and valued. It also will help them feel safe to come to you when they’re worried about current events or social justice issues in the future. You can do this by asking directly what questions they have and being careful to not show discomfort when they do ask questions (no matter how uncomfortable the question may be!)

4. Explain and Answer Honestly

Clarify misunderstandings with truthful, age-appropriate information. Answer their questions in direct and simple ways. If you don’t know the answer to something, tell them you’ll look it up and get back to them, or look it up together. This shows them that it’s okay to not have all the answers and to admit when you don’t know something. It also can be a great way to teach about digital media literacy if you decide to do some research to learn more together. It’s important to strike a balance of providing needed information without overwhelming kids with distressing details. Remember that this conversation can be ongoing, so you don’t need to give them all of the information the first time it comes up.

5. Make Connections

Help kids relate to the topic by linking it to concepts they understand. Drawing parallels to their experience or knowledge makes complex issues more relatable and easier to comprehend. For example, if the story is about immigration, you can ask your students if they’ve ever been in a place where they didn’t know anybody or where they felt different in some way. Then ask them to imagine how that might feel for kids who are immigrants. If the story is about gender identity, you can ask kids to think about the ways they feel connected (or not connected) to their own gender, and how they might feel if someone refused to call them by the correct pronouns. If you’re talking about climate change, you can ask kids what would happen to their favorite toy if they didn’t take care of it. Over time, it would become worn down and broken, and that also happens to our planet when we don’t take care of it. Tangible examples help kids make sense of new and abstract concepts.

6. Uplift the Situation

When learning about a difficult topic, try to highlight positive aspects, such as community support and activism. This approach can help maintain a sense of hope and demonstrate the power of collective goodwill. For example, look for people who are working hard to fix this issue, today and in the past. Look at ways the issue has brought people together and created good in the world. This helps kids avoid hopelessness, overwhelm, and anxiety.

7. Move Towards Action

Encourage learners to think about constructive actions they can take, however small. Constructive action is often simply educating ourselves together, so remind kids that knowledge can be powerful. It could also be letter writing, raising awareness, or organizing some kind of small event, like a guest speaker or food drive. Taking action gives children a sense of agency and the feeling that they can make a difference, transforming feelings of helplessness into proactive engagement.

This framework will guide any conversation about social justice with kids, whether it’s your first conversation about this topic or you discuss it regularly. Having these conversations with your students will ensure that they are informed, respected, and heard. By approaching these conversations with care, we can empower our young learners to navigate a complex world with understanding, empathy, and hope.

Want an easy way to start incorporating these conversations into your classroom? Download the Classroom Representation Checklist for ideas on how to integrate justice into your classroom this year.

About the Author

Dr. Shelby Kretz is the creator of Little Justice Leaders, an organization that provides social justice education resources for educators and families. Little Justice Leaders offers a monthly subscription box for parents and teachers that provides resources each month to learn about social justice and has sent over 17,000 learning kits to parents and teachers around the world. Shelby earned her Ph.D. in Education from UCLA, and her dissertation explored social justice education at the elementary school level. Over the past decade, Shelby has worked with thousands of parents, teachers, and school leaders to bring social justice education to elementary-aged kids.

Connect with Little Justice Leaders on Instagram.

The post A Simple Framework for Talking to Kids About Social Justice [+ Free Classroom Representation Checklist] appeared first on Teaching Channel.

Here are some examples of DQBs, courtesy of OpenSciEd:

Discussion Question Boards (DQBs) are a great way to facilitate student-led conversations in the classroom. DQB is a set of questions used in OpenSciEd to generate, track, and revisit student questions that drive the investigation of the anchoring phenomenon and related phenomena.

The following video, from OpenSciEd, does a great job of showing DQBs in action!

Excited to try it? Here are some tips for using DQB with your students:

1. Encourage open-ended questions. Open-ended questions encourage students to think critically and to share their own ideas. Avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.”
2. Ask students to vary the types of questions they pose. Some questions should be factual, while others should be conceptual. Some questions should be specific, while others should be general. This will keep the discussion interesting and engaging.
3. Post the questions in a visible place. Students need to see the questions so they can refer to them during the discussion. Questions can be posted on the board, projector, or website.
4. Give students time to think. Before starting the discussion, give students time to consider their questions and think about how they could relate to others’ questions. This will encourage effective participation in the discussion.
5. Monitor the discussion. As the discussion progresses, monitor the students’ participation. Make sure everyone has a chance to speak and the conversation is on track. 
6. Choose one or more students to summarize the discussion. At the end, students should be aware of the main points covered. This will allow students to consolidate their learning and see how the discussion has helped them reach their goals.

Want to learn more about how DQBs fit into Storylines and the NGSS? Check out course 5321: Questions and Connections with NGSS Science Storylines to revolutionize your science instruction!

About the Author

Betsy Butler (she/her) is a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in English, a Master’s in Education, and has been teaching since 1992. Betsy uses her three decades of teaching experience to write and revise our courses while selecting the perfect accompanying texts. Her specialty areas include ELA, special education topics, behavior management, and mental health.

Fun Fact: Betsy’s daily conquest is solving the New York Times crossword puzzle!

The post Discussion Question Boards (DQBs): A Student-Centered Way of Questioning appeared first on Teaching Channel.

Read
Memorize &
Repeat.

But everything I memorized seemed to disappear as soon as the test was done. And, over time, all of the facts and figures started blending together until they felt hollow—disembodied events that had no meaning beyond a grade. 

If only I had known that rooted within history is the story. And not just the paragraph written in the textbook focused on the who, what, when, and where. But the story about the why. The story about the people whose lives were impacted by each historical event, the real reasons why they went to war, the conversations they had behind closed doors and in hushed voices that never found a home in the history books. As a high school student, I yearned for the stories of the young people throughout history who—like me—were impacted by decisions made by the adults in the room, who resisted quietly (and loudly!), who had to navigate the ramifications and the long-term impacts and somehow find a way to hope, dream, and changemake in spite of their circumstances. 

Somehow the phrase, “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” never quite captured all of the nuance and complexity of his arrival. 

But how do we transform social studies lessons into opportunities to investigate the stories within important historical events? Here are 5 activities to make history come alive for your students: 

1. In Conversation

Ask students to select two historical figures they are learning about in their classes, and imagine they are having a conversation with one another. If they are from the same historical event, what would they have talked about? If they are from different historical events/time periods, what ideals or beliefs would they have agreed or disagreed on? Consider using this “In Conversation Writing Template” to organize student ideas.

2. Past and Present Connections

Invite students to make connections between your current social studies unit and the world today! Provide opportunities to explore student news resources like The Learning Network from the New York Times to identify patterns between the past and present.

3. Perspective Writing

Use this “Perspective Writing Template” to help students process through the complex and multidimensional aspects of history. For example: how would a Union soldier, a Confederate soldier, Harriet Tubman, and a slave living in the south during the war think, feel, or talk about the Civil War?

4. Philosophical Chairs

Discuss and reflect on big ideas in your social studies class using Philosophical Chairs! Review the protocol in “A Framework for Whole-Class Discussions,” by Jill Fletcher from Edutopia, and consider how you could develop a high-engagement, two-sided prompt related to your current unit of study.

5. Young Readers’ Editions of Texts

Use a Young Readers’ Edition of a historical text to examine history beyond the traditional textbook. Packed full of stories about real people, these books can bring history to life with their powerful storytelling and beautiful prose. One or our personal favorites?  Stamped: Racism Antiracism, and You, by Ibram X. Kendi & Jason Reynolds! Kendi and Reynolds walk readers through the history of racism in the United States and the complex—sometimes contradictory—perspectives of many important historical figures.

I wonder what my high school self would have thought about learning U.S. history beyond the rote memorization of facts through the use of storytelling, philosophical discussions, and perspective writing. I think I would have realized much sooner that history is alive and breathing, and while I originally thought the formula for success in social studies was:

Read
Memorize &
Repeat

What I really should have been focused on were the ways:

History will
Repeat until
We
Learn from it.

Now THAT would have been a shampoo worth buying (my side-swept bangs agree)!

Ready to take your history instruction beyond the textbook and into the world of Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You? Check out 5330: Beyond the Book: Creating a Comprehensive Unit for Stamped! This debut course in our brand-new Beyond the Book Series provides all the tools you need to design and develop a unit of study to implement in your secondary classroom. With more than 30 instructional activities and resources woven throughout, you will create dynamic lessons to tell the stories that live within social studies, and make history come alive for your students!

About the Author

Julie Kuntz holds a B.A. in English and a Master’s in Education. Drawing on her years as a Middle School ELA Teacher, Julie develops content that is practical and highly engaging! Additionally, she is passionate about fostering equity in schools.

Fun Fact: Julie and her husband own a custom home renovation company, Custom by Kuntz!

The post 5 Activities to Make History Come Alive for Your Students appeared first on Teaching Channel.

How Drama Empowers

One of my main goals as a drama teacher is to help students to trust themselves. Improvisation games are the perfect tool to help students to do this. I’ll call out, “Don’t think, just do.” It’s a simple command that nudges students to follow their intuition. Often, they surprise themselves with what their imaginations are capable of. 

During my years of teaching drama, I’ve seen children and young people go from: 

• Shy to Confident
• Afraid to Brave 
• Blocked to Creative
• Voiceless to Empowered

When taught right, drama is inclusive and empowers. Drama games help students express themselves, allowing them to feel seen and heard. Drama helps with skills like awareness, confidence, concentration, creativity, critical thinking, diction, empathy, listening, literacy, problem-solving, social skills, storytelling, and teamwork—but drama is only empowering if a safe space is created.

Foundations for Creating a Safe Space

It’s the facilitator’s job to make the class accessible to all and creating a safe space is a crucial part of this. Do not underestimate how important a safe space will be for some of your more vulnerable students. My number-one rule is to never put a student on the spot or force them into an activity, game, or performance. Encouragement is valuable, but it must be applied thoughtfully. In drama, there’s a potential to inadvertently stir up past traumas for students who have undergone such experiences.

Here are some more tips for creating a safe space for creativity:

• Set the tone. Remind students often that they can safely share ideas, explore, perform, and fail without fear of judgment.  In the drama class, we accept and celebrate failures.
• Keep things kind. Dissolve any shame or self-consciousness by sprinkling kind words and smiles throughout the workshop. Encourage your students to say nice things about each other’s work and praise them when they do.
• Respond quickly to signs of bullying. I have a strict zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying or saying anything negative about another. I do not tolerate even an eye roll or an unkind look. Keeping on top of minor gestures keeps things from escalating further.
• Establish ground rules. Students should never do impressions of one another or use real names during improv exercises. Clearly express that violent ideas, words, or actions will not be tolerated.
• Try not to cram too much into a lesson. Be sure to thoroughly explain the activity and include plenty of examples to avoid confusion. Ensure each student understands the activity and feels comfortable asking questions.
• Join in the fun. Students will be more engaged when you are involved, so join in as much as possible. This way, students won’t feel inhibited and will likely be more enthusiastic about the activity.

Ready-to-Go Drama Games

Here are three games to get you started, you don’t need to be a drama teacher to play these. I believe all subjects can benefit from a little drama being added. For more games and exercises, you can also check out my Pocketful of Drama book series.

Yes, Let’s!

Explain to the class that everyone goes along with whatever the idea caller calls out. For example, you might say, “Let’s all eat an ice cream,” and the class would reply, “Yes, let’s!”

Then everyone would eat an ice cream. For the first few examples I might add a few questions to get students in the mood: “What flavour is your ice cream?” “Is it in a cone or a cup?” “Is it melting or frozen solid?” “Do you like to bite or lick your ice cream?”

Give everyone a minute with their ice cream before you call out the next idea. You might say, “Let’s all pretend to be monkeys!” and the class would reply, “Yes, let’s!” before leaping into action. Then you may call out, “Let’s all go to the beach,” and the class would call back, “Yes, let’s!”

Explain there is no right or wrong in improvisation and that each individual gets to choose what they do. Once these foundations have been laid, you can ask students to raise their hands if they’d like to share their ideas. Explain that the only bad ideas are those that are violent in speech or action. Give each idea around forty-five seconds to play out. 

I Found This…

Ask the group to sit in a circle in chairs or on the floor. Ask for a volunteer. Approach this volunteer and say, “I found this…” and finish the sentence with a word: dog, cake, football-size egg, magic wand, diary, wedding ring, wallet, alien…all ideas are welcome! Ask the person you’ve approached to react to what you have found. Maybe they’re surprised, afraid, in awe, or delighted. Hopefully, a conversation will develop. It might go something like this:

“I found this dragon’s egg.”

“A dragon’s egg? You should return it, dragons are dangerous!”

“Oh my goodness, it’s hatching! What shall I do?”

“Put it down!”

“I can’t leave it!”

“What if its mother comes for you?”

“It’s not an it!”

“You can’t keep it!”

“I know, please come with me to take it back.”

In my experience, students take this exercise to all kinds of places, from the mundane to the magical. Once the improv is over, the person who said, “I found this…” sits back down in the circle. The person who was receiving approaches someone else and says, “I found this…” changing the object to something new. “I found this lost fairy,” they might say, holding their palms together, looking at a little fairy standing on their hands. The game continues until everyone who wants a turn has had one.

Imagination—Creating New Lands with Music

For this activity, you’ll need a speaker to play music and a playlist of emotive music. A cinematic playlist with a mix of dramatic, melancholy, celebratory, simple, complex, epic, fast, and slow music works well. I have put together a playlist on Spotify that you can use to accompany this exercise.

Have students lie down on the floor and explain that you’re going to play a piece of music for them to listen to. After a minute or so, tell the students they can get up and start acting out what the music makes them imagine. While lying down and listening to the music, students will allow their imaginations to create new characters and places to explore. The music will be their inspiration, the soil from which their ideas can grow. For example, they may listen to a soft piano solo and imagine being a fairy dancing in the snow.

After you have the students get up, keep the music on. A single piece of music will inspire different characters and places for each child. A soft piano might inspire one child to become a sleepy puppy while another might be inspired to become a falling snowflake.

After a few minutes of exploring the soft piano solo, ask students to stop and lie down again. When you change the music, they can create new characters and places in their minds. You might play an epic piece of music that inspires one student to become a king returning to their land after a great victory and another student to become a witch who just got their first broomstick. Or you might play a magical piece of music, and students will imagine dragons, fairies, pirates, and superheroes. Explain to students that there is no right or wrong way to do this exercise.

I find that using four or five pieces of music works best, devoting one to two minutes to each piece. Or if you prefer you can call out locations for students to explore.

About the Author

Sam Marsden attended The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. A dyslexic educator, she hopes to empower and spark creativity through her drama teaching, educational resources, or fiction. Sam has taught drama for fifteen years and is the author of 100 Acting Exercises for 8 – 18-Year-Olds and the Pocketful of Drama book series, which includes Acting Games for Improv, Drama Games for Early Years, and Acting Exercises for Creative Writing.

Connect with Sam: Instagram | X

The post Teaching Drama to Empower Your Students appeared first on Teaching Channel.

1. Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
2. How did you hear about the position?
3. What do you know about our organization/school/company?
4. Why do you want this position?
5. Why do you want to teach?
6. Why should we hire you?
7. What are your greatest professional strengths?
8. What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
9. What frustrates you the most about teaching?
10. What qualities make an effective teacher?
11. What is your greatest professional achievement?
12. What is your dream job?
13. Where do you see yourself in five years?
14. What is your teaching philosophy?
15. How do you evaluate whether or not a lesson was successful?
16. How do you utilize your planning periods?
17. Can you describe your classroom management style?
18. How do you handle disruptive students?
19. How do you motivate students?
20. How do you keep students engaged?
21. How would your students describe you?
22. How do you communicate with families about their student’s education?
23. How do you keep families involved in their student’s education?
24. What role does technology play in the classroom?
25. Tell me about a challenge or conflict you’ve faced at work and how you dealt with it.
26. What other companies/schools/organizations are you interviewing with?
27. Why are you leaving your current job?
28. What are you looking for in a new position?
29. What type of work environment do you prefer?
30. What are your thoughts on team-teaching?
31. What is your management style?
32. Can you tell me about a time you demonstrated leadership?
33. Can you tell me about a time you disagreed with a decision that was made at work?
34. How would your boss and coworkers describe you?
35. Can you explain this gap in your employment?
36. Can you explain why you changed/are changing career paths?
37. How do you deal with pressure or stressful situations?
38. What would you expect your first 30, 60, and 90 days to look like in this role?
39. What are your salary requirements?
40. What do you like to do outside of work?
41. If you were an animal, which one would you be?
42. What do you think we could do better or differently?
43. Do you have any questions for us?

The post 43 Commonly Asked Interview Questions appeared first on Teaching Channel.

About the Author

Keely Keller holds a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Arts in Education from Hamline University. Keely is certified in three special education categories and holds both a Director of Special Education and a Principal License. Throughout her teaching career, Keely served students with special needs and subsequently served as a Special Education Coordinator in a suburban Minnesota school district. She has also taught as an adjunct professor at St. Mary’s University of Minnesota. Keely joined Teaching Channel in 2016 and has developed numerous courses, trainings, and content pieces on a variety of topics in support of educators. Currently, Keely serves as the Director of Professional Programs for K12 Coalition.

Fun fact: Keely loves to go camping in her travel trailer with family and friends.

The post Building an Instructional Leadership Team [Template] appeared first on Teaching Channel.

1. They engage our senses!

Classroom gardens have the unique ability to engage all five senses, making learning an immersive and multi-dimensional experience!  Students can watch the growth and development of plants over time; learn to identify different plants by their smell;  experience the different textures of plants, such as the smoothness of a rose petal or the sharp points on a cactus;  identify different birds and animals by their sounds; and analyze and compare the taste of garden vegetables to veggies from the stores.

2. They can be cross-curricular!

Classroom and school gardens are fantastic spaces to plan project-based learning opportunities. Here are examples of how a garden can bring real-life learning to a variety of subjects.

3. There’s financial support available!

The following organizations are starting points when seeking funding for a school or classroom garden:

• KidsGardening.org: They have a whole section dedicated to grants and grant application support. 
• Whole Kids Foundation School Garden Grant Program:  Offers grants to support new and existing school gardens. 
• Captain Planet Foundation: Project Learning Garden grants support to school gardens that incorporate environmental stewardship.
• The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation:  Focuses on community garden projects and garden-based education. 
• Remember local resources, too!
  1. State Departments of Education: Often have funding resources specific to your region.
  2. Community Foundations: Support initiatives that benefit local areas. Search online for foundations near you.
  3. Businesses and Corporations: Check companies in your area that focus on sustainability or education, like the local garden store, or even Whole Foods!

Classroom and school gardens are about more than just plants – it’s about cultivating curiosity, wonder, and a deep appreciation for the natural world. Just think: you can grow lifelong stewards of the environment and champions of green spaces! Roll up your sleeves and invite your students to experience the joy of growing, alongside their learning.

About the Author

Betsy Butler (she/her) is a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in English, a Master’s in Education, and has been teaching since 1992. Betsy uses her three decades of teaching experience to write and revise our courses while selecting the perfect accompanying texts. Her specialty areas include ELA, special education topics, behavior management, and mental health.

Fun Fact: Betsy’s daily conquest is solving the New York Times crossword puzzle!

The post Hands-On Learning with Classroom Gardens appeared first on Teaching Channel.

Did you know that Friday, April 19th is National AI Literacy Day? Check out the website to get involved, and recognize AI Literacy Day in your classroom. One impactful and engaging way to build students’ AI literacy is through hands-on exploration of AI tools. Try any of the AI applications below to get started! We’ve provided a link to the AI tool, a short description, and introductory resources to guide you. We suggest experimenting with the AI application yourself before trying with students–building your AI literacy, too!

Teachable Machine

Teachable Machine is a web-based tool that makes creating machine learning models fast, easy, and accessible to everyone. Students can train a computer to recognize images, sounds, and poses.

Review from Common Sense Education

Teachable Machine Intro Video

Dancing with AI: Designing Interactive AI Systems

Created by MIT RAISE, Dancing with AI is a middle school project-based curriculum about making interactive, movement-focused AI systems. Students can design AI interactions and train and evaluate AI models.

Read What is the Dancing with AI Curriculum? to learn more. Dancing with AI uses Poseblocks.

Google AI Experiments and AI Test Kitchen

Try out the latest Google AI tools, still in beta mode. From making music with text prompts to playing any instrument using AI, these experiences utilize AI applications for creativity.

Check out How to Use Experiments with Google in the Classroom–Teacher’s Guide, a video tutorial from The EdTech Show with Dan Spada.

Google Quick Draw

Google Quick Draw is an AI experiment where you draw something, and an AI tries to guess what it is. The more people play, the better the AI gets at recognizing doodles!

How to Use Quick, Draw with Google–Drawing with AI for Your Students video tutorial from Teachers on Fire.

Code.org

Code.org offers many activities for students to experiment with AI through coding. 

• Review and Guidance from Common Sense Education
• Code a Dance Party
• Hour of Code: Creativity with AI

Inspired to continue building students’ AI literacy skills? Explore our course, 5313: Teaching Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy for Students to add more apps to your AI toolbelt!

About the Author

Sarah Murphy is the Evaluation Manager and a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in History and a Master’s in Education. Sarah began teaching in 2004 at the elementary level. She now leads Teaching Channel’s Evaluation Team, managing our wonderful team of Course Evaluators. Sarah is also a course writer and content creator, specializing in ed tech, educator wellness, and content area teaching.

Fun fact: Sarah has camped in 18 national parks and hopes to visit all 63 someday!

The post Celebrate AI Literacy Day with Hands-On Exploration! appeared first on Teaching Channel.

There are many magnificent mental health podcasts from which to choose, so we took the guesswork out of finding podcasts that are worth your time and attention. To acknowledge the importance of both student and teacher mental wellness, we selected three we liked best for teens and four for teachers.

For each, we’ve included links to the Apple version of the podcast, but they are available on other podcast platforms, as well. We’ve included, “why we like it,” along with discussion prompts to use with students and colleagues as catalysts to get the podcast conversation started! 

Take a look, then listen to one, or more, and bookmark this blog or any of the podcasts for future reference.

Here’s to your mental health!

Podcasts for Student Mental Health

On Our Minds

Why We Like It

The mantra for this podcast is, “There’s a lot on our minds, and talking about it helps,” 

The clear, honest, conversations that happen between the teen hosts and guests make this podcast the real deal. 

You will learn what teens are struggling to manage and how talking about mental health makes a difference. 

Discussion Prompts

• Bree and James advocate for talking about feelings and what is on our minds. In what ways has talking improved your mental health? 
• Besides talking, what other strategies boost your mental health?

This Teenage Life

This episode includes an interview with stress management professor Jamie Valderrama who teaches the neurophysiology of stress and how to manage test anxiety and procrastination.

Why We Like It

“Being a part of this podcast has been transformative.”

Expect authentic, meaningful conversations about what matters to teens and why. Listen and learn as teens talk about their lives in a safe, inclusive, and supportive space.

Discussion Prompts

• A comment about participating in this podcast is, “it has been transformative.” What in your life has felt “transformative,” how did you learn from the experience, and how did it impact you psychologically?
• What makes you feel safe when talking about things that are scary or challenging?

She Persisted: Your Teen Mental Health Resource

Why We Like It

Sadie’s credentials include being a teen and former resident in McLean’s 14-week mental health treatment program. Whether or not she set out to destigmatize the need for mental health treatment, she succeeds through her warm and encouraging words. The podcast provides a literal look into what it’s like to manage depression and anxiety as a young woman, coupled with encouragement for seeking support.

The She Persisted site includes residential treatment resources, online therapy, and other curated content including blogs and books.

Discussion Prompts

• There are many mental health resources teachers, counselors, and others provide. Share a resource that has been helpful for you, (Teachers: Consider a Padlet if students prefer anonymity).
• This podcast addresses aspects of mental health that are specific to women. Discuss differences and similarities between the mental health challenges of women and men.

Podcasts for Teacher Mental Health

Teachers on Fire

Why We Like It

What’s not to like about a podcast that describes itself as, “warming your heart, sparking your thinking, and igniting your professional practice?”

This podcast offers a variety of topics like powerful quotes and essential truths from teachers, the “one thing” that will destroy your classroom management, and whether or not to use phones in the classroom. 

This podcast strives to ignite positive feelings about the life-changing impact of teachers’ work.

Discussion Prompts

• There is a healthy variety of topics to discuss in this podcast, including mental health. How does what you learned impact your mental health?
• One of the topics listed is, “10 Ways to Show Students You Care.” Whether you listened to that episode or not, how do you show your students you care?

The Cult of Pedagogy

Episode 224: Some Thoughts on Teachers Crying in the Classroom

Why We Like It

We know our mental health improves when we have smaller class sizes, support from administrators, and families who are engaged. 

Along with plenty of content about your pedagogy, this honest podcast delves into topics like crying in front of students. Bravo Ms. Gonzalez!

Discussion Prompts

• If you are unfamiliar with The Cult of Pedagogy, today is your lucky day!
• Focus on an episode specific to mental health, then talk about it with a colleague.

The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast with Cool Cat Teacher

Why We Like It

10-Minute Teacher podcaster, Top 40 EdTech Influencer and Cool Cat Teacher Vicki Davis, honors what the Science of Learning says about how our brains like to learn: in small chunks. With topics like: 

• 8 Essential Ingredients to Engage Students in the AI Age 
• 8 Awesome Ideas for Your Classroom in April 
• How to Tell If Teaching is Still a Good Fit for You 

…if you can carve out 10-minutes (or 12-18 in most cases), you’ll be that much wiser!

Discussion Prompts

• Short and to the point, The 10-Minute Teacher podcast is a quick lift of ideas that can recharge and refocus your day, week, or month! One perennial topic for many is if teaching is still a good fit for you. Listen to the episode, then ponder and discuss with a trusted colleague.
• Talk about how you stay in-the-know about your, and your students’, mental health. Then tell your colleagues about your favorite educational or mental health podcasts or episodes.

Teaching Channel Talks

Why We Like It

Of course, we couldn’t make this list without including Teaching Channel Talks! Hosted by Dr. Wendy Amato, this podcast features 20-minute interviews with individuals making an impact in education.

While not every episode is focused on mental health, Teaching Channel Talks recently hosted Dr. Tish Jennings, an internationally recognized thought leader in social-emotional learning and mindfulness, and Dr. Patricia Wright, a positive psychology leader working to expand educator wellbeing.

Discussion Prompts

• Listen to episode 86 with Dr. Tish Jennings, and consider her Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE) program. Do you think a mindfulness-based professional development program would be helpful for you to improve SEL in the classroom? Why or why not?
• Dr. Patricia Wright is interviewed in episode 78. Listen, then evaluate how you practice self-care. Do you agree with Dr. Wright’s perspective on “superficial” self-care recommendations? What is something from this episode you can integrate into your self-care routine?

About the Author

Susanne Leslie is a Professional Learning Specialist at Teaching Channel. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and a Master’s in Education. As a parent educator, Susanne’s specialty is Culture and Early Childhood instruction. In her current role, she writes courses and content, focusing on our Hybrid Blended Learning courses. 

Fun Fact: Susanne has jumped out of two (perfectly good) airplanes!

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