Year 3 - Middle Unit

It has been another busy few weeks in Year 3, with students showing curiosity and enthusiasm through our Inquiry learning, while also beginning some exciting new units in English and Mathematics.

In English, the students have begun a new unit exploring Poetry. They have been learning about what makes poetry different from other types of writing and have been exploring features such as rhythm, rhyme, wordplay and mood. The students have enjoyed experimenting with language and thinking about how poets choose words to create particular feelings and images for the reader. Next, they will explore a range of different types of poetry before creating a poetry anthology of their own.

In Mathematics, the students have begun exploring the language of division and how division is connected to multiplication as an inverse operation. Using this understanding, students have been learning strategies that allow them to use known multiplication facts to help solve division problems. This has encouraged students to think about the connections between multiplication and division rather than treating them as separate operations.

Our studies of life cycles have continued, with the students now having the opportunity to observe two different life cycles unfolding right before their eyes.

Each classroom is currently caring for two Orange Lacewing butterfly chrysalises. The students have been fascinated by the way the chrysalises wiggle when they receive their daily misting. We later discovered that this movement is actually a defence mechanism,  another interesting discovery to add to our growing knowledge of butterflies.

The students have also been observing the early stages of a plant life cycle by ‘planting’ mung bean seeds in clear plastic bags and hanging them on the classroom windows. So far, we have observed the seeds swelling and beginning to crack open, with tiny shoots starting to emerge. The students are carefully observing and recording these changes as the life cycle continues to unfold.

Life Cycle Projects

A reminder that the 3D poster/diorama, students are constructing at home, is due back at school on Friday, 11 September, which is also the day of our Wild Action incursion.

We will then hold a Year 3 Life Cycle Celebration Afternoon on Thursday, 17 September, from 3:00 pm. We invite all Year 3 parents and carers to come along and view the students' projects. Students will have the opportunity to share their learning and explain the life cycle of their chosen animal.

We look forward to celebrating all the students' hard work and learning with you.

Year 3 Teachers

Mark Condon & Kylie Minchew (3MC), Nathan Spilsted (3NS), Louise Safstrom/Emma Beaumont (3SB)