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How to Sell on TPT – Tutorials for aspiring teacher-authors

Do you want to learn how to sell on TPT? If you have an existing store needing TLC or you’re planning to start one, this post is for you!   How to Sell on TPT – Tips & tutorials for aspiring teacher-authors Are you considering opening a TpT store (or dusting one off), and you’d like to feel like a friend has your back? This post, and this resource, is for you! Whether you already have an online shop, or you have been wanting to get started designing secondary ELA resources, but feel too intimidated, I can help!   You deserve someone in your corner.   For the last few months, I’ve been putting together a resource to help teachers translate their awesome ideas into sellable resources. My new resource, “Design Like a TpT Seller,”

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Danielle Hall February 8, 2021

Terminus – Digital Breakouts for ELA

Are you looking for new digital breakouts for ELA? Look no further! I’d like to introduce you to my newest game series, Terminus. Terminus is a four-part digital adventure series geared towards 8th and 9th grade students who read below level. This story is a post-pandemic, found-text adventure. Playing as Rania, students work to solve the mystery of the MILSA outbreak by reading letters, memos, manuals, and emails left behind. Behind the game  This game was a labor of love by myself and my wife Amanda Thrasher. Amanda wrote the storyline, and I designed the puzzles. Then, we combined it all with incredible original art by Lily Chan. Amanda began writing Terminus in the summer of 2019 (while I was at the TPT conference!) and finished it later that year. Little did we know that

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Danielle Hall December 8, 2020
A photo of golden maple leaves in the sunlight. There is text overlaid that says "Engaging - Rigorous - Creative - Halloween Activities for Secondary ELA

10 Halloween School Activities for Secondary ELA

Looking for engaging and rigorous Halloween school activities for your Secondary ELA classroom? Look no further! These mini-lessons will build close reading skills, practice inferencing, and get students thinking creatively. Whether you are a Halloween lover or a Halloween tolerate-er, it will be on the forefront of your students’ brains this time of the year. They are likely dreaming up their costumes, gossiping about the hip parties, and totally ignoring your lessons! Here are 10 Halloween school activities for secondary ELA that will allow you to use that excitement in your classroom: 1. Analyze Symbolism & Allegory with Candy It seems like, as soon as the calendar flips to October, students have candy on the brain! You can “lean in” to this energy. If you’re reading a story with heavy symbolism (such as “Masque of

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Danielle Hall October 3, 2019

Teaching Executive Functioning with Escape Rooms

Have you been told you should be teaching executive functioning? Is this a totally overwhelming proposition? Where do you even start? Let’s break it down.       Teaching Executive Functioning   Executive Functioning is the complex way the brain ‘works’. We use these skills to make decisions, choices, and plans. When we use strong executive functioning, we work smarter. We can delay gratification when working towards a goal, plan for the future, and avoid feeling stuck when our plan hits a snag. A lack of executive function skills leads to impulsive/reckless behavior, poor planning/time management, and an inability to stick with a task from start to finish.    Sound familiar? Of course, it’s normal human behavior to be occasionally careless with our time, or to make a rash decision. But if students are struggling

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Danielle Hall July 18, 2019

Teaching Social Justice with Literature Circles

We read a lot of books with social issues for the YA Cafe Podcast, and I feature a lot of these books on my own Instagram. Because of this, teachers often ask me for resources for teaching social justice books. Today, I want to share some specific resources for teaching social justice literature circles.     Literature circles are classroom book clubs that give students a chance to read a selected novel with a small group of their peers. You can set this up several ways, but I typically choose enough books so that there are 4-5 readers per group. I have students meet twice per week over four weeks. Students make a reading schedule during their first group meeting and they generate focus questions for their reading. I like to have group presentations at the

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Danielle Hall May 21, 2019

Teaching LGBTQ+ Rights

Teachers on Instagram often ask me for tips on teaching LGBTQ+ rights. You want book recommendations, teaching resources, and ideas for increasing visibility and advocacy. Well, I’m here today to highlight one collaborative resource to get you started.     When my friend, Matt, from Surviving Social Studies shared his LGBTQ Painting Recreation, I knew I wanted to share it with you. In this collaborative project, students work together to recreate an inspirational painting advocating for LGBTQ+ civil rights.     I love this idea! It’s touching to ask students to each complete one piece of this painting since their actions on this earth work cumulatively towards peace and equality. There’s plenty of flexibility with this resource, too – you could have students fill the white space with thoughts and reflections on this topic.  

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Danielle Hall May 7, 2019