Year 3 News
From Ahmed Al- Hameli, Year 3B teacher
Our Grade 3 students have had a fantastic start to Term 2, with Weeks 2 and 3 filled with engaging learning across Reading, Writing, Mathematics and Humanities.
Writing
Students explored homophones and homonyms, learning how words can sound the same while having different meanings and spellings. They practised using context clues to select the correct spelling in their writing and even experimented with creating their own wordplay and puns. Students also worked on constructing compound sentences using a wide variety of connectives to make their writing more detailed and interesting.
We have also been learning about “Sizzling Starts” — exciting ways to begin a piece of writing that hook the reader in and make them want to keep reading. Students explored different types of openings, including beginning with a question, dialogue, action, character descriptions and onomatopoeia. Some of our favourite examples included: “Have you ever wondered what was in the furthest parts of outer space?” and “Ding! Ding! Ding! The bell rang and I ran as fast as I could back to class.” Students then used these ideas to continue their own creative writing pieces.
Reading
Students focused on developing fluency and expression. They practised reading with appropriate pace, rhythm, phrasing and emotion, using the EARS fluency strategy to help bring texts to life. It has been wonderful to see students growing in confidence when reading aloud to their peers. Students have also been developing their note-taking and research skills by learning how to identify important information and record key facts in their own words. As part of this learning, some students researched an animal of their choice and shared interesting facts about its habitat, diet and unique features with the class.
Maths
Students have been building their multiplication understanding through games, arrays, repeated addition and skip counting strategies. They explored multiplication as groups of and practised using clever strategies such as “double, double, double” to solve multiplication facts involving 8s. The students showed great persistence and teamwork while playing multiplication games and explaining their thinking.
We are so proud of the curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm our Grade 3 students have shown so far this term and look forward to seeing their learning continue to grow over the coming weeks!