Unit Makeover: Transforming Frankenstein with a Novel in Verse [S5 E115]

Listen to the full episode below:

Sometimes the best ideas and inspiration come from hearing about other teachers’ experiences in the classroom. That’s why I’m excited to have Ana Perez on the Brave New Teaching podcast today.

I (it’s me, Amanda!) connected with Ana a little over a year ago after Ana reached out for coaching support. Ana is also an avid listener of this podcast!

In this conversation, you’ll hear Ana share about her idea of pairing difficult texts together. Hold on to your seats, because it’s incredible.

Ana paired Frankenstein with Punching the Air. She created an entire unit that covered a classic text, a film of that text, and a YA novel in verse. She’s going to tell us all about how she dreamed this unit up, how she planned it all out, and how the unit actually went for her students.

She hasn’t left anything out of this unit. She’s got essential questions, connections between texts, conceptual ideas, vocabulary, assessments, and even two Socratic Seminars. *chef’s kiss!*

Ana truly puts the “brave” in Brave New Teaching, as she pushed through her fear and covered sensitive topics throughout the unit. The results? Engagement, curiosity, new information, and new ways of thinking.

Oh, and don’t worry teachers, I ask Ana logistical  questions about the unit as well, like how long it took her, what her schedule was like, and where exactly assessments cut into the content. If you are considering undergoing a big unit design, or anything else new and inditimating in your classroom, you won’t want to miss this episode!

Meet Ana:

Ana is a 10th year high school ELA teacher and a Jill of many other trades including poetry, Zumba, and techy resource creation. In the classroom she's a proponent of relationships over content, and outside the classroom, she enjoys creating resources to help other teachers foster meaningful relationships, too. She is passionate about sharing both knowledge and empathy, and believes strongly in the importance of mental health for both teachers and students. 

As a teacher, Ana often embeds technology and multimedia to reach different types of learners and looks for ways to discuss social justice issues alongside classic and contemporary literature. Teaching kids how to think, not what to think, is her greatest aim, while also teaching the art of detailed, thorough analysis writing. She believes in challenging them to stretch beyond their comfort zones and ensuring they simultaneously feel seen, heard, and understood. They are human first, and students second. 

Ana's passion project is her small business - Simply Ana P - where she shares educational blog posts, sells interactive resources, and schedules tech tutorial sessions for other teachers. She loves continuing to learn and grow, while helping others along the way. "I don't have it all figured out most of the time, but I do face it all with a lot of love, which gives me the courage to keep going." 

Topics Covered:

  • The importance of enjoying your personal life outside of teaching

  • Details of Anna’s coaching experience

  • Essential questions, and how they have made novels more accessible for Anna’s students

  • How supplementals played an important role in her units

  • Being brave when you teach sensitive topics

Connect with Ana:

Resources:

Related Episodes:

More about Brave New Teaching:

Join hosts Amanda Cardenas (Mud & Ink Teaching) and Marie Morris (The Caffeinated Classroom) in discussions about being brave, trying new things, and all things teaching! As seasoned classroom teachers, Amanda and Marie bring their experience, insight, energy, and oh, so many opinions and ideas... It's time for all teachers to take their classroom and teaching practice into their own hands!

Tune in on your favorite podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

Amanda Cardenasunit, strategies, assessment, inspiration, advice