I was so happy to meet students and parents at “Meet the Teacher” this past Thursday. Thank you for bringing all of your supplies.
I look forward to school starting tomorrow and seeing all the new faces and having a great school year. See you in the morning!
Mrs. Benson

Well, it’s our last week of school! Seems impossible. We finished taking our last grades last week, so this week will be a lot of gathering our things and getting our room back in order. PLEASE send your child’s backpack each day, because they will have things to bring home each and every day so that they won’t be loaded down any one day. If you have any books of mine at your home, office, car, or Grandmas, please send them back to school so all can be accounted for.
Each student will be bringing home a language arts workbook to keep them academically active over the summer. Some students will also have a math book to work through over the summer. I hope these are helpful in keeping each student from forgetting anything they have learned. Consistent reading over the summer is also essential in keeping your child reading at his/her full potential. The White Oak City Library, located at the high school, is an excellent way to have great children’s literature and become involved in their children’s program.
Remember, it is Early Release both Thursday and Friday at 11:00.
It has been a wonderful year and I appreciate each of you for being supportive and helpful throughout the year. I am going to miss the boys and girls but I know I will see them around.
Have a great summer,
Mrs. Benson

Wow! I can’t believe it’s here. The last six weeks of the year! We still have a lot to cover so no one stop giving me your all now. It’s very important that all students continue to read daily, get their homework done and monitor their behavior and work habits at school. This will make for a smooth ending to our great school year.
This week we will be working on reading for comprehension of details as well as inferring reasonably. Guided reading groups and our word work will revolve around this. We will continue to work through the writing process on our Pond Stories in writers workshop and we will get new spelling words. We just concluded the study of 2-3 dimensional shapes in math but our math centers will revolve around this. In large group math we will be begin adding and subtraction 2-digit numbers with NO regrouping. Our science will continue with the study of pond life and the life-cycle of the frog.
Please always remember to email or phone me if there is anything I can help you with or concerns.
Mrs. Benson

I hope everyone had a wonderful and blessed Easter vacation. I know I did with my family. Thanks to all the moms who helped put our party together this past Thursday. I know the kids had a lot of fun.
This week we will be defining and using contractions in our reading and writing during our word work. Reading benchmark testing will continue and in math we will FINALLY be leaving money and moving on into 2&3 dimensional shapes. I know some students struggled with money and I don’t want them to forget what they have learned so continue to have them practice counting collections of coins. We are switching from our social studies study of Texas to a science study of pond life and the life cycle of the frog.
Can you believe this will be our last six weeks? Report cards will be sent home this Thursday. Please sign them and return them the next day. Some people have asked when our class’s Champs Assembly will be and it will not be until the middle of May. More details will come later.
Again, thanks to all of you for your help with the Texas Readers’ Theater and our party.
Mrs. Benson

I hope everyone has enjoyed their spring break. I know I have had a relaxing one with family. When the students return to school this Monday, we will continue our extended study of Texas. This unit will be explored in reading, writing, and social studies. Our math will be a review week of some skills that need some reteaching. I ask that you continue to practice time, counting coins, and skip counting at home.
Our “Texas Our Texas” readers’ theater will be introduced to the students and we will begin practicing this on stage. The students should have a note with further explanation and their parts this Monday.
Reading logs will also change on Monday. The students will begin the annual reading contest to hopefully have their name drawn for a bicycle in May. They will also have a note explaining this on Monday also. They still need to read and have their log signed daily.
With all of that said, I want to share with you that I will not be in school all of this next week. My son, Zack, has finally left Afghanistan and will be arriving in California this Monday. My family will be flying out to meet him and spend some time with him. He will not be able to come home until the end of April and honestly I couldn’t wait that long to see him. I know you all understand and thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers for him and my family as we went through this trying time.
Please be aware of this as you leave notes or bus changes for the substitute. Thank you for your understanding and have a great week!
Mrs. Benson

February is such a busy month, full of many “Hot Topics” for our first graders to read about, discuss, and learn. We have just wrapped-up our study on presidents and for this last week of February we will be learning how to care for our teeth. This past week, Angela Sipes, a first grade mother and dental hygienist came and spoke to our first graders about dental care. The Masonic Lodge provided the Tooth Kits to each first grader. We appreciate them very much!
We began looking closer at fact families and the relationships between addition and subtraction. We will delve further into fact families this week.
Guided reading groups will continue in reading. The students will receive new spelling words this week and will be completing independent writings and shared/interactive writings in Writers Workshop. Applying the skills we have practiced is what I’m looking for in their writings: capitalization, punctuation, spelling words, spacing, penmanship, and staying on topic.
Thank you for sending back the report cards and remember this Tuesday is an early-release day and parent conferences are scheduled this day. Spring pictures are the 29th.
Please call or email if you have any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Benson

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your family and loved ones. Thanks to all the moms and dads who helped with our party. The party was awesome and the kids enjoyed it a lot. Sorry I had to send them home all sugared up:)
This week our focus shifts from Valentines to presidents in honor of Presidents Day. We will be discussing presidents for a couple weeks.
In math we will be taking our addition further with doubles and doubles plus one facts.
In writing we will be writing about the presidents we learn about and we will be getting 5 new spelling words on Wednesday, but no test this week.
Upcoming dates:
February 17th End of Six Weeks
February 20th Presidents Day School Holiday
February 23rd Report Card Day
February 28th Early Release Day- 11:00 and Parent Conferences
(Look for a confirmation time slot to come home soon.)
March 12th-16th Spring Break
Keep up to date on everything that is going on here at school and be sure and let me know any important information regarding your child.
Thank you,
Mrs. Benson

With Valentine’s Day approaching quickly, be sure to be prepared for the upcoming party. A note went home last week with details of Valentine boxes and our class list for Valentines. All of this is due this Friday. The party will be next Tuesday, February 14th at 11:30 in our classroom.
This week we will continue guided reading groups and review all the different types of words we have studied: adjectives, nouns, verbs, compounds, singular, plural, antonyms, and synonyms. There will be 10 new spelling words this week and we will continue to explore different types of measurement in math.
Continue to check your child’s planner and read and sign their reading log each day. Thank you for all you do!
Mrs. Benson

Yes, today was the 100th day of school. Can you believe it? Times flies when you’re learning so many interesting things. Our study of penguins will end this week. The students have really enjoyed learning about these interesting creatures. We will end this unit with a process writing about penguins and Antarctica. Another exciting element included in our writing this week is that we have begun the WEE Deliver Program, where students can write, address, and mail letters to their friends and teachers in the primary school. We have completed our penmanship alphabet letters and now the students will be checked on how they are applying all they have learned about good penmanship and legible writing.
Reading will continue with guided reading groups. Please note that although some of the students’ levels have advanced; because of their slow fluency, I will not move them up in levels until the fluency matches the level of reading. Fluency is a very important part of the whole reading experience. Without a good rate of reading, comprehension breaks down. Please keep this in mind when your child is bringing home a book that seems too easy. Easier books promote high fluency.
In math this week, we will begin discussing, practicing, and analyzing measurement. This includes: length, capacity, area, weight, and we have already covered time.
Upcoming events:
February 2-Groundhog Day
February 14-Valentine Party 11:30
February 17-End of Six Weeks
February 20-Presidents Day School Holiday
Please continue to be aware of any notes, projects, and/or correspondence that comes home via planner or note. Thanks a lot!
Mrs. Benson