Why Okapi?

The short answer is it’s our favorite animal. The long answer is that we wanted a name that captured our philosophical beliefs about the way children learn.

The Okapi is a large animal that was not discovered until 1901. It is the closest living relative to the giraffe, but really looks nothing like it. It's the only living mammal that cleans its eyes and ears with its tongue. It is found nowhere but the Ituri forest in Northeastern Zaire. They are loners who only seek out other Okapis during mating season. We discovered these facts because our curiosity was piqued when we first saw this bizarre yet beautiful creature at our local zoo. We believe that children are natural inquisitors. This sense of discovery gives them a reason for their reading, research and wanting to know more about their world. Check out our bookstore to find materials that will spark you students’ intellectual curiosity and motivate them to read, write and take action!

Why Text Types?

Text types reflect an author's purpose. An author needs to decide the purpose of writing about a particular topic and the best way to present information about this topic. The author will ask particular questions such as Who am I writing for?, What information would they be interested in? What information will I include? and What will I leave out? Is my reason for writing to persuade or is it to give facts? These questions help to determine the type of text the author chooses. Explorations focuses on the five main text types children experience in school reading- recount, report, explanation, procedure, and argument. Each of these text types comes with its own special language conventions, features, and writing frameworks. Our goal it to provide teachers with clear models for whole and small group instruction of these text types so that children have a deeper understanding of what information the author is conveying, and why he chose that particular genre to express himself. Children may understand that an author is trying to persuade them as a reader, but do they know how or why he does it? Once teachers unlock this authors "secret" for their students, reading and writing informational texts is no longer looked on as a chore. Instead, students will seek out books they want to read and talk about. They may even be inspired to write a letter to the editor or take some action in some other form. That is our goal here at Okapi and we applaud all of you who strive to give your students this magical gift of literacy.