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. 

The episode begins by answering a patron’s question regarding teaching informational texts and the writing workshop.  Pam shares how she incorporates choice, writing, reading and revision strategies to help the students move through the writing process.

Jacob discusses how his students set publishing goals. He brings his own experiences with publishing and why he and his students publish. They each reflect upon the idea of when publishing is an authentic practice vs a forced teacher directed publication.

Join Jacob and Pam as they explore setting goals, authenticity, and publishing during the writing workshop.  Remember to trust the process and encourage your students to publish!

The post #83 Authentic Publishing Goals 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. 

The end of the year is over the horizon as we return from spring break. High Stakes testing season is upon us. Deadlines create stressors for all. So how do teachers navigate through all the demands and responsibilities expected of them?

Jacob and Pam discuss their schedules during this time and share how they stay focused on the workshop so they may keep their students reading, writing and learning. Pam discusses how she reflects on how she keeps her workshop balanced.  Jacob explains how a heavy testing season may sidetrack our students, but the workshop often provides a refuge for them.

Join Jacob and Pam as they reflect on the needs of their students as they venture through the educational world of testing, teaching and learning.  Keep your workshop focused and stay balanced!

The post #82 Balancing Demands of Teaching with Workshop 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. 

Teachers honor their students when they take time to celebrate their efforts and learning.

In this episode, Jacob and Pam focus on how they encourage students. They share different times when they honored their students through celebration.  Pam discusses when she recently celebrated her students’ success on a schoolwide test by taking them to the library for a free choice day. Jacob explains how he celebrated his students in an afterschool event that his principal said was the most warm and wonderful day she had seen during  her years in education!

Jacob brings in the ideas of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation and how each serves as an avenue to celebrate our students.  He shares that we as educators need to be reflective on how our celebrations impact the learning in our workshops.

Join Jacob and Pam as they talk about how celebrations in the classroom honors our students. Maybe you can find more ways to celebrate your students, too! 

The post #81 Celebrating Students 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. 

In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss what happens when the product outweighs the content. Much too often teachers assign projects or products that hijack the lesson. This happens when the product becomes the major part of the lesson and the teachers find themselves caught up in the minutiae  rather than the content or standard they are attempting to teach.

Jacob shares several examples of when this happens.  He realizes how the Craft & Draft system assists teachers by ensuring they are teaching to the standards. Pam doubts her present research assignment, so she  compares it to the standards to reassure her lesson decision.

Join Jacob and Pam as they think about lessons, content and products and reflect on your own product practices and honor the learning happening in your workshop!

The post #80 When the Product Hijacks the Lesson 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. 

In this episode, Pam shares how her students respond to their self-selected reading.  She offers several ideas to help students to write about their reading.  Jacob shares how the Craft and Draft Notebook System works well with the reading workshop, so readers are encouraged to respond to their reading. 

Jacob discusses how he uses sentence starters to help his students to begin their writing when they are stuck.  They share how they use sentence starters as another strategy that helps their students to respond to their reading. 

Pam uses trigger words. She dives into the details of how she uses this strategy to prompt thinking and writing. Jacob shares some news!

Join Jacob and Pam as they answer questions from their patrons, share ideas from their classrooms. Find out what news Jacob has about his new book!!!  

The post #79 Questions and Writefully Empowered is HERE! 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 what happens when students write deeply about personal issues. When the workshop teacher creates an atmosphere of freedom, students will write about uncomfortable topics– this may be a cry for help!  Sometimes, the teacher may be brought into the personal lives of the students more than a traditional English class.

How do teachers react to such writing? 

Jacob points out that the promise of the workshop empowers students to write deeply about their own story.  Pam shares some past moments when reading her students’ writings have made a difference in their lives.

Join Jacob and Pam as they dive deeply into the promise of the workshop!  Discover the promise of your workshop, too!               

The post #78 When Students Write About Trauma 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.

Workshop teachers promise freedom within their classroom.  The question remains, how can the teacher maintain high standards?

Jacob and Pam discuss how offering freedom must be balanced with high expectations. They each compare their classes and how their workshop environments work differently. The cultures may be a bit different, but their classes are similar because of the belief to foster freedom.

Join Jacob and Pam as they each share stories where students grow because of freedom, acceptance and high expectations. Create a workshop that grows your students, too!

Want more Craft & Draft? Support us on Patreon! 

The post #77 Cultivate a Culture of Freedom in Workshop 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.

You asked; we answered! Our Patreon is live!

Teachers from all over have been sending in requests for the Craft & Draft set-up video as well as more opportunities to learn more about the Craft & Draft System and how it works in a reading and writing workshop.

Jacob and Pam created a place on Patreon where you will find more professional development designed to assist with Craft & Draft, Reading and Writing Workshop, and other aspects of education.  In our Listener Tier, you will find bonus episodes, become a producer and be able to  make requests for future shows and PD and at the Listener Plus Tier, you will find the Craft & Draft tutorial video.   

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The post #76 MORE Craft & Draft is Here! 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.

While we love teaching, it seems like many do not—at least currently. Teachers, leaders, and administrators are leaving education in droves. Many are opting for an early retirement, while others are simply leaving education behind.

Today, Pam and Jacob take on this complex topic and explore why this is happening, and more importantly, what this could mean for the future of teaching. In this hour long discussion, they cover everything between book bans and the shifting world of what is deemed “best practice” in the classroom.

As a bonus, they tease what’s coming next week for everyone wanting MORE content and that Craft & Draft demo video.

The post #75 Why Are Educators Quitting? 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.

“It’s Writing Time!” is often followed by “I don’t know what to write.” 

Teachers find this part of the writing workshop daunting. Students are staring at a blank page, they must create something from nothing, they depend on the teacher to help, but the teacher is not quite sure how to get them started.

Jacob and Pam discuss how they handle these awkward moments. Pam explains how she helped her students begin their imaginative stories. Jacob shares how students are inspired to find their ideas, but it is not an instant process.  

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The post #74 Before the Writing Begins appeared first on Craft & Draft.