Year 3 News
NAPLAN Time
Ready to Rock the Test!
The Year 3s have approached the NAPLAN tests with an open mind and a positive attitude. We are incredibly proud of the effort they have shown. The students not only enjoyed the process but also found it to be a highly educational experience, gaining valuable insights along the way. We're excited to see how all their hard work will pay off!
Harmonica Incursion
On Tuesday, Chris came to BNPS to show us how to play a Harmonica. He showed us the biggest, the smallest, and the most expensive harmonicas. We were surprised that the smallest harmonica actually worked! It was extremely quiet. He taught us some tricks on the harmonicas, played games with us and we got to take our own harmonicas and learning books home. They’re so special - they’re silver and come with their own case and cleaning cloth.
Some of the tricks Chris taught us were talking into the harmonica, laughing into the harmonica, how to blow into each hole individually with ‘fish lips’, and how to make sounds by blowing or breathing in. He also explained that we must blow softly so we don’t break the harmonica.
He used a chopstick to direct all the Year 3s and 4s to play together, we followed the numbers and arrows which told us which hole to play and whether to blow or breathe in. We played ‘three blind mice’, ‘happy birthday’ and ‘you are my sunshine’ all together.
We look forward to the Year 3 students learning to play some songs on their harmonicas and playing for the class.
Unit of Inquiry
How We Express Ourselves
We have continued exploring our most recent unit of inquiry, 'How We Express Ourselves.’ The students have been learning about the five types of communication: verbal, non-verbal, written, visual, and active listening. In groups, we brainstormed examples of each form of communication.
The students have also engaged in various activities and games to understand the importance of effective communication and active listening. They particularly loved playing a mime game which involved students testing their non-verbal communication skills, as well as a ‘telephone’ game where students had to whisper a message to the next person which was then passed along until the last player repeated it, testing their communication and memory skills.
These games were quite fun as the message that the final player got in the game was usually different from the original message or mime!
Addition and Measurement
In the past couple of weeks, Year 3 has focused on improving our addition skills, particularly with 2- and 3-digit numbers. We’ve been working on adding numbers with and without regrouping, building our confidence and understanding of place value. Through a variety of hands-on activities and practice problems, the students are gaining a deeper understanding of how to break down numbers and solve addition problems accurately.
The Year 3s played a Scoot game where they solved addition problems in teams. The problems were placed around the room, they solved one at a time before ‘scooting’ to the next problem. The game encouraged the use of efficient mental and written strategies. Lots of mathematical conversations were had between team members, reinforcing their understanding of addition strategies.
Last week, students began exploring measurement concepts through a fun and engaging hands-on activity, participating in a scavenger hunt to measure the length of different objects around the classroom.
It's been exciting to see their progress as they continue to strengthen their math skills!