Year 3

Year 3 December Newsletter

Literacy

In writing, we have begun learning about poetry. We commenced this unit by learning about poetry devices such as personification, onomatopoeia, rhyme, alliteration and syllables. We have used this understanding to write sentences that include these language features. After this, we learnt the structure of a cinquain poem and then wrote our own. Following on from this, we used rhyme to complete and write our own quatrain poems. In the next weeks, we will be learning about other types of poetry such as haikus and diamantes and will have the opportunity to write our own.

In Word Work, students have learnt about the different vowel sounds, and how long vowel sounds can be represented using the vowel itself, as well as digraphs and trigraphs. For example, the long /o/ vowel sound can be seen in a word represented by the letters ‘oa’ and the long /i/ vowel sound can be seen in a word represented by ‘igh’ or ‘y’.  Students have also enjoyed reviewing concepts that they have learned throughout the year, such as the ‘c’, ‘k’ and ‘ck’ rule.

Knowledge

In Knowledge, we have been learning about celebrations around the world. We have read about what different cultures do to celebrate significant days and events. So far, we have learnt about Holi, Diwali, Eid al-Fitr, The International Festival of the Sahara, Chinese New Year, New Years Eve, Easter, Bastille Day and Halloween. We are excited to learn about more celebrations and traditions in the coming weeks. 

Numeracy

In Numeracy we have been reviewing 2D shapes and their features including how to identify the shape based on how many sides it has. Students also explored 3D shapes. They were able to identify the features of a 3D shape including vertexes, faces, and edges. 

We have also been reviewing units of measurement. This week we explored the common units we use to measure capacity and were able to identify when millilitres, litres, and kilolitres are used to measure the capacity of different items. Students have furthered their confidence with identifying which unit is most appropriate to measure the capacity of various familiar items. 

SEL (Social Emotional Learning)

In SEL we have been focusing on our Emotional Literacy. We have been exploring different vocabulary to describe our emotions to better understand how we are feeling and when these emotions might arise. We have also been completing short mindfulness activities and reflecting on how these help to make us feel calmer and happier throughout our days.  

Auslan

In Auslan we have continued to learn signs for different things. We explored signs for different jobs such as police, doctor, fire brigade, teacher and plumber. We have also been learning about the signs for the different seasons and combining this with what type of weather and clothing you would have throughout these times.