Year 4

Year 4 October Newsletter

Literacy

In Writing, students have been learning about how to write complex sentences using independent and dependent clauses with a subordinating conjunction. We have learnt about the importance of using content specific vocabulary in our sentences and have practised using the new words we have learnt during our Core Knowledge unit on the Australian Government. 

Students have learnt about adverbs and adverbial phrases and how they add detail to sentences. They have edited boring sentences to include an adverbial phrase to make it more interesting. Students have begun learning the difference between fact and opinion. We have had fun learning about the difference between formal and informal writing and how important it is to make sure you choose the correct one when writing to different people. 

Knowledge

This term in Knowledge, we are focussing on Civics and Citizenship and delving into our local government. Students are identifying the 3 levels of government and determining how local government is selected and their roles and responsibilities in our community. Students will reflect on how local government affects their lives and how they positively contribute to their local community. 

Numeracy

In Numeracy, students have investigated the relationship between decimals and fractions and have been working on converting between the two. We have just begun a new maths unit focusing on problem solving and telling the time. Before beginning our maths lesson we are still completing 10 minutes of New Waves Mental Maths and working really hard on our multiplication fluency by completing 5 minutes of Times Tables Rock Star fact worksheets. So far in problem solving, we have learnt how to find the missing operation in number sentences (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division symbols) and missing digits from a number sentence by using strategies such as inverse operations. In time, we have been practising reading time to the minute, and using time language such as ‘past’ and ‘to.’

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Now that we are well into trialling School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS), our SEL lessons have returned to regular programming using The Resilience Project. This week, we’ve been focusing on the importance of being part of a community and how it impacts our social and emotional well-being. We’ve explored how belonging to a group helps build connections and strengthens our sense of self.

Coincidentally, this aligns perfectly with our current knowledge unit, where we’re learning about local governments and how they work to support and shape the communities we live in. It’s been wonderful to see the students make meaningful links between these lessons and their understanding of the world around them!

Auslan

In Auslan lessons we have learnt signs for people and sports. Students have enjoyed signing their favourite sports and sports teams to each other.