Year Four
It has been another busy and exciting fortnight in Grade 4. Our students have continued to show enthusiasm for their learning across all curriculum areas and have embraced new challenges with confidence.
Mathematics
In Mathematics students have been exploring coordinates and the Cartesian plane. They have been learning how to correctly identify and plot coordinates by remembering to go "along the corridor and up the stairs". To reinforce their understanding students have enjoyed playing Battleships and applying their coordinate knowledge in a fun and engaging way. They have also begun creating their own coordinate maps allowing them to demonstrate their understanding while designing creative challenges for their classmates.
Reading
During Reading our focus has been on strengthening students' comprehension through Book Club discussions. Students have been working collaboratively to develop the four key reciprocal reading strategies of predicting, clarifying, questioning and summarising. These discussions encourage students to think deeply about their texts justify their ideas and learn from the perspectives of others.
Writing
In Writing students have been exploring figurative language with a focus on alliteration, onomatopoeia, idioms and personification. The purpose of this learning is to enhance students' writing by helping them make purposeful language choices that create stronger descriptions and engage their readers. Students have explored how authors use these techniques to bring their writing to life and have begun applying them in their own work. They have also developed their understanding of show don't tell by acting out different emotions while their classmates used clues to guess the feeling being portrayed. We can't wait to see how the students use their new knowledge and skills to enhance their upcoming writing pieces.
Unit of Inquiry
Our Unit of Inquiry has got off to a fantastic start as students have immersed themselves in a range of engaging provocations designed to spark curiosity and wonder around our central idea:
Exploration reshapes civilisations and influences perspectives.
Through these learning experiences students have begun exploring the different motivations behind exploration including curiosity wealth greed and the pursuit of new opportunities. They have engaged in rich discussions and inquiry tasks that encourage them to consider how exploration has shaped civilisations and how different perspectives can influence the way historical events are understood. We look forward to seeing students continue to ask thoughtful questions and deepen their understanding throughout the unit.
Professional Learning
The Grade 4 teaching team recently participated in professional learning with inquiry expert Trevor McKenzie. As part of the day Trevor co-taught an inquiry lesson alongside the Grade 4 team demonstrating inquiry in practice and modelling strategies that promote curiosity critical thinking and student agency. This valuable learning has provided the team with new strategies to further strengthen inquiry within our classrooms. We are now implementing practices that place a greater emphasis on asking different types of questions using word banks to support thinking and vocabulary designing richer provocations and encouraging students to explore multiple perspectives as they delve deeper into their inquiries. We are excited to see how these approaches continue to develop students' curiosity critical thinking and independence as learners.
Reminders
Please ensure your child brings their fully charged iPad to school every day.
Students are encouraged to bring a labelled water bottle each day.
Hats are not required during Term 3.