Shows
All in One Podcast for Middle School Language Arts Teachers5 Inspiring Books for Middle Schoolers: September Reading for Hispanic Heritage MonthSeptember is the perfect time to refresh your classroom reading list, especially as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Middle school students can gain empathy, cultural understanding, and inspiration through stories that reflect diverse experiences.
In this episode, we will discuss 5 books that are perfect for September reading. There are ideas to go along with each novel, plus a link to my YouTube channel where I read these books as part of my "First Chapter Friday" series.
The books included this month:
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
The House on Mango Street by S...
2025-09-1316 min
WCNY Community FMSyracuse (On)Stage, Episode 29 - The Julie Lutz New Play Festival with Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales BalcárcelPlaywrights Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel talk with Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo about the new plays they are developing during the Julie Lutz New Play Festival.
2025-06-0624 min
Syracuse (On)StageThe Julie Lutz New Play Festival with Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales BalcárcelPlaywrights Zizi Majid & Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel speak with Associate Artistic Director Melissa Crespo about the plays they are developing as part of the Julie Lutz New Play Festival. ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTSZizi Majid is a playwright whose plays advocate for a shared humanity. She is the inaugural recipient of the Julia Miles Playwriting Residency (WP Theatre) during which she wrote the play Milk. She was a 2022-23 Playwriting Fellow with the Dramatists Guild Foundation and is a proud alum of the WP Lab. She won the Pacific Rim Prize for Playwriting (Kumu Ka...
2025-06-0624 min
Picture Books Are for Grown-Ups, Too!S1E10 | Terry Catasús Jennings and 'The Little House of Hope'“Hope is the beginning of progress. Hope is the beginning of moving forward.” –Terry Catasús JenningsToday we’re talking about immigration experiences, seeing past labels, and the power of hope with Terry Catasús Jennings.Today’s Picture Book: The Little House of Hope by Terry Catasús Jennings and illustrated by Raúl Colón Terry Catasús Jennings is a Cuban-American writer who immigrated to the United States after her father was jailed in Cuba by Fidel Castro’s government. She was twelve at the time and knew no English. Th...
2023-03-1825 min