Year 3/4 News

Literacy: Novel Study – The Iron Man

This term, our Year 3/4 students have been exploring The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. This classic story has captured the imagination of our learners as they read about the mysterious, giant metal figure who suddenly appears in the countryside.

Through our novel study, students have been developing their reading and comprehension skills, while also discussing big ideas such as friendship, bravery, and problem-solving. We have explored the rich descriptive language used by the author and practised sentence-level writing inspired by the novel.

Students have enjoyed making predictions and sharing their opinions. It has been wonderful to see them engage deeply with both the story and the language of this much-loved text.

Writing: Information Reports – Iron

In writing, our Year 3/4 students have been learning how to create information reports. To link with our novel study The Iron Man, we researched and wrote about iron – what it is, its characteristics, and how people use it.

Students have been practising how to organise their ideas into clear sections with headings, topic sentences, and supporting details. They have also focused on using factual language and technical vocabulary.

This task gave students the chance to combine research with writing skills, helping them build confidence in presenting information in a structured and engaging way.

Numeracy

In Numeracy, our Year 3/4 students have been exploring decimals, especially tenths and hundredths. We have been learning how the place value system works beyond whole numbers, and how decimals can represent parts of a whole.

To connect this to everyday life, we linked decimals to money. Students discovered that the word cent means “one hundred,” and that cents are hundredths of a dollar. This has helped students see that dollars represent whole numbers, while cents show fractions of a dollar.

The Australian Ballet Incursion

This week, our school was fortunate to welcome members of The Australian Ballet for a special Indigenous Dance incursion, From the Gadhu: A Cultural Journey. Over several sessions, students explored the story of Gurawal, the humpback whale, which highlights the importance of learning, respecting, and practising cultural traditions.

Through dance, our students took on the roles of both the Lore Keeper (Gurawal) and the Mischief Maker, discovering how storytelling can be expressed through movement and expression. The program gave students a meaningful opportunity to connect with culture, learn about responsibility within community, and appreciate the power of dance as a way of sharing important stories.