Literacy publisher Benchmark Education Company (BEC) introduced Texas Benchmark Workshop and Benchmark Taller in Texas—combined print and digital resources for grades K to 5 in English and Spanish for reading, phonics and word study, and writing. Both resources are aligned to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) and Spanish Language Arts and Reading (SLAR), and to the Texas English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS). The resources are designed to support responsive teaching and biliteracy with curriculum aligned within and across grade levels and are available now.

Workshop modules work together or stand on their own and can be mixed and matched to meet individual classroom needs. Because modules connect through topics and skills, in combination they provide a comprehensive solution for integrated reading, writing, listening, thinking, and speaking instruction. Additionally, Grades K-5 are connected through ten vertically-aligned knowledge strands focused on literary, science, social studies, and genre to build content-area concepts and vocabulary and to enable students to make connections from grade to grade.

[What’s New: New Tools for Schools]

Modules are comprised of 3-week units, all 100 percent digital, including interactive e-books, videos, e-Planner, take-home letters and activities, and STAAR-formatted assessments. Single-topic units within Reader’s Workshop focus on genres and on a cluster of TEKS and ELPS skills, with targeted whole-group mini-lessons and small-group reading instruction supported with tools for one-on-one conferring. Ongoing assessment includes STAAR-formatted digital and print assessments, as well as observational assessments to inform instructional decisions.

Texas Benchmark Workshop and Texas Benchmark Taller modules are available through Benchmark Education Company. A computer or device with internet access is required to access the digital components. For information, or to place an order, educators can visit www.benchmarkworkshop.com/texas or call the company at 877-236-2465.

Capstone announces its most popular PebbleGo™ databases are now available in Spanish. Three new modules PebbleGo Biografías(Biographies), Ciencia (Science), and Estudios Sociales (Social Studies), joined the previously released Spanish Animales (Animals) database.

[Salsa in the United States]

All of the modules include Spanish text and read-aloud Spanish-language audio recorded by professional voice-over artists, and a content map that matches the English language version. The databases were created with authentic Spanish text and audio, not machine translated or text to speech. The databases are correlated to state and national curriculum standards supporting core concepts in their given subject areas.

All PebbleGo database modules (Animals, Spanish Animales, Biographies, Dinosaurs, Science, and Social Studies) include leveled text, fully narrated by professional voice-over artists.