Classroom News

Grade 3 & 4

In our Year 3 and 4 classrooms, we’ve had a fun and engaging time delving into a variety of subjects, including Geography, Maths, Reading and Writing. Here's a closer look at what we've been working on!

This term, our Geography lessons have focused on mapping skills, and understanding how people interact with their environment. Students have been learning to read and create maps, understand compass directions, and explore different countries and regions. They’ve also been looking at how the environment influences the way people live and how humans impact the planet. The culmination of our unit, ‘How Do Places Influence Us’, has seen students plan their own trip around the world. We have had students working on Thinglink and KeyNote, as well as creating physical representations of their travels. We can’t wait to share our projects with our families at the end of the term.

In Maths, we’ve been tackling some exciting new concepts in fractions, addition, subtraction, area, and perimeter. Students are working hard to understand how fractions represent parts of a whole, how to compare and order fractions, and how to solve fraction problems in everyday contexts. We’ve also been exploring the concepts of area and perimeter, looking at how to calculate the space inside a shape and the distance around it. Using both hands-on activities and digital tools, students are practicing using formulas to find the area and perimeter of rectangles and squares. In addition to our work with fractions and geometry, we have continued to build on addition and subtraction strategies. Students have been practicing mental strategies, using number lines, and applying their knowledge of place value to solve problems efficiently. By learning multiple strategies, students are becoming more flexible and confident in their problem-solving.

In Writing, we’ve been focusing on developing explanation texts and information texts. Students have been learning how to write clearly and effectively to explain processes, events, and topics of interest. Whether it’s explaining how a plant grows or why we shouldn’t climb Uluru, students are practicing the structure of a good explanation. They have also been writing information texts, learning how to present factual information on various topics, using headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make their writing more accessible and informative.

In our Reading lessons this term, students have been working with a range of texts to explore key skills such as identifying themes, making connections, comparing and contrasting, and inferring. By reading various stories and non-fiction materials, students are developing their ability to recognize underlying themes, such as friendship, resilience, and the environment, and relate them to their own experiences and the world around them. They are also learning to compare and contrast characters, events, and ideas across different texts, helping them understand how different authors approach similar topics. In addition, students are practicing inferring meaning from the text, drawing conclusions based on clues within the story, and using their own knowledge to deepen their understanding. Our mentor texts have been closely linked to our Geography unit, and students have enjoyed reading and unpacking One Small Island, I Love The World, Mirror and Our Country.

As we move forward into Term 3, students will continue building on foundational skills with more challenging activities and projects. Stay tuned for updates on upcoming special projects, and classroom celebrations!

Thank you for your ongoing support. If you have any questions about your child's learning, please don’t hesitate to reach out.