Tremendous 3
Term 1 Week 4
Year 3 Newsletter
Welcome to Week 4 of Term 1!
Literacy:
In Literacy, students have been reading Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr. Throughout our novel study, we have been exploring personification and discussing how authors make settings come alive through descriptive language. Students have also been developing their ability to answer inferential questions by reading between the lines and using evidence from the text to support their thinking. The students have done an incredible job writing descriptive paragraphs about their own dream island. They have thoughtfully used rich vocabulary, expanded noun groups and figurative language to paint vivid pictures for their readers. It has been wonderful to see their creativity, confidence and growth in both reading comprehension and writing.
Phonics:
This week in Phonics, students have been learning about the rabbit pattern. This occurs in two-syllable words where the first syllable has a short vowel sound and the middle consonant is doubled (e.g. rab-bit, hap-pen, but-ton). The double consonant helps protect the short vowel sound. Recognising this pattern supports students with breaking longer words into syllables and improving their spelling accuracy.
Week | Phonics Focus | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Week 3 | Rabbit pattern | better, bottom,matter |
| Week 4 | Rabbit pattern | hobby, cubby, rabbit |
| Week 5 | Not rabbit | cabin, robin, habit |
| Week 6 | Open syllables | human,basic,secret |
| Week 7 | Open syllables | motor, creative, torpedo |
| Week 8 | Open syllables vs rabbit pattern | dollar, major, bacon |
| Week 9 | The “ors” | poor, pour, flaws, floors |
| Week 10/11 | i → y (not at the end) | try, cry, pry |
| Week 10/11 | i → y (not at the end) | spy, dry, fry |
Maths:
Students have recently completed their unit on place value. They worked with six-digit numbers and developed their understanding of one more and one less, identifying the value of specific digits, and comparing numbers using the greater than and less than symbols. This week, we have begun our addition/subtraction unit. Students are exploring fact families and investigating the relationship between addition and subtraction. Understanding these connections helps build strong number knowledge and supports students as they move into other concepts.
| Week 2 | Counting and Place Value |
| Week 3 | Counting and Place Value |
| Week 4 | Addition and Subtraction |
| Week 5 | Addition and Subtraction |
| Week 6 | Time |
| Week 7 | Time |
| Week 8 | Multiplication/Divsion |
| Week 9 | Multiplication/Divsion |
| Week 10 | Multiplication/Divsion |
Inquiry
This term, students will explore Australia’s history by learning about the contact between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and others, including the Europeans, and the effects these interactions had on people and the environment.
They will investigate the story of the First Fleet, sequence key events, and explore different perspectives and experiences from the past. Students will ask questions, research, and learn to identify facts and opinions while respectfully sharing their ideas.
Students will present their learning through a range of digital and hands-on tasks and reflect on how the past connects to issues today.
Extra Announcements:
- Please send any photos from home to your child's classroom teacher
- Hats are required in Term 1
