Blog Archives

Week 22

1/30/2018

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News & Notes:

Parent/Teacher Conferences - Click here to sign up for a conference.
Parent Training - Thursday, Feb 8 from 6:45-7:30. Join me for a parent training on ways you can support your child in reading and math. My goal is to provide you with tips and tricks that can be easily implemented in your homes! RSVP here.
Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year - We will be celebrating both Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year on February 14 from 1:00-2:00. Families are welcome to join us! We'll learn a little more about Chinese New Year and have Sweetheart Floats as a treat! Please let me know if you can join us.
Scholastic Book Fair - Our book fair will take place next week. Our class will be viewing on Monday and buying on Wednesday. The book fair will also be open during conferences.
PTA Membership - Help your us win $75 in free Books - the class with the most memberships wins! If you haven’t joined Bennie’s PTA yet, PLEASE consider doing so. Joining PTA does not obligate you to attend meetings or volunteer of your time however, your $7.00 does help support educational programs and assemblies! Click here for a membership form.

What We're Learning:

Reading - Each book club has both a fiction and non-fiction book they are reading. In addition, they will have weekly assignments on each book. All assignments can be completed in class. We work on reading and writing every morning for almost two hours.
Word Study - As a reminder, students may retake spelling tests on Friday.
Writing - As a group we have been focusing on brainstorming, developing and editing one piece o writing over a series of days.
Math - We are studying comparing fractions, identifying equivalent fractions. We will begin adding and subtracting fractions next week.
Studies - We will be studying Geography and the United States Regions through February.
Science - Are starting to study waves.

Upcoming Dates:

Wed-Thurs, Feb 7-8 - Parent/Teacher Conferences
Thurs, Feb 8 - Parent training 6:45-7:30. Please RSVP here.
Thursday, Feb 8 - Book Fair Buying
Wednesday, Feb 14 - Valentine's Day/Chinese New Year Party 1:00-2:00

Wishlist:

2 - 2 liters Red Pop
30 Large red plastic cups
2 gallons ice cream

Weekly Highlight:

Our science investigation on animal reaction time was a huge hit!

Ask Me:

Can you name an equivalent fraction to 1/2? (Hint - think of your fraction strips. How many sixths were we equivalent to 1/2? How many fourths? Can you name others?)

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Week 20

1/18/2018

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News & Notes

Poetry Reciting - It has been a fun start to our 2018 Poetry Reciting project. The upcoming themes for poetry reciting can be found on our Language Arts page.
World Read Aloud Day - This Thursday, February 1 is World Read Aloud Day. Check out this link to Scholastic's website for some fun ideas! If you join us in reading aloud at home that day, take a picture and post to twitter using the hashtags: #WorldReadAloudDay and #KidsinRoom107
Homework - The kids will be bringing their "poetry pal journals" home this weekend to share them with you. These are the journals they use to write letters back and forth from with their pen pals in Mrs. Smalley's class at Arno. Please take a moment to read some of the poems with your child and check out a recent sample of their writing.
Vocabulary Quiz - We will begin weekly vocabulary quizzes starting next Friday. Our first set of words are math terms. Click here for the word list.

Upcoming Dates:

Tues 1/30 - PTA Bennie Family Fun Night 6:00pm
Wed 1/31 - Sports and Fitness Club after school
Thurs 2/1 - Cooking Bridget's No Bake Cookies
Thurs 2/1 - Bennie PTA meeting 6:30pm, childcare provided

What We're Learning:

Reading - We are knee deep in "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World". This exciting true life story is a great way to build our understanding of basic geography concepts as well as our study of waves in science. (Poetry reciting - next week's poem must be about science.
Word Study - As a reminder, students may retake spelling tests on Friday.
Writing - Thank you for sending photos for your child to use as a writing prompt. Students are working on their final drafts of writing and pictures will go home next week.
Math - Most students have mastered 2x2 digit multiplication. We will have a quiz on that concept next Wednesday. We will continue practicing long division in our daily warm ups but will move on to fractions on Monday.
Studies - We will be studying Geography and the United States Regions through February.
Science - We will end our life science exploration this week and will begin to study waves.
Cooking - We will be making Bridget's No Bake Cookies (cooking has been delayed as we have completed mid-year assessments.)

Weekly Highlights:

The kids loved seeing Dylan's big brother (and "kid in room 108 alumni") in the play
"The Secret Life of Toads".

Budding reporter AnnaLeise interviewed author Miriam Peskowitz for our classnewspaper.

Figure This Math Group solved the math problem "How long would you have to wait in line if you were the 300th person?"

Wishlist:

4 sticks butter
2 cups milk
4 cups peanut butter
10 cups quick oats

Ask Me:

What books are your book club reading? Which one is your favorite and why?

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Happy New Year

1/8/2018

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News & Notes:

NWEA MAP Test - next week we will be completing the mid-year NWEA reading and math assessments. The results from these tests will be used to guide classroom instruction.
Scholastic Book Club - new book club orders are due Friday, Jan 19. Click here for information on how to order online.
Cold Weather Gear - please send your child to school with boots, hats and gloves. If we can go outside we will! Students who do not have boots will not be able to play on the playground until the weather warms up.

Upcoming Dates:

Mon, Jan 15 - No school for students
Tue, Jan 16 - NWEA reading
Wed, Jan 17 - Sports & Fitness
Thurs, Jan 18 - NWEA math
Thurs, Jan 18 - Cooking Damon's deviled eggs (next week Bridget's No Bake Cookies)
Fri, Jan 19 - Poetry Reciting - winter theme

What We're Learning:

Reading - We have begun our latest whole class book "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World". We have begun our poetry reciting project. Our first week was fantastic!! Next week's poem must be about winter.
Word Study - All new groups have their first words of the year.
Writing - Sometimes where to begin writing is the hardest part of the writing process. I have asked your children to bring in a picture from a family event or trip to use as a "photo prompt" for a writing assignment.
Math - Our focus is multi-digit division. Here's a game from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics that the kids have played during our "math tech" rounds - Quotient Cafe.
Studies - We have begun our unit on Geography and the United States Regions. Please check out the family homework assignment that is due on Tuesday, Jan 16.
Science - We continue to explore how animals use their external and internal structures to promote growth and survival by exploring the phenomenon of a grizzly bear catching fish.
Cooking - We will be making Bridget's No Bake Cookies.

Wish List:

2 dozen eggs
4 sticks butter
2 cups milk
4 cups peanut butter
10 cups quick oats

Ask Me:

Describe the relative location of the United States. (Answers can include - north of Mexico, south of Canada, north/west hemisphere)

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