Please use the Comments section to post your questions about the program.
Kathleen
at 7:29 pm
Hello There,
My question is around the Unit 1: Government for the People (grade 3), lesson 4 page 10. It states in the Model portion of the lesson to “model annotating the text to illustrate how to recognize and identify causes and effects”. Can you clarify as to what annotation I might use to model this for my students? In the “Tips for Text Annotation” it doesn’t specify annotation for identifying text structures. If I make up my own annotation, I don’t want to confuse the student by using something that may later show up as something else. For instance, if I highlight signal words, I don’t want to later find out that highlighting words is used to identify academic vocabulary or something else. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks you.
hostmaster
at 10:15 pm
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for your question. In this instance, circling signal words would be completely appropriate. The annotation key indicates that circling is used for a “key word or phrase” In the context of cause/effect text structure, signal words, such as because and asa result, would be key words and phrases to understanding the text.
Kathleen
at 7:35 pm
In unit 1; Government for the People (grade 3), when do students fill out the BUILDREFLECTWRITE chart on page 11 of the close reading text? I have looked everywhere and I do not see where this activity is mentioned. It appears that it is to be filled out after Short Read #1 and the Short Read #2 but I am unclear as to where this “Build Knowledge” activity fits in. Is one half to be done after Short Read #1 and then the bottom half to be filled in after short Read #2? Or both one one day after the second reading?
Thank-you.
hostmaster
at 10:12 pm
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for your question. The Build, Reflect, Write page is designed to be completed during independent and collaborative work time at the end of the week. There are some instances where part of the build knowledge may filled out before the end of the week, depending on the task, which is up to the teacher’s discretion. However, it is always appropriate at the end of the week.
1. Where are the charts that are supposed to be filled in with most lessons? The lessons talk about charts for students to fill-in, but there are no charts in the materials. Are these supposed to be teacher-created?
2. Are the videos uploaded into the system for use at the beginning and end of each unit?
3. When will all of the teacher editions be available online?
4. Basically, I should be asking: When will everything that we received be available online?
hostmaster
at 10:24 pm
Hi Noah,
Thanks for your questions.
1. These charts are part of a component called Weekly Presentations. These are meant to be displayed and printed for use. Unfortunately, we encountered a technical setback with these and they are not posted to Benchmark Universe yet. We are working on correcting this issue as quickly as possible and you should see a section in your Benchmark Advance library for Weekly Presentations within your Whole Group area.
2. Yes, the videos can be found as part of your Teacher Resource System, which is available on Benchmark Universe. Navigate to the Unit Opener page to see the Unit Opener video embedded on the page.
3. All teacher’s editions should be online now. Are there specific ones you are looking for that you do not see? Note: to find your teacher’s guides for your leveled texts, click on the Leveled Text, then look for the green apple icon in the top right corner of the e-book reader. All of your Whole Group Teacher’s Resource Systems should appear as well. If there are specific titles that are not showing their Teacher’s Guides or specific grade levels that are not showing their Teacher’s Resource System, please let us know so that we can investigate for you! All of these resources should be there and ready to use!
4. Everything (with the exception of the Weekly Presentations) is currently available online. Please let us know if you are experiencing issues locating a resource or group of resources and we will help.
Rina Quijano
at 2:50 am
I would like a student book for my use in my 4th grade class. I am using Advance Benchmark materials and I am piloting the program
hostmaster
at 4:30 pm
Hi, Rina-
Thanks for your request & compliments about the program! I will see what’s available & get back to you. Thanks again!
Susan DePrima
at 2:53 am
Hi,
I work at Evergreen School District and I am piloting Advance Benchmark materials for my 5th grade class
I would like 5 more flip books for my class. We don’t have quite enough. We have found the flip books to be invaluable
hostmaster
at 4:29 pm
Hi, Susan-
Thanks for your request & compliments about the program! I will see what’s available & get back to you. Thanks again!
susan De Prima
at 2:58 am
Hi,
I would like to know if it is possible to have the Benchmark company print about 30 pages from the writing and language handbook under intervention
I have found the 240 pages terrific and the student practice part at the end would be really fantastic if it was already copied for the students. Is that possible?
You might also consider putting an arrow at the top of the digital page so that the teachers know to scroll down for more great material
hostmaster
at 4:31 pm
Hi, Susan-
Thanks for your request, idea, & compliments about the program! I will see what’s possible for us to complete & get back to you. I’ll also check whether it’s feasible to embed an arrow or scrolling indicator in the digital document. Thanks again!
RinaQuijano
at 3:00 am
In the future is it possible for the company to add links to the topics referred to like global warming so that the teacher can just click on the links for more literature and or videos?
I am piloting Advance in Evergreen School District
hostmaster
at 4:45 pm
Hi, Rina-
Thank you for your idea! I’ll look into whether it’s feasible for our digital department to make the changes you requested below, & get back to you. Thanks again!
Mary Gaddis
at 11:29 pm
In the 2nd grade Benchmark Advance book, Unit 5, Week 1 day 1, there is a list of “harder vocabulary” from “Anna Connelly: Inventor”. It is suggested that these words be a focus for integrated ELD time; however, 3 of the 5 words do not appear in the text, ie deadly threat, modern-day, countless. Are the stories being rewritten to reflect these words, or is the TRS in need of updating?
Thank you.
hostmaster
at 4:49 pm
Hi, Mary-
Thank you for your query regarding the Advance program’s content! It’s possible that our material needs to be updated; I will pass your query along to the appropriate department & get back to you as soon as possible. If you have any other questions or ideas in the meantime, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks, & have a great day!
Julie
at 5:13 pm
I tried to log in with my email and password on the website, but I was unsuccessful. Has anyone else had difficulties too? I’m so excited to start trying out the various components and especially the digital resources.
hostmaster
at 7:52 pm
Hi, Julie-
What login information are you using?
Julie
at 5:14 pm
Hi Mary! Good eye catching things.
Julie
at 9:39 pm
Today I listened to the ebook, Louis Pasteur with my class. On pg. 5, the pronunciation of the Rhone River seems off. All the other French words sound o.k. Rhone sounded like Rhine when it was being read.
hostmaster
at 7:52 pm
Hi, Julie-
Thank you for your feedback! We’ve passed your comment regarding pronunciation along to our Editorial department. If you have any other questions, please let us know!
Ken Harris
at 9:16 pm
I am a K teacher who is going to start piloting in the fall and was playing around with the online material. I love the fact that you can click on any word in an e-book and it will be highlighted and read aloud. I feel frustrated, however, that I can’t click on the pictures and the words are read and highlighted. And in fact, some books if you click on a picture a word is highlighted and read by accident, which might be confusing. My question is can you make the pictures in the e-books interactive like the text? This would help my emerging readers really make a connection between the picture and the texts. Thanks
Ashley Hamilton
at 8:47 pm
Hi, Ken–
Thank you for your idea! I’ll forward your comment to our Content Creation team for upcoming e-books. If you have any other questions or feedback, please feel free to let us know!
Hello There,
My question is around the Unit 1: Government for the People (grade 3), lesson 4 page 10. It states in the Model portion of the lesson to “model annotating the text to illustrate how to recognize and identify causes and effects”. Can you clarify as to what annotation I might use to model this for my students? In the “Tips for Text Annotation” it doesn’t specify annotation for identifying text structures. If I make up my own annotation, I don’t want to confuse the student by using something that may later show up as something else. For instance, if I highlight signal words, I don’t want to later find out that highlighting words is used to identify academic vocabulary or something else. I hope that makes sense.
Thanks you.
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for your question. In this instance, circling signal words would be completely appropriate. The annotation key indicates that circling is used for a “key word or phrase” In the context of cause/effect text structure, signal words, such as because and asa result, would be key words and phrases to understanding the text.
In unit 1; Government for the People (grade 3), when do students fill out the BUILDREFLECTWRITE chart on page 11 of the close reading text? I have looked everywhere and I do not see where this activity is mentioned. It appears that it is to be filled out after Short Read #1 and the Short Read #2 but I am unclear as to where this “Build Knowledge” activity fits in. Is one half to be done after Short Read #1 and then the bottom half to be filled in after short Read #2? Or both one one day after the second reading?
Thank-you.
Hi Kathleen,
Thanks for your question. The Build, Reflect, Write page is designed to be completed during independent and collaborative work time at the end of the week. There are some instances where part of the build knowledge may filled out before the end of the week, depending on the task, which is up to the teacher’s discretion. However, it is always appropriate at the end of the week.
1. Where are the charts that are supposed to be filled in with most lessons? The lessons talk about charts for students to fill-in, but there are no charts in the materials. Are these supposed to be teacher-created?
2. Are the videos uploaded into the system for use at the beginning and end of each unit?
3. When will all of the teacher editions be available online?
4. Basically, I should be asking: When will everything that we received be available online?
Hi Noah,
Thanks for your questions.
1. These charts are part of a component called Weekly Presentations. These are meant to be displayed and printed for use. Unfortunately, we encountered a technical setback with these and they are not posted to Benchmark Universe yet. We are working on correcting this issue as quickly as possible and you should see a section in your Benchmark Advance library for Weekly Presentations within your Whole Group area.
2. Yes, the videos can be found as part of your Teacher Resource System, which is available on Benchmark Universe. Navigate to the Unit Opener page to see the Unit Opener video embedded on the page.
3. All teacher’s editions should be online now. Are there specific ones you are looking for that you do not see? Note: to find your teacher’s guides for your leveled texts, click on the Leveled Text, then look for the green apple icon in the top right corner of the e-book reader. All of your Whole Group Teacher’s Resource Systems should appear as well. If there are specific titles that are not showing their Teacher’s Guides or specific grade levels that are not showing their Teacher’s Resource System, please let us know so that we can investigate for you! All of these resources should be there and ready to use!
4. Everything (with the exception of the Weekly Presentations) is currently available online. Please let us know if you are experiencing issues locating a resource or group of resources and we will help.
I would like a student book for my use in my 4th grade class. I am using Advance Benchmark materials and I am piloting the program
Hi, Rina-
Thanks for your request & compliments about the program! I will see what’s available & get back to you. Thanks again!
Hi,
I work at Evergreen School District and I am piloting Advance Benchmark materials for my 5th grade class
I would like 5 more flip books for my class. We don’t have quite enough. We have found the flip books to be invaluable
Hi, Susan-
Thanks for your request & compliments about the program! I will see what’s available & get back to you. Thanks again!
Hi,
I would like to know if it is possible to have the Benchmark company print about 30 pages from the writing and language handbook under intervention
I have found the 240 pages terrific and the student practice part at the end would be really fantastic if it was already copied for the students. Is that possible?
You might also consider putting an arrow at the top of the digital page so that the teachers know to scroll down for more great material
Hi, Susan-
Thanks for your request, idea, & compliments about the program! I will see what’s possible for us to complete & get back to you. I’ll also check whether it’s feasible to embed an arrow or scrolling indicator in the digital document. Thanks again!
In the future is it possible for the company to add links to the topics referred to like global warming so that the teacher can just click on the links for more literature and or videos?
I am piloting Advance in Evergreen School District
Hi, Rina-
Thank you for your idea! I’ll look into whether it’s feasible for our digital department to make the changes you requested below, & get back to you. Thanks again!
In the 2nd grade Benchmark Advance book, Unit 5, Week 1 day 1, there is a list of “harder vocabulary” from “Anna Connelly: Inventor”. It is suggested that these words be a focus for integrated ELD time; however, 3 of the 5 words do not appear in the text, ie deadly threat, modern-day, countless. Are the stories being rewritten to reflect these words, or is the TRS in need of updating?
Thank you.
Hi, Mary-
Thank you for your query regarding the Advance program’s content! It’s possible that our material needs to be updated; I will pass your query along to the appropriate department & get back to you as soon as possible. If you have any other questions or ideas in the meantime, please feel free to contact me directly.
Thanks, & have a great day!
I tried to log in with my email and password on the website, but I was unsuccessful. Has anyone else had difficulties too? I’m so excited to start trying out the various components and especially the digital resources.
Hi, Julie-
What login information are you using?
Hi Mary! Good eye catching things.
Today I listened to the ebook, Louis Pasteur with my class. On pg. 5, the pronunciation of the Rhone River seems off. All the other French words sound o.k. Rhone sounded like Rhine when it was being read.
Hi, Julie-
Thank you for your feedback! We’ve passed your comment regarding pronunciation along to our Editorial department. If you have any other questions, please let us know!
I am a K teacher who is going to start piloting in the fall and was playing around with the online material. I love the fact that you can click on any word in an e-book and it will be highlighted and read aloud. I feel frustrated, however, that I can’t click on the pictures and the words are read and highlighted. And in fact, some books if you click on a picture a word is highlighted and read by accident, which might be confusing. My question is can you make the pictures in the e-books interactive like the text? This would help my emerging readers really make a connection between the picture and the texts. Thanks
Hi, Ken–
Thank you for your idea! I’ll forward your comment to our Content Creation team for upcoming e-books. If you have any other questions or feedback, please feel free to let us know!