Level 3/4

Level 3 

It’s been a jam packed few weeks in Level 3 with many exciting learning experiences and we still have plenty of things to look forward to! 

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly in full swing, and classes have been practicing their songs and choreography for the upcoming school carols. In addition to this, it’s been great to see Christmas trees being put up in classes, and Kris Kringles being organised! 

The focus for Reader’s Workshops has been figurative language, and students have practised identifying similes, metaphors and personification. Students have also been consolidating their knowledge of the writing process by planning, drafting and publishing narratives. Students have demonstrated their ability to use effective plans and excellent word choice. 

Jackie French’s book ‘The Goat that Sailed the World’ has been the class novel during the Inquiry unit on world navigators and explorers. Students have thoroughly enjoyed having the book read to them and have loved learning about Isaac Manley and his adventures on board the Endeavour. 

In Mathematics, the focus has been on money. Students have practiced skills such as adding amounts together and calculating change. This is in preparation for our Level 3 and 4 Fish and Chip Lunch on the 13th of December, which is something all students are looking forward to. 

Last Friday students participated in the MAT program, where they learned about and practiced some martial arts skills. The session was enjoyed by all, and introduced everyone to the mantra of “Be strong, be calm, be kind and try hard!”. Students have also been continuing to refine and practice their skills in the 3/4 Sport sessions on a Friday afternoon. It has been fantastic to see the way that Level 3 and 4 students have demonstrated teamwork and sportsmanship throughout the term. 

Level 4

As always, it’s been a busy few weeks in Year 4! Here are just a few of the things we have been up to: 

Chicken Duty 

Over the last few weeks, the Year 4 classes have all had a turn of being on chicken duty. With the new additions to the Rangeview chickens this year, it has kept us very busy. There have been plenty of eggs to collect each day, as well as food scraps to deliver, water to fill and some mischievous chicken to escort back to the coop each day. The classes have been lucky enough to enjoy some of the eggs as well.  

The Goat Who Sailed the World 

All the Year 3 and 4 classes have been enjoying reading the novel ‘The Goat Who Sailed the World’ this term. The book is about James Cook’s voyage on the Endeavour in the 1700s. This has included learning about so many new things as we have tracked the voyage using a world map, created a timeline to mark significant events and milestones on the voyage, investigated countries in which the ship docked using Google Maps, learning about the indigenous people and their cultures in the countries they visited and discovering what life was like for the sailors, men and boys on the ship. It has tied in fantastically with our unit on world explorers and has allowed us to practise many of the reading and comprehension strategies we have been learning about in our reading workshops throughout the year. Have a look at some of our ‘Goat’ wonderings, work and activities below! 

Narratives 

We have been enjoying putting together all of the skills we have worked on in writing throughout the year to write some narratives of our own choice during the last few weeks of term. We have been looking at how to create engaging, exciting and well written texts using skills such as building tension, incorporating our five senses and emotions in our writing, including dynamic dialogue, writing sizzling starts and exciting endings and using the skill of showing rather than telling what is happening in our story. Leading up to Christmas we will be working on a Christmas themed narrative as well. 

Hear what some of the Year 4s have had to say about what they have enjoyed about writing their narratives: 

Riyon – “I have enjoyed learning about how to use dialogue in my narrative.” 

Nina – “I liked learning how to use the five senses and putting it in my writing to make the tension build up.” 

Milan – “I liked putting my imagination onto a piece of paper.” 

Harper – “I loved using my imagination to create a world that is in my control.” 

Dom – “The thing about narratives is you are never stuck on ideas.” 

Layla – “Writing a narrative was like opening a bottle of dreams and imagination and spilling it over paper.” 

Vishak – “I loved writing down a new world for myself where everything is the way I want it to be.” 

Lyric – “I have loved learning about how you can use your five senses and put them on paper.” 

Audrey – “I have learnt that we need to hook the reader in when we are writing and we have to keep our story interesting and not let it get boring. We have to describe things properly so that our writing makes sense.” 

Level 3 & 4 Teachers