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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 Greatest Hits: That Summer PD Vibe! 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 address the issues of student cheating and AI.  Jacob poses the question of whether cheating is a greater problem today than in the past.   Pam shares how she has seen cheating throughout her career and determined that it has always been a large problem.  Jacob explains how technology changes seem to instill fear regarding cheating, such as Google, so, AI is just another one of those changes. Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss the problem of cheating, why it happens, and how to curb it in the classroom. The post #229 Cheating and A.I. — What Are We To Do? 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.  Allowing students to discover reading needs to be at the forefront of reading instruction! In this episode,  Jacob and Pam discuss how reading changes lives.  Jacob shares how the written word contains the power to impact and inspire thinking, actions, solutions and connections.  Pam shares how reading certain books have caused her to be moved in profound ways.   They both address the school system and how it places obstacles in the way of creating great reading moments in the classroom.  Teachers struggle with curriculum demands and time constraints.   Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss why allowing students to discover reading in instruction helps foster stronger readers! The post #228 Allow Students to Discover Reading 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.  Everyone gets overwhelmed, but what should we do about it… In this episode, Jacob expresses a few of the frustrations that he and teachers are going through during this season. Pam shares some of the frustrations that she has come across during her career. Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss how to deal with a season of frustration.  Maybe there is a ‘silver lining’ after all! The post #227 Teaching Frustrations: What to Do… appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay in an episode. Pam’s new schedule and Jacob’s have conflicted more than normal! We will be back to the regular schedule soon! In the meantime, here is one of our favorites from the early days of the show. In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss the impact of the writing workshop on the culture of the classroom as well as the culture of the school. Teachers hear all the time that the school culture must change, but how do educators know that the culture has changed for the better. We both share how we need to identify the type of culture that we desire. We recognize that behaviors and moods may change vary from day to day; culture stays steady throughout the year. Jacob and Pam share techniques and strategies that help solidify culture. We recall stories from the classroom which serve as examples that impact our schools in positive ways.  We both agree that writing and making connections that matter to the student writer has the greatest impact on the classroom and it has the power to permeate throughout the school. Jacob lets us in on an active research project and how his project provided data and a plan to create a school wide approach that empowers students to transfer the learning from their writing workshop to other subjects. He discovered that this study brought an awareness of the power of writing to the attention of the teachers in his school. Join us as we look at the impact that reading and especially writing has on our students, classrooms, and entire school. The post Greatest Hits: Culture of the Writing 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.  In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss Reading Instruction, “Should teachers focus on skills or comprehension in their lessons?” Jacob explains how teachers through the Science of Reading or other such programs tend to be skills focused. He continues to share how skills are important and must be taught, so the question he poses is: “How much time for skills based instruction is necessary?” Pam responds that they are both equally necessary.  She shares a few anecdotes regarding her grandchildren who are now learning to read and what she sees in their instruction.  She describes how she would revise the lesson to include both in her instruction. Join Jacob and Pam as they meander through the sometimes controversial topics skills based or comprehension based reading instruction. The post #226 Skill vs Comprehension Reading Instruction 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 rewinds her retirement and returns to school.  Jacob and Pam discuss Pam’s day as she decides to take up substituting.  Her first day on the job was where Jacob and Pam began the Craft & Draft Notebook system. Pam begins by words her aunt who taught for fifty years gave her, “Begin Positive and Stay Positive.”  This advice creates a relational atmosphere that Jacob describes as establishing a relationship in a few short minutes.   Join Jacob and Pam as they talk about how Pam’s first day back was a success!  Maybe there will be some inspiration that will help you be successful, too! The post #225 Pam’s New Adventure! 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.  Far too often educators give up teaching the love of reading and writing during instruction.  They feel pressure from the curriculum developed due a need to perform on high stakes testing. In this episode, Jacob and Pam discuss how to help students develop a love for reading and writing while maintaining a high level of learning that will meet the rigorous requirements necessary for high stakes testing. Pam explains how she never shirks self selected reading and writing time.  She shares how she ties that time to her lessons.  Jacob remembers how he designed his lessons so the students would create their own learning goals and set a purpose for the reading and writing. Join Jacob and Pam as they talk about how to keep the joy in the reading and writing instruction and more! Part one of this can be found by clicking here.  The post #224 Keeping the Joy of Writing Instruction 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 listened to an educational podcast episode this past weekend. The topic that caught attention was whether or not objectives should be posted in the class for the students.   In this episode, Jacob and Pam offer their response – objectives help teachers focus their students as well as guide the learning before, during and after the lesson.  Jacob shares how he felt the first time he was told he had to post his standards.  Pam explains a bit of her history on how she had to post the objectives over time.   They both discuss their own observations from teacher and supervisor point of views. Join Jacob and Pam as they ponder on whether to post or not to post. Remember, if you have questions or topics you want answered or discussed, please let them know! The post #223 Objectives: Posted or Not Posted? appeared first on Craft & Draft.

This episode was previously published Sep. 18th, 2020 — right as we were getting back into our classrooms from the Covid shutdowns. We cover A LOT in this episode, and it holds strong for then as much as I does now. Enjoy! —————————— 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, we express how excited we are to be back in the classroom! We discuss how we are managing our instruction both on-line and in the classroom, as well as a brainstorming session about how to use portfolios this year. We focus on how we are implementing our Craft & Draft System, and how the system gives the classroom community a tangible way to navigate this new era of teaching. We also spend a bit talking about why PAPER is still king, even for kids who are learning online. Join us as we delve into the realm of authentic learning where students find their voices and inspire us all (we’re serious… the last 30min of this episode is just us sharing stories about how our students inspired us this last week!) The post Greatest Hits: Paper is Still King 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 are told to make sure to implement standard based learning and assessment.  Easier said than done!   In this episode, Jacob and Pam answer a listener’s question regarding student based learning and grading.  They each define standard based learning.  Pam shares how teachers need to begin with what the students need to know and do at the end of the lesson.  Jacob explains that the assessment question needs to be derived from the standard and the lesson must be derived from the question.    Join Jacob and Pam as they discuss standard based learning and how to make sure teachers implement it as they teach!   The post #222 Standard Based Learning with a Twist of Assessment 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 answer two questions from our patrons: How can Gifted and Talented (GT) students stay passionate and not apathetic about literacy? How can I keep students from hating writing during STAAR prep time? In this episode, Jacob and Pam first discuss how they have helped GT students Literacy Life alive. Pam shares her experiences as to why students may be apathetic towards learning. She addresses how she has dealt with it in the past when she taught GT classes. Jacob explains how he has addressed similar situations in his.  He explains how he allows students to learn about what interests them the most while maintaining the curriculum standards. They both tie the second question into the first question by explaining how similar principles will work to keep the learning alive for the STAAR prep as well. Jacob and Pam share what they believe should be focus for the writing during the prep, while offering suggestions to help with the preparation. Join Jacob and Pam during this bonus episode and keep your students loving literacy, too! The post #221 STAAR Writing Support 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 welcome everybody back.  They each took some personal time, so thank you for staying with us! They both share their thoughts about where schools are headed for 2025, but they landed on school choice and policies that impact discipline.    Join Jacob and Pam as they begin a new year of podcasting! The post #220 State of Schools in 2025 appeared first on Craft & Draft.

Hey everyone! We just wanted to make this quick post. All will be well. Just lots of changes coming and Jacob needs some time, and Pam is on vacation for a few weeks. Stay tuned! The post A Christmas Break 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 explain what they’ve been doing and why they did not post last week’s podcast. They are back and ready to go!  Pam offers some insight regarding the Abydos Learning International Teacher and Trainer Conference for 2024!  Jacob shares a little about his past week as well– full of change! They also spend time discussing how to lead a department.  Jacob shares leadership advice  through his role as a past department chair and a present administrator.  Pam shares some of her experiences and what she learned from her role as a department chair and academic coach. Join Jacob and Pam as they share their tips and advice for leading a school department. The post #219 Leading Your Department appeared first on Craft & Draft.