Room B6 Chronicle

Mrs. Light’s and Mrs. White’s 3rd Grade Class
Dates to Remember:
 Vacation on Mars final performance is this Wed., at 1:15 p.m. sharp in
the MPR. Please arrive a few minutes early.
 Spring Pictures are this Wed., 3/11. Dress accordingly.
 2nd trimester ends 3/13—report cards come home on 3/31.
 March Book Reports (character-based fiction) due Tuesday, March 31.
 Wed., 3/18, is our Symphony field trip. Please complete, sign and return
your child’s enclosed permission slip by this Thursday.
 Spring Break is April 13-17. School resumes Mon, April 20.
 CAASPP testing is May 4-15.
 Mon., May 25 is Memorial Day holiday.
 Spring Open House is on Thursday, May 28.
 Wed., June 17, last day of school w/ noon dismissal.
March 9, 2020
Other Important News
 It is Women in History Week! Throughout this
week, we will have visits from Tierra Linda 5th
grade girls portraying these famous women:
international surfing champion Rell Sunn, artist
Georgia O’Keefe, American dog musher Susan
Butcher, and physician and public administrator
Antonia Novello. Have some fun doing extra
research at home.

Curriculum News
 LANGUAGE ARTS: In addition to our unit on Making Decisions, we will launch a whole-class unit
around the important children’s book, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. Based on a true
story, it tells the story of Hiroshima-born Sadako who is lively and athletic until she begins to become ill
due to the aftereffects of the atom bomb that fell on her city when she was an infant. With Sadako’s
irrepressible spirit, she sets to work on folding paper cranes based on a Japanese legend that holds that if
a sick person folds one thousand cranes, she will have her wish granted to become healthy again. It is a
beautiful, informative, historical story that also allows the children to delve into a bit of social studies on
Japanese culture and geography. Language Arts weekly homework is enclosed and due this
Thursday. Special spelling words associated with our novel, Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes,
this week are: thousand, cranes, pickled, wooden, kindergarten, quilts, paper, and blossoms. The
March Book Report template (based on a character-driven fiction book) went home last week and
is due on Tues., 3/31. Writer’s Workshop: We are still working through our final drafts of our president
report writing as well as various mini lessons, including poetry.
 MATH: Students will be tested on Module 4 – lessons 1-8 on Thursday. Look for an exit ticket
review/study guide to come home on Wednesday night.
 SOCIAL STUDIES: This week students will be completing president report final drafts. In addition,
students will sketch a portrait of their chosen president.

Taking Responsibility for One’s Own Learning

We have been discussing a few important aspects of taking responsibility for one’s own learning. Here are four excellent tips to
consider:
o Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Mistakes lead to learning. Failure is often the first step to success. J.K. Rowling, the author of
the Harry Potter novels, was waiting tables and on public assistance when she was writing the first installment of what would
become one of the best selling book series in history. The book was rejected by a dozen of publishers before someone finally
agreed to publish it. Imagine…no Harry Potter if Ms. Rowling had given up.
o Speak up when you don’t understand something. Don’t cheat yourself the opportunity to have your teacher or another adult
elaborate or reteach. The earlier you get help, the better.
o Ask questions. Be curious. Explore, dig, and research. Don’t give up until you find the answer. Learn how to use the Internet
to find answers (e.g., a group of past students wanted to know how the Liberty Bell got its crack and we found out ).
o Be an independent, life-long learner OUTSIDE the classroom. There are endless opportunities for students to learn and
explore at home, at the library, in the car, at the park—in most any setting outside of school. And READ LIKE CRAZY!!!!