Grade 3 Community News
Dear Grade 3 Families,
What a fantastic couple of weeks it has been! Book Week was a real highlight, with students bringing their favourite characters to life through the most imaginative and creative costumes , it was such a joy to see their enthusiasm for reading shine through. Thank you to everyone at home who helped pull these outfits together; your effort did not go unnoticed!
We're also looking forward to our upcoming Open Afternoon on Wednesday the 16th of September at 2:15pm, where students will share their learning about the countries surrounding Australia with family members. It will be a wonderful opportunity to see their knowledge and confidence on display.
Thank you for your continued support at home. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to another fantastic few weeks of learning in Grade 3!
English:
Storm Boy – Unit Wrap-Up
This week, students completed their Storm Boy unit, consolidating their understanding of the text through a written assessment. It was wonderful to see how confidently they could discuss key events, characters and themes from the novel, drawing on the comprehension and writing skills they've been building all term.
Introducing: The Wild Robot
Next week, students will begin a new class text, The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Set on a remote island inhabited only by animals, the story follows Roz, a robot who is washed ashore after a shipwreck. Initially seen as an outsider, Roz gradually learns to adapt, forming bonds with the island's animals — including taking on a maternal role for a gosling named Brightbill. As her human origins come into conflict with her new animal family, students will explore rich themes of identity, belonging, adaptability and friendship. This text also opens up wonderful discussions around humans and the natural world, technology, and sustainability.
Sentence-Level Writing
Students will be learning about subordinating conjunctions, exploring how these words join ideas together to form complex sentences. Using a Read–Write–Discuss–Revise approach, students will practise constructing, refining and improving their own complex sentences.
Text-Level Writing
Students will begin a persuasive letter titled Robot for the Home. They will start by identifying the key features of a persuasive letter before generating and organising points to use in their own writing.
We're looking forward to seeing the students dive into this new story and stretch their persuasive writing skills!
Mathematics:
Students have been wrapping up their recent work in number, and over the coming days they will complete short formative assessments to consolidate these concepts. These give us a clear picture of how students are progressing and help guide their next steps in learning.
Looking ahead across the fortnight, students will explore number patterns, including those that branch and repeat, and continue strengthening their subtraction skills by working across numbers with multiple internal zeros. In measurement, they will begin area and perimeter, and later move into capacity. Towards the end of the fortnight, students will also be introduced to long division, building on the division and place value work they have developed throughout the term.
Humanities:
Students have wrapped up their unit comparing Australia to its neighbouring countries, completing an assessment this week to showcase everything they have learned.
Looking ahead, students will begin an engaging new unit on the movement of people throughout history. They will start by exploring why people move, learning about the "push" and "pull" factors that lead people to leave one place and settle in another, such as searching for food, safety, or new opportunities. From there, students will investigate some of the earliest human journeys, including how people first migrated across the world and what discoveries like the Lake Mungo footprints tell us about early life in Australia. They will then learn about ancient sea travellers, discovering how these early explorers built canoes and navigated vast oceans using natural cues like the stars, birds, and ocean waves. Later in the fortnight, students will begin planning their presentations for our Open Day in Week 10, where they will proudly share their learning with family and friends.
Reminders
- Grade 3 Open afternoon Wednesday 16th of September 2.15pm- 3.00pm
- Students should be reading out loud for at least 10 min a day
- Please purchase the Term 3 text Wild Robot by Peter Brown and bring it to school.
- As we move through winter into spring, please send students prepared with appropriate jumpers, cardigans and coats.
