Teaching Unscripted

The Heinemann blog, podcast, and newsletter is now Teaching Unscripted! We're excited to deliver high-quality professional development content in smaller bite-sized formats to give teachers the resources and tools they need for those unscripted moments in the classroom.

How can hip-hop engage students in the classroom? Learn the foundations of hip-hop pedagogy with Edmund Adjapong.

What does it really mean to teach reading based on science—and how do strategies fit in?

Although social-emotional learning may seem disconnected from academic content, the two are deeply interconnected.

Maggie DeMont announces new literacy and math offerings, as well as unique opportunities for professional learning in this back-to-school message from Heinemann.

Learn how intentional vocabulary and language routines in math intervention help students build confidence, deepen understanding, and communicate mathematical thinking.

Outline of everything a literacy coach needs to know about the literary curriculum, evidence-based literacy instruction, and assessment.

Register for the Heinemann Educator Summit, a free virtual event from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, 2025, featuring sessions that connect research to practice and celebrate educators everywhere.

The first few weeks of school are crucial to setting the tone, establishing community, and forming authentic connections with students. Start with low stakes; look for small, meaningful opportunities to make a big impact; take time to build community and trust; establish short, kid-friendly community agreements; think outside the box; and design the classroom as a team!

How can we turn student curiosity into meaningful inquiry?

Our first-day activities need to help students know one another and feel safe at the same time. Here’s how.

Literacy trails can put students' senses to work outdoors, help them observe their surroundings, complete challenges, and experience the enjoyment of being outside. 

Explore what’s new in Saxon Reading Foundations and how these updates reflect the most current science of reading research.

Real listening has to be informed by what we know, by what we are learning, and by our desire to actually hear what our students, communities, and partners are telling us.

Ten suggestions on how teachers can help students build background knowledge.

Structured prompts on reading around the text, craft and structure, and representation and perspective.

Can your students spot misinformation before it spreads?

Jump Rope Readers are now officially included in the UFLI Foundations Decodable Text Guide, affirming their alignment with one of the most trusted phonics-based instructional frameworks in education.