Year 3 - Middle Unit

Reading

In reading over the past few weeks, the Year 3 students have been looking at persuasive texts and learning about the different persuasive techniques they use to try and convince the reader to think a certain way, or to do something. These include (but are not limited to):

• Rhetorical questions
• Emotive language
• Rule of 3
• Expert opinions
• Facts and statistics
• Repetition

Students have also been practising identifying what is a fact and what is an opinion by looking at different texts critically and thinking about what the author’s purpose in writing the text might be.

Writing

Using the persuasive techniques we’ve been learning about in Reading, the Year 3 students have been carefully crafting their very own persuasive texts. Students got to choose an issue or topic they are passionate about and use it as the subject of this piece. They also had to choose appropriate persuasive devices to use in their writing and have lots of fun experimenting with each different one!

The students have been learning about how to construct introductions, how to write persuasive paragraphs (using the OREO method) and how to sum up their arguments in a conclusion. Finally, students have been learning about the differences between editing and revising their work and how each of these stages play an important role in the writing process. 

See some of our excellent work below!

Numeracy

In Maths, we’ve been learning all about length! Students began by estimating the length of different objects and recording these in their maths books. They then used informal units of measurement (such as their hands and feet) to check their estimations.

Moving on from this, students were introduced to formal units of measurement, which included millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres. They discussed different tools we use to take these measurements and identified some non-negotiables we need to remember when using these tools to measure accurately (such as making sure the ruler is lined up at 0 before reading the number and no gaps between objects).

The Year 3 students then moved into practising what they have learned through hands-on tasks involving measuring the length of objects and locations in the school. Students ensured they were accurate by measuring with rulers, measuring tapes and trundle wheels. Students then compared and ordered their measurements from shortest to longest.

Year 3 Teachers

Ashleigh Dodds (3AD), Mark Condon (3MC)/Juliet Smith, Sally Quinn (3SQ)