Year 3 News
Unit Of Inquiry
Year 3 students have just completed their How we express ourselves inquiry unit. Our central idea was that individuals express themselves differently according to environment and audience.
Our lines of inquiry were:
Communication skills
Understanding audience and environment
Reflecting on the impact my communication has on others
The key concepts for this unit were: Connection, Form, Function
We learned about informal vs formal language and the importance of clear and precise communication. We focussed on how to persuade audiences to our point of view through writing and debates. We had fun solving and creating codes along with enhancing our communication skills while collaborating in teams.
Everyone wrote a persuasive letter to Mrs. Duffy regarding the possibility of banning homework. The majority of us argued for the elimination of homework, and our reasons were so convincing that Year 3 will now have a homework-free week every term!
For our final project, we worked in groups on our passion projects. These projects involved identifying school-related issues and taking action to communicate these problems to various stakeholders such as Mrs. Duffy, Mr. Hall, the School Council, or the SAT team.
We wrote letters, made posters, created videos and PowerPoints and some groups made up a jingle. Some groups will now present their actions pieces.
Communication Posters
The Year 3 students have been looking at different ways of communication and how to express ourselves in different ways.
One of our tasks was to design a poster to share information.
We all chose a topic of interest first. Most of the class chose an animal to research, but some different topics included Cactus, World Cup, Basketball, Greece, France & many more.
We looked at how information is presented using headings and subheadings, how to set out and display information and how to make headings and subheadings eye catching. We also added pictures and diagrams to our posters.
We learnt that:
- headings and subheadings help organize and structure our writing
- they help us read information
- headings and subheadings enhance reader engagement
We really enjoyed this unit. It was very fun and educating!
By Annabel & Clotilde (3A)
The Passion Project
Bamboo Behind Soccer Goals
We identified a big problem that soccer balls keep going over the fence into McDonald Street or hitting the kids playing on the bars on the Wood Street side. So, we worked together and came up with a solution – planting a live bamboo fence.
Bamboo is environmentally friendly, strong and workable. It’s also pretty much impossible to climb, unlike nets!
We researched different types of bamboo and the cost along with how to look after it. We worked together to communicate our idea in different ways. Then we created a poster, wrote a letter and a video to convince people that our idea is a good one.
By Liam, Luca, Hunter and Flynn (3C)
Ramp Squad
We would like to see ramps added to the Year 3 and 4 classrooms as it would be easier for people with disabilities to access. At times students need to use crutches when they have injured themselves and it can become dangerous when trying to get up and down stairs into the classrooms. It would be tragic if someone had a fall trying to get upstairs on crutches. This would make our school more inclusive for everyone 😊
By Lucy, Estelle, Olivia & Leo (Ramp Squad)
Dear School community,
We strongly believe that Year 3 and 4 classrooms have to have ramps.
Firstly, it's just outrageous that we don’t have ramps. Also, some people are in wheelchairs and crutches they can't come up the stairs. Don’t you think that’s cruel?
Secondly, a teacher could not teach their students just because they have crutches or are in a wheelchair. Isn’t that terrible?
Finally, we know that $600 to $1200 is a lot but we could do a fundraiser and that would get us the money we need for the ramp. We’ve even found a place to build the ramp.
Now after all of these reasons surely you MUST agree with us that we need to get a ramp.
From Emma, Ellie, Abbey and Jaydah
Rubbish
We are tired of all the rubbish floating around the school grounds. Mr Skaf 100% agrees. We want to get the message around the school so that students change their behaviour. We need our community to be more responsible with the way they treat rubbish.
We all need to principled and pick up rubbish if we drop it or see it on the ground. We not only need to be caring to each other but to the environment and other living things.
Our group chose to communicate our ideas in a poster and made a brochure to help people to understand the consequences of dropping rubbish on the ground, along with some simple solutions such as putting your rubbish in your lunchbox or in your pocket. We also made a jingle called ‘Chuck it in the Bin’.
By Aiden, Marcus, Charlie, Kurt & Levi 3C
Stop Blocking Taps!
Kids who bring water bottles to school need to refill them. It becomes very difficult to do this when sticks and other things are blocking taps and water spits everywhere!
We are asking PLEASE can everyone stop shoving things into taps and bubblers around the school causing the blockages and creating burst pipes, which is a huge waste of time and money for our school.
By Finn &Noah
Weave Team
Blocked Taps
Passion Project
Ramp Power
Newcombe Sport
The last 3 weeks we have been playing Newcomb in year three sport. Newcomb is a bit like volleyball except you can hold the ball and you have to pass it three times before you can throw it back over the net. I thought that Newcomb was very fun because we had to really work on communication. We used eye contact and calling out names. We also worked on our listening because there was a hard rotation that we had to do when we got a point. My favourite part of Newcomb was when my team won our game.
By Emma W 3C
