Literacy Lookout

It's hard to believe the 2021-2022 school year is coming to an end! As literacy has taken a leading role in our district's initiatives, it has been a year of learning for all of us. We, the Literacy Team, thank all of you for helping us take on this idea of change in the literacy world, and for diving in and swimming right along side of us.

We're ready to conquer even more next school year and hope you are too...but first, let's enjoy the summer! 🌞

The elementary celebrated the world of LITERACY May 2nd-6th with a week packed full of fun!

Students and staff showed their literacy spirit throughout the week. From dressing up as their favorite book character to being a fan of reading with crazy socks, pajamas, and sports gear, the week was full of fun!

*Check out Mrs. Charnigo dressed as her favorite character, Miss Trunchbull from Matilda.

The Read-a-Thon had 36 students participate. Combined they read 4,842 minutes and earned $1,413.78! This money will be used towards future literacy initiatives at the elementary and to help begin the process of revamping our school library.

We were able to bring back the beloved Scholastic Bookfair to our elementary during Literacy week! The students (and staff) loved browsing the books and school supplies! The bookfair profited over $4,000 in Scholastic Dollars this year which will go towards purchasing birthday books and revamping our school library. The bookfair is already scheduled to make an appearance next spring! It was so great to have such a beloved event back in action and in-person!

There were about 50 students who traveled around the world to the 7 continents on Thursday, May 5th for our family engagement night. Our travelers had the opportunity to learn about music, schools, and famous landmarks around the world as well as use their reading, engineering, artistic, and technology skills. This was a great event!

Check out the article from Ashland Source.

As we wrap-up our first year of intentionally implementing Tier II Phonological Awareness interventions, we will let the data speak for itself. How awesome is it to see the growth our students have made?!

These charts show the decrease in the number of unmastered skills in PA from January to May. Look at those differences! The data proves that we are closing those gaps - slowly, but surely! Just think of the differences we will be able to make next year when we hit the ground running in August!

We want to thank all of you who helped in closing these gaps. From our Title Teachers, Intervention Tutors, Gen.Ed Teachers, Spec.Ed Teachers, Principals, and Paras, this wouldn't have been possible without your hard work!

Conquering Dyslexia is a highly recommended read for everyone to help gain a basic understanding of Dyslexia as Ohio releases its Dyslexia Guidebook. Dr. Hasbrouck shares what dyslexia is, how to identify it, interventions, and instructional approaches that work best for children who have this disorder.

As required by Ohio law, Ohio's Dyslexia Guidebook contains best practices and methods for universal screening, intervention and remediation for children with dyslexia or children displaying dyslexic characteristics and tendencies. Mapleton will be using this guidebook as well as ODE's Dyslexia Supports site to access critical information for successful implementation of Ohio's dyslexia support laws.

Do you know a student who is good at math or science but struggles with reading or spelling? Has a student ever asked you a question about English spelling to which you replied, "That's an exception"? Have you ever abandoned a word while writing because spell check didn't recognize it? Uncovering the Logic of English will help you understand English's complex code to better help you read, teach, and logically answer those difficult questions.

Our spring book club has offered a tremendous amount of quality discussion, thinking, and introspective reflection. We're all aware that America's education system is in crisis, but never really understood the root cause of this collapse. This book club has opened the eyes of many and allowed for a deeper understanding of the WHY behind the changes we are making here at Mapleton. Thank you to all those who participated!

If you haven't yet read The Knowledge Gap, we highly recommend you read it over the summer!!

A fall book club is in the pre-planning stages. Be on the lookout for more information in August!

All K-2 teachers, as well as the Literacy Team, began the transition towards a new ELA curriculum, Amplify CKLA, by participating in professional development May 16 & 17. This curriculum has two primary components, skills and knowledge. In the skills strand, students will learn and build on those foundational skills needed to decode and read. While in the knowledge strand, students will enhance their vocabulary and build background knowledge across content areas. Amplify is heavily rooted in the Science of Reading and gives Mapleton a structured literacy curriculum that Ohio's Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement urges.

During the week of June 6-10, 16 staff members will become certified Orton-Gillingham specialists by participating in training through Tri-County ESC with the intent to begin implementation next school year. Orton-Gillingham, OG for short, is a powerful approach to teaching reading and spelling that uses instruction that is multi-sensory, sequential, phonics-based, and explicit. The OG approach helps make reading and spelling easy for all children, even though it is often viewed as an instructional method for children with dyslexia and learning challenges.

The middle school will be starting the year with our One School, One Book program! All middle school students and staff will read, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind. Discussions, activities, projects, and fun will run from September through November with a culminating school-wide viewing of the Netflix film. As innovation will continue to be a talking point next year, this inspiring true story will not only offer examples of innovation, but also exemplify so many other character strengths that we want to see throughout the middle school.

District Literacy Coordinator

Email: mapl_sortiz@tccsa.net
Website: https://www.mapleton.k12.oh.us/Literacy.aspx
Phone: 8180

PK-6 Literacy Coach

Email: mapl_cnewcomer@tccsa.net
Website: https://www.mapleton.k12.oh.us/Literacy.aspx
Phone: 4123
Twitter: @lit_coach_cass

5-12 Literacy Coach

Email: mapl_cswanson@tccsa.net
Website: https://www.mapleton.k12.oh.us/Literacy.aspx
Phone: 6163
Twitter: @swanson_cass