Finally, Spring has arrived!

Hello Parents,

Even though Spring began in March, our warm weather decided not to arrive until now!  Many April showers have now brought us beautiful May flowers and warmer weather to enjoy.  I hope that you have been able to get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature!

Last week the entire school participated in CBM testing, which I administered to most of my ELL students.  There were no flex. groups last week for all grade levels due to CBM testing.

Here are the latest happenings in ELL:

Kindergarten has worked on Math (Number Sense and Quantity) along with Time and Routines. 

First Grade has been working on a long and interesting Life Cycle unit.

Second Grade recently finished up their unit on Life Cycles and are now working on Natural Resources.

Third Grade enjoyed learning about Times Long Ago and are currently practicing reciting a play.

Fourth Grade continues to increase their knowledge about the West Region of the U.S. 

Fifth Grade worked on elements of fiction/non-fiction and are now also working on plays.

Recently, I mailed home a letter asking parents to call and schedule an appointment to have your child screened if they will be starting Kindergarten this Fall (2011-2012) School Year.  If you have a child who will be starting Kindergarten, please call me to schedule an appointment to have your child screened.  This is a State requirement.  Thank you!  This way, ELL services can begin earlier next school year.  If you do not have a child who will be starting Kindergarten next year, but you have a friend that does, please have them call me.  This screening is only for families who speak another language besides English in their homes.  My direct line is 630.428.6725 or email me at delissa_bennick@ipsd.org.

5th Grade Presentations Were Awesome!

Today, my three 5th grade students, gave presentations about their native countries' flags to my group of 3rd grade students.  The 5th graders have been researching their flags for the past couple of weeks.  They then compiled the information and typed up a report of the most interesting facts.  The 3rd graders were excellent listeners.  They enjoyed watching the older students present.  CONGRATULATIONS to my 5th graders for a JOB WELL DONE!  I am so proud of you!

~Mrs. Bennick :-)

ELL Update

Hello Parents,

I apologize for the delay in updating my blog.  The weeks are just passing by so quickly, I can hardly keep up with everything!  We have definitely been very busy these past two weeks in ELL class!  Here is a snapshot of what's been going on.

Kindergarten:  Transportation (last week) and Feelings (this week)

First Grade:  Families (last week) and Schedules/Routines (this week)

Second Grade:  Celebrations & Customs (last week) and Maps & Globes (this week)

Third Grade:  Celebrations in Nature (last week) and Moon & Space (this week)

Fourth Grade:  Tall Tales; Facts and Opinions (last week and this week)

Fifth Grade:  Researching our Native Countries' flags (We will be presenting our projects next week to a group of third graders.)

There are always lots of things to keep us busy in ELL class.  As always, if you have any questions or concerns,  please call me. 

~Mrs. Bennick :-)

ELL Activities for the Week of 3/21/11

Hello Parents,

Here is a snapshot of what each grade level worked on this week during ELL class.  As always, the students worked very hard and accomplished a great deal again this week.

Kindergarten:  Different types of weather/Seasons/National Geographic weather materials

First Grade:  Rooms in a house and their purpose/Label outside of house/Harcourt Book, Take a Tour of My House

Second Grade:  Musical Instruments/Categorizing instruments as Wind-String-Percussion/Writing activity...What instrument do you  play or would you like to play and why? (Journal)

Third Grade:  Cocoa Ice vocabulary and geography lesson...Where is Santo Domingo?  Where is Maine?/
Writing activity--Which place would you prefer to live and why? Stand and share

Fourth Grade:  Elements of non-fiction/One Grain of Rice vocabulary/How do we use math in our everyday lives? Semantic web/ I-Chart extended response writing in journals

Fifth Grade:  Revolutionary War/Northern battles chart/ I-Chart extended response writing--What events helped Washington force the British to leave Boston?/ Map activity

Wishing you all a fun-filled and relaxing Spring Break!

~Mrs. Bennick

ELL Activities for the Week of 3/14/11

Hello Parents,

Here is a list of the lessons and activities that were presented in ELL class this week.  Many students asked very insightful questions about our topics this week and were very eager to participate in class.

Kindergarten-Neighborhoods/What is a community?/Where can we shop?/Different kinds of homes we live in

First Grade-Maps and Globes-What country do we live in?/What is the name of our state?/What city do we live in?

Second Grade-Economy/Money-What are goods?/Are goods grown or made?/How do goods get to the store?/How do we pay for goods?

Third Grade-Government and Leaders-What is our capital city in the U.S.?/Who is our current President and Vice President?/What are symbols?/Name symbols that represent freedom in this country.

Fourth Grade-SouthWest Region-Identify the four states that make up the SW region./Design a foldable about the SW region including specific details about that region./Saguaro Cactus timeline and semantic web

Fifth Grade-American Revolution/Taxing/Declaration of Independence-Discuss taxing and why it became a problem with the British/Timeline of events leading up to the Revolutionary War/What was significant about the Declaration of Independence?

It was a great week in ELL class!  Let's keep it up!

~Mrs. Bennick

All ELL classes have resumed!

Hello Parents,

ISAT testing has now been completed, therefore, all ELL classes have resumed as of today!  We are all so happy to be back to our normal routine.  I'd like to just give you a brief overview of what all grade levels will be working on this week in ELL class.

K-Magnets, Push/Pull, and Force
1- What are leisure activities?, Play, Storywriting
2-Sounds we hear, Story vocabulary, Matching
3-Gardening needs, Story vocabulary, Graphic organizer
4-Southwest Region (National Geographic books)
5-What are taxes?, Foldables story

Another busy week ahead!  As always, please contact me with any questions.

Thank you!
~Mrs. Bennick

ISAT Testing

Hello Parents,
I hope that you are enjoying your day off!  I just wanted to give you a preview of what to expect this upcoming week.  This week, all ELL students in grades 3, 4, and 5, will be participating in ISAT testing.  Due to this testing, all other grade level ELL classes will be canceled and will resume next week.  The students have been working very hard to prepare for this testing.  Please make sure that your child has a nutritious breakfast and gets plenty of sleep during the week of testing. 
As always, if you have any questions regarding ISAT testing, please call me on my direct line. 
Thank you!
~Mrs. Bennick
630.428.6725

ELL Schedule

Hello Parents,

All ACCESS testing has been completed!  Most grade levels finished a week or two ago, but Kindergarteners just finished on Friday.  All of the students worked very hard and I am anxious to see their scores later in the spring.  We have resumed our normal ELL schedule. 

Also, Parent-Teacher Conferences are next Tuesday, February 22, 2011.  These conferences are optional, but if you'd like to set up an appointment with me, please call my direct line at 630.428.6725. 

Thank you,

~Mrs. Bennick

ACCESS Testing Update/Parent-Teacher Conferences/Open House

Hello Parents,

ACCESS testing continues this week and all of the students have been trying their best.  I am happy and proud of the excellent effort that they have shown while taking the test.  Most students will be finished with testing by the end of this week.

Also, Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, February 22nd, from 1:00-8:00p.m.
Your attendance at this conference is optional.  However, if you would like to schedule a time to meet with me on this day, please call me on my direct line at 630.428.6725.  Thank you.

Open House is this Thursday, January 27th, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  I will be here so please stop by to say hi.  Open House is an informal night for parents to come and visit the many teachers' classrooms that your children visit each week...such as art, music, p.e., ELL, etc. Due to the informal nature of this evening, I will not be able to conduct conferences.  Thank you. 

Hope to see you all at Open House!!

~Mrs. Bennick

Adult ESL Classes and ACCESS testing

Hello Parents,

Indian Prairie School District offers adult ESL classes through the College of Dupage.  Information about these classes is posted on the May Watt's website at http://watts.ipsd.org/.  If you are interested in enrolling in these classes, just fill out the application that is also posted on the school's website.  For those parents who requested information about these classes earlier in the year, the information was sent home last Friday in your child's backpack. 

Also, this week begins ACCESS testing for all grade levels! This is a very comprehensive test which tests your child's ability in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing in the English language.  Test scores will be available toward the end of the school year.  If you have any questions regarding this test, please call or email me. 

Have a wonderful week!
~Mrs. Bennick

Happy New Year!

I hope that all of you enjoyed some time with your families over Winter Break.  It's time to start the second half of the school year.  ACCESS testing will begin shortly.  More information regarding ACCESS testing will be sent home and also posted on my blog within the next week. 
I am looking forward to a very productive second semester of school!  We have a lot of work ahead of us. 
I am sure the students are up to the challenge!
Happy 2011!
~Mrs. Bennick