Fantastic 3/4

Year 3-4

Term 3, Week 8

What have we been up to?

In Reading, the Grade 3’s and 4’s have been looking at different types of poetry. The poetry that students have been learning about so far include Haiku, Cinquain and Limerick poems. They have recognised that each poem has different amounts of lines, syllables, and that not all of them need to rhyme. Students have also explored how poems are a means to express emotion. 

The students have transferred their reading knowledge into their writing by planning, drafting and publishing their own poems. They have chosen their own topics, placed the words that have related to their topic on a mindmap, and also enjoyed presenting their work to the class. It was great to see the confidence they have when sharing their knowledge and work to their peers.

During Maths sessions, students have been learning about telling the time and the language used when doing so. They have engaged in hands-on learning tasks, including making their own clocks to indicate the time to o’clock, half past, quarter to and quarter past. While the grade 4’s have been on camp, the grade 3’s students have taken an inquiry approach to maths with an inquiry unit called ‘A Snails Dream’. They have been working out how long it has taken their “snail” to get from one room to the next, by calculating the snail's movement, starting and ending time. 

Over the last two weeks in Science, students have explored various chemical science experiments. They made predictions about a variety of liquids shown to them, inquiring whether or not they would freeze and why. Students then made and shared their hypotheses on the four different liquids (oil, water, dishwashing detergent and condensed milk). Our findings created some surprised faces when the students observed that the condensed milk didn't freeze, it only became thicker because of the sugar content. The dishwashing liquid didn’t fully freeze, and the oil went back to its original state very quickly. It was wonderful to see all the students' scientific thinking and the reasons behind their thinking. 

For Inquiry, students have been using their creative thinking and imagination skills to draw images about the Aboriginal stories they have listened to. They were not shown the pictures, so it was really interesting to see the way the students interpreted the book. The students have also learnt about Aboriginal culture by comparing historical and new-aged food. They made a Venn diagram and a lot of discussions were had about their findings. 

What is coming up?

We can’t believe that we are already in week 8 of term 3, this term has truly flown! During the last couple of weeks of school the students will continue engaging in learning about other poetry genres in Literacy. They will also be continuing to expand on their knowledge in telling the time, as well as learning about all types of different angles in Maths. In Science, more hands-on chemical experiments will be discovered. Lastly, in Inquiry, the students will be learning about the Aborignal culture in more depth by understanding about their shelters and how they used tools in the land to survive. At the end of Inquiry, the students will be researching their own chosen topics and displaying them in poster format.

Here are some photos of what we have been up to over the last two weeks: 

Jaxon and Niamh were so lucky to train with Amy Lawton, and also had a photo with her and her medals from the Commonwealth Games and Women's World Cup.