5: The Company

11/10/22 • 47 min

4 Listeners

Teachers call books published by Heinemann their bibles. The company's products are in schools all over the country. Some of the products used to teach reading are rooted in a debunked idea about how children learn to read. But they've made the company and some of its authors millions.

Map: Heinemann’s national reach
Read: Transcript of this episode
Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Support: Donate to APM Reports
More: soldastory.org
En español: soldastory.es

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Previous Episode

4: The Superstar

Teachers sing songs about Lucy Calkins. The longtime professor at Columbia University’s Teachers College is one of the most influential people in American elementary education today. Her admirers call her books bibles. Why didn't she know that scientific research contradicted reading strategies she promoted?

Read: Transcript of this episode
Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Support: Donate to APM Reports
More: soldastory.org
En español: soldastory.es

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.

Next Episode

6: The Reckoning

Lucy Calkins says she has learned from the science of reading. She's revised her materials. Fountas and Pinnell have not revised theirs. Their publisher, Heinemann, is still selling some products to teach reading that contain debunked practices. Parents, teachers and lawmakers want answers.

Map: How states approach reading instruction
Organize: Sold a Story discussion guide
Read: Transcript of this episode
Watch: The story behind Sold a Story
Support: Donate to APM Reports
More: soldastory.org
En español: soldastory.es

Dive deeper into Sold a Story with a multi-part email series from host Emily Hanford. We’ll also keep you up to date on new episodes. Sign up at soldastory.org/extracredit.