Podcast
The Fresh Queens of ELA IRL ✏️✨
Hosted by Ana Perez + Hannah Hazelbach · ENGLISH
Each episode, we connect what’s going on in secondary ELA classrooms from classic texts to complex themes with your students’ FYPs to create innovative learning experiences and spaces for critical conversation. We believe ELA is ALIVE and meaningful in our world more than ever, and we are thrilled to empower teachers to adapt these creative ideas in their classrooms.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Rhetoric is All Around
2d ago00:48:00Tap to summarize🎙️ Season 2 Episode 5 - Rhetoric is All Around Today’s episode is all about how rhetoric (like love) is “all around!” Hannah and Ana bring in their favorite ways to set the foundation for introducing rhetorical appeals, and lessons that help students confidently transfer their knowledge to more complex ideas and perspectives. Hannah’s Favs: - Check out Hannah’s Rhetoric Bundle for her “hot takes” rhetoric introduction lessons, rhetoric in iconic movie monologues, and transferable to any textbook lesson on MLK speeches. Ana's Faves: - lalala - Check out rockstar teacher extraordinaire Tabitha Ginther and her innovative approach to teaching rhetoric using a zombie apocalypse Rapid Fire Recs: Speeches - Barbie: Gloria to Barbies and all women - Dead Poets Society: Keaton to students - Pirates of the Caribbean 3: Elizabeth to all the pirates - Rocky Balboa: Rocky and his Son - A Few Good Men: Courtroom “you can’t handle the truth!” - Hidden Figures: Courtroom and “work like a dog” - Good Will Hunting: Bench Scene - The Dark Knight Joker “Why So Serious” - The Dark Knight Batman: “Whatever Gotham needs me to be” to Commissioner Gordon - 10 Things I Hate About You: “I hate the way you…” - Remember the Titans: “The Battle of Gettysburg” - "Dear Basketball": Kobe Bryant (go see our poetry episode for more!) - Hopper’s Letter to El in Stranger Things Season 3 Rapid Fire Recs: Tech for Writing Fun - We Will Write - Frankenstories - My Short Answer If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!
Transcribe →For the Love of Books
Apr 2300:55:14Tap to summarize🎙️ Season 2 Episode 4 - For the Love of Books! In today’s episode, we discuss the philosophy of “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” when it comes to fostering a love of reading in our classrooms through designated SSR and choice reads. Before this episode, we pulled 5 books from our bookshelf at random. We have no idea what the other chose; we simply let destiny run the conversation today, as our own libraries represent who we are, and the philosophy of “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors.” Hannah's Grabs: Neverwhere: Neil Gaiman Saga: Brian K. Vaughn Of Mice and Men: John Steinbeck Just for the Summer: Abby Jimenez The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: V.E. Schwab Hope Leslie: Catherine Maria Sedgwick Ana's Grab's: Fragile Thing: Neil Gaiman Just Mercy: Brian Stevenson We Were Liars: E. Lockhart Verity: Colleen Hoover I Am Rebel: Ross Montgomery The Slight Edge: Jeff Olsen Another essential site we LOVE - Doesthedogdie.com Ana's Freebie: Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors Annotation Task If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!
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How We Romeo and Juliet
Mar 800:45:18Tap to summarize🎙️ Season 2 Episode 2 - How We Romeo and Juliet One of THE most popular, and right of passage texts for 9th grade students. How do we take this tragic “love story” and make it engaging and accessible to our students? In this episode, we dive into our favorite ways to bring Romeo and Juliet to LIFE in our classrooms, with ESSENTIALS for setting up the text, keeping engagement high through each act, and summative assessments that MEAN MORE to our students than another literary analysis essay (and how to shift your approach if THIS is the assessment your curriculum requires). ✨ What you’ll hear inside: Our FAVORITE ways to “set the stage" Strategies for in-class reading/performance days to keep the flow from becoming monotonous, and to prevent drool on the desks “Red Flag” language for kick-starting essential questions conversations and debates How to incorporate that required “Literary Analysis” WITHOUT a full 5-paragraph essay Summative assessments that encourage students to see how the influence of Romeo and Juliet lives EVERYWHERE! Rapid Fire Recs: (For use throughout the unit) No Fear Shakespeare My Shakespeare Folger Digital Texts 1996 movie version with Leo DiCaprio 1968 Franco Zeffirelli movie version with Zac Efron dupe Gnomeo and Juliet (Hannah's fave!) "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" - short story by Evan Hunter High School Musical - movie available on Hulu/Disney Plus Rapid Fire Recs: (R + J Romance Vibes) The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene (also a movie) A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks (also a movie) The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon (also a movie) West Side Story (musical) Outer Banks - show available on Netflix (focus on the relationship between John B. Routledge and Sarah Cameron) Never Have I Ever - show available on Netflix (focus on the relationship between Devi Vishwakumar and Paxton Hall-Yoshida) They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Warm Bodies (Ana's fave!) - movie available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong Gilmore Girls - show available on Netflix (focus on Rory's relationship with Jess Mariano) Pride by Ibi Zoboi If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!
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“We’re Still Here” - The Benito Bowl
Feb 1500:57:04Tap to summarize🎙️ Season 2, Episode 2 - “We’re Still Here” - The Benito Bowl On the eve of this episode release, it has been exactly a week since Bad Bunny performed at the 60th Super Bowl, and we have a lot to say about it. In this episode, Hannah and Ana break down all things Benito Bowl including how to guide authentic conversations that are already happening in the classroom, some of the intentional, impactful choices of the show, and the contagious joy and love from watching, even if you or your students don’t speak Spanish. Ana also shares her story of identity and what Latinidad means to her. *Trigger warning: This episode does touch on some sensitive subject matter, including SA. Check out Ana’s resource for The Vastness of Latinidad here. If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.pHannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.comAna → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode!
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New Year, New Season, New Ways to Empower Students
Jan 2500:48:23Tap to summarize🎙️ Season 2, Episode 1 - New Year, New Season, New Ways to Empower Students Welcome to SEASON 2 of The Fresh Queens of ELA IRL! 👑📚 We’re back, giving you revolutionary ways to bring ELA to life in your classroom. In this episode, we dive into NEW THINGS exciting us inside the classroom and in our lives, as well as our FAVORITE ways for empowering student thinking and showcasing understanding through choice in formative and summative assessments. ✨ What you’ll hear inside: Hannah and Ana’s exciting LIFE UPDATES, joys, and goals heading into 2026 Our FAVORITE student choice assessments, including Character choice boards and writing prompts: bringing meaningful application to complex characterization. Characterization charts, graphs, and interactive scenarios that bring characters to LIFE beyond the pages of a text. Our FAVORITE student choice assessments, including “Staff Picks” to “Student Recs” showcasing student voice from our classrooms to the community Literary FOOD TRUCKS and giving students freedom to be creative and think differently about how they bring their knowledge of a text to LIFE How we give students CHOICE within an essay prompt to demonstrate meaningful synthesis and analysis. 🚨Bonus: Click here for a FREEBIE - activities from this episode we are OBSESSED WITH! Characterization places If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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Mix and Match your Dystopia
Dec 1400:54:29Tap to summarize🎙️ Episode 7 - Mix & Match Your Dystopia ✨ What you’ll hear inside: In today's episode (our final episode of Season 1!), we walk you through navigating engagement strategies for teaching a dystopian text in this world that students recognize as dystopian in many ways. We also discuss our thoughts and fave practices for Socratic seminars and having complex conversations with our students. Seminar Student Goal Options: Speak 3 times Speak only twice (if you’ve previously spoken a lot in other class discussions) Add to someone’s comments Invite someone to speak Make a text-to-world connection Make a text-to-self connection Make a text-to-text connection Regroup the class when we get off topic Ask a new question Validate classmates’ comments Challenge classmates’ comments respectfully Rapid Fire Recs - Classics: 1984 by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Fahrenheit 451 by Rad Bradbury The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Animal Farm by George Orwell Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand Anthem by Ayn Rand Contemporary: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins The Grace Year by Kim Liggett Unwind by Neal Shusterman All Better Now by Neal Shusterman Maze Runner by James Dashner Divergent by Veronica Roth Legend by Marie Lu Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Scythe by Neal Shusterman The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey The Selection Series by Kiera Cass Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.pHannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.comAna → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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NCTE 2025 Recap: Music, AI, and the Power of Stories
Nov 2300:34:32Tap to summarize🎙️ Episode 6 - NCTE 2025 Recap: Music, AI, and the Power of Storytelling ✨ What you’ll hear inside: We're coming to you live and together in the same room in this episode from Denver, Colorado, where we attended and presented at the Conference for the National Council for Teachers of English, and we had an absolute blast! We recap our favorite moments and sparked ideas from the conference, including our thoughts on Jason Reynolds' latest release, an audio book experience titled Soundtrack, where ELA teachers stand in this world of AI, and the importance of reflection for both teachers and students. If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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A Hero's Journey Remixed: The Odyssey x Stranger Things
Nov 1500:55:16Tap to summarize🎙️ Episode 5 - A Hero's Journey Remixed: The Odyssey x Stranger Things ✨ What you’ll hear inside: We are all living the hero's journey in some way, but what IS the hero’s journey? Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, is credited with popularizing the concept of the hero's journey, or monomyth, in his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. There are SEVERAL different adaptations of what the hero’s journey means, the one that I have used for my classes involves 12 stages in which the hero crosses from the ordinary world to the extraordinary world, but they all have the same goal which is to demonstrate the complexities of the hero as they navigate their life/destiny. In today’s episode, we’re talking “The Hero’s Journey” as it relates to The Odyssey, connecting back to Stranger Things on Netflix. You ready for this adventure?! Essential Questions: Journal Prompts/Small Group Discussions What makes someone a hero? What do obstacles and failures teach us about ourselves? What do kids have to offer to the world? What does bravery look like at your age? How can I be a hero in where I am today in life? / In my future path? How can ordinary people do extraordinary things? What helps us keep hope alive when we're surrounded by darkness? Rapid Fire Recs - Epic: The Musical Concept Album - available on Spotify Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan Moana Hercules Super 8 - available on Amazon Prime Video Black Panther The Goonies Harry Potter* The Last of Us* - show on Hulu Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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Identity, Expectations, and Family Dynamics: Romeo and Juliet x Freakier Friday
Nov 100:42:55Tap to summarize🎙️ Episode 4 - Identity, Expectations, and Family Dynamics: Romeo and Juliet x Freakier Friday ✨ What you’ll hear inside: 60 sec recaps How you can attack this play from multiple lenses Our fave engagement strategies for a little razzle dazzle Tips for tackling several topics/themes Rapid fire recs (also posted below!) Essential Questions: Journal Prompts/Small Group Discussions/Compare and Contrast How can misunderstandings between parents and children shape the choices each makes? What role does communication (or the lack of it) play in family conflict? In what ways can generational differences create tension or strengthen relationships? How do family expectations influence the way young people view love, identity, and independence? What happens when individuals feel their families don’t understand them? To what extent should family loyalty outweigh personal desires? How do family dynamics affect the risks young people are willing to take? Rapid Fire Recs - Movies/Shows: Freaky Friday KPOP Demon Hunters Turning Red Elemental Coco Encanto Never Have I Ever Gilmore Girls All American Mulan Lilo and Stitch Grease Teen Beach Movie West Side Story The Barbie Movie High School Musical Wicked Books/Other: The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas Little Women by Louisa May Alcott "On The Sidewalk Bleeding" - short story by Evan Hunter "Still I Rise" - poem by Maya Angelou If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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We’re All A Little Outcast-y Here: Poe x Wednesday x Stranger Things
Oct 1900:52:28Tap to summarize🎙️ Episode 3 - We’re All A Little Outcast-y Here: Poe x Wednesday x Stranger Things ✨ What you’ll hear inside: 60 sec recaps Our fave Poe texts + how we brought them to life in our classrooms Wednesday x Stranger Things as supplements to any spooky or outcast-themed unit Extra engagement options for a little razzle dazzle Tips for tackling heavy, dark topics Rapid fire recs (also posted below!) Essential / Discussion Questions Options: How do gothic settings act as characters themselves, shaping the story and reflecting the decay or resilience of the people inside? How do each of these characters balance wanting to belong with wanting to stay true to themselves? Do these stories suggest that being an outcast is something chosen, forced, or a mix of both? What mood do these stories create for the audience, and how does that mood help us empathize with the outsider perspective? What do these texts teach us about how guilt distorts reality? Rapid Fire Recs - Poe Works: “The Tell-Tale Heart” – A guilty narrator insists on their sanity after committing murder; classic unreliable narrator “The Fall of the House of Usher” – A tale of decay, madness, and isolation in a crumbling mansion (also adapted to Netflix as a series of many of his stories, but not school-appropriate) “The Black Cat” – Themes of guilt, violence, and psychological torment “The Masque of the Red Death” – A wealthy prince and his guests try to hide from a deadly plague “The Cask of Amontillado” – Revenge and betrayal in a dark underground crypt “The Pit and the Pendulum” – A prisoner endures terrifying tortures during the Spanish Inquisition “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” – Considered the first modern detective story “The Gold-Bug” – A cryptography and treasure-hunt tale (episodes or clips from Netflix's Outer Banks would be a really cool, unexpected supplemental) “The Oval Portrait” – A short, eerie piece about art, obsession, and life drained for beauty “The Raven” - Poe's renowned classic poem of grief and madness "Annabel Lee" - A mournful ballad of love defying death Spooky/eerie/dark books, movies, shows: Books: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (pen name of Daniel Handler) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland Movies: Edward Scissorhands The Perks of Being a Wallflower Coraline Beetlejuice 1 + 2 Fear Street Movie Series (not fully school appropriate, but could use clips) Shows: School Spirits (10/10 recommend!) Buffy the Vampire Slayer Freaks and Geeks Chilling Adventures of Sabrina A Series of Unfortunate Events (perfect more light hearted spooks, especially for younger grades) Euphoria (definitely not school-appropriate, but trust us, your kids have seen it) 🚨Bonus: Click here for a SPECIAL FREEBIE - Pin the Raven on the Poe - includes printable artwork, variations of the game for different grade levels, and optional ELA-integrated extensions 🤗 If you loved this episode and hanging out with us, make sure to subscribe, rate, and leave a review. This helps more teachers find us and join the conversation and the revolution. 👉 Stay connected with us: Ana's socials: @simply.ana.p Hannah's socials: @teachengagingela You can also visit our websites for extra resources + PDs: Hannah → www.teachengagingela.com Ana → www.simplyanap.com 💌 Got an idea, question, or a text you want us to tackle? Slide into our DMs or send us a message because we might just feature it in an upcoming episode. Be sure to subscribe for show updates, share this with your teacher bestie, and leave us a review 🫶
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