Heinemann Blog

The more opportunities students have to practice using the language of mathematics through conversation, the deeper their understanding will be. As students engage in brief discussion, they have the chance to hear and practice providing explanations, multiple representations, and solutions.

The classroom library is the home of a class’ reading community. Like any remodeling project, it is best to make a plan that is real but achievable for the situation at hand. We always advise not to take on more than you can finish in the amount of time you have to do it.

Consider how well you know your students by this time of year. By now you know about their interests, hobbies, favorite sports, and so much more. The best literacy assessments help you to get to know another side to your students--as readers and writers.

I still believe that conferring is where the magic happens—it’s the heartbeat of the literacy block. It’s an essential time for teachers to meet with students, tailor instruction to their individual goals, provide them with meaningful feedback, and grow relationships.

Today on the Heinemann podcast, we’re joined by Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris to explore how we can make the most of technology with our students. They believe that digital literacy is necessary, and must grow from student ownership and creativity.

Heinemann fellow Julie Kwon Jee has this question: In what ways does a continuous exploration of identity via literature and personal reflection increase engagement and encourage students to become active participants in choosing the books they read both inside and outside their classrooms?

Bring the empowering messages from We Got This to your classroom walls with these free, printable posters! The colorful six-piece set will brighten your room and inspire your learning community. Download your set here!

What if preparing for tests could look, sound, and feel like your favorite units of study for reading and writing? What if they could have the confidence and the tricks-of-the-trade to make it possible for them to do their best work on every test they take?

We already accept notetaking as a part of classroom life, so let’s welcome sketchnotes into the notetaking family! Notetaking as a practice stands the test of time, and for good reason. Research suggests that taking notes in real time and thinking about those notes later boosts student learning.

To practice reading skills either as a student or a teacher, you can download the skills and strategies bookmarks that accompany A Novel Approach. Each set is available for free download and filled with steps that readers can take with them in whatever text they're currently reading.

Today on the Heinemann podcast Jennifer Serravallo introduces A Teacher’s Guide to Reading Conferences, which is part of Heinemann’s Classroom Essentials series. Jen says that while conferring with readers might seem intimidating or out of reach, it is attainable -and necessary- in every classroom.

Writing workshop is not a time where where students prepare to someday write a letter to the editor, or prepare a speech for their local school board. They are doing it right now, every day, in ways that shape their schools and communities in important ways.

The ability to listen will not make teaching easier. It will not take the painful parts away, but listening can give us our children back. If we listen to what children and communities are saying, and we respond accordingly, we can be ourselves again. We can be people.

Lucy Calkins's leadership is rooted in her practice of reading and writing workshop instruction, but where did that instruction begin and how was she called to literacy work to become the leader we know today? How has Lucy Calkins nurtured her own culture of continuous study?

Doing well can mean many different things. It’s only in recent years that psychologists have begun to tease apart the big glob we casually think of as motivation.

This month's PLC series, we examine impacting pedagogy with identity work.

Book clubs provide an authentic purpose for reading closely, note-taking, and writing about reading--to prepare for great conversation. When book clubs meet, the conversations are usually open-ended and completely student-directed.

When you confer, you tailor your instruction to each student’s strengths and needs. But you do so much more than that. Conferring is where the magic happens. It’s the heartbeat of the literacy block.