The scripted materials described in this chapter have the potential to play a valuable role in providing a framework for teachers as they implement teaching for understanding in their classrooms. They can function as guides that help teachers identify critical openings into which they can enter a more improvisational space. They can provide structured questions that can serve as valuable prompts to elicit student thinking with which the teacher can further craft the discussion. They are not “teacher proof ”– teachers require
expertise to use them well and they require coaching support to encourage their understanding of both the content and pedagogy embodied in the curriculum. Although it may seem like a contradiction, I have argued that high quality scripted materials, used well, can be supports for achieving the goals of teaching for understanding, a pedagogy that has proven difficult to implement well but one that holds promise for high-quality student learning.