Prep | Year 3 News
Maths
Year 3 began their term asking themselves “what is the chance …?” What is the chance it will rain? What is the chance I will roll a two on my die? What is the chance Mr Gosper will score a three pointer in basketball? They found themselves creating games of chance and discussing outcomes with peers. What was the expected outcome of their game of chance? What was the real outcome? Boys have become confident in using this language. Continue to encourage your son to use the following language when discussing chance: chance, event, possible, impossible, likely, unlikely, less likely, more likely, most likely, least likely, equally likely, experiment, and outcome.
This week we move on to our fraction’s unit. In our lessons students will learn that fractions are used in different ways. They can be used to describe equal parts of a whole; to describe equal parts of a collection of objects; to denote numbers (eg 1/2 is midway between 0 and 1 on the number line); and as operators related to division (eg dividing a number in half). They will focus on fractions with denominators of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8. Boys will become confident in using the following language: whole, part, equal parts, half, quarter, eighth, third, fifth, one-third, one-fifth, fraction, denominator, numerator, mixed numeral, whole number, fractional part, number line. At home ask your son where he sees fractions in his environment. Can he cut a cake into eighths? Can he share a bag of lollies into fifths?
English
In writing, we have spent a few more weeks on Informative texts. Boys have been either focusing on procedures or information reports in their classes. They have used their research skills to find out about natural disasters and used this to create information reports. I wonder if they would be able to tell you all about the natural disaster they researched. Boys have also used their procedural writing skills to help their peers with completing a task, for example tying a tie. Were their instructions clear enough to achieve the desired outcome?
Next, we will move our focus to poetry where boys will plan, draft, and publish pieces of work. They will use their skills to create poems that represent ideas, feelings and mental images in words. Boys will also understand, interpret and experiment with a range of devices and deliberate word play for example nonsense words, spoonerisms, neologisms and puns.
UOI
It has been a busy start to the term as boys continue to learn all about natural processes, disasters and phenomena. Week one saw Year 3 with an incursion from Fizzics Education, where the expert, Peter, was able to answer many of the burning questions boys had on their minds. He answered questions on black holes, earthquakes, pandemics, and gravity. He was full of knowledge about everything science. Boys were also able to get hands on with experiments and activities that Peter had brought. As we come to an end of our unit, boys will be able to tell you about the natural processes, disasters, and phenomena they have learnt about.
In Week 5 we will begin our next unit ‘Where we are in place and time’. Students will look at how exploration can have an impact on cultures through the concepts of change (how is it changing?), causation (why is it like this?), and perspective (what are the points of view?).
Music
In Classroom Music Year 3 have a busy term ahead as they are participating in a Stand Alone Unit of Inquiry presented by Musica Viva called Timmy and the Breakfast Band, preparing for the combined Primary Years performance of Hamilton Highlights at the Arts Festival in Week 6 and participating in the Band and String Sight-reading Program. Throughout this unit they will be inquiring into the connection between music and emotions, music and movement and folk music using the Musica Viva stimulus material. In Week 1 the Summer Hill staff presented instrument demonstrations, last week Musica Viva presented the concert and they began their band and string classes. Throughout the term the Concepts of Connection, Change and Perspective will be explored. Have fun Year 3!
