Craft & Draft

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching.

Courtney, a teacher, listener and patron of Craft & Draft, wondered if it would be possible to come onto the show and ask Jacob and Pam questions. They said sure! In this episode Courtney sits down with Jacob and Pam and asks questions about starting the new year, keeping the mini-lesson mini, keeping the workshop going and so much more.

Part 1 can be found here.   

In this episode, Pam and Jacob answerer questions about publishing, writing from unique points of view, tracking conferences, and so much more.

Enjoy!

The post #103 We Answer ALL the Questions—Part 2 appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

Courtney, a teacher, listener and patron of Craft & Draft, wondered if it would be possible to come onto the show and ask Jacob and Pam questions. They said sure! In this episode Courtney sits down with Jacob and Pam and asks questions about starting the new year, keeping the mini-lesson mini, keeping the workshop going and so much more.  

Jacob shares how he structures his workshop and contrasts how Pam’s structures hers.  Pam shares how she keeps the students engaged throughout the lesson and keeps it as brief as possible.  The three of them discuss grades, writing and reading, focus as well as the teacher keeping focused with so much going on at the same time.

Join Jacob, Pam and Courtney as they discuss all things workshop!  Maybe some of your questions will be answered, too!

The post #102 We Answer ALL the Questions: A Listener Joins Us! appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

One thing is always true about education–each new year brings changes!  This year Jacob and Pam are facing changes, also.  

In this episode, Jacob has an announcement to make.  Pam discusses how she handles change year after year.  They each share about how they are going to begin the year and how excited they are about the new year.

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss new beginnings!  May it help you be inspired about your new year, too!

The post #101 Jacob is an Assistant Principal, What Now? appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

Jacob and Pam had an amazing opportunity to offer a live virtual professional development workshop.  They were able to interact with listeners and patrons.  The workshop covered their lessons for the first five days of school.

In this episode, Jacob and Pam share how much they enjoyed the experience followed by some clips from that PD workshop.  The clips used are for day 1 of workshop. If you would like the whole five days explanation + a Q&A session around workshop teaching, click here to pay for access to the recorded training or join us on Patreon. 

Join Jacob and Pam as they share a little Professional Development! Learn how you can access the session, too!

The post #100 Your First Day of Workshop (and BEYOND!) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

No matter how many times Jacob and Pam work with students and adults using the process for writing, they are continuously amazed at how it works every time!  It is like magic!

In the this episode, Jacob shares how the participants in his latest professional development workshop enjoyed hearing from his students.  His students demonstrated how the writing process works. They inspired teachers to go ahead and trust the process.

Pam shares how her trust developed over the years.  She did not begin by using an authentic approach to writing.  

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss why they trust the writing process and how that trust influences their work inside and outside of the classroom.  May you be inspired to trust the process daily in your workshop, too!

The post #99 Why The Workshop Process Works appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Before we begin, make sure to check out our upcoming training all about setting up your first week of workshop for success! Follow this link for more information: Training!

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

In this episode, Jacob and Pam share how they deal with moments when they seem to have extra time in their workshop.  As teachers we are expected to teach from bell to bell, but sometimes students finish their work early or the lesson ends early, or the school schedule keeps us from having our normal day.  We often turn to “fillers.” 

Jacob shares a moment or two when district personnel visited his class while he was doing a “filler.”  Pam shares when her “fillers” took over the learning and the wrong objective was being met which in turn depleted the students’ enjoyment of reading and writing.

How do teachers fill the time and keep their workshop authentic?

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss what elements of a “filler” they consider when they have extra time during their workshop. May it help you when you need to fill the time, too!

The post #98 Keeping Authentic Learning the Priority appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

Jacob and Pam discuss reading growth, sustained reading opportunities and how literacy impacts our students. 

Pam shares how she implements multiple reading opportunities during the workshop.  She shares a few strategies as well.  Jacob includes a few of his own strategies and brings in how important it is to leave a Literacy Legacy for his students.

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss reading and its importance to students! May you find an idea for you, too!

The post #97 Doors Open to Kids who Independently Read appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

Teaching Reading and Writing is a daunting task. Teachers need not just teach students to read or write, but they need to ensure that each one demonstrates growth each year.  Jacob and Pam discuss reading growth, sustained reading opportunities and how literacy impacts our students.

The post #96 Breaking Down State Scores and More appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

Jacob and Pam love answering questions from their patrons!  In this episode, they answer two separate questions: 

Jacob and Pam share how they use technology while maintaining their Craft and Draft Books in their workshops.

They each follow-up with several ideas regarding how to use the Craft and Draft Books with gifted and talented students.  Jacob shares how he would use the Books to help the students to explore a plethora of genres and disciplines.  Pam shares ideas that she has used in the past that would bring in a multi-disciplinary thinking approach.

Join Jacob and Pam as they explore ideas while they do one of their favorite things–answering audience questions!

The post #95 Tech, Cross-curricular, and Workshop Questions Answered! appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring you what we love, talking with you about workshop, literacy, writing, reading, and real world teaching. 

During this episode, Jacob and Pam answer the question: How do teachers decide to pull in outside resources into their reading and writing workshops? 

Jacob shares a story from his days of being a literacy coach. He explains how he saw several teachers using resources that were not approved by the district. He discusses how he helped them find resources. 

Pam discusses the key points that she uses when determining an appropriate source.They both share a few resources that they use when planning their workshops.

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss resources, and the principles they use when deciding to outsource or not to outsource! Maybe it will help you plan for next year, too!

The post #94 Thinking Twice Before Using Outside Resources appeared first on Craft & Draft.