Prep | Year 4 News
Unit of Inquiry
As we begin to dig deeper into our current Unit of Inquiry, How We Express Ourselves, the students are starting to build a better understanding of the Central Idea: Culture empowers, unites and divides. They are becoming more confident at identifying the Key Concepts of Connection, Perspective and Change, and the Related Concepts of Culture, Identity and Expression through our weekly lessons. Recently our focus has been on the students’ wonderings, including: I wonder if the culture in the olden days is the same? What is the culture of the Prep School and how has it changed? Why do different cultures have different beliefs and gods? In the coming weeks we will be delving into further wonderings, including: How can we unite different cultures? How do cultures divide? and how cultures express themselves. By focusing on the boy’s wonderings, we hope they build an enduring understanding on a range of topics which will enable them to become more globally aware citizens.
Paz hss hivba jvttbupjhapvu jvklz pu ZALHT! (Caesar Cipher – Shift 7)
Translation: It’s all about communication codes in STEAM!
Linking to the class Unit of Inquiry “How We Express Ourselves” Year 4 are investigating different forms of communication codes. The unit began with a scavenger hunt around the new basketball court with boys deciphering codes such as Braille, Binary, Morse Code and The International Maritime Signal Flags. Continuing their investigation, the boys are researching these forms of communication to find the purpose of their code’s development.
Maths
The Year Four boys have just begun their new mathematical focus, Multiplication and Division. They will be working through a range of different tasks over the coming weeks and developing their mathematical understanding, ability, and skills. Through their participation in a variety of independent and collaborative differentiated activities we’re aiming for them to develop their confidence when selecting and using appropriate mental or written strategies to real-life problems. The boys will have the opportunity to share and reflect on each lesson and identify areas of strength, improvement, and next steps for their learning.
English
In English the boys are continuing their work on Imaginative text. Over the past weeks they have focused on Sizzling Starts and Tightening the Tension. In the coming weeks our predominant focus is improving their understanding of compound sentences, punctuation, and editing. The boys will be engaging in a range of different lessons relating to the purpose and audience of their writing, learning to write, and writing to share. The boys will work independently and collaboratively through co-creating short stories which incorporate their understanding. Their weekly Words Their Way spelling will continue with a range of learning experiences allowing them to build a better understanding of the specific rules associated with their sorts. In Comprehension the boys will continue to focus on Predicting whilst reading a variety of texts which link closely with our current Unit of Inquiry.
Mandarin
We have started the transdisciplinary unit How We Express Ourselves by learning about various cultural elements including cultural food and eating etiquette, festivals and celebrations, history, beliefs and values, and traditional arts. Boys used Chinese cultural case studies as the class projects to inquire, discuss, share and reflect with the provision of bilingual E-books, short articles, videos and quizzes. They were also encouraged to incorporate student agency by sharing their wonders and doing mini research.
At the same time, boys have been participating in online Chinese learning with Education Perfect. The topics for non-heritage learners and heritage learners are “Food & Drinks” and “Talking about meals” respectively.
Christian Studies
Stories are an integral part of our culture. Jesus was a powerful storyteller, using culturally relevant issues in “parables”. A parable is a story with a heavenly or hidden meaning. The boys have been using their thinking and communication skills, as they have worked in groups to unpack some famous parables. These include famous parables such as the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son. Over the next few weeks, the boys will be taking a parable of their choice and transforming it into a modern-day example. They will be choosing how they present their research and sharing it with their peers in class. We have also been conducting Chapel outside on the new basketball court where we have begun our journey looking at covenants / agreements between God and us. We will be examining how important it is for us to understand the relationship between covenants and God’s amazing plan of salvation.
