Momspirational Life

When I stepped away from the classroom after five years of teaching to become a stay-at-home mom, I knew I would miss many things about teaching, especially creating engaging lessons for my students.

Today, I’m homeschooling my middle-schooler, which means learning still fills our home every day. Even though my classroom looks a little different now, my love for creating meaningful learning experiences hasn’t changed.

Throughout my time in the classroom, I often found myself designing activities from scratch. Sometimes I had a very specific idea for how I wanted students to interact with a topic, but I couldn’t quite find the right resource. Other times, I wanted something a little more interactive or memorable than what was available. So, I made my own.

At the time, I didn’t think much about sharing those materials beyond my classroom. They were simply tools to help my students understand content better and enjoy learning more. Later, it occurred to me: if I was looking for these types of activities and couldn’t find them, there were probably other teachers out there searching for the same things.

That realization is what led me to open my Teachers Pay Teachers store:
Gather & Grow Printables.

My goal with this store is simple. It is to share classroom activities that are engaging, practical, and easy for teachers to implement.

Why Mock Trials?

Another question people might naturally ask is: Why mock trials?

My interest in the criminal justice field actually started when I was in middle school over twenty years ago. That curiosity eventually led me to pursue two degrees in criminal justice. At the same time, I always knew I wanted to become a teacher.

When I began teaching, those two interests blended together in a way that I didn’t fully expect. Mock trials became a natural way to bring elements of the criminal justice system into the classroom while helping students develop important ELA skills like argument writing, evidence analysis, critical thinking, and public speaking.

I don’t know about your students, but my former students were one of the most talkative groups I had ever taught. They loved discussing ideas, debating topics, and sharing their opinions about just about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Because of that, an activity that encouraged students to debate and defend their reasoning was a perfect fit.

Mock trials allow students to take on roles such as attorneys, witnesses, jurors, and judges while analyzing evidence and building arguments. It transforms reading, writing, and speaking into something that feels much more like a real-world experience than a typical worksheet.

Because of how well these activities worked in my classroom, they were some of the first resources I decided to share.

You can explore them here:

• Christmas Vacation Mock Trial
• SpongeBob Mock Trial
• Jack and the Beanstalk Mock Trial

The Christmas Vacation mock trial is inspired by the familiar holiday movie scenario but has been redesigned as an original educational mock trial simulation for classroom use. The same goes for SpongeBob.

Quality Over Quantity

When creating these mock trials, I take my time developing them one by one. My goal isn’t to rush out a large number of resources, but to make sure each one is thoughtfully designed and classroom ready. I strongly believe in quality over quantity, especially when it comes to activities that involve discussion, evidence, and student participation.

I’m also currently working on a mock trial designed for upper elementary students that focuses on helping younger learners begin developing foundational skills in argumentation, discussion, and evidence-based reasoning.

More Classroom Resources

In addition to mock trials, I also create other ELA activities and classroom resources designed to help students think critically and interact with what they are learning.

You can explore everything available in my store here:

Gather & Grow Printables
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/gather-grow-printables

As I continue creating resources, I’ll be adding more activities that focus on engagement, creativity, and practical classroom use. Sometimes I spend a little longer than I’d like in creating each resource because I envision it how I’d like to see it if I were purchasing it from a TPT store.

For Teachers, From a Former Teacher

Even though I’m no longer teaching in a traditional classroom, education is still very much a part of my life. Between homeschooling and creating resources, I still enjoy developing activities that help students think, discuss, and engage with what they are learning.

I actually started my Teachers Pay Teachers store around late May or early June, so it hasn’t even been a full year yet. Along the way, I discovered something interesting….my SpongeBob Mock Trial quickly became the most popular resource in my store.

In many ways, that activity helped me accidentally discover my niche. It showed me that teachers are looking for engaging mock trial activities that allow students to debate, analyze evidence, and participate in interactive learning experiences.

Starting the store was honestly a bit scary at first. It was a slow learning curve for me, and I had to learn new skills and make adjustments along the way. But, those small win, whether it was a sale, positive feedback, or simply seeing that something I created was helpful to another teacher, were incredibly encouraging.

Sharing these resources is simply another way I can continue supporting teachers and students. If you enjoy interactive ELA activities like mock trials, you’re always welcome to follow the store to see new resources as they are released.

With love,
Tabitha