Heinemann Publishing delightedly reveals the cover design for the forthcoming Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions, Grades K–8, written by Lucy Calkins with Kelly Hohne and Audra Robb.

This practical guide includes an array of useful tools:

• Learning progressions for opinion/argument, information, and narrative writing that identify the benchmarks students need to master as they move through each stage of development, preK–9. 
• On-demand writing prompts that help you assess progress in each type of writing (opinion/argument, information, narrative).
• Checklists that delineate what successful writing entails and help students evaluate their work.
• Rubrics specifying the criteria for each type of writing.
• Student writing samples that clearly exemplify what is expected.
• Exemplar pieces of writing for every grade on the same topic, annotated to help you understand the distinctions between below-, on-, and above-grade-level writing. 

Lucy Calkins tells us her purpose in creating this groundbreaking resource was to make achievement in writing “as transparent, concrete, and obtainable as possible.” These tools “put ownership for progress into the hands of learners, allowing students and teachers to work toward a very clear image of what good writing entails." Students can only become stronger, more confident writers and learners when they know where they are going and have a clear roadmap to get them there. Writing Pathways shows the way!

But you needn’t judge this book by its cover. Heinemann is offering a downloadable sample chapter at http://heinemann.hs-sites.com/preview-writing-pathways. See for yourself how this timely new resource offers teachers a wealth of instructional tools to support assessment, feedback, and goal setting—everything you need to set clear expectations for writing proficiency and help students achieve them.

Originally published as part of the bestselling Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing, Grades K–8, this new edition of Writing Pathways can support any writing instruction context or curriculum. It will be available October 31, 2014.