Term 4 in 3/4 

English:

Students will continue to develop their phonic knowledge in the morning literacy block through a variety of spelling activities. These include both phonological and morphological activities. Students will practise key spelling patterns and sounds when revising their targeted word lists; and their progress will be assessed through weekly dictations.

In reading, students will be exposed to a variety of text types (fiction, non-fiction, digital resources etc.) in order to develop their reading fluency. Students will read independently, in small groups and with the teacher, answering discussion questions that target key comprehension skills. The texts will be linked to our unit of inquiry, ‘Before Contact’, where students will explore the nature and consequences of early traders, explorers and settlers. Using rich mentor texts such as ‘Meet…Captain Cook’, ‘Beth the Child Convict’ and ‘The Unlikely Friendship of Bennelong and Phillip’, students will be developing their comprehension strategies such as making predictions, synthesising, inferring, making connections and determining the main idea of a text.

In writing, students will continue working towards obtaining their pen licence by practising their joined handwriting during class time. We will also be focussing on writing at the sentence level, whereby students will learn what constitutes a sentence and how to construct detailed sentences. Students will be exposed to strong vocabulary, which they will then implement in their own writing. Additionally, students will be learning to use verbs, adverbs, plural nouns and figurative language to improve their writing as well as using paragraphs to organise their ideas.

Numeracy:

This Term in Mathematics, students will cover a variety of key skills and concepts. Firstly, our students will participate in a range of engaging activities that will develop their understanding of fractions and decimals. Students will also investigate place value and operational understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Towards the end of Term, students will develop their geometric reasoning by exploring 2D and 3D shapes, as well as angles. Students will continually be assessed on these topics in order to cater to all learning needs. Our students will also participate in a daily review three-times a week that revises concepts taught earlier in the year.

                                                                                       Inquiry:

This term in Inquiry, students will explore what life was like for aboriginal people before the arrival of the europeans. They will explore the nature and consequences of early traders, explorers and settlers on the Australian and European landscape. Students will learn to sequence events in chronological order when constructing timelines, compare and contrast different people’s perspectives and also research into the causes and reasons for the journey of the First Fleet, who travelled to Australia, and their experiences and perspectives following arrival. Students will be developing a project book containing artefacts such as timelines, diary entries, Venn diagrams and more throughout the Term.

The Grade 3/4 Teachers:
Staci Malberg, Ellen Cake, Lisa Bowden, Katie Lamaro & Will Shields