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.  Technology makes cheating in the classroom easier than ever before!   In this episode, Jacob and Pam talk about cheating and what they do about it. Jacob shares how some of the newest technology is creating concern at...

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 have noticed that moving into the spring semesters, teachers become overwhelmed with all the demands of teaching.   In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss the “small stuff” of teaching that gets everyone...

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.  A few episodes ago, Jacob and Pam discussed how to be ready for administrative walkthroughs or observations.  In this episode, they talk about Instructional Rounds! Pam shares how these exercises have changed over tim...

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. First off in this episode, Pam asks Jacob about his puppy. Then Jacob tells a goat story… And then the duo go off on a journey to discuss why workshop teaching is taking a backseat in the conversation—and in some...

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 seems ‘choice’ is under attack in our classrooms. Workshop teachers are finding themselves defending why they allow students freedom to choose their books to read, their topics on which to write as well as the mode...

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 question about how to be standard focused when students read a variety of self selected texts. How do you focus on a nonfiction standard when a student is reading a fictional no...

This is a bonus episode that was previously only available on the Craft & Draft Patreon Page. If you want more episodes like this, or want access to exclusive videos and online recorded and live PD sessions, join here.  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 teac...

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 dive deeper into the mini-lesson.  Jacob asked Pam how she knows the mini-lesson is working.  She has a little difficulty narrowing down her thoughts which leads the both of them into a...

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 Spring; it’s teacher observation time! This time of year can be the most stressful part of teaching.  It is when your administrator says to the teacher, “I will be coming in for your formal observation this next...

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 has a problem trying to sort out the data that most matters to her Reading and Writing Workshop.  Jacob, who reviews data from a teacher’s and administrator’s perspective helps her focus on the information that wi...

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 following is a 30min excerpt from our two hour LIVE training we did with our Patreon supporters. If you enjoy this episode, you can get the full episode at our Patreon, along with 9 bonus episodes, professional dev...

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR JAN 7th ZOOM TRAINING! Click here to secure your spot!  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.  What needs to be included in a robust reading program?  Jacob and Pam discovered that this question involves robust discussion.  Many...

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, Pam and Jacob take a reflective tour down their 2022 lives. They each share their top 5 moments that connect to their teacher lives in a major way. Everything from having student breakthroughs to book launches&#...

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, Pam and Jacob spice things up by using listener questions to jumpstart the show! The listener question comes from a longtime Patreon supporter and passionate teacher, and it reads: “I’m really struggling w...

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 begins the episode sharing  how he has enjoyed his first semester as an administrator. He reminds us that he is more successful when he maintains his compassion for the students, the teachers, and the parents. J...

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 she is addressing the new short constructed responses on the STAAR test, required from the redesigned. She discusses the two different types of short constructed responses, one for readi...

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 discusses how he sees the post covid era for schools may develop and shares his perspective on how covid has impacted the work of teachers and administrators.  Jacob and Pam speak about reading conferences.  The...

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 discussing topics provided by their listeners!  In this episode, they are discussing times when teachers are required to use resources and programs that create moments of … well… “Not good teaching....

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 answers whether high school has reset his barometer on what books are great for kids, and then Pam guides the discussion into what engagement looks like at this time of year. Together, they look at what hu...

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 Pam and Jacob are diving into a discussion around rough making it through the ups and downs of a year of teaching… They talk about this through a workshop lens, but also through the lens of their own profes...

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 creativity and how to utilize it in the workshop.  Pam shares how creativity can be taught while Jacob speaks on how creativity belongs in the writing workshop because it drives...

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 and Jacob catch up on two listener questions—one a follow-up from last week and the next a brief discussion about paperwork… And then Pam and Jacob dive into why they believe starting with 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. In this episode, Pam and Jacob explore the world of grading. They discuss practical advice, real world examples, and how grades work into workshop (plus what they should and SHOULD NOT do.) All of that and more on Craf...

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 asks, “What is writing in the writing workshop?”  Pam and Jacob ponder the question and consider how writing in the workshop is different than a traditional English classroom.   Pam shares how the writing in the...

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 answer a listener’s question regarding what to do when students are not following the workshop expectations.  Pam empathizes with the listener and tells about some moments in her career where the student...