Overview

English

In Term 4 students will continue to borrow from the library, read at school and at home every night to improve their comprehension and fluency.  Reading is also encouraged to help learn new things, find new interest areas and improve spelling and writing. Students will continue to practise their speaking and listening skills at school through a variety of tasks including Talking Topics, sharing work and class discussions. 

Our English focus this term is on similarities and differences and will focus on building cultural understanding alongside literacy skills. Students will read a variety of texts and are encouraged to form opinions, make predictions and justify their thinking through a variety of written, spoken and reflective tasks. They will work through the Writing Process to independently plan, draft, edit and refine and publish both imaginative and informative texts. Through exploring the Mem Fox texts I’m Australian Too and Whoever You Are, the students are introduced to the concept of what makes us different as well as what makes us similar as humans. We will look at how their lives are both similar and different to other children across the world through a range of digital and print texts. They will learn about Australia as a multicultural nation and look at texts from different cultures and backgrounds including Anh Do’s biography The Little Refugee. With a focus on Asia, students will look at a traditional fable and another biographical text, The Peasant Prince. The unit will come full circle with a connection between The Peasant Prince, The Little Refugee and the characters in I’m Australian Too, who all come to Australia seeking a better life. These texts allow students to recognise the diversity of Australian people and the value of multiculturalism. Students are building the skills to make comparisons between their lives and the lives of others. We hope these texts can build empathetic understanding and allow our students to gain the skills to be culturally and socially conscious global citizens. 

Mathematics

During Term 4 students will be consolidating their maths skills and continuing to improve their mental maths ability through a variety of class tasks and games. This unit focuses on whole number, applying mental and written strategies for solving numerical and worded problems in all four operations; Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division.  Students will also investigate area, volume, capacity, 2D and 3D space, and angles.

Students will develop the ability to make choices, interpret, formulate, model and investigate problem situations, and communicate solutions effectively. They will formulate and solve problems when they use mathematics to represent unfamiliar or meaningful situations, design investigations and plan their approaches, apply strategies to seek solutions, and verify that their answers are reasonable.

Geography

While Term 3 unveiled thousands of years of Australian history with our unit on First Contacts, in Term 4, students will look at Australia from a geographical point of view. They will continue to build on knowledge of Australia and its geographical features as well as recognise Australia’s geographical position within a wider world context. When looking at Australia in a global sphere, students will look abroad to Australia’s closest neighbours and will learn about some of the countries in Oceania and South East Asia. Students will be focussing on identifying similarities and differences between their own lives and those of our closest neighbours in Asia and Oceania.

Visual Arts

In Term 4 the students will learn about the different elements of Polynesian artworks and what they represent. The students will also learn about the artist Paul Gauguin, and look at his use of bright colours, that he used to capture Tahitian landscapes.

Religious and Values Education

In Term 4 RVE, we will build upon the student’s understanding of who Jesus is and consider what it looks like to pray to God, thank God and honour God, in order to live God’s way. The students learn the value of meeting together in Christian community and will be looking at the Apostle Paul and Silas from the New Testament and how they were joyful despite experiencing great trials. We will conclude the term with a focus on Jesus, the King of Christmas. 

Information Technology

Research and design/digital construction of international homes is the plan for Year 3’s during Term 4. In groups, students will research a selected international style of home ie igloos, yurts and houseboats.  Students will create their own questions and use a variety of resources to create background information about these homes. Students will be focusing on collaboration and critical thinking as part of Deep Learning. 

Music

In Term 3, students continued working through their structured theory program and further developed their skills for playing recorder. In small groups and with a backing track, students performed a range of simple melodies.

This term, students will complete their theory workbook and also learn songs to sing, dance and perform for our end of year Christmas concert.

PDHPE

Term 4 PDHPE looks to develop Year 3 students’ competence and confidence in a broad range of kicking, hand invasion and striking games with a focus on Soccer, Lacrosse, Cricket and T-Ball. They will be learning important fundamental movement skills such as ball handling, throwing, catching, running, striking and fielding including strategic tactics such as attacking and defending, whilst developing spatial awareness and working in a team. Physical activity in the form of games plays a vital role in promoting the physical, social and emotional growth and development of individuals. Students will be relating positively with others in the context of game situations and learn new skills, while at the same time experience feelings of success and enjoyment through improved confidence and competence. The importance of sun protection and safety in our skills and games as well as having a positive mindset to build our resilience within our learning and experiences in PDHPE will be a focal theme throughout the term.

Italian

Benvenuti! Welcome to Italian for Term 4. We know that the most effective way to teach children another language is to do it through fun, interactive, hands-on ways including music, conversation, picture story books and drama with a strong focus on verbal communication and pronunciation. 

We want the students to enjoy Italian and feel confident in their ability to learn another language as well as various other cultural and geographical information. We will often send home memory/matching cards for your children to play with you which is a great way to reinforce their learning in a fun way with their family. 

I will teach each year level using ‘Key Questions’ to guide the curriculum as follows…

Year 3- Conosci l’Italia? What do you know about Italy? (Geography and History)

Grazie,

Maestra Rachele 

Pastoral Care

Students continue to explore concepts of resilience, self-esteem, bullying and positive thinking. We will also focus on Child Protection this Term and cover the following topics in the NSW Government Child Protection units, 'Respect and Empathy, My Identity and Gender Based Discrimination. 

Homework

Students will continue to complete set weekly homework tasks due on a Friday. Spelling words go home on Mondays and they are tested on Friday and should be practised throughout the week. Talking Topics are delivered fortnightly and an overview of topics can be found in their homework book. Students are working on building their speaking and listening skills and are encouraged to prepare and practise delivering their presentations. Nightly reading is required to continue to improve and build reading skills.