Hello Families!

This week we learned about decimals and fractions. We finished our Science unit on the Earth, too. We didn't have Art so we got to make Lego self portraits in the classroom. We also had an assembly for the PTO fundraiser and we found out who won prizes for raising money.

-By Chris and Josh


Hello,

As you can see, we have begun having student authors for our blog posts! Each time we post, two students will write a section for parents to read, giving updates about what we've done in class. 

In math, we have been working on Unit 5, which introduces fractions and decimals as part of a whole. We will be wrapping that unit up this week and testing before we leave for break.

In reading, we have just completed our nonfiction unit and started our next fiction unit on craft and structure of texts. On Friday, we started looking at poetry, and will soon be learning about the structure of drama and stories. This is a very exciting and interactive unit for the students, and we are looking forward to all we will learn!

In writing, we are working on writing information texts. The students have chosen a topic they are an "expert" on and are working to create their own information book about this topic. Recently, students learned how to search for information to include on their topic, and discovered a "kid-safe" search engine, "KidRex." In a picture below, you'll see that some students asked to use their indoor recess time to conduct research on their topics. We sure do have some dedicated students!

Below are pictures of the students opening their pen pal letters they received from our partner third grade class in Central School District. The students have really enjoyed learning about another school and other students in the county. This week, we will be Skyping with that class so that students can meet their pen pals face-to-face!

Have a great week,
Mrs. Slessinger

10/30/15

Families,

We've already made it through another two weeks! The school year seems to be flying by already!

In math, we have begun Unit 4, which is where we really begin to practice multiplication and division concepts. The students have begun learning some basic multiplication facts, as well as strategies for solving division (which we call "equal grouping") problems.

In writing, students have completed the narrative unit, and they made tremendous strides through the end of it! I am so impressed with their writing and how they have grown. We are starting our information writing unit next week, where the students will become "expert writers" on a topic of their choice. 
Ask your child what they wrote about in their latest personal narrative.

We have begun to switch rooms with Mrs. Strickler's class for science, and the students are enjoying learning all about planet Earth. Ask your child about the neat activity they did in science today!

In reading, we have been working with nonfiction texts to find the main idea of what we are reading, as well as how to ask and answer relevant questions about the text. We have spent a lot of time learning about our nation's government and the communities in our country. The students have enjoyed learning about how our country works and what symbols we honor in the United States.

I am so enjoying watching your children learn and grow this year; they are an impressive bunch! Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a safe and fun weekend.

Upcoming dates to remember:
-The parent teacher conference portal is now open
-Camo/Tie Dye Day is Wednesday 11/4
-Report cards go home Thursday 11/5
-School store Monday 11/9


-Mrs. Slessinger

Friday Update - 10/16/15

Hello Families,

We have had a great week in third grade. The students worked hard and learned a lot even though it was a short week!

We had a visitor from the Susan Byrnes Health Center come to do a lesson in our classroom this week. The students figured out which "color" personality they are and learned more about themselves and how to be a good friend. Ask your child which color he/she was!

We are currently wrapping up our science unit on space and the solar system. The students will be starting a new unit next week. For this unit, third graders will switch rooms and our class will be taught by Mrs. Strickler! This gets them used to switching classes, which they will do every day starting in fourth grade.

We started our first Social Studies unit today, during which we will be studying communities. Today we learned what a community is and what types of buildings, people, and cultures can be found in a community. 

In math, we had our first "exploration" lesson, in which the students get to work in stations doing hands-on activities. The students worked with geoboards and rubber bands to build rectangles with different perimeters. We will be wrapping up unit 3 next week, and the test will be on Tuesday, October 27. The students have been doing a wonderful job in math this year and seem to really enjoy it!

We have just completed our first fiction unit in reading. The students learned the differences between a retelling and a summary and have been practicing summarizing texts they read. They have also been working on identifying the main idea and key details in fiction texts that are on a third grade reading level, which can be a little trickier as the texts get more difficult. Try to have conversations about the main idea of a story when reading together at home.

I have seen so much progress in the students' writing already! We are wrapping up our first unit (personal narratives) of our brand new writing program! This is a more rigorous program than we had in the past, so you may be seeing some lower grades in writing than you are used to seeing for your child. However, I am extremely impressed with the work the students are doing. We took time today to look back at writing they did in the beginning of the year to compare it to their current piece and they were amazed at themselves! Ask your child about their current writing piece and what they chose to write about.

We also had a special announcement in class today that I am sure many of you will have heard about from your child. If not, be sure to ask them about it.

Upcoming events:
-The parent-teacher conference portal opens on Monday
-Next Friday we will be participating in fire prevention week activities
-Unit 3 math test on Tuesday, October 27
-Marking period 1 ends 10/29
-Picture retake day is 10/30

Below are some pictures from this week. Enjoy!

-Mrs. Slessinger

Friday, 9/11/15

Hello families!

We have had such a busy first few weeks in third grade. The students are really starting to get into the routine of our classroom and are learning so much already!

In Math, we are working on finishing Unit 1, which is a lot of review of second grade materials. Our first test will be next week. Students will complete a study guide in class and have one to complete as homework to prepare for the test. The study guides mirror (nearly exactly) all the skills that will be tested, so they are VERY helpful tools. Please ensure that your child is completing them!

In Science, we have just wrapped up our first unit--Scientific Inquiry. The students completed many experiments, which I am sure you heard about at home. Ask your child which was their favorite! We are moving on to our second unit next week, which will focus on the sun, Earth, and moon/space. The students will love this exciting unit!

In Reading, we have been covering the CAFE strategies that make good readers. We also read a story as a class called Cliff Hanger and the students practiced answering comprehension questions about the story to check their understanding. We will do this type of activity periodically so that students can see how they are doing with understanding what they read. Ask your child to tell you about a strategy they have practiced in their own reading. 

In Writing, the students have really been loving our new program and workshop approach! Students have had a good chunk of time to write every day after learning a strategy to improve their writing, and the results have been great! We've had some students state that thanks to what we have been doing, they are thinking of becoming authors! Ask your child what "small moment" they are writing about for their personal narrative.

Please enjoy the pictures below of some of our hard work this week. As always, contact me with any questions or concerns.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Mrs. Slessinger
North Hopewell-Winterstown Elementary School
Red Lion Area School District

Welcome Back!

New Third Graders,

Welcome back! I am very excited for this new school year to begin. I know we will have a great year filled with lots of learning and fun. Meet the teacher night is tonight, Thursday, August 20th. Our fist day of school is Tuesday, August 25th. I am excited to meet all of you--see you very soon!

-Mrs. Slessinger

Slideshow/Video

Hello there,



Below is the link to our class slideshow video for this year! It has truly been a joy to work with your children and we had a great year together. Enjoy your summer!



Mrs. Slessinger's Class 2014-15





Mrs. Slessinger

3/27 & 4/2

3/27: Written by Willa and Adria

This was a good week. We ended the week with Grandparents Day and that was really fun. We did a play for them called "Live! It's Fairy Tale News!" We also had game day this Friday for a reward. We had some exploration lessons in math this week, too. We learned how to do double digit multiplication with the lattice method. 

Have a good weekend,

Willa and Adria

4/2: Written by Madi

This was a short week. In math we had Flex Thursday and practiced answering multiple choice questions. We started doing daily rewards at the end of the day with Mrs. Stickler'a class. We had book fair this week too. It was a really fun week,

By,

Madi

From Mrs. S.:

Marking period 3 is now over and report cards will be coming home with your child on Tuesday. We are now in the final marking period of your child's third grade year! 

PSSAs will begin Tuesday, April 14. The schedule is as follows: ELA April 14-17, Math April 21-23. Please ensure that your child is getting a good night's sleep and eating a good breakfast during testing weeks to help them be as successful as possible. There will be a reward each Friday of the testing weeks for students with perfect attendance on testing days. 

We will not be having homework or as "intensive" class work during testing weeks, as I do not want to overwhelm the students during their first PSSA experience. We have begun preparing for the tests by practicing answering the types of questions that will be on the tests and discussing testing procedures. Ask your child what they have recently learned. 

Field Trip chaperone information sheets were sent home. You only need to send these back filled out if you wish to chaperone the trip. Permission slips for your child to attend the trip will be sent home closer to the trip date. As a reminder, you must have your clearances in order to chaperone a school field trip. 

Please enjoy the pictures below of some of our everyday learning. Enjoy your long weekend and Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate!

Mrs. Slessinger

3/13

Hello!

As we had game day at the end of the day today, the blog writers did not have time to complete their post. Their post will come Monday, but here are some updates in the meantime:

Unit 8 profile sheets will come home next week to be signed and returned.
The Skate Night, held by the PTO, will be held Monday evening at Roll-R-Way.
Tips for Trips begins Monday. A flyer went home about it this week.
Please ensure your child is reading and completing his or her reading calendar for March.

Below are some pictures from today's leprechaun trap building session. The students first designed a blueprint of their trap, then built it, and will write paragraphs explaining why theirs is a good trap and why they included the different materials. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend and please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Mrs. Slessinger

2/20

written by: Tori, Matthew, and Brooke

This was a good week. We had off one day and some 2 hour delays. We took a quiz in reading and Health. We have learned a lot in writing and we started a new writing unit about persuasive writing. Yesterday we got to play a Kahoot on reading in teams. We also practiced looking for evidence in text today.

Have a good weekend!
Tori, Matthew, and Brooke

From Mrs. S.:

There are not too many new things to note for the upcoming week. We have begun a new writing program that our class is helping to pilot, so be sure to ask you child what they are working on in writing. In math, the students are learning about fractions and mixed numbers. 

Midterm reports came home today and should be signed and returned as soon as possible.

We will have school store next Tuesday, February 24.

Thanks for all you do and have a great weekend!

-Mrs. Slessinger

2/13

Written by: Adria and Willa

Happy Valentine's Day! Today it was Valentine's Day and we got to exchange cards and do some special activities. We had a great week this week and got to learn about fractions. Third grade is awesome!

Love, 
Willa and Adria

Friday 1/30

Written by: Grace and Matthew

This week our class had gym class and we learned how to juggle from Mr. Dennish. In math we learned how to solve problems with parentheses. We finished our writing assessments and continued working on our narratives. In social studies we learned how to read and make timelines. Today, Friday, is the 100th day of school. We are making a poster of 100 things we learned so far this year. Lots of students got pride tickets this week for how they were working in class.

See you next time,
Grace and Matthew

From Mrs.S.:

We had a very busy week of school this week! In math, students are learning how to correctly place parentheses in math problems, as well as how to solve problems with parentheses in them. Students are continuing to work on their narratives in writing and will be creating a comic strip from them on StoryboardThat, an website for creating comic strips. They are very excited to be publishing their writing in this way! In reading, students are working on recognizing the author's viewpoint, which has helped to improve their writing as well. 

Conferences, if you scheduled one, are on Monday, February 2nd. Please contact me or the school if you are unable to make your scheduled time or you need to reschedule.

The third grade music performance will be Wednesday, February 4th. It is open to the public.

The Unit 7 math test will occur Friday, February 6th. Please make sure your child is completing the study guide--these serve as great study tools and include every skill your child will need to know for the test.

Below are some pictures from our week. Enjoy!

 

Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Slessinger

Update 1/23/15

Written by: Josh and Chance

This was an awesome week! We had a lot of delays and even a day off! We got to get on Study Island and practice our math facts. We also started a new social studies unit and are learning about the past. In math we learned about solving problems that have parentheses in them and played multiplication bingo. It was a great week!

From,
Chance and Josh

From Mrs. S.:

There aren't too many updates this week. Report cards did go home on Thursday due to our snow day on Wednesday. Please return the envelope, signed, as soon as possible. 

Unit 6 profile sheets will be coming home soon. This unit was included on the marking period 2 report card grade for math. Marking period 3 will begin with unit 7.

February 4th is the night of the third grade music concert. Please contact Miss B., the music teacher, with questions.

Have a good weekend!
Mrs. Slessinger

Happy Friday!

Written by: Josh and Chance

This week was awesome. We had Health and Art this week. Ms. Salerno also came in to do a guidance lesson on being included. We had our science and math tests this week. We got to have off on Monday for a snow day and it was a very short week. We did more Olympic sport brain breaks and those were really fun. Have a good long weekend!

Josh and Chance

From Mrs. S.:

There aren't too many update from this short week. The marking period ended on Thursday, meaning we are now officially half way through your child's third grade year! I am very proud of how the students have been progressing, and you should be too! Report cards will be distributed next week, and they will come home with your child as usual. Here are some curriculum updates:

In Reading, we are studying the structure of different kinds of texts. We have studied plays, poems, and are now studying story structure. Studying the work of great authors is really helping the students to improve their own writing!

Students recently completed creative narratives in which they pretended they were stuck in a snow globe. These pieces turned out very nice and are now hanging in the hall outside of our room, along with a display of the "snow globes" the students created.

We are now finished with our Science unit so we will switch back to Social Studies and begin studying the ways in which a business operates and the differences between goods and services, supply and demand.

We are now moving into unit 7 of math, which will focus on extending some concepts we have learned this year, such as multiplication facts. Students will also learn how to solve problems with parentheses.

Please, as always, feel free to contact me with any questions.


Have a great weekend,
Mrs. Slessinger

We're Back!

Written by: Lizzie and Megan

1/09/15

Hello,

This week was Willa's birthday and she brought in cupcakes to share with the class. We also got to move seats in class and we got to pick our seats for the first time! We worked on finishing up our Snowlgobe writing projects today and Mrs. S. started hanging them in the hallway. Lizzie and Grace were showing PRIDE habits today. 

Talk to you next time,
Lizzie and Megan

Updates from Mrs. S.:

As per my email this weekend, we have made some changes to our blog. We will now be updating it every Friday, as this will give students more to write about and will streamline our posting process. The above post is from this past Friday.

The students will still be having their math and science tests this week. The science test will occur tomorrow, on Wednesday, while the math test will occur as scheduled on Thursday. This will conclude our grades for the marking period, as it now ends on Thursday.

We also have some very exciting news: Our Donors Choose project was funded last night! We made it just in the nick of time, with about 7 hours to spare before the project expired. We raised enough money from many donors to afford two classroom iPads. I told this students the news this morning and they are thrilled to receive them. A HUGE thank you goes out to all of our donors! Without them, we would not have been able to afford the iPads. We are very excited to begin using them in just about every subject!

Upcoming important dates:
1/14: Boots Day
1/15: End of 2nd MP
1/16: No school for students
1/19: School IS in session. This is a make up day for our day off on 1/12.
1/21: Report cards will be distributed

Please contact me with any questions or concerns. Our next update will be this Thursday, 1/15.

Have a wonderful week,
Mrs. Slessinger