Meet the Maker: Mary Beth Nerone

In our Meet the Maker series, we shine a light on some of the many talented educators behind the resources on TPT, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at their process and their story. 

Mary Beth Nerone has spent every minute of her 20 years in education dreaming up new ways to create lessons that help students fall in love with learning. “I’m wild about creating fun lesson plans that get students thinking and learning in new ways,” she says. In fact, it was one of the main reasons she was inspired to start her shop, Brain Waves Instruction, on TPT: to help teachers in the pursuit of making teaching more fun — and much easier.

Read on to learn more about Mary Beth’s passion for creating fun, rigorous lesson plans that help students discover the joy in learning.

What’s a piece of advice you’d share with educators this year?

As you think about the new school year, don’t forget to incorporate a little surprise and delight into your classroom. Keep students on their toes with spontaneous dance parties, creative brain bursts, funny stories, surprise guest speakers, silly voices, and learning games. These unexpected moments can create memorable experiences and foster a positive classroom culture.

What are two resources you’d recommend for educators for back to school?

Take the guesswork out of setting up a fun, engaging, and well-organized classroom with this Back to School Toolkit. It’s filled with over 200 pages of kid-tested and teacher-approved resources for classroom organization, first week activities, classroom management, parent resources, Open House materials, and plenty of resources to use all year long.

Back to School, Beginning of Year, Classroom Set Up, Management, Organization
Grades: 5th-8th | English language arts

Make planning for a substitute teacher a breeze with this set of no-copies-needed sub plans. Each plan is centered around listening comprehension, note taking, and creative writing. They’re engaging, educational, and the best part: they require absolutely no extra effort from you!

Emergency Substitute Plans, 3 SETS!, No copies, Listening & Writing Sub Lessons
Grades: 4th-8th | English language arts, Writing

Tell us a bit about how being a TPT Teacher-Author changed your life.
I have always had an educator’s heart. I dreamed of being a teacher as a child. While in the classroom, I spent my career enthusiastically teaching English language arts, reading and writing lab, creative writing, British literature, and social studies. I have had the opportunity to teach internationally in Belize, England, and Africa.

When my teaching job was cut due to low student enrollment nearly a decade ago, I felt like my world crashed around me. I was devastated. Who was I without a class full of students? What could I do without lessons to plan? How could I use my training and experiences to help others? 

Then, like a wonderful miracle, I discovered TPT. As I began writing and sharing my favorite lessons on the platform, my world began to open again. When I created a lesson, heard positive feedback from a fellow teacher, published a blog post about my teaching experiences, designed units to help other educators, I discovered a new purpose. 

TPT has changed my life because it helped my educator’s heart beat again after it was broken. It’s connected me to extraordinary teachers across the globe and taught me how engaging lesson plans can empower other educators, motivate students, and inspire learning for us all.

What motivates you to create resources for teachers?

I love teachers and the important work that they do in and beyond the classroom. I want to support teachers every step of the way. I strive to create engaging and rigorous educational resources to support teachers, save time, enhance teaching effectiveness, promote teacher confidence, and help make teaching and learning more fun!

What’s your favorite thing about being a part of the TPT community?

The best thing about the TPT community is the connections I’ve been able to make with other teachers and Teacher-Authors. For instance, I’ve been able to connect with fellow educator Jenny from Art with Jenny K. Together, we’ve collaborated on resources that combine art and English language arts. We live over 2,000 miles apart. Without TPT, I wouldn’t know she existed and I would have missed out on such a fulfilling collaboration and friendship.

What’s a life lesson you have learned from being a TPT Teacher-Author?

TPT has taught me how to adapt to change and be flexible. Since teachers work in dynamic and ever-changing environments, the lessons that I create need to be adaptable and flexible in response to their evolving needs, changes in curriculum, and emerging educational trends. TPT has taught me to embrace change, be creative, and adjust my work to best meet the needs of teachers and students. 

It’s clear that you put a lot of time into your resources. Can you tell us more about your creation process?

• Brainstorming and Conceptualization: With the needs of teachers and students in mind, I generate ideas and concepts for meeting specific subjects or learning objectives. 
• Research and Gathering Information: At this point, I deepen my understanding of the topics I want the resource to address. This also includes diving deep into curriculum standards, learning about specific content, and assembling a list of goals and outcomes that the resource should address.
• Organizing and Structuring:  Create a plan with the sequence of lessons, activities, and assessment (consider time, student needs, and standards). 
• Generating Ideas for Learning Activities: Develop a wide range of creative ideas for learning activities. Incorporate ideas with active participation, critical thinking, and creativity for students.
• Design Assessment: Incorporate a variety of assessments that align with learning objectives and activities in the resource.

Where do you find inspiration for your resources?

I’m inspired to create resources all the time. Sometimes my own teenagers inspire me when they struggle with a concept, like how to study for a test. Many times, I create resources based on teachers’ requests like the This or That Daily ELA Warm-Ups or the Ancient Civilizations 3-D Projects. Lessons that my students loved in the past inspire me as well. Some favorites of theirs have been the Narrative Writing Unit and series of reading comprehension mini-units. 

What are some ways you incorporate research-based strategies into your resources?

Active Learning is a research-based strategy that I incorporate into all of my resources. Whether students are creating hands-on research projects, having group discussions in literature circles, participating in fact hunts, or solving problems with Brain Bursts, I love to create resources that promote deeper understanding and retention of information through active learning.

Doodling has inspired my Doodle and Do resources. Since doodling has been shown to enhance focus, improve information processing, boost creativity, and reduce stress, it’s a powerful instructional tool. I love creating resources that include doodle notes, doodle vocabulary, or even doodle reading passages to promote engagement and learning.

Since all students and classrooms are different, I believe differentiation is an effective way to meet diverse learning needs, interests, and readiness levels. When I create resources I like to provide choices, a variety of learning styles, different levels of complexity , and creative challenges with open-ended tasks.

What are some ways you ensure your resources work with students?

When creating resources I consider the needs of students. Upper elementary and middle school students have unique needs as learners. That’s why I enjoy creating lessons, units, and activities that meet their developmental stages and cognitive abilities. 

For instance, since they are developing a greater independence in their learning, I like to create resources that promote making choices, like the This or That Writing Prompts. Since they are navigating social and emotional development, I’ve created resources that promote social-emotional learning, and build a positive classroom community. Students in this age group often need support in developing organizational skills, time management, and study skills. Which is why I believe in developing units that target skills like how to study for a test and how to read critically. 

Also, upper elementary and middle school students often seek connections between what they learn and real-world applications. That’s why I love creating hands-on learning opportunities to engage and motivate them. By understanding and addressing their unique learning needs, I can ensure that the resources I create work for students.

Who’s another Teacher-Author who you admire?

This is easy! I love everything that Art with Jenny K. creates! She’s famous for the collaborative posters that she originated, but her shop is filled with so many treasures. If teachers are looking for a way to infuse art into their instruction, she’s the best TPT shop for that. Together, we’ve even combined our expertise to create resources like reading passages with pop art tasks, art escape room challenges, and foldable fables to make learning even more fun!