Mrs. Higgins’ Third Grade Class Welcome…students and parents!

Welcome to Third Grade!  I will introduce you to third grade and to our classroom.

All About Me  My experience:  I’ve been teaching for 30 years.  I have also taught second grade, Title I, Reading Recovery, and Special Education

My Goals  To give my students the academic and social skills they will need to progress to fourth grade.  To provide a supportive and fun classroom environment.  To help my students make new friends and discover new interests.

Class Subjects  The subjects we cover during third grade are:  Reading  Written Language, Grammar  Math, Times Tables  Spelling  Social Studies  Science  PE, Art  Computers (Pixie Slide Shows, Word Processing, Teacher’s Website)

Reading  Our reading series is Houghton Mifflin.  We will focus on phonics, fluency, comprehension, grammar, word work, and vocabulary.  We will work on how to comprehend non- fiction text.

Writing  We will learn about the six traits a great writer demonstrates.  We will learn how to write a friendly letter, a descriptive paragraph and a three-paragraph narrative.

Math  Our math series is enVision Math.  Third grade math includes advanced multiplication and divison problems. So you will really need to memorize your times tables.  We will also have lessons on place value, geometry, fractions, problem solving, probability, and data analysis.

Science Third grade science will focus on:  Adaptations in land and water environments  Our Solar System  Matter, energy, and light.  Scientific Process  Science Fair Project

Social Studies  We will have fun learning about California’s Four regions and California Indians.  Another topic we will cover will be about our country and government.

Classroom Community  Our classroom is a community. In our community, we have rules to help us get along with each other.  Our class rules are:  Be kind to others!  Follow directions the first time.  Raise your hand to ask or answer a question.  Look and listen to the speaker.  Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.

Homework  A homework packet will come home each Monday and is to be returned Friday morning. It will include practice in the areas of reading, spelling, and cursive.  Math homework will come home almost every day and is to be returned the next morning.  During the year we will have special projects to work on. You will be given a due date for these projects along with the instructions.

Special Rewards  Peace Tickets (Higgins’ Hero Store)  Marble Jar  Mystery Box  Row Points  Friday Special  Lunch with the Teacher  Pizza Party

Field Trips  We have lots of fun field trips planned for this year!  Birch Aquarium  Mission Trails Park  Stelzer Park  Bubble Day

Let’s Have a Great Year!