Middle Years Learning Community
Middle Years - Term 3 - Weeks 5 & 6
Literacy
We have introduced our new text Finding Our Heart by Thomas Mayo. The story introduces students to the Uluru Statement and invites them to reflect on the importance of listening to First Nations voices. In the classroom, students have been focusing on comprehension strategies, building vocabulary, and expanding sentences using detail about who, when, where, and why. These early lessons are helping students lay the foundation for summarising and responding thoughtfully to the text.
Mathematics
In Maths, our new topic is Decimals. Students have been introduced to tenths and hundredths, using tenths grids, decimats, and number lines to represent decimals. They are learning to write fractions such as 3/10 and 35/100 in decimal form and to correctly read them as “three tenths” or “thirty-five hundredths.” This work builds on their prior knowledge of fractions and develops their understanding of place value.
Religion
In Religion, we have been working on our assessment piece to finish our topic ‘Jesus’ Parables’. The students have been reflecting on the ‘Parable of the Seed’ in the form of an artwork. Next week we begin out new topic Creation and Stewardship where the students will exploring the beauty of God’s creation.
Inquiry
Our Inquiry unit What Makes Us Healthy? is coming to a close. Students have completed a series of rotations exploring topics such as mindfulness, healthy eating, physical fitness, yoga, and resilience. They are now beginning to bring these ideas together by creating a pamphlet that explains strategies for keeping our minds and bodies healthy.
At home you can reinforce learning by:
- Reading independently for 20 minutes each night.
- Practicing decimals using the template provided below.
- Practicing neat joined handwriting with horizontal joins between letters.
- Discussing examples of tenths and hundredths in everyday life (e.g., money, measurements).
- Talking about the beauty of creation (e.g., a special place in nature) and how we can care for it.
Maths Task - Representing tenths
Example:
Task: pick a tenth and write in the middle of the placemat. Students then represent the tenth in a variety of different ways. (Pick one below and place in middle of placemat on next page.)
- One tenth
- Two tenths
- Three tenths
- Four tenths
- Five tenths
- Six tenths
- Seven tenths
- Eight tenths
- Nine tenths
