The Craft is back! After a long hiatus Leif Gustavson and Kira Baker-Doyle have joined forces and are rejigging the podcast to be a series of webcasts exploring the moves that teachers make to build a writing-based practice in their classes, whatever the discipline. Their first episode in this video series digs into the power of the work audit – a regular opportunity for students to think in writing about the work that they are doing in a class, why they are doing it, and what they want to do next. The audit is the brainchild of Dan Kirby, incredible teacher and co-author of Inside Out: Strategies for teaching writing. Kira and Leif talk about what the audit is, share examples of different kinds of audits that teachers are using in their classes, and hack the audit to imagine all of the different ways a teacher could use it in their particular context. The first episode is wonderfully rough. It has that gritty feel of a start-up. Leif and Kira promise that the polish will come with further episodes. At a little over 15 minutes, we hope it is a quick satisfying bite that gives you ideas and material that you can use immediately in your teaching.
In every episode of the Craft, examples of the work are shared. Below you will find the audit examples that Kira and Leif highlight in the episode. The goal is for you to take these models, manipulate them, modify them, turn them into a powerful way of writing reflectively in your class. If you have questions, reach out to them! They would love to hear from you and help you think through what you would like to have happen in your classroom.