Year 3/4

The students took on the role of an inventor in Inquiry during a lesson this Term. The idea behind it was for the students to come up with their own aeroplane designs and test them out like a real inventor would. The students needed to do their own research on how to make a paper aeroplane and then test it. Afterwards, we had a competition to see whose plane could fly the farthest.

In Maths, the 3/4 students learnt about volume and capacity. During one of our lessons, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and moved the lesson outside.

The children were given 6 different containers of all different shapes and sizes. They had to estimate how many millilitres of water would go into each container. The tricky part was that each container, although looking different, held the same amount of water.

The students love our hands-on activities.

Camp was a blast this year. We went to Camp Campaspe in Kyneton. The students in Year 3, 4 and 5 came together for 3 days on an adventure camp taking part in really fun activities. 

We did fun things like archery, laser tag and the flying fox which went over the lake. It was a great time for the students and the teachers. We were up at 6:30am both mornings, ready for a full day of exercise and activities. Not only were they fun, but they focused on building resilience, teamwork and stepping outside their comfort zone. It was a complete success. 

We like to do brain breaks in the classroom which help us to reset after long lessons. It gives the children a chance to stretch, get up and move their body, or just rest their brain. 

One way we like to take a brain break is by doing activities that revolve around exercise. 

The students enjoy doing yoga which is good for mental health, flexibility, balance, core strength and it is fun!

During Grandparents and Special Friends day, the children had their grandparent or a special friend join us for our Wellbeing groups.

During my session, the students and their guests learned about the origins of Halloween and did a Halloween themed draw along. The picture was of a black cat popping out of a jack-o-lantern made from a pumpkin. I was so impressed with the artistic abilities of all of the children in my group

The students in 3/4 have been using the Writing Wall in our classroom to improve upon their narratives. The Writing Wall helps students to reflect on their writing and use Success Criteria to help them reach their goals. The levels of writing are clear and easy to follow. This allows students to edit their work and direct their own learning. It is a new concept for a lot of these students but they did a really great job.

In Inquiry, the students in 3/4 learnt about forces and functions. They learnt about the different types of forces that can be applied to an object. They worked in teams to build a car out of recyclable materials with the aim to power the car using a balloon. 

We have a range of different games that the children can play which involve getting up out of their chairs and moving around. I taught the children a new game recently which is called ‘Animal Charades’. Each person is given a secret animal and they need to act out what they are without talking or using sounds. Everyone else needs to guess what animal they are just from their actions. The amount of effort the kids put into their actions was incredible. I love seeing them get into these games and the smiles on their faces fills me with joy.

Towards the end of Term, the Year 4s, 5s and 6s went to a Battle Ball Gala Day. There were eight schools involved in this fun tournament from all over the Eastern Region. Battle Ball is a game like Dodgeball, however, the rules are slightly different. When someone gets hit by the ball, they still go out, but if they are out, they can still have the opportunity to get others out by throwing balls at players from the sidelines.

We did not win the tournament, however, the children had a really fun time. We finished the day with a game of teachers against students. Each school chose a few children who played well throughout the day and showed good sportsmanship. From our school, Thomas, Ariel and Kate were chosen.

With Christmas almost upon us, we incorporated the holiday theme into our classroom activities. We love shared reading, comprehension activities and we love Christmas, so we put them together and we read through a text about how Christmas is celebrated around the world. This activity was a great choice because it taught us about how different countries celebrate Christmas and the children were able to learn about different cultures and the way they celebrate. 

Kind regards

Mr Tom Brophy

Year 3/4 Classroom Teacher