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 teachers are open-minded and want to learn about being a better educator from mentors such as coaches, principals and peers. They also share a few of their own...

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.  Juggling the multiple obligations, necessary planning, PLC meetings,  daily personal situations, and many other necessary tasks, managing time seems impossible. No matter how one sums it up, all of it is important and...

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.  Libraries have been a part of our communities for centuries.  They began as a repository of knowledge in the ancient days, so other scholars could access it for their own learning.  It has been a place for the public...

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 address how to keep teaching when resources are limited.  They each identify possible reasons for the situation and then move into a conversation about how to handle such moments. Pam s...

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 answer a listener’s question about making the part and parcel of a new curriculum fit into the workshop so that the lessons flow. Pam speaks to how teachers need to understand what the d...

Hello everyone! This is a small excerpt from our exclusive BONUS PATREON episode . We do these episodes every month, and they are usually fully exclusive. Do to the importance of this one, we wanted to let you hear a part of it and then hopefully come support us to the hear the rest and have access to hours of talks not available to anyone but our supporters. Thank you!  Welcome everyone to the Cr...

Check out the full video here, at our PatreonPLUS tier of support.  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 a presentation from her past, “Activating Writers with Mentor Texts.” Pam explains how she uses mentor texts to activate...

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.  August is here and the new school year is around the corner!  In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss how the new year brings new possibilities and opportunities.  Jacob likes starting new things.  This year he will be...

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 explore how reading and writing workshop enable teachers to comply with the accommodations and modifications of their special needs students.  Jacob discusses the demands placed upon edu...

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 two part episode, Jacob and Pam answer a question about the day in the life of a workshop teacher’s classroom during part one.   They discuss how to begin the process of creating a reading or writing workshop. ...

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 two part episode, Jacob and Pam answer a question about the day in the life of a workshop teacher’s classroom during part one.  They discuss how to begin the process of creating a reading or writing workshop. ...

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.  Should Jacob buy a new car? If so, what should he buy?  Jacob and Pam discuss such questions, but most of all they discuss the matter of annotation in the reading workshop. Pam shares how she has killed the love of re...

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.  With new technology such as Chat GPT, plagiarism seems to be a huge issue in the writing classroom.  Does it need to be a problem? In this session, Jacob and Pam discuss how they have dealt with plagiarism in the past...

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 take a look at GPTChat and try out some lesson ideas. Jacob queries Pam on how she used it to create the last episode’s blurb.  They each compare it to the future of writing instruction....

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.  Join Jacob and Pam on an eye-opening journey as they delve into the fascinating and thought-provoking topic: ‘Should teachers fear technology in classrooms?’ In this episode, Jacob and Pam navigate the intersection of...

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.  Today, Jacob gave several presentations at a workshop for a nearby district.  He enjoyed his day, so he is ending it with some reflection. In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss the art of presentation.  During Jacob’...

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 is an assistant principal, which means he will be at work next week closing out the year. He will be reflecting on the successes and almost successes of the year, as well as, begin planning for...

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 answer questions from our listeners: Back in 2020 you guys did a podcast on Top PD books to buy.  Do you think you would ever do an updated one?  Would there be any books you have read s...

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 how to help students build their confidence.  Students who struggle throughout school often shut down.  When this happens, teachers must figure out how to help them become more c...

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.  Everyone has or will face times when life is just difficult.  When those difficult times show their ugly heads, we still need to teach.  The question is: “How do we keep going?” In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss...

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.  Pam asks Jacob a question: “Jacob how do you know as an assistant principal when the teacher you are interviewing is the person for the job?”   In this episode, the question becomes the topic for the entire episode. ...

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.  Everyone is headed for the homestretch!  With all the demands left for this year and the expectations for next year, it is easy to lose focus on the students. In this episode, Jacob and Pam remind each other how th...

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 a high stakes season, Pam is wondering what would be best: base her lessons on skills, genres, or themes.  Curriculum will follow one of the three to center the organization of its scope and sequence.  Standard...

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 have been told if they are not doing stations or centers then they are not using a workshop. In this episode, Jacob and Pam revisit the workshop model as a practice to facilitate teaching  reading and writing...

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 word context is derived from the Latin word contexere meaning to weave.  In a workshop environment the teacher is weaving situations that offer tools for students to think, develop voice, and discover their passio...