New year, new team meeting, and it’s Amanda behind the mic kicking off 2026 with what’s been on my mind lately. In this episode, I share updates from my move into an elementary school library role, why curated is my word of the year, and how that mindset is shaping everything from my home to my business. We also talk reading goals, audiobooks, and how my feelings about reading numbers have shifted over time. I wrap things up by zooming out to the bigger picture of teaching and leave you with one essential question every department should be asking as we plan for what’s next!

🔗 Resources:

• Amanda’s Top Reads of 2025
• My One Word Activity
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 275, Fine, We Can Game-ify Reading (But No Gimmicks!)
• Episode 276, Ok, But What if the Secret to Getting Them to Read is Getting Them to WRITE??
• Episode 277, Phones, Chromebooks, AI, and the Battle for Their Attention (Send Help!)
• Episode 278, Kids Have Officially Forgotten How to Play, and We're Going to Help Them Remember!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode280

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Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

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📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
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If you’re limping toward break and just trying to survive the week, this episode is a quick, honest team meeting and much-needed reality check. I reflect on how teaching has shifted since 2020, how AI and technology are changing our classrooms, and why many old strategies no longer work. This isn’t about changing everything now, but about planting seeds for a future shift and giving yourself permission to finish the year tired, steady, and still hopeful!

Resources:

• Real, Fake, or Deepfake? This Lesson Helps Students Decide
• Gen Z is Redefining Work - and Driving Their Managers Mad
• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

More BNT Team Meetings:

• Episode 275, Fine, We Can Game-ify Reading (But No Gimmicks!)
• Episode 276, Ok, But What if the Secret to Getting Them to Read is Getting Them to WRITE??
• Episode 277, Phones, Chromebooks, AI, and the Battle for Their Attention (Send Help!)
• Episode 278, Kids Have Officially Forgotten How to Play, and We're Going to Help Them Remember!

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode279

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

If your algorithm has also been screaming “screens are ruining humanity!” at you lately, then you’re right at home with us in this week’s team meeting. We break down the tech panic, talk about why students are tech comfortable but not tech fluent, and shift the focus back to building real human skills through creativity and play. From improv to pantomime, we’re exploring simple, screen-free ways to help kids think again, plus teasing our New Year’s “Favorite Things” party where we’ll swap our go-to play-based activities for the new term.

Resources:

• Article: We Asked Executives What Skills Young Works Are Missing. Here’s What They Said
• What the U.S. Can Learn From Finland, Where School Starts at Age 7
• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode278

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Screens are running the show, and we need to talk about it! Phones, Chromebooks, AI - they’re everywhere, and they’re changing how students focus, work, and just be. I (it's Marie!) break down two articles, one on how kids think we can get them off their phones, and another on how screen time is shaping education. From chaos during unstructured time to AI cheating popping up everywhere, it’s a lot to navigate. I also share a few screen-free ideas for your classroom and would love to hear how this shows up for you. Send us a DM and let's chat!

Resources:

• Article: What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones
• Article: The Screen That Ate Your Child’s Education
• The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
• Generation Me by Jean M. Twenge
• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode277

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

In this week's Brave New Teaching team meeting, Marie's going a bit off-script with an idea that has been bouncing around her head the last couple weeks about how to get students to engage with reading and the literacy epidemic that is plaguing society at large (it's a lot, we know...). Is the secret to getting students reading actually in just getting them to try things they are resistant to? Perhaps yes, perhaps no, but we won't know until we try! All that, plus a couple ideas to try in your classroom this week!

Resources:

• Boston Globe article: Schools are accommodating student anxiety - and making it worse

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode276

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Consider this your official invite to our Brave New Teaching team meeting! We’re catching you up on life, sharing what’s happening in our classrooms and libraries, and digging into why fun and whimsy are essential for bringing joy back to reading. We talk about the real challenges of getting students excited about books, our evolving thoughts on “gamifying” reading, and the gimmicks (or whimsy!) that actually work.

Resources:

• The Atlantic article: America is Sliding Toward Illiteracy
• Noa App
• Flipster App
• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 250, Teachers React: The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books - Part 1
• Episode 251, Teachers React: The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books - Part 2
• Episode 271, Back to School: State of the BNT Union + Reading Update

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode275

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Think you’ve seen all the dystopia books out there? Think again! In part three of our “Teaching Dystopia” series, we share hidden gems, fresh picks, and classics, from middle grade survival stories to YA novels exploring climate change and government control. We highlight favorites like Alone and Station Eleven, plus TV and movie options like The Simpsons and Fringe to spark discussion and critical thinking. Want more on this topic? Join us in Happy Hour, where we’ll keep the conversation going!

Check out the show notes for the full list of books we mentioned in this episode: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode274

Resources:

• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Teaching Dystopia Workshop
• Shop Our Faves.

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Have you ever felt like dystopia is the genre that just keeps on giving? In part two of our dystopia series, we focus on the essential skills that make these texts come alive in your classroom, showing why depth beats covering everything superficially. We explore how teaching students to notice author moves like juxtaposition helps them analyze tension, themes, and contrasts, keeping analysis at the heart of your unit. Plus, we share practical tips for streamlining your dystopia units, staying focused, and even embracing a little boredom to spark creativity. Hang tight for our next episode, packed with new text recommendations and ideas to refresh your curriculum!

Resources:

• NEW: Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Teaching Dystopia Workshop
• Shop Our Faves.
• Episode 272, Teaching Dystopia: New Essential Questions to Try

Related Episodes:

• Episode 61, Living in a Dystopian World
• Episode 81, Essential Question Workshop: Dystopia (Woohoo!)
• Episode 171, New Dystopian Texts & Supplements for Your ELA Classroom
• Episode 172, 3 Secrets to Teaching Dystopia

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode273

"Send us a message - please include your contact information so we can chat soon!"

Get your FREE Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs gateway lesson: shop.bravenewteaching.com/cloudy
Check out Curriculum Rehab here!

Support the show

📚 BNT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT & RESOURCES 👩‍💻

• Join Happy Hour!
• Curriculum Rehab
• Down with the Reading Quiz
• Shop the BNT Resource Library
• Connect with us on Instagram @bravenewteaching
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel