Year 3 News

Welcome back to another exciting term of learning! It has been wonderful to see the students return feeling refreshed, re-energised and enthusiastic after a well-earned break. Term 4 is sure to fly by, with lots of exciting learning opportunities and special activities planned throughout the term. We look forward to a fantastic final term together! 

As people of a faith, we came together in prayer to participate in the One Million Children Praying the Rosary initiative. Throughout the week, we prayed one decade of the Rosary each day, coming together as a class or senior cohort to pause, reflect and pray as a community.  

We also began our unit on Mary, Mother of Jesus, exploring her special qualities and strengths and reflecting on how we can follow her example in our own lives. 

As Readers, we have enjoyed exploring and analysing the poem The Ant Explorer by unpacking key vocabulary, discussing the plot, characters and setting, and identifying poetic devices such as alliteration, hyperbole, repetition and rhyme. 

THE ANT EXPLORER 

(Written by C.J. Dennis)

Once a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam-

To fare away far away, far away from home.

He had eaten all his breakfast, and he had his ma's consent

To see what he should chance to see and here's the way he went

Up and down a fern frond, round and round a stone,

Down a gloomy gully where he loathed to be alone,

Up a mighty mountain range, seven inches high,

Through the fearful forest grass that nearly hid the sky,

Out along a bracken bridge, bending in the moss,

Till he reached a dreadful desert that was feet and feet across.

'Twas a dry, deserted desert, and a trackless land to tread,

He wished that he was home again and tucked-up tight in bed.

His little legs were wobbly, his strength was nearly spent,

And so he turned around again and here's the way he went-

Back away from desert lands feet and feet across,

Back along the bracken bridge bending in the moss,

Through the fearful forest grass shutting out the sky,

Up a mighty mountain range seven inches high,

Down a gloomy gully, where he loathed to be alone,

Up and down a fern frond and round and round a stone.

A dreary ant, a weary ant, resolved no more to roam,

He staggered up the garden path and popped back home.

As Writers, we have been learning how to expand simple sentences by adding details about who, where, when and why. For example, the simple sentence ‘He went on a journey’ can be transformed into: ‘After breakfast, to satisfy his sense of adventure, the tiny explorer went on a journey far, far away.’ 

We have also been learning to use the conjunctions because, but and so correctly to join ideas and create more interesting and informative sentences. 

As mathematicians, we have begun our unit on Data Investigation. We have learnt to formulate fair survey questions with appropriate response options, collect data by surveying our classmates, and record our findings accurately in frequency tables using tally marks. We then used our collected data to create pictographs to represent and display our findings. 

This week we will be learning about:

Reading:  Poetry unit ‘The Ant Explorer’ 

Writing: Poetry writing  

Maths: Data Investigation

Inquiry: Class Art Activity

Religion: Mary, Mother of Jesus

TRP: Emotional Literacy

We are looking forward to a fantastic term of learning, growth and new experiences. 

Belinda Panzarino and Denise Goniadis

Year 3 Team