Tiger Squad

Benson's Business

Well, we've survived the first day of testing and the students were wonderful! One hour of reading, a 10 min. break, and another hour is a long time to sit still! Tomorrow is Language/English, Fri. is math and next Mon. and Tues. are social studies and science. Help your child remember a snack tomorrow if they forgot today. Thank you to Connor for bringing us peppermints to get our brain juices flowing!

We have started our poetry writing and as always I'm amazed by their abilities and talents. Ask your child about the Doors of Poetry that they are making. They are exploring all the different doors that will lead them to writing wonderful poetry. We've also been on a poetry scavenger hunt looking for poems of different topics in many different books.  Today they wrote a "Hello to, Good-bye to" poems for Earth Week. You will get to read these in their poetry books at the Poetry Coffeehouse in May (following our author's tea).

In math we're working on multiplication and division of larger numbers. We'll do this for at least 2 more weeks to make sure they truly understand it. They are realizing how important it is for them to know their math facts. Please keep reviewing those with in the car, at dinner, etc.

Thanks!

Benson's Business

Spring is here, except that we were playing in the snow at recess yesterday. Nevertheless, a little spring fever has hit our classroom. I will go back to diligently checking planners each morning and afternoon. Please check it at night and if there is anything I think you need to know about, there will be a little note in the bottom box.  Maybe this will help to reduce the fever.

Otherwise, everything is wonderful. Your children love to learn, which makes my job the best! They are like sponges soaking up the information about the Cherokee and Creek Indians. Ask your child about the Trail of Tears, Chief John Ross, and Sequoyah. They are going to love New Echota, Friday, when they see the history they are learning in person. Remember to watch the weather for Friday. We are outdoors all day! Also remember to send in the sack lunch if you checked bring from home. Please put it in a disposable container with a disposable drink, so we don't have to keep up with lunch boxes on the way home. There will be a cooler to put drinks in, so label everything. You can also send in an extra snack to eat when we return.

Your children are also budding authors! They are working on narrative stories (ask them the important features of a narrative piece).  I had 8 conferences today and am blown away by the incredible writing taking place. I can't wait to meet with the others tomorrow and Thur. and see what they have written so far. We started out developing a setting that the reader can visualize well and a character that the reader can really get to know. After completing a story map with a brief overview of their beginning, middle, and end, they were off! And asking each morning...when do we get to write some more...a teacher's dream!

AR goals are due by Monday (due to the Friday field trip).  The next month's goal will be done a little differently with the student and I meeting to set a personal, reasonable, (but challenging) goal. I'll send home a paper next week for you to sign and return that will notify you of the goal.

We will also begin time tests again this week! One will be Wed.(tomorrow) and then we'll have 2 next week on Tues. and Fri. CRCTs are right around the corner and their facts need to be sharp. In regards to CRCTs, if you notice a specific area your child continues to miss while taking the practice tests at home, please let me know. That way I can review it with him/her individually here at school.

Whew...yes, we are busy and will be ready for spring break!

Benson's Business

I hope your child came home Friday and told you how much fun we had eating our way across the regions of Georgia! Thank you so much to everyone that made cakes, sent in supplies, and came in to help us decorate them like the regions of Georgia.  At dinner ask your child to name the regions of GA, and an animal and plant in each. If they can't please let me know; we need to review before the CRCT!

Our Social Studies test on government is Tuesday. I understand that some of you are getting to "clear out the cobwebs" and remember some of your old government classes. We will check the guides in class on Friday to make sure the students study the correct answers. Then they will bring the study guide back home to help them study. After the test we will begin our next study of Georgia - the political, not physical aspects.

Preparation for the CRCT is underway! Please make sure you assist your child in taking the CRCT practice tests online. Part of doing well on a test is knowing how to read critically, eliminate obvious wrong answers, and "pick" the correct one. We will practice test taking skills as we get closer to the date. It is also important that we do NOT talk about it too often, make threats "if you don't do your homework you won't pass the test", etc. Students do much better if they go into the test relaxed and feeling confident, which is why we'll practice and review, but not overdo it.

Hooray! We have finished all the cursive letters. The students are very excited about writing in their journals to you tomorrow in cursive. Please respond in "neat cursive" so they can practice reading it.Hopefully, you'll be able to read theirs. Thanks for all your continued support!

Benson's Business

Your children can be quite persuasive (as you probably already know)! We have delivered our letters to Mrs. Bates and are awaiting her decisions. Next Wed. we go to the media center and she'll let us know if she has decided to purchase any of the books we requested. Now that we have learned the "formula" for writing persuasively we are learning about "voice" in our writing. Ask your child what this is and how you add it to your writing. You should hear words like energy, wow words, personality, and enthusiasm. If your child has no idea let me know! We have compared sample papers with and without voice and scored them on a rubric, rewritten boring paragraphs to have voice, and picked out voice in many good pieces of literature as a group and with partners. They are going to love tomorrow's topic, but I'll let them tell you about it this weekend.

Mathematically we have moved on to geometry. By making figures on the geoboard, today's group learned that a quadrilateral is always a polygon, but a polygon might not always be a quadrilateral. If you've forgotten these  terms ask your child. If they stumble, don't panic, we'll be working on this through next week. You'll also get to remember terms such as: scalene triangle, isosceles triangle, equilateral triangle, radius, diameter, etc.

What is government? Who leads our government? What are the three branches of government and what is each responsible for? What are the differences in our local, state, and national government? These are just a few of the questions your child will be able to discuss at the end of our government unit.

Remember your child should be working on his/her persuasive project. This is not something to be doing at the last minute. Thanks for your support.

Benson's Business

I'm looking forward to seeing all of you next week during conferences. Please try to be prompt as many of our parents have back-to-back conferences and I have to end on time.  Remember to leave time for that crazy parking situation that often occurs.

2008 is moving right along and so is our class! We have finished our first multiplication and division units, but will continue to practice math facts until the last week of school! I've promised Mrs. Range they'll be ready next year.  After a short unit on measurement we'll be on to geometry and then ...fractions!

Our essential question in reading  is how do I read and comprehend fiction. We are working on the reading strategies drawing conclusions and inferring. These strategies teach the children to ask questions about what is going on while they read, make predictions about what will happen, and understand why the character acted as he/she did. Research is showing that if readers (even us) get involved with their text more they'll enjoy it more and in turn, become better readers.

You may have noticed in last week's parent journal that your child tried to convince you of something. We are learning how to write persuasively. They are practicing with graphic organizers on which they have to write 3 reasons they support a topic and then 2 specific examples for each reason. That finishes in a three paragraph paper!  We read a book titled Hey Little Ant during which the boy is trying to decide whether or not to squish the ant. Look for your child's opinion in the hall next week when you come in for conferences. Friday we are going to meet with Mrs. Bates in the library and she is going to tell the students the criteria for how she orders books for the media center. Next week they'll be writing letters to her trying to persuade her to order a book of their choice. Then we'll finish by writing to the state and other government organizations convincing them to save the endangered animals of Georgia. As you can see we are very busy and learning a lot in our new year!

Benson's Business

Wow! The time capsules were wonderful. We all had fun looking at them during family. They are coming back home today so you all can put them some place safe. One clever thing I noticed in some was a list of how much things cost today...the movies, gas, fast food hamburger, etc. That would be a very interesting thing to compare in 10 or so years. You might want to make one with your child to add to his/her time capsule.

We had 2 wonderful computer lab sessions today.Thank you for your foundation support that makes Mrs. Gravalec's help possible. I couldn't do these things without her expertise.  During math we used our new MegaMath program to practice making arrays and multiplying them. The students really enjoyed this form of practice.  We also began researching using safe search engines. The children have  written down several questions that their nonfiction books made them wonder about (some are easier to research than others). If your child didn't find an answer in the lab he/she might need some help tonight finding an answer. If you need to guide them to a new question that is easier that is fine. We are aiming toward having them research things they are interested in learning.

We will compile these into a class I Wonder Book using features of nonfiction books to illustrate them...diagrams, labels, captions, bold print, etc. We are also making a Big Book about magnets for our book buddies, Mrs. Lupiani's first grade class.  The students will receive a rubric (scoring sheet) about all the items their group will need to include on the page they make for our book. They are very excited about helping the first graders learn more about the topic they are studying in science.

Benson's Business

I hope all of your children have recuperated from Washega and had lots of wonderful stories to tell. It was a wonderful trip and all of the chaperones and I really enjoyed the kids. A HUGE thank you to Mrs. Chanin, Mrs. Mallis, Mr. Beckham, and Mr. Gravalec for being awesome chaperones that pitched in to help with any type of duty needing to be done...even bathhouse clean up!

Also thank you to Mrs. Collier, Mr. Hudgins, Mrs. Tiangco, and Mr. Chanin for playing math games with us yesterday. As you have noticed, we are beginning our unit on multiplication. Next week you will receive information about practicing math facts. Right now we are learning the concept and how it relates to division.

Have you ever wondered about what animals live in different parts of Georgia? Wondered about why kings and queens wore crowns? Which was the smallest dinosaur? What sea creature carries its house on its back? The students will have a chance to record all the things they wonder about and research the answers in our new study of non-fiction. We will read a non-fiction book each day together and discover the special features that help us understand it better...bold print, captions, index, inset pictures, diagrams, labels, glossary, etc. After learning to determine importance in an article, write captivating leads, strong conclusions, and interesting details the students will publish their own non-fiction books. Sounds like a tall order, but I am always surprised what a wonderful job they do!

Congratulations to Darden Hearn, Charlie Atherton, and Griffin Keesling!They all won 1st or 2nd place in the Reflections contest. Congrats to our entire class for winning the highest participation in Reflections AND the Innisbrook wrapping paper sales.

I am also very pleased about how many students made their AR goal this month. If the students are truly reading 30 min. 5 nights a week it is quite attainable. Get your child started right away for November! The goal is once again 5 points, but one book must be a non-fiction book. Remember those tests are a little harder, so tell your child not to read at the top of his/her reading range for that book. Reading  is one of the MOST important things you can emphasize with your child! Be sure they see you reading once in awhile, too...the newspaper, anything.

Be sure and check the Tigersquad portion of this blog for some requests.

Have fun with your kids tonight!

Benson's Business

The Innisbrook sale is almost over and our class is in the running for the top participation prize. Every child that sells even one item adds to our total. So please send send in your orders if you haven't already.

Thanks to everyone for ordering books. I can't wait to sit down and pick out all the new books for our classroom library. The students are avid readers and will have fun with all the new material. Speaking of reading, the students are doing a great job making connections while they read. If they are using expressions such as: that reminds me of...or I felt like that character when...they are making text to self connections. Hopefully, they can explain to you why making connections is important and how it helps readers (even us) understand and be more engaged in their reading. This week we are practicing making text to text connections (making connections from one book to another). We are also learning about traditional literature (fairy tales, folk tales, myths, tall tales, etc.).  Our connections are helping us compare and contrast the different elements of each type of tale.

The students are also having fun learning many new map skills. So far they have studied the 7 continents, 5 oceans, the equator, and the poles. We had a great computer lab with Mrs. Gravalec (thank you foudation) using Kid Pix to label the continents and oceans and creatively color them.  They are being proudly displayed in the hall and will come home in a week or two. Today we will begin working on cardinal directions, the compass rose and reading a map key or legend.  We have brand new maps and globes with erasable marking pens so the students will enjoy and learn a lot in our map lessons. Ask them to tell you about it this afternoon.

Also thanks to the Tritt Tiger Foundation for making our science lab possible. Last week we had a great lesson learing the different ways to identify rocks.  You should have seen that lab report come home this week. We will continue studying rocks and minerals for several weeks.

Thank you for all of your help and support.

Mrs. Benson

In Full Swing

It was wonderful to see everyone last night. It makes for such a great school year when we all start off  on the same page. As promised here is an update to our blog.

In math we're starting recognizing numbers up to 10,000. Yes, it will get harder than tonight's homework, but we will be doing many in class activities to work up to the large numbers. They will also be reviewing more about the different value of a number depending on where it is located on the place value chart. They began the vocabulary part of their math journal today. Ask them to explain what a digit is.

Talking about literature is one of the best ways to make sure your child understands what he/she is reading. We are reading Good Grief, Third Grade every day. You could talk with your student about Roger, Marcia and the troubles they are having being buddies. See if they remember the book the two of them are doing a report on together.  We also read a wonderful book Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge who helps an elderly lady with her memory. The students wrote memories that they have they could write about one day. Ask them how Wilfrid Gordon helped her and what the main idea of the book was about.

Next week we will start our maps and globes unit and after 2 weeks the students will bring home a study guide to help them get ready for their first "test".  Rest assured it will be a successful experience for everyone as long as they know what is on the guide. We want everyone to feel positive about their first "studying" experience.

Have a great weekend.