Grade 3 & 4 

Groovy moves and fancy feet appeared each afternoon last week as all students engaged in the STOMP dance sessions. Students laughed, learned some jazzy moves each day, and developed their rhythmic confidence over the three days. These days, also allowed students to catch up on holiday events and slip slowly back into the classroom routine.

This week, the students were informed that the director of the local astronomical observatory had sent the school a package. In the package was a coded message received from outer space, and the scientists at the observatory could decode it. The message informed students that the scientists had read it and sent it to their school for action. 

In the scripted message, it introduced Atto and his mission, and what he requires from the students. He explained that he had landed on Earth and had observed some interesting things. He was very excited about some specimens he had collected and urgently needed assistance in understanding what they were.  He didn't know anything about these specimens and needed help to understand the difference between living and non-living things. 

All students took great pleasure in sketching and labelling objects and deciding whether the specimens were living or non-living objects.

In line with our science discovery this term, we will investigate a series of nonfiction/fictional texts that inform us about the lives of living or nonliving creatures. These texts are beautifully written to connect the nonfiction and fictional information together to create a very informative story. This week, we began reading The Great White Shark by Claire Saxby. 

Below are some of our maths and Reading Fluency sessions (reading aloud to a partner to develop speed and accuracy).