Teaching Unscripted

Confident readers know how to choose books. Which is not to say that we are immune to error. Every avid reader has experienced book droughts where nothing you pick up has what you are looking for.

Most reading workshop experts suggest that students spend no more than 10% of their reading time writing about reading. During the other 90% of reading time, students should be reading, engrossed in books they can read with a high level of accuracy in order to achieve the kind of reading volume that leads to maximum growth.

In her latest book, What’s the Best That Could Happen?, Debbie Miller explores how questions help us look beyond the limitations of what we’ve done and discover powerful new opportunities for teaching and learning.

This October, we're celebrating the two year anniversary of the Heinemann Podcast! We love bringing our listeners engaging conversations about the topics that matter to educators around the world.

Lucy Calkins and her TCRWP coauthors recently sat down and answered some frequently asked questions about this essential series. Read the excerpts below and follow the link to view the full interviews.

Today on the Heinemann Podcast, what drives us to read? In her latest book, “The Book in Question: Why and How Reading is In Crisis,” author Carol Jago highlights the importance of reading, and what we stand to lose when it is devalued.

As I begin my journey as a Heinemann Fellow, I would like the following question to guide my action research: In what ways does teacher vulnerability impact student engagement and classroom community?

When you ask the question, 'How’s it going?' at the beginning of writing conferences, you’re doing much more than inviting students to talk about what they’re doing as writers. The question initiates your relationship with each student and deepens each of these relationships.

In the process of writing reading responses, the importance of choice cannot be understated. Students feel like they are in control of their responses; they can view the text through whatever lens they choose.

Writing can be terrifying: a blank page holds the potential of failure. Writing can be difficult: a pen can presents challenge with letter formation and grip. Writing can be intrusive, especially when the expected topic is one’s life.

When we plan for work time, we ask: What will children do to get smarter tomorrow? What will they read, write, and talk about? What will they read that’s worthy of what we’re asking them to do?

We believe that teachers must embrace nine pivotal understandings to support the development of numerical fluency in all students.

Today on the Heinemann Podcast, how do we have productive conversations that help surface a student’s mathematical thinking?

When we think of what children learn in school, we tend to think of things like getting better at solving algebra problems, analyzing literary passages, and identifying important events in history. But actually, those very specific skills rest on more fundamental thought processes.

Turn & Talk conversations will be published on the Heinemann blog throughout Heinemann’s fortieth year, enabling our readers to immerse themselves in the most critical topics in education around the world from the perspectives of two deeply respected authors with very different backgrounds.

With the practice of reading response writing, students do not have to answer specific questions with definitive answers. Instead, they can read with presence, and decide at the end what aspect they would like to respond to.

At this week’s TCRWP Twitter chat, Lizzie Petkanics and Kristi Guinness will lead a discussion on the management, functionality and benefits of helping your readers to build a richer sticky note practice.

I know that evaluation is stressful and it’s hard not to feel like being judged. Five tips to focus your pre-conference, pre-observed lesson energies.