20 Best Podcasts for Middle School ELA to Listen to (2026)

Welcome to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast , where we help English Language Arts teachers create dynamic, engaging lessons while balancing the everyday responsibilities of teaching middle school. I'm Caitlin Mitchell, a longtime ELA educator and curriculum creator, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage grading, planning, and student needs—while still trying to have a life outside the classroom. That's why every Tuesday and Thursday , I bring you practical strategies, curriculum inspiration, and innovative teaching ideas to help you feel confident, prepared, and energized. Whether you're looking to revamp your writing instruction, streamline your planning process, or engage even the most reluctant readers and writers, you'll find actionable support here. You'll also hear real classroom stories, fresh lesson ideas, and occasional interviews with other passionate educators. If you teach reading and writing to middle schoolers and want to stay inspired and up-to-date with best practices in ELA education, you're in the right place. Tune in every week and let's transform your teaching—together. more

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! more

Want to love walking into your ELA classroom each day? Excited about innovative strategies like PBL, escape rooms, hexagonal thinking, sketchnotes, one-pagers, student podcasting, genius hour, and more? Want a thriving choice reading program and a shelf full of compelling diverse texts?You're in the right place!Here you'll find interviews with top authors from the ELA field, workshops with strategies you can use in class immediately, and quick tips to ignite your English teacher creativity. Love teaching poetry? Explore blackout poems, book spine poems, I am from poems, performance poetry, lessons for contemporary poets, and more.Excited to get started with hexagonal thinking? Find out how to build your first deck of hexagons, guide your students through their first discussion, and even expand into hexagonal one-pagers.Into visual learning? Me too! Learn about sketchnotes, one-pagers, and the writing makerspace. Want to get your students podcasting? Get the top technology recs you need to make it happen, and find out what tips a podcaster would give to students starting out.Wish your students would fall for choice reading? Explore top titles and how to fund them, learn to make your library more appealing, and find out how to be a top P.R. agent for books in your classroom. In it for the interviews? Fabulous! Find out about project-based-learning, innovative school design, what really helps kids learn deeply, design thinking, how to choose diverse texts, when to scaffold sketchnotes lessons, building your first writing makerspace, cultivating writer's notebooks, getting started with genius hour, and so much more, from our wonderful guests. Here at The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, discover you're not alone as a creative English teacher. You're part of a vast community welcoming students to their next escape room, rolling out contemporary poetry and reading aloud on First Chapter Fridays, engaging kids with social media projects and real-world ELA units. As your host (hi, I'm Betsy), I'm here to help you ENJOY your days at school and feel inspired by all the creative ways to teach both contemporary works and the classics your school may be pushing. I taught ELA at the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade levels both in the United States and overseas for almost a decade, and I didn't always get support for my creativity. Now I'm here to make sure YOU get the creative support you deserve, and it brings me so much joy. Welcome to The Spark Creativity Teacher Podcast, a podcast for English teachers in search of creative teaching strategies! more

The place where young readers meet to talk about books. The show includes a celebrity reader and an interview with the author. The host is award winning public radio journalist Kitty Felde. Book Club won the California Library Association Technology Award and the DC Mayor's Award for Excellence in the Humanitites. Named one of the top 10 podcasts for kids by THE TIMES of London. more

Join top educator host and creator of the Teach Me, Teacher podcast, Jacob Chastain, and his colleague and Abydos trainer, Pam Ochoa, as they share their expertise on the workshop model within the secondary classroom. Using their versatile Craft & Draft approach to reading-writing workshop as their foundation for creating a powerful secondary workshop, each episode will include deep discussions on the nuances of workshop teaching, fostering authentic readers and writers, and creating an equitable standards-based classroom. more

The study of literature can be fun, relevant, and meaningful for all students if we focus on inspiring creative and curious thinkers and writers. Visit www.theteachersworkshop.com to find more resources for secondary ELA (high school English language arts) teachers. more

Are you a K-8 Elementary or Middle School ELA teacher wondering how to get your students to write? This podcast is for teachers looking for a way to revamp and transform their writing time! You don't need daily lesson plans or prompts-you just need to understand what writers need! In this inspiring podcast, you will hear about the struggles, pitfalls, practices, and joy of teaching writing in a student-centered (workshop) model. Melissa guides you through the journey away from a more traditional, product-based writing time to a much more authentic, progress-based way of teaching writing.In each episode, you will gain insight into a student-centered model for writing instruction and receive bite-sized strategies that are able to be implemented right away. If you would like to feel more confident in teaching writing AND see your writers flourish, just press play! Let's begin your writing TRANSFORMATION! Melissa's Website: www.teaching-to-transform.com more

A space where English teachers in Queensland and beyond can connect about the joy and point of learning, language, and literature. more

Welcome to our show! We're Shannon and Tammy, two middle school ELA teacher besties with over twenty years of teaching experience. If you're a middle school ELA teacher and could use some fresh inspiration, listen to see if this podcast is for you! We will share lessons, activities, tips, and strategies that have made our own ELA classrooms successful! more

Welcome to Reading in the Middle, the podcast dedicated to exploring the captivating world of middle-grade books, hosted by Annisha Jeffries, Librarian and literary enthusiast. Each episode dives into stories that inspire and entertain readers ages 8 to 12. Join Annisha as she discusses the latest and greatest in middle-grade literature, shares insights on character development, themes, and writing styles, and reads exciting excerpts to bring these books to life. Whether you're a parent or an educator, 'Reading in the Middle' is your gateway to discovery. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. more

One self-proclaimed, avid reader and one reluctant reader, discussing contemporary, young adult literature. Sounds like the opening to an epic tale, but really this is just the journey of two middle school teachers who are embarking on a quest to find the best books for kids. Recognizing that they represent two bookends of the reading spectrum, Scott and Katie, are looking to find the books that will speak to students' minds and hearts (and maybe get one or two of them to pick up a book every once in a while). But, I guess, that's just novel reading.Logo Credit: @fearlessfallon (Instagram) more

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. more

Hosted by Secondary English Language Arts teacher Michelle Waters, reThink ELA offers strategies, products, and expert advice to help teachers build student-centered, socially conscious, and real-world relevant middle and high school English classes. more

Looking for booktalks for middle school students? Look no further than this podcast. Browse through the many titles in all different genres for just the right title to get your students inspired, excited and racing to the library for a copy of the book. Looking for written reviews for more titles? Check out the blog Booksinthemiddle.Wordpress.com to expand your own library and give students more options. New episodes typically release every Monday unless it is a holiday, however during the summer months, they will release every other week or so. Enjoy! more

If you're tired of guessing how to teach writing in middle school, you're in the right place. Robin Mellom is a veteran ELA teacher and published author of over ten children's books with Disney, HarperCollins, and Houghton Mifflin. She brings the clarity and structure you've been craving without the gimmicks.Hosted by Robin Mellom, author, middle school teacher, and creator of the Structured Writer's Workshop™, each episode delivers practical, classroom-tested strategies that work in grades 4 8. Learn how to implement evidence-based writing routines, like CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning), build lasting writing habits, and engage students in meaningful work that actually sticks. Best of all, they will learn how to write like the pros! more

A husband and wife team --- comprised of a junior high Language Arts teacher and a children's librarian --- spend each episode discussing a current popular middle grade/young adult novel: Would kids like it? Should parents recommend it to their kids? How might an ELA teacher use it in their classroom? Tune into each episode to hear Tim and Taylor answer all these questions and more! In addition to discussions about specific novels, alternating episodes will feature conversations about various aspects of young adult reading. Questions or Comments? Reach out to Tim and Taylor at: ****@gmail.com more

Are you a middle school ELA teacher looking for practical, proven strategies to help your students grow as confident readers and writers? Middle School Café is your go-to podcast for engaging teaching ideas, classroom-tested tools, and real talk about what works in today's ELA classroom. Each episode delivers actionable tips to help you close reading gaps, build student ownership, and create a classroom culture where literacy thrives. Whether you're navigating a curriculum, supporting struggling readers, or just looking for fresh ways to inspire your students, you'll find support, strategy, and a sense of community right here. Join a community of passionate middle school ELA teachers working to build confident, engaged readers. Visit www.middleschoolcafe.com for classroom tools, podcast extras, and resources to support every student on their reading journey. more

ELA Unlimited brings you creative strategies, classroom management tips, and inspiring ideas to make teaching English Language Arts easier and more engaging for middle school teachers. Whether you're a seasoned teacher or new to the classroom, join us weekly for insights on everything from lesson planning and student engagement to standards-based instruction and assessment. With practical tips and real-life classroom stories, this podcast is your go-to resource for elevating your middle school ELA classroom. Get ready to save time, boost student success, and love teaching ELA even more! more

Calling all middle school language arts teachers!  Teaching has become so overwhelming.  It can be isolating at times, and it is sometimes difficult to get help when you need it.  In this podcast, we will discuss the many complexities that middle school language arts teachers face.  There will be tons of actionable ideas to help you simplify your planning, streamline your teaching, and enjoy more free time. more

YA Book Stack is an in-conversation podcast with Australian authors who discuss the application of their text in the middle years English classroom and the ways their text is reflective of the experiences of young adult readers and the world they engage with. Through a focus on the text in the classroom, YA Book Stack aims to encourage educators to embrace the flexibility of the middle years and explore a broader range of texts in their curriculum. more