Focus on Learning
Stage 3
Teacher: Miss Kayla Latter
Writing
This term, Stage 3 has blasted off into the world of Science Fiction narratives! The students are diving deep into their writing, using Peter Brown’s 'The Wild Robot' and the animation 'Origins' as creative fuel. Over the last few weeks, students have become "literary detectives." We have been identifying specific Science Fiction language - using Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary, to learn how vivid descriptions can transport a reader from the classroom to an imaginative world.
One of our most exciting challenges has been looking at narrative structures. While most stories follow a predictable path, Stage 3 is additionally exploring subverted patterns (when a story takes an unexpected turn that surprises the reader, rather than following the "standard" rules of storytelling). We are learning that a story doesn't always have to go where you expect; sometimes, the most powerful narratives are the ones that break the rules and have a twist or two.
Using this new knowledge and modelled WAGOLL's (what a good one looks like), students began drafting their own Science Fiction orientations in the last week through small group and independent work. By building "mental models" of the settings from our mentor texts, students were able to use these to create their own Science Fiction orientations, introducing their chosen setting and character/s.
Keep an eye out for more writing samples, as our Stage 3 students continue to develop their Science Fiction writing of each section in a narrative structure.
Science
Stage 3 students have turned into scientists this term! We are diving deep into the world of solids, liquids, and gases, exploring how adding or removing heat can cause matter to change its state.
In Week 2, our young researchers made predictions and tested what happens when you mix ice, water, salt, and food coloring. By combining these different states of matter, students observed firsthand how substances react and change form under different conditions.
Our investigations continue this week with our experiment. We have been observing what happens to water inside a sealed snap-lock bag when it is exposed to direct sunlight and warmer temperatures.
As the sun warms the bags, students are looking for evidence of:
Evaporation: Water turning from a liquid to a gas.
Condensation: Gas cooling back into a liquid on the sides of the bag.
The results are still "brewing," but the class has already made some brilliant predictions about how the water will move and change. Check out the photos below to see our setup and our collection of class predictions!
