Craft & Draft

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

Today, Pam and Jacob are tackling another listener question all about GRADES—not a contentious topic at all…

Together, Pam and Jacob address the following questions:

and MUCH MUCH MORE in our hour discussion. Come listen and see if you agree, disagree, or want to ask a question yourself!

The post #43 Should Students Fail? Listener Question Answered! appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

“Jacob, are you doing any summer PD?’  

Jacob and Pam discuss summer PD and share what they are doing professional development this summer.  In this episode Jacob shares how he learns new concepts during the summer. Pam will be teaching PD this summer, but she will also be reading books and attending conferences. They concur that summer PD helps them to update and get ready for the next school year.

Our students deserve the best trained teachers!  Summer is a great time for study, reflection and growth.

Join Jacob and Pam as they share their thoughts on Summer Professional Development. Also learn about Jacob’s most favorite book!

The post #42 That Summer PD Vibe appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

Building equity among readers requires that teachers must introduce students to texts that reflect the diversity in the classroom. 

“Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of the larger human experience.”

–Rubine Sims Bishop

In this episode, Jacob and Pam explore the need for a diverse classroom library. Jacob shares how he found it difficult, at first, to collect the books and stories that reflect the students in his classroom. They both share how they go about solving this important issue—the lack of diversity in texts. Pam discusses how using diverse texts will help motivate the non reader. Jacob brings the idea of gradually introducing students to more complex reading experiences with diverse texts. 

Join Jacob and Pam as they talk about where they go to get books to diversify their library for a diverse classroom and diversify your classroom library even more!

The post #41 Diverse Books for a Diverse Classroom (BOY pt.2) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

It’s now time to think about next year.  A huge question a — How should I set up my workshop?

Pam explains the principles that she uses to set up her first day of workshop.  She wants her students to read and write on the first day of school. She shares her first day’s lesson that will get her students excited about the year and models workshop expectations for her students.

Jacob will have new students this next year, so he will change up how he begins the year. He shares how he likes to utilize texts that will elicit great responses from his students. He likes to get students into authentic writing as soon as possible using the Craft & Draft Books.

Join Jacob and Pam as they respond to a request from a listener. If you have a question or a topic you want them to address, Jacob and Pam invites you to submit questions or topics on the Craft & Draft website.

The post #40 Listener Question — How to Begin Next Year (pt.1) appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

Differentiation is expected in the classroom, but often teachers, especially those new to teaching, are told to differentiate without the guidance needed to bring success. Therefore, differentiation remains one of the most difficult aspects of teaching to implement. 

In this episode, Jacob explains how Reading and Writing Workshop provides enough space in the lesson design to allow for differentiation.  Jacob and Pam discuss how they use differentiation in their classroom.  They both agree that the workshop model naturally lends itself to the type of instruction that meets the needs of the various students they teach. Pam discusses how choice based on interest, content based on the process accessibility of the student, authentic assessment are all a part of differentiating in the Reading and Writing Workshop.

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss differentiation!    …but first Jacob must apologize for his mishap that occurred on the last episode! 

The post #39 Differentiation in Workshop appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

Another year has flown by, but this was no ordinary year! This year Jacob will be saying goodbye to students he has taught during a two year loop. Workshop drives how we end the year because of the community that the workshop style builds.

In this episode Jacob and Pam share how they plan to close their workshop.  Jacob explains how he encourages his students to self-reflect on their reading and writing.  Students will answer questions that encourage the students to re-enter their work and analyze what they learned about themselves during the year.  

Pam discusses how she typically celebrates with her students during a read-around where students take turns sharing their favorite piece of writing from their portfolio.

Join Jacob and Pam as they reminisce about the year, share some of their workshop memories as well as look forward to how they will end their year!  We want to end as strongly as we began!

The post #38 An Ending to Remember appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Welcome everyone to the Craft & Draft podcast! We are so excited to bring to 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 have used quick writes in their classes. They utilize Linda Rief’s The Quickwrite Handbook: 100 Mentor Texts to Jumpstart Your Students’ Thinking and Writing. They each hold Linda Rief in high regard in the world of professional development for workshop, reading and writing. 

Pam shares how she learned the technique from Linda Rief in a Literacy Workshop. Jacob shares that he uses the Quick Writes to jumpstart his mini-lessons as well as his students’ thinking and writing. This is a great book to add to your professional collection! 

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss Quick Writes and the impact that they have made on their workshops! Maybe it will jumpstart your students’ thinking, too!

The post #37 The Quickwrite Handbook and Beyond appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

Jacob and Pam talk about how they use poetry in their workshops.  They both discuss how poetry is often undervalued; however, poetry is gold in a writing and reading workshop! 

In Jacob’s workshop his students choose to write poems, which allows his students to write authentically about topics that are meaningful to them.  Pam shares how she has been required to limit poetry to the poetry unit. She shares how she addresses poetry by providing opportunities for her students to become author/editor for their own thematic anthologies.

Join Jacob and Pam as they talk poetry, and how it allows students to become readers and writers through mini lessons, building their confidence, and stretching their thinking!

The post #36 We Love Teaching Poetry appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

One constant is true—CHANGE! 

In the reading and writing workshop, the change we desire is for our students to transform their thinking through reading and writing. Jacob shares how the great differentiator in our classrooms is the teacher. When administrators focus on their teachers, their core beliefs, and their practice through training and support, they empower their teachers to strive for educational excellence.

Pam discusses her experiences regarding common training and how she has seen transformations throughout a school. Great change happens when everyone has a common vision, common goals, common training, and one purpose.

Pam is making a change and Jacob wants to know all about it.

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss why change is on the horizon!

The post #35 Change is Coming to Craft & Draft appeared first on Craft & Draft.

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

In this episode, Jacob shares how he is still confident and going strong at the end of the school year. He explains that he is driven by the passion he has for the reading and writing workshop keeps him pumped.  

Jacob and Pam notice that reading is often separated from writing in the workshop. Much too often, both are not integrated while reading seems to get most of the spotlight. How do teachers ensure that they bridge reading with writing? Jacob uses poetry to dive deeply into the craft of reading and writing.

Workshop allows for the teacher to bring meaningful reading and writing instruction. When teachers let go of the control the students begin to grow. Meaningful work will help the students to grow so they no longer need the teacher.  

Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss bridging the gap between reading and writing. Empower your students to choose meaning reading and writing lessons!

The post #34 Bridging Reading and Writing in Workshop appeared first on Craft & Draft.