What do you do when last period feels like it’s dragging and everyone, including you, is running on fumes? In part two of our conversation with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, we share quick, high-energy strategies to reset the room, from Top Chef–inspired build challenges to two-sentence horror stories and poetry puzzles that get students moving and thinking fast.

We also talk meme projects for Pride and Prejudice, character playlists for Frankenstein, and how to build a classroom culture where it’s safe to care. Most importantly, we remind you that engagement doesn’t have to be nonstop chaos. Sometimes quiet reading and plot review are exactly what your students need, and what you’re doing already matters.

Resources:

• 100% Engagement Listening Guide (FREE!)
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 96, How to Select Choice Reading + Our 20 Favorite Classroom Books
• Episode 191, Project Based Learning: An Interview with Danielle Hicks
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix It
• Episode 284, 100% Engagement (Part 1)

✨ SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode286

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📚 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

🔗 Grab our FREE 100% Engagement Listening Guide to get even more out of this episode!

Ever feel inspired by great teaching ideas, but they never quite make it into real lessons? In this episode, we kick off a special 3-part series with Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, co-authors of 100% Engagement, to share practical, doable ways to boost participation, collaboration, and authentic engagement - without a total classroom overhaul.

From their journey as co-authors to honest conversations about student buy-in and boredom, we dig into what real engagement actually looks like. You’ll also hear rapid-fire classroom scenarios and strategies that get students talking, moving, and genuinely invested.

Resources:

• 100% Engagement Listening Guide (FREE!)
• Become a founding beta tester of Brave New Teaching University.
• Take our quiz, and we’ll send you an episode playlist that’s tailored just for you!
• 100% Engagement by Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber
• Much Ado About Teaching
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 96, How to Select Choice Reading + Our 20 Favorite Classroom Books
• Episode 191, Project Based Learning: An Interview with Danielle Hicks
• Episode 199, Lesson Plan Rescue: Not Enough Books

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

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

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

Super Bowl weekend is here, and while the game is fun, we’re really here for the commercials, and how to teach them well! In this team meeting, we share book talk and a clear plan for tackling Super Bowl commercial analysis. You’ll hear practical, classroom-ready steps using tools like the Four Reading Realms and SPACE CAT to help students have stronger conversations, deeper analysis, and way more buy-in!

Resources:

• My 2026 Amazon List
• 4 Reading Realms Webinar (free!)
• Rhetorical Analysis Starter Kit
• Watch BNT episodes on YouTube!
• Shop Our Faves.

Related Episodes:

• Episode 178, Unit Makeover: Rhetorical Analysis
• Episode 280, New Year Teacher Trends for 2026: Goals, Books, and Real Talk
• Episode 282, We’re Building Our ELA Units WRONG. Here’s How to Fix it.
• Episode 283, Resistant Readers Need the Four Reading Realms: A Walkthrough - BNT Team Meeting

SHOW NOTES: https://www.bravenewteaching.com/home/episode284

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

Head to bravenewteaching.com/waitlist to become a beta tester for BNT University!

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