Teacher Resources

Welcome to the educator resource page for The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline.

This space is actively being developed and will continue to expand. A new, comprehensive Educator Guide is currently under construction and will be added here soon.

In the meantime, please explore the listening sampler below. These short excerpts are shared to give you a sense of tone, character, and production quality as you consider the work for classroom use.

Experience the Story Two Ways — and Together

The Real Education of TJ Crowley is designed to be both read and heard.

The Scriptbook presents the complete dramatic text.
The full-cast audiobook brings that text to life with performance, music, and sound design. When used together, the result is a dynamic read-and-listen experience that supports comprehension, engagement, and discussion.

Below, you are invited to experience an excerpt in this integrated format — reading the script as the audio plays — just as students can when using the Scriptbook alongside the audiobook.

Read and Listen — Interactive Excerpt

This excerpt allows you to read the script text while the corresponding audio performance plays.

This mirrors the experience of using the Scriptbook together with the complete audiobook — a dual-mode format that supports active listening, close reading, and classroom discussion.

Educator Listening Sampler

We’ve created a number of short audio excerpts from The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline for you to experience this Earphones Award-winning work.

Clips are located on our private YouTube channel and arranged in story order, beginning with the Prelude and progressing through selected scenes.

These brief teasers are intended to give educators a sense of tone, character development, and production quality before engaging the full audio drama.

Before Listening

These excerpts are suitable for classroom preview and discussion. We recommend that educators listen in advance to determine appropriate context and timing for their specific students.

Educator Guide — Working Draft

This draft version of the Educator Guide provides an early framework for classroom use of The Real Education of TJ Crowley: Coming of Age on the Redline. It includes foundational materials and initial guidance designed to support both the Scriptbook and the full-cast audio drama.

While a more comprehensive guide is currently in development, this draft offers practical starting points for educators who wish to begin working with the text now, including front and back matter from the new scriptbook.

You are welcome to download and use this version as it continues to evolve.

This working draft offers initial classroom materials supporting both the Scriptbook and the audio drama. A more comprehensive guide is in development, but this version provides a practical starting point for educators ready to engage the work now.

Original Educator Guide — Designed for the Novel

An outstanding Educator Guide was created by a team of experienced teachers and scholars to support classroom use of The Real Education of TJ Crowley. This guide is designed for English, social studies, and history classrooms and is suitable for students from middle school through adult learning.

Rather than prescribing a strict schedule, the guide offers a rich set of topics, activities, and resources organized by theme. It includes:

• Questions and discussion prompts to help students think deeply about character, theme, and historical context

• Contextual background on the novel’s setting in Wichita, Kansas during school integration and the Civil Rights Era

• Activities that explore bias, prejudice, historical movements, and personal reflection

• Flexible instructional ideas that teachers can adapt to their own students and instructional goals

This resource is a valuable starting point for educators who wish to engage students with the novel and its historical themes. We encourage you to download and explore the guide as you plan your teaching or discussion sessions.

We hope these materials are helpful as you explore ways to bring The Real Education of TJ Crowley into your classroom.

We welcome your questions, feedback, and conversation. If you have questions or would like to schedule an author’s visit, please don’t hesitate to reach out: Contact Us