Grade 4 Community News
Welcome to Term 3!
I hope all our wonderful families had a relaxing holiday break and found the parent-teacher interviews valuable. It was a great opportunity to share meaningful insights about your child’s progress and celebrate their learning journey so far. Back at school, students have already jumped into another exciting term of learning. It’s been fantastic to see them demonstrating our school values so naturally in their routines from day one. This shows just how deeply these values are embedded in their daily lives—without the need for reminders.
Reading – R2L Unit: African Kingdoms
Students have begun their first R2L unit for the term, African Kingdoms, which runs from Week 1 to Week 4. In the first week, they explored the location of the African continent, named various countries in Africa, and identified unique geographical features. In Week 2, their learning extended to the Kingdoms of Kush and Aksum, the Trans-Saharan Trade, and Ghana—Land of Gold. It’s been exciting to see how these lessons have sparked curiosity and deep thinking, as students began making meaningful connections between different dynasties and historical time periods.
This term, students have started building their reading fluency through our engaging class serial, “A Long Walk to Water.” By reading aloud regularly, students are practicing expression, pacing and accuracy.
Writing – Information Reports
In Writing, Grade 4 students are learning how to plan and write an information report. This unit will run from Week 1 to Week 6. During the first weeks, students assessed their own pre-writing samples using a marking rubric. They did an impressive job—something the whole grade should be proud of. Students confidently used the rubric to mark their own work and set personal writing goals based on their assessment.
They also revisited key writing skills, such as note-taking, crafting introductions and conclusions, adding supporting details, and revising and editing their work. Using the rubric independently not only helped students understand what is expected of them, but also strengthened their learning agency and success—something we’ve seen grow steadily through previous units.
Maths – Multiplication and Division
In Maths, students focused on multiplication and division. They explored vertical multiplication and learned a range of strategies to solve both multiplication and division problems. Having previously learned strategies to work out multiplication facts and their related division facts, students were encouraged to rely on their automatic recall to tackle more complex calculations. While the connection between multiplication and division was reinforced throughout, this unit placed a stronger emphasis on multiplication strategies.
Reminders:
Weather Ready: Term 3 brings colder weather. Ensure your child brings a jumper or jacket daily, and that it's labelled.
Punctuality Matters: Aim for on-time arrivals—learning starts right at the bell!
Reading Every Night: Support your child by setting aside time each evening for reading and recording in the student journal.
Seesaw/Compass/School App: Stay updated with classroom news, learning highlights, and important notices through our school communication platform Compass.
Student Wellbeing: Let your child’s teacher know of any changes at home or concerns—working together supports the best outcomes for your child.
Thank you for your continuous support of your child!
PLC 4