WorldWise

Okapi Educational Publishing

WorldWise is a high-interest literacy program for Grades 2-5 that encourages inquiry and questioning while extending knowledge in science, social studies and a range of STEM topics. WorldWise creates a powerful and effective learning culture.

Flying Start to Literacy is an award-winning K-5 literacy program that reflects best practices in literacy instruction. Flying Start to Literacy’s paired fiction and informational texts, which are connected by their shared high-frequency words, key vocabulary, and big idea, build the kinds of foundations necessary to launch students successfully on their path to college and career readiness.

Despegando hacia la lectura™ is a comprehensive, Spanish-language, literacy resource that can be fully implemented as a stand-alone literacy program. To meet the demand for Authentic, leveled texts; each Flying Start title has been transadapted creating authentic syntax for equitable and robust instruction.

TRANSLANGUAGING LEADERS

Okapi's flagship programs, Flying Start and Despegando, are the perfect pairing to build up your Emerging Bilinguals, ELLs and ESLs students using translanguaging principles (see more on this innovative and proven method below).

Flying Start and Despegando are extremely well written paired fiction and non fiction materials that introduce high frequency words and vocabulary in contexts. Learning happens both in and out of the classroom as each set of materials include a take home book so that students can have success outside the classroom (bonus: parent involvement!).

More advanced levels continue to work on comprehension while also developing Tier 3 vocabulary within a social studies or science conversation. Because Okapi's materials are paired fiction/nonfiction, students can understand the material contextually across both genres.

WHY TRANSLANGUAGING? WHAT IS TRANSLANGUAGING?

Translanguaging shifts the focus from teaching something brand new to validating a student's home language and the concepts they already understand. Curriculum fueled by translanguaging philosophy gives ELL/ESL students a quick introduction to a fiction or non-fiction text, framing the complexities of the upcoming lesson (i.e. a comprehension strategy, vocabulary, idiomatic expressions and construction background about a concept) in the reader’s primary language.

Once the initial exposure to the topic has occurred, the lesson is then taught with RIGOR in the target language. Readers transfer knowledge using a paired text rich with the same vocabulary, high-frequency words and main idea as with the initial previewed text. Finally, the new information is reviewed for clarity and synthesized in the learner's dominant language.

Using similar texts and vernacular, routines and lesson plans, students feel at ease and gain confidence in new subjects faster than with other methodologies.

We are so excited to be bringing this concept, methodology and supporting materials to our midwest schools!