This week in Mathematics, the Grade 3/4 students have engaged in the Location unit. Students are exploring how maps can be used to represent places and provide directions. As part of their learning, Grades 3/4 students created maps from a bird's-eye view perspective of their classroom and fictional maps of a city. They included important features. such as titles, legends, keys and grid references. They are also learning how to locate positions on a map and use positional and prepositional language to describe movement and directions using terms, such as next to, between, opposite, behind and north of. Through a range of practical experiences, students are developing their spatial awareness and problem-solving skills as they learn to navigate from one place to another and communicate locations accurately.
Grade 3/4 students have had a busy few weeks working through a range of different English focuses. As a part of Reconciliation Week, students have created thoughtful reflective pieces including beautiful hibiscus artworks to commemorate National Sorry Day, while discussing the importance of all Australians coming together to recognise, respect and celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures, and how we can all be “All In” for reconciliation. Students have also been researching different countries and learning about the features of information texts. Using this knowledge, they successfully planned, drafted and published their own information reports.
Additionally, students have been enjoying our focus text, On the River by Roland Harvey, where we have been learning about the Murray River. We are closely examining the author’s writing style and techniques and are excited to incorporate these ideas into their own writing pieces in the coming weeks!
Our 3/4 students are immersing themselves in the unit ‘Our Island Home’. Students are learning more about Australia and our island neighbours, investigating climate zones, food chains, biomes and different rock formations. Students are considering the symbols, values and identities of different island nations. Within this unit, students are improving their questioning, research and mapping skills, as they collaboratively plan, model and map their own new island. This unit supports students in identifying connections between themselves and other people, places and environments and to better understand Australia's geographical position in the world.
In these first couple of weeks of Term 2, Grade 3/4 students have been exploring personal, private and public online
spaces. They engaged in hands-on activities to demonstrate safe online behaviours and practised identifying "red flags"
in gaming environments, specifically learning how to respond when someone’s identity is unclear. Join the conversation,
ask your child to explain the online "red flags" they learned about to help reinforce these safety skills.
Throughout this fortnight, our Grade 3 students have been focused and determined as they completed their NAPLAN assessments. We are incredibly proud of the effort they demonstrated and congratulate them on a job very well done. Our Grade 4 students also deserve recognition for the encouragement and support they showed throughout this time to our Grade 3s.
In Reading and Writing, we have been exploring our mentor text Bin Chicken. Students have thoroughly enjoyed retelling the story in their own words, using puppets to role-play and narrate their interpretations. We have also been learning about the authors, Kate and Jol Temple, and have started experimenting with elements of their writing style in our own narratives.
We are also well underway with our classroom novel Finders Keepers.
This term, our Grade 3/4 students have been exploring what makes a community and how communities change over time. They identified the communities they belong to, investigated significant Australians who have contributed to society, and practised key skills such as teamwork, communication and problem‑solving through activities like the Cup Stacking Challenge.
Students are now shifting their focus to the future, looking at how we can create positive change in our communities through health, wellbeing and being active. Students are looking at ways to promote healthy eating in our community. We’re excited to see the ideas they develop as they continue learning what it means to be active and caring community members.
In Grade 3/4, students have been learning more about numbers and place value. They practised making and ordering numbers to tens of thousands and beyond, exploring how to write and name these large numbers. Students built numbers in different ways using MAB blocks and other materials around the classroom to represent the place value of numbers up to billions. They also practised renaming numbers, for example trading 1 ten for 10 ones and vice versa, in preparation for working with multi-digit equations. These hands-on experiences helped students see numbers in different ways and understand the value of each digit. With what we are learning in class we are ready to extend our mathematical thinking throughout the year!
In Grade 3/4, we have had a positive and engaging start to the new school year. We have been establishing our routines for success and together have developed clear classroom expectations and built strong connections through getting to know you activities and shared experiences.
A key focus has been developing a growth mindset, with students encouraged to embrace challenges, persist with learning and approach tasks with a positive, can-do attitude. It has been wonderful to see our students settling in so confidently.
