Year 3 Curriculum Newsletter
Reading:
In Reading, this semester students will be studying the novel ‘Matilda’ - they will be covering many comprehension strategies such as predicting, inferring, summarising, character traits as many more, they will also be creating their own character study.
They will be learning to identify the main idea in fiction and nonfiction texts and distinguish the difference between the ‘topic’ and the ‘main idea’. Students will learn to understand the importance of visualising as they read and how it can assist them to comprehend the text.
Writing:
In writing, the grade 3s will be looking at the following text types through our novel study of ‘Matilda’:
Narrative– We will be working through the steps beginning with sentence structure through to creating a final published writing piece. Students will be experimenting with their use of statements, commands, questions, and exclamations in their writing – as well as working on proper structure and using appropriate language features. | Persuasive- We will be exploring the aspects of persuasive texts, beginning with the text structure, looking into reasoning, exploring modality and persuasive devices. Students will apply their understanding of the structure to craft their own persuasive text.
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Mathematics:
In Mathematics, students will be focusing on units involving Number and Algebra and Measurement and Geometry. Students will be learning about units of time and telling time to the minute, they will also be learning about place value of numbers to enable them to recognise, represent, order, partition, regroup and rearrange them.
Wellbeing:
In Wellbeing, we are excited to be continuing our Resilience Project work. The Resilience Project teaches positive mental health strategies by working on lessons about Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness.
Inquiry:
Students will be exploring two topics as part of their inquiry unit - History & Health. Students learn about the early years of European settlement in Australia, the reasons behind the establishment of the Sydney colony, the First Fleet Journey and what life was like for early colonists including consequences of contact with Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. They will also be learning to interpret health information and messages and reflect on how they influence personal decisions and behaviours with a focus on physical health.
Japanese
This term in Japanese, the Grade 3 students will be explicitly taught hiragana, the first Japanese alphabet. Students will learn to read a hiragana chart and how to use the chart to identify and say each character. They will sing the hiragana rap to help memorise the order of the alphabet. Students will participate in whole class, small group and individual activities to apply their knowledge of the alphabet. They will complete a hiragana booklet to practise writing each character with correct stroke order and reading and writing simple Japanese words and sentences.
Visual Arts
This term students investigate the tools of drawing, creating artworks using pencils, markers, crayons, and oil pastels. Students will continue to learn about the elements of art – line, shape, and colour. They will learn that lines can be combined and repeated in patterns and that imaginary shapes are called abstract shapes. Students will explore making marks for texture, shape, and colour; and drawing with rubbings for texture and shape. When learning about colour, students will identify primary and secondary colours and they will discover that images might be coloured realistically or in an imaginative way.
Performing Arts
During Term One in Performing Arts, Grade Three and Four students will be learning the basics of reading music, including notes that sit ‘on the line’ and ‘in the space’ on a musical stave when playing ‘The Ribbon Game’. Students will explore the length of different notes when learning about full, half and quarter notes. By the end of the term, students will be able to read enough sheet music to begin playing the recorder and keyboard.
Physical Education
In Grade 3 PE classes, students continue to develop theirfundamental movement skills while exploring more challenginggames and sports. They refine their techniques and strategies, focusing on fair play and teamwork. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their physical abilities in events such as House Athletics and Cross Country. Social skills are emphasised through cooperative play and team sports, fostering empathy and leadership abilities.
