This is the ultimate "grab-and-go" book for ELA teachers—perfect for quick inspiration and engaging lessons. More than just activities, it keeps its promises and offers real teacher insights, adaptable plans, and strategies for 100% engagement. Centered on why literature matters, it's a must-have resource for all high school ELA educators.

Dr. Brandon Abdon, Lecturer, English and Education, Western Kentucky University

Engaging students is the key to growing their reading, writing, and critical thinking skills. For a teacher, there’s no better way to enhance your engagement strategies than to model leading educators who have mastered this art. I turn to Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber when I have questions in this area, and with 100% Engagement, we can all have their insights at our fingertips.

Emily Kirkpatrick, Executive Director, NCTE

This collection of lessons helped me to envision new strategies for my own classroom. This is a book that gives me hope. The clear objectives, the specificity of the lesson directions, and the reasoning behind them make this book both inspirational and practical. It is clear that the writers are real classroom teachers successfully designing meaningful instruction even in the face of challenges that all teachers experience.

Brett Vogelsinger, High school teacher and author of Poetry Pauses and Artful AI in Writing Instruction

Too many folks still believe that students are motivated by only certain personalities or gimmicks or race-to-the-bottom engagement hacks. Brian and Susan's excellent book offers 33 classroom-tested lessons that make rigorous, student-centered learning the norm. As you apprentice yourself to these lessons, just watch what happens to your heart and mind and those of your students.

Dave Stuart Jr., High school teacher and author of These 6 Things and The Will to Learn

There are books about engagement, and then there’s this book—because Sztabnik and Barber aren’t just experienced teachers; they’re engagement scientists who have mapped out the ultimate blueprint for transforming passive students into passionate learners and making every class electric.

Todd Finley, Associate Professor, English Education, East Carolina University

Brian and Susan offer dynamic and engaging lessons that are strategically crafted to spark student interest while maximizing learning. 100% Engagement is an invaluable resource for any educator looking to elevate their teaching.

Melissa Alter Smith, Founder of Teach Living Poets, National Board Certified teacher, AP consultant, and co-author of The Norton Guide to AP Literature: Writing & Skills

In this book, Brian Sztabnik and Susan Barber, two experienced and respected teachers, show teachers what it looks like to be engaging and effective—to create a classroom and curriculum through which students not only learn but also come to love what they find in their English classes.

Jim Burke, Author of more than 20 bestselling books including Teaching Better Day by Day and The Common Core Companion

Disaffected students making you tear your hair out? Susan Barber and Brian Sztabnik offer a plan for moving students from compliance and complaint to connection—connection with their peers, connection with engaging literature, and connection with themselves as learners. These 33 lessons are truly electric!

Carol Jago, Long-time English teacher, past president of NCTE, and Associate Director of the California Reading Association at UCLA

Whether you’re a new educator overwhelmed by all the requirements of the job or a veteran teacher with stale materials, this text will inspire! 100% Engagement helps teachers find engaging strategies to use with quality texts. I found applications in just the first lesson, and by the end the ideas were exploding!

Gina Kortuem, Creator of Lit & More, a website and brand of educational resources for high school teachers

This book is an absolute must-read for any English teacher. Throughout it, Susan and Brian masterfully dispel many contemporary teaching and learning myths by intertwining their own experiences with their content expertise. Their dynamic lessons provide a flexible yet clear blueprint for developing an engaging classroom where, as they write, student “motivation is high and interactions are based on mutual respect and appreciation.”

Timm Freitas, Teacher, academic coach, content creator, and founder of The Garden of English LLC

Susan Barber and Brian Sztabnik first shred the myths that cause teachers to shy away from classroom engagement—and then proceed to provide dozens and dozens of clear lessons that engage students as the learning is turned over to them. Energy and learning generated in all kinds of classrooms! An immensely enlightening and useful resource.

Peggy O'Brien, Founding Director of Education, Folger Shakespeare Library