February Shining Stars

Congratulations to our Shining Stars!!

Dominic Melendez
Kindergarten - Amy Disch
Arlington Heights School District 25

Dominic has been immersed in a comprehensive literacy program that provides explicit instruction and opportunities to learn and practice each component of emergent literacy. During alphabet instruction, the class cycles through a letter daily, practicing the name, sound, formation, and identification of the letter in an authentic text. Shared writing allows students to contribute to a chart with predictable, repeated lines and work with that text in various ways each day of the week. Shared reading focuses on engagement and interaction with various texts, providing opportunities to learn concepts of print and increasing communication opportunities. Independent reading provides Dominic an opportunity to choose what to read and then read or explore independently while building positive associations with the text. Independent writing gives students access to all 26 letters of the alphabet to create a meaningful message while learning how all these components of literacy work together. 

Mildred Perez
3rd Grade - Danielle Gilson
CCSD 15Community Consolidated School District 15

Millie participates in the same curriculum as Dominic. She uses a variety of adapted tools to participate in instruction. Millie uses her eye gaze device or visuals to comment or write words. She also uses a keyboard on her device to write during independent writing. Recently, she has been using her keyboard to write during various classroom activities! With adapted switches, Millie is able to turn the pages of a book she is reading or cut a sentence strip into words.