PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR

SCHOOLS & DISTRICTS

Adventurous Teaching for Secondary ELA

I help grades 6–12 English departments design inquiry-driven units built on essential questions, so the classic novels they already teach become journeys students actually want to take.

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For English departments ready to do things differently.

Your teachers are hearing "This is boring" and "Why do we have to read this?" every day. Students shut down on any text that isn't instantly fun, and everyone is feeling the pressure of the reading crisis.

The problem usually isn't the books, and it isn't your teachers.

It's units built around plot instead of questions.

When a unit is driven by "what happens next," students have no reason to care. When it's driven by a question worth arguing about, the same novel becomes something they want to explore.

My workshops help middle and high school English teams make that shift, using the texts and curriculum you already have. No new program to buy, no scripted lessons. Just a better way through the books you already love to teach.

Built for:

  • English departments in grades 6–12, from a single team to a whole district

  • Instructional coaches and literacy leaders planning PD around reading engagement

  • Curriculum directors working on vertical alignment and unit redesign

Three workshops, one journey

Every school starts in a different place. Some need a spark for a whole staff; others are ready to rebuild their curriculum from the ground up. These three workshops work on their own or as a path you can follow over a year.

  1. The Map — Reframing Resistance: The Four Reading Realms. A shared language for why students resist reading, and how to meet them where they are.

  2. The Route — Classics, Reimagined. Inquiry-based unit design that turns the novels you already teach into questions worth exploring.

  3. The Expedition — Uncharted: The Inquiry Unit Makeover. Bring one unit you've taught the same way for years and leave with it rebuilt.

Not sure where to start? Most schools begin with the Four Reading Realms and come back for Classics, Reimagined. I'm happy to help you plan the path.

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Reframing Resistance: The Four Reading Realms

A reading engagement workshop for grades 6–12 teachers

Students don't resist reading because they can't. More often, they're confused about why they're reading and what kind of thinking a text is asking of them. The Four Reading Realms is a framework I developed to make that purpose visible, by separating reading into four intentional realms focused on identity, perseverance, efficiency, and discernment. When students know which realm they're in, the eye-rolls turn into effort.

Teachers will leave with:

  • A shared schoolwide language for why students resist specific texts

  • Practical ways to talk about "hard books" that build perseverance instead of frustration

  • Classroom-ready tools: the Four Realms poster, framework cheat sheet, and reflection exit ticket

  • A simple plan to introduce the realms to students the next day

Details Description
Format Keynote (60–90 minutes) or half-day workshop
Delivery
 In person or virtual
Group size Any, from one department to a full district institute
Best for Back-to-school institutes, literacy initiatives, a first PD session with a new school
Investment Contact for 2026/27 rates

Want a preview first?

Read more about it → CLICK HERE

Watch the free Four Reading Realms webinar → REGISTER HERE

secondary ela professional development mud and ink teaching
secondary ela professional development mud and ink teaching

Classics, Reimagined: Inquiry-Based Unit Design for Secondary ELA

Essential question units for classic novels and modern texts

The books stay the same. The journey through them changes. In this flagship workshop, English departments move their planning from units that are text-centered and plot-driven to units built around essential questions, the kind of questions students can argue about long after the last chapter. We pair classic novels with contemporary texts, media, and ideas so students see why these stories still matter.

Departments will:

  • Learn the research behind inquiry-driven, essential question–based units

  • Write, test, and revise essential questions for the novels they already teach

  • Pair classic texts with modern companions: poems, articles, speeches, film, and nonfiction

  • Workshop horizontal and vertical alignment across grade levels

  • Leave with workbooks, templates, sample curriculum maps, and every resource on a shared drive

secondary ela professional development mud and ink teaching
essential question and inquiry design pd with amanda cardenas

Details Description
Format 1–2 day workshop
Delivery
 In person (virtual on request)
Group size Any; designed for English departments
Best for Curriculum overhauls, new adoptions, departments ready to move beyond plot quizzes
Investment $4,500 per day + travel

Uncharted: The Inquiry Unit Makeover

Hands-on unit redesign for middle and high school English teams

Every department has that one unit: the one taught the same way for years, the one nobody quite loves anymore. Bring it. In one focused day, we rebuild it around an essential question, refresh it with new texts and activities, and send your team home with a unit that feels like new territory.

Choose your unit:

  • Shakespeare

  • Dystopian fiction

  • Memoir and biography

  • Poetry and the Big Six

  • Literature circles and book clubs

  • Rhetorical analysis

Teams will leave with: a rebuilt unit anchored in an essential question, new paired texts and activities, and all materials on a shared drive.

secondary ela professional development mud and ink teaching
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Details Description
Format

1 day per unit
Delivery
 In person (virtual on request)
Group size Any
Best for

Departments that want a concrete win, or a follow-up to Classics, Reimagined
Investment $4,500 per day + travel
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MEET YOUR GUIDE

secondary ela professional development mud and ink teaching 
Hello!

Amanda Cardenas is a secondary ELA curriculum designer, the founder of Mud & Ink Teaching, and co-host of the Brave New Teaching podcast. After 13 years teaching middle and high school English, she now helps departments across the country design inquiry-driven units built on essential questions. She has presented for district-wide institutes of 150 teachers and led intimate, intensive workshops for small English departments, and she created the Four Reading Realms framework for reaching resistant readers. She holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction.

Amanda's sessions are known for their energy, ready-to-use strategies, and generosity: participants leave with workbooks, every resource on a shared drive, and a renewed sense of purpose.

WHAT TEACHERS & STAFF HAVE TO SAY:

  • “I already have two units 95% done because of this training.”

    Aaron P - 10th Grade Teacher

  • “I have used essential questions in my classroom but have not necessarily in a meaningful way. I cannot wait to start planning more units around essential questions and really using them to guide my assessments as well as the supplemental activities."

    Haley T - 9th Grade ELA Teacher

  • “I'm going to try and implement the weekly plan that was shared with us during the training, and sticking to it. I want to create and implement Sesame Street Quizzes as well as utilize my novels for Close Reading, instead of whole class reading.”

    Phillipa A. - 11th Grade Teacher

  • “I would very much like another training with Amanda in the future. I plan to use many of the tools revamping some of my lessons and quizzes.”

    Cheryl R. - AP Lang & AP Literature

  • "Thank you so much for everything, everyone left saying that was the best PD we have ever had as a team!"

    Aliya C. — Jemison High Department Chair

  • “I have several things that I can implement IMMEDIATELY (style of trackers, close reading focus docs), and I have a few things that I will slowly implement (the bigger picture of her presentation).”

    Tim T. - 9th Grade ELA. Teacher

  • "What a wonderful PD. The presenter was engaging and incredibly knowledgeable. I look forward to working with her in the future and implementing some of her strategies."

    Obasi O. - 11th Grade Teacher

  • "Such a great and informative time shared with Amanda! The format of her workshop allowed for take-aways, reflection, and planning. Educator led and it showed!”

    Anastasia K. — 7th Grade ELA Teacher

  • “It was amazing to see a whole district of teachers engage in a way that I have not seen before!”

    Bob C. — District 211 Division Chair

  • "Amanda is very energetic and passionate about her work. I came out of this workshop with lots of ideas.

    Colleen H. -8th Grade ELA Teacher

  • "This is the first PD that I have ever attended that I left with actionable things AND curriculum that doesn't require me to use valuable time to create more. "

    Rebecca W. - IB Team Leader; 11th & 12th Grade ELA

Frequently Asked Questions

  • All three workshops are designed for middle and high school English teachers, grades 6–12. Examples and texts are tailored to the grade bands in the room.

  • Yes. The Four Reading Realms is available as a virtual keynote or workshop, and Classics, Reimagined and Uncharted can be delivered virtually on request.

  • Full-day workshops start at $4,500 per day plus travel, and department curriculum consulting starts at $3,500. Every session is customized, so you'll receive a quote after we talk.

  • All teachers receive a certificate of completion and Amanda is prepared to fulfill any other district requests to ensure teachers earn their credits for attendance.

  • Yes! We can arrange that together once we’ve booked the workshop.

  • I'm based in the Chicago area and travel internationally. Travel expenses are added to in-person bookings.

  • Yes. Start with the free Four Reading Realms webinar, explore one-on-one coaching, or browse online courses for ELA teachers.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP:

FILL OUT OUR REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FORM BELOW AND AMANDA WILL PERSONALLY REACH OUT WITH AN AGENDA AND QUOTE FOR YOUR SPECIFIC SCHOOL’S NEEDS. PLEASE LEAVE AS MUCH DETAILED INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE!