3/4 Mainstream 

Commemorating ANZAC Day 

We commemorated ANZAC day on Friday the 24th by reading ‘Dreaming Soldiers’ by Catherine Baur and Shane McGowan, unpacking the meaning of ANZAC and the stories and experiences of the soldiers. We finished the day by making crepe paper sun catchers featuring soldiers and the Flinders poppy which now adorn the classroom windows.

Integrated Unit 

For our next Integrated Unit in biological science, we started by investigating features of trees. We focused on the features of eucalypts, and hunted for those features around the school to identify eucalypts (or not) in the school grounds. Did you know the leaves have little dots you can see when you hold them up to the light? The oil glands are what make them smell so incredible. Next we investigated the role of the flower, and learnt about the parts of a flower to draw a diagram. We look forward to more exploring in nature!

Camp Recounts 

We reflected on the fun and activities of camp by writing recounts. The students used a mind map to recall activities that happened, used a sensory graphic organiser to prompt some descriptive detail and focused on using a hook to engage the reader. Each student focussed on one of their favourite events, and we all enjoyed remembering what a great time we had. 

Maths

We started the term by looking at fractions, how fractions are part of a whole and exploring different common fractions (halves, quarters, thirds…). We then practised counting by fractions beyond one and looked at representing these counts as mixed numbers and improper fractions. We applied these skills creatively by making animals by combining different fraction shapes. We also started to explore mental and written strategies for addition and subtraction, including the part-part-whole strategy with playing cards. Maths this term has been pretty fun so far!