Year 3/4 

Overview of Learning

Year 3 & 4 

Inquiry

This term, students in Year 3 & 4 are exploring forces in a topic named 'Smooth Moves'. Through a series of experiments, students will develop their understanding of how forces can be exerted through direct contact or from a distance. They will investigate the effect of forces on the behaviour of objects and how this differs depending on the form/physical properties of the object or the action performed (throwing, dropping, bouncing, rolling). Students will identify the effect of friction on different surfaces, as well as exploring the forces of attraction and repulsion in magnets.

To demonstrate their understanding, students will become engineers, using their knowledge of forces and motion to design a Rube Goldberg machine that can move by transfer of force.

Year 3 

Welcome back to Term 3 for our Year 3 Families! 

We hope you all had a restful and enjoyable holiday. It has been wonderful to see the students return with such enthusiasm and settle smoothly back into school routines. A big congratulations to all the students for doing an amazing job at their Three Way Conferences. It was fantastic to see them take pride in their learning and confidently share their achievements with families.

We’re looking forward to another exciting term of learning. A reminder that our swimming program will run during Weeks 2 and 3, so please make sure students bring their swim gear each day. Later in the term, we will also be celebrating our learning during the Maths and STEM Festival. It will be a great opportunity to explore, investigate and have fun with maths and science.

Here’s to a fantastic Term Three!

Our Teaching Team This Year:

3A – Leah Telford (Classroom Teacher), Sharon Armstrong (Teacher of the Deaf Mon-Tues), & Dan Anderson (Teacher of the Deaf Wed-Fri, Grade 3 Team Leader)

3B – Nadine Park (Classroom Teacher Mon, Wed-Fri) & Marian de Ville (Tues)

3C – Gareth Harrison (Classroom Teacher) 

We are looking forward to continuously working alongside families to support each child in their learning journey. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions, updates, or just to say hello!

English

In Reading and Viewing, students will engage in a variety of reading activities, including modelled and independent reading, reciprocal teaching, and book clubs. They will develop comprehension strategies such as questioning, visualising, summarising, and making inferences. Students will explore a range of texts, including literary works from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, and make connections between characters’ experiences and their own.

This term in Writing, we will investigate different kinds of poetry and learn to identify the features and language used by poets to create meaning. Alongside our reading, students will continue to work on their sentence-level writing, focusing on expanding ideas, using descriptive language, and applying correct punctuation.

They will also build their understanding of literary devices, explore text structures, and consider how different texts serve different purposes.

In Speaking and Listening, students will participate in discussions, practising turn-taking and cooperative communication. They will use interaction skills to contribute to conversations, share ideas, and respond to different topics. Students will explore how language can express emotion and evaluation. When delivering spoken texts, they will focus on voice features to engage an audience. Activities will include oral presentations and opportunities to share their learning using digital or multimodal elements.

Maths 

In Number and Algebra, students in Grade 3 will multiply and divide one-and two-digit numbers, representing problems using number sentences, diagrams, and arrays, and using a variety of calculation strategies. They will recall and demonstrate proficiencies with multiplication facts for 3’s, 4’s, 5’s and 10’s and apply facts to develop the related division facts. They will estimate the quantity in collections and make estimates when solving problems to determine the reasonableness of their calculations.

In Applied Mathematics (Data and Measurement), students will create and compare different graphical representations of data sets, including using software, and learn to interpret data. They will make, compare, and classify objects, identifying key features and explain why these features make them suited to their uses. Students will explore shape by making, comparing, and classifying objects and identifying key features.

Specialist Timetable

We are looking forward to an excellent term ahead. Please feel free to get in contact with us if you need anything. 

Thank you! 

Year 4 

Term 3 has arrived! And so has Mellita, our new classroom teacher in 4C.  

Our Teaching Team This Year:

4A - Natalia Robinson (Class Teacher Tuesday - Friday) and Marian de Ville (Class Teacher (Mondays) (Room 2)

4B - Georgia Biggs (Class Teacher) and Ben Godfrey (Teacher of the Deaf and Year 4 Team Leader) (Room 6)

4C - Kerron Worsdell (Literacy Learning Specialist and Class Teacher) Monday & Tuesday and Mellita Farmer (Class Teacher) Wednesday - Friday  (Room 7)

4D - Bianca Wielgosz (Room 1)

Please feel free to contact any of your children't teachers by Compass email, in person or by phone if you have any matters you need to discuss. We look forward to working with you throughout the year.

English

In Literacy, students will engage in a novel study of the text, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. This novel is about a 10 year old boy living with his little brother and his parents in a New York City apartment. The story is told from the point of view of Peter and is made up of many events involving Peter and his very difficult two year old brother, Fudge.

Through this novel study, students will continue to enhance their reading comprehension by identifying features used in different types of texts to meet the purpose and audience of the text. They will compare how texts from different times, with similar purposes and audiences, depict ideas or events.

A key focus of the unit is vocabulary development. Students will encounter and learn new words in context, expanding their language and understanding of nuanced expressions. These vocabulary activities are designed to enrich their reading experience and support their writing skills.

Students will also work on grammar through sentence level lessons. They will understand past, present and future tenses and their impact on meaning in a sentence. Students will also expand their vocabulary by exploring a range of synonyms and antonyms, and using words encountered in a range of sources including the mentor text.

Through our spelling program (Spelling Mastery), students will continue to build on their knowledge of spelling patterns and generalisations, as well as strategies to make plausible attempts to spell words, using syllables and morphemic knowledge.

With excitement building around ‘pen licences,’ students will have an ongoing focus on developing their handwriting skills. There will be a focus on using clearly formed joined letters and developing writing fluency and automaticity.

Students will continue to read different types of texts, integrating phonic, semantic and grammatical knowledge to read accurately and fluently for meaning, re-reading and self-correcting when needed. 

Maths

In Number and Algebra, students will learn to use estimation and rounding to check and explain the reasonableness of their calculations, including the results of financial transactions. They will solve problems involving purchases and the calculation of change to the nearest 5 cents. Students will use mathematical modelling to solve practical problems that involve additive and multiplicative situations, including financial contexts. They will formulate problems using number sentences and choose efficient calculation strategies, using digital tools where appropriate. 

In Applied Mathematics (Measurement, Space, Statistics, Probability), students will analyse the effectiveness of different data displays and discuss the variation in their data. They will describe possible everyday events and the possible outcomes of chance experiments and order outcomes or events based on their likelihood of occurring. Students will conduct repeated chance experiments to observe the relationships between outcomes in games and other chance situations, and identify and describe the variation in their results.

Year 4 Specialist Timetable

Please note that our allocated specialist lesson times have changed for Term 3. 

Susan Skirlj will take 4B for Career Start release on Tuesday during sessions 4, 5 & 6.