Benchmark, almost one year done. How are people feeling about it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, it's so much better than anything that has been taught in FCPS elementaries in the past 10 years. I am so glad we finally have a curriculum instead of cobbling things together from previous years and TpT.

Maybe lazy teachers like it because they don’t have to get creative. The lessons are canned and ready for them. The good LA teachers don’t like it. They want real novels. I’m sure the AAP teachers hate Benchmark.

It's been proven over and over again that since you can't get the poor teachers entirely out of school giving canned lessons is the best way to ensure kids aren't left behind during the years they have them.

And there's no reason all AAP teachers are good. Between my kids they had many different elementary AAP teachers and some were amazing and some weren't. So I wouldn't blanket say AAP teachers hate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree, it's so much better than anything that has been taught in FCPS elementaries in the past 10 years. I am so glad we finally have a curriculum instead of cobbling things together from previous years and TpT.

Maybe lazy teachers like it because they don’t have to get creative. The lessons are canned and ready for them. The good LA teachers don’t like it. They want real novels. I’m sure the AAP teachers hate Benchmark.

It's been proven over and over again that since you can't get the poor teachers entirely out of school giving canned lessons is the best way to ensure kids aren't left behind during the years they have them.

And there's no reason all AAP teachers are good. Between my kids they had many different elementary AAP teachers and some were amazing and some weren't. So I wouldn't blanket say AAP teachers hate it.

Again it’s not that canned that makes it easy to teach. A lot of colleagues are doing terrible teaching it.

[Anonymous]

I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

A kindergartener (and depending on reading readiness, other aged kids) should be getting rich literature from read alouds and critical thinking skills from things like retelling the story or learning deeply about background content (which Benchmark attempts). Kids should learn to love stories from hearing stories. As they develop decoding and comprehension skills, then they can dive into those stories themselves.

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

[Anonymous]

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

You don't wait for all the facts to get in their brains before you teach them to use them.

K kids can think critically--if you let them.

And, of course you fill them with information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

A kindergartener (and depending on reading readiness, other aged kids) should be getting rich literature from read alouds and critical thinking skills from things like retelling the story or learning deeply about background content (which Benchmark attempts). Kids should learn to love stories from hearing stories. As they develop decoding and comprehension skills, then they can dive into those stories themselves.

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

Yeah that’s great. But we have to read the same damn boring book for 5 days in a row. And entire units with non fiction. So I didn’t read any picture books for enjoyment unless it was a flex day. They are bored out of their mind or it’s over their heads so what good is it doing them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

A kindergartener (and depending on reading readiness, other aged kids) should be getting rich literature from read alouds and critical thinking skills from things like retelling the story or learning deeply about background content (which Benchmark attempts). Kids should learn to love stories from hearing stories. As they develop decoding and comprehension skills, then they can dive into those stories themselves.

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

I don't have a kindergartener so I don't know what they're learning right now, but my older ES kids were telling me about what they're learning in Benchmark right now. They're both doing units on ancient cultures and they're both learning a TON. If the kindergarteners are getting the same sort of instruction as the older kids, then they ARE cramming their little brains full of facts. My kid was telling me all about Ancient Greece earlier today. I thought it was social studies, but nope, it's benchmark.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

A kindergartener (and depending on reading readiness, other aged kids) should be getting rich literature from read alouds and critical thinking skills from things like retelling the story or learning deeply about background content (which Benchmark attempts). Kids should learn to love stories from hearing stories. As they develop decoding and comprehension skills, then they can dive into those stories themselves.

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

I don't have a kindergartener so I don't know what they're learning right now, but my older ES kids were telling me about what they're learning in Benchmark right now. They're both doing units on ancient cultures and they're both learning a TON. If the kindergarteners are getting the same sort of instruction as the older kids, then they ARE cramming their little brains full of facts. My kid was telling me all about Ancient Greece earlier today. I thought it was social studies, but nope, it's benchmark.

You aren’t in the classroom so you are clueless. Kids don’t know exactly what’s going on either. The reality is Benchmark is awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure where parents are getting that their third graders should be reading novels in elementary schools - that's your job as a parent. My kids are literally sitting on the floor reading books this morning because they both woke up early and finished breakfast quickly. Do better, parents!

Reading chapter books in school was part of the balanced literacy, so that’s not returning anytime soon. It should be the parents responsibility to ensure that their students are reading novels.

There’s no time in school to get whole novels read and many students don’t do it on their own, so it should be the parents responsibility.

So classist. Some kids have parents who either can't (illiterate or multiple jobs) or won't read at home.

I grew up in an environment a bit like this and it is still the parent’s responsibility to pay attention to what their kid is learning and push their kid! It IS going to be tougher for them but that doesn’t make it less essential. Going to the library is a very basic thing and it’s easy to find good books now because fantastic librarians curate interesting collections on display. Limited time? Most libraries offer curbside pick up and drop off. They also have ebooks. I don’t think it’s helpful to victimize parents who face the challenges you face. And I find that’s typically done by well meaning people who are not in that situation themselves, but want to show that they understand.

Regarding benchmark, my kid and her friends find it boring but perhaps it’s also effective? I know someone who was at a MCPS school that piloted benchmark before choosing the current system and her kid is much happier now because it’s not as boring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!

Welcome, Gatehouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grade AAP kid went from enjoying reading to telling me language arts is his least favorite part of the day

I don’t know if it’s the age, the teacher, the curriculum, but this year has been really rough.

+1 my 6th grader who was an advanced reader now absolutely hates reading and LA. She also is worried about how she will do in honors English next year. Her confidence has tanked.

And here's the issue - moms of "advanced kids" are starting to realize that their children were actually very far behind where they should be. Just because your child was getting high comprehension and fluency scores doesn't mean that she was actually an advanced reader and writer, PP. Benchmark is actually digging in to literacy which is something that the previous "curriculum" never did.

If you read the Benchmark reading selections for 6th grade, you would see that many of them are dull and uninteresting. The fiction selections are only one chapter, or part of a chapter, from a novel. Benchmark does not dig in. The questions and answers on the comprehension tests are not very well thought out. It's a case of the emperor having no clothes. Many people are being fooled because we're told that it aligns with the Science of Reading, so we think it's good. But the curriculum is poorly written and the selections are uninspired.

Don't worry, you'll still get blamed for it a few years down the road when it's clear benchmark reduced test scores and was all-around terrible.

[Anonymous]

Well the reading SOL scores are back for my child in reading and they actually went down from last year. So much for Benchmark. LOL. What a joke.

[Anonymous]

I'm a parent with a 6th grader who has always struggled with reading and especially with writing (midl dyslexia and a spelling disorder). I was very concerned about Benchmark because my child is a slow reader and writer, and as I mentioned struggles with spelling and writing an organized paper. Benchmark has been good for my kid - her writing has improved significantly. Like her teacher gave me an essay that she wrote that was two pages long and told me that she had declined her writing accommodations.

This is obviously a very specific case and a very specific opinion, but this curriculum is loads better than what they've done in previous grades. Her essay in previous grades were short and disorganized and I think part of it was that the kids had to do their own research on random topics. This seems a lot more focused, which is really good for my child.

I also have a third grader who was lucky enough to be in a phonics-based program starting in K, but even her writing has improved and just this month she has gone back to reading chapter books (she was one of those kids who only read graphic novels), so I'm pleased with her too.

The other thing I really like is that both of my kids bring paper home. In previous years, we never got handwritten things back. Maybe that was just our school, but everything was google slides, so I am happy to see real writing including essays on paper.

Is this as good as reading and writing when I was a child? Nope, not even close. Nobody is reading full books, and writing book reports. There's still no homework. I do, however, think it's significantly better than what my older child was exposed to before, which always just seemed like a big jumbled up mess of things pulled together from different sources. So I'm happy this is something that is organized and structured.

Haven't seen SOL scores, but my older child's are never great anyway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was a teacher. I am not familiar with Benchmark, but it is good for new teachers to follow the "directions."

If it is truly based on studies and research, then it is a good idea to follow. After teaching for a while, I'm sure they will adapt some lessons so that it is not "canned."

I taught with teachers who claimed they did not need a teachers' manual. I may not have always used it as intended, but I always tried to hit the purpose of the activities provided.

Basal readers have been much criticized. i liked them--but a good teacher always expands lessons with some creativity. Some teachers ignored the requirements--such as teaching phonics, which were included in basal programs. Many call them "see/say." They weren't see/say, but many teachers skipped the phonics lessons and other skills.

I am a big proponent of phonics and always provided additional phonics lessons outside the book company recommendations. However, there are some kids who really do not get phonics. Teachers need to be able to provide those kids with other tools.

I do not like the idea of phonics only. That gets boring if it is not combined with rich literature and critical thinking skills.

A kindergartener (and depending on reading readiness, other aged kids) should be getting rich literature from read alouds and critical thinking skills from things like retelling the story or learning deeply about background content (which Benchmark attempts). Kids should learn to love stories from hearing stories. As they develop decoding and comprehension skills, then they can dive into those stories themselves.

Critical thinking - this has been proven time and time again - comes best after knowledge acquisition. You can't think deeply about what you know nothing about. Cram little brains full of facts then teach them logic. People knew this was how to teach kids literally millenia ago.

I don't have a kindergartener so I don't know what they're learning right now, but my older ES kids were telling me about what they're learning in Benchmark right now. They're both doing units on ancient cultures and they're both learning a TON. If the kindergarteners are getting the same sort of instruction as the older kids, then they ARE cramming their little brains full of facts. My kid was telling me all about Ancient Greece earlier today. I thought it was social studies, but nope, it's benchmark.

You aren’t in the classroom so you are clueless. Kids don’t know exactly what’s going on either. The reality is Benchmark is awful.

Are you a teacher?

I'm not in the classroom, but I do talk to my children about what they are learning and see everything that they bring home. It's much better than what they had before. At least they have something to talk about this year. Last year it was like "we're doing google slides on our favorite sport" or "we're doing a persuasive essay" which was actually also google slides and my child's persuasive "essay" was titled "Dunkin Donuts is better than Duck Donuts". I prefer Ancient Greece, thank you very much.

[Anonymous]

Our teacher has converted all the benchmark stuff to online stuff. We never see anything on paper returned.