What's happening in Year 3 this week?

Religious Education

Learning intention: We are learning to understand how Jesus calls us to reach out and help others.
Success criteria: I can recount how the disciples were instructed to take the Good News to others in The Mission of the Twelve.

When reading this text, we have asked ourselves, "How did the disciples reach out to others?"  We have also reflected on times when people have reached out to us.

English

Learning intention: We are learning to write engaging imaginative texts.

Success criteria: I can make sentence level choices to engage the reader.  

We have read texts that make good use of simple, compound and complex sentences to help the reader visualise and to build up tension.  We've tried to use their strategies in their own writing on pirate themes (we are treasuring our learning this term!)

Maths

Learning intention: We are learning to order and describe numbers.

Success criteria: I can:

• identify numbers that are less than or greater than a number
• accurately arrange four-digit numbers in order
• use place value to describe four-digit numbers

Challenges this week included:  Choose a number. Write your own clues to another person to work out what number you have chosen.

• It is important that students can demonstrate in their clues their understanding of place value in the number

Inquiry Unit

We started our new inquiry, How are our lives shaped by the cycles of earth and space?  We ignited our learning by viewing this video and examining the changes that we saw in the sky.  We are now capturing our understanding of the sunrise in a digital visual presentation such as a slideshow.

Maths Parent Workshop

Last Monday we held a parent workshop at school about multiplicative thinking in Mathematics. Even if you weren't able to come along, you can still learn about multiplicative thinking by watching this video with material from the workshop. Take a look.

Student eBook of the Week

Parents, are you looking for something for your children to read?  Why not try this week's eBook, Billie B Brown: The Soccer Star?

The student eBook is provided by Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta's Learning Exchange, and can be downloaded and read online or in an eBook reader app.

We're Trying Something New

To make better use of our devices (eg Laptops, iPads) in Year 3, and take advantage of the ability they give us to work more efficiently and collaboratively, we're starting to use a tool called Google Classroom.

While we're not all Classroom expert yet, the students in Year 3 have taken to this tool very quickly over the past week.  They can access it online via an internet browser (such as Firefox, Safari or Chrome), or through the Classroom app.  It provides the students with a way of continuing their classroom learning at home or elsewhere.

Classroom provides us with a new way of keeping students informed of learning tasks, providing resources and materials to support learning, and for students to submit work and receive feedback.

Unfortunately Classroom doesn't have an easy way for parents to see a glimpse of their child's learning yet, but Google promises that they are working on it, and it will be available later in the year.  In the meantime, you can always ask your child to log in at home and give you a guided tour.

Design and Make Project

Dear Parents and Carers,

As you might already be aware, Year 3 is learning about materials, forces and heat as part of our inquiry unit this term. They will work over the rest of this term on designing and making a lunch box that requires them to apply and demonstrate their understanding of the scientific concepts we have explored so far.

By the end of this week, your child will have completed a plan of their lunch box and should be able to explain to you what they wish to make, the materials required, and why they have chosen to make the lunch box this particular way. We would appreciate your assistance in providing your child with the specific materials that they will need.

We will provide students with the following common materials and resources should they need them:

• A plain insulating filling (eg polar fleece)
• Glue and adhesive tapes
• Simple plastic containers (eg take away food containers) that could be used as a starting point to assemble materials around

We will also be trying to locate some other simple, low-cost materials, but cannot guarantee what we can source at this stage.

We are also encouraging sustainability in this project, so some students are thinking that they may be able to use materials from items at home that are no longer being used (eg old lunch bags). We have explained to all students that these items can only be used if you give them permission to do so.

The making stage of this project will begin next week.

Thank you for your support. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Homework Term 2 Week 6

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Use a text you have read in the past and improve the noun groups within it. Please re-write it, highlighting the nouns and adjectives you have used. Remember to pay close attention to word order. (opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin and material/location)
• There were three children who visited their grandma regularly. The eldest child visited every five days. The middle child visited every four days. The youngest child visited every three days. How many days would have to go by before they all visited their grandma on the same day?

Here's some more you can do...

• View this video about how the colour of a material can affect how much heat it absorbs

• Add a comment to the Google Classroom page, posting to a response a teacher has added

Homework Week 5

Year 3 Homework Term 2, Week 5 2016

Please tick off the tasks that you do this week

Please make sure that you...	Here’s some more you can do...
Read for at least 15 minutes every night Using the planning of noun groups from last week to write an imaginative story Time yourself completing everyday tasks. Record five tasks and how long they took you to do.	Visit physics4kids.com and record a definition of heat transfer, gravity and friction. Link it to an experiment we undertook last week in Science. You will also find the link on our blog http://stanthonysyear2.blogspot.com

Reading Log	Text Read
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Parent Signature

Homework Term 2 Week 4

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Pick an everyday object to write about, pay particular attention to noun groups
• Draw and label 5 2D shapes and list their properties eg. Number of sides, number of angles, lines of symmetry.

Here's some more you can do...

• Look through the list of Traditional Catholic Prayers. Write down the names of the prayers that you have heard of before, or that you already know. Choose a prayer that you don’t know and practise it at home.

Year 3 is in the News!

With the NAPLAN tests on this week, the Sydney Morning Herald came to St Anthony's to speak to Mr Lendvai and Zoe, Mokshada and Aryan in Year 3.

Read the article on the Herald's website

Homework term 1 Week 10

Year 3 Homework Term 1, Week 10 2016

please tick off the tasks that you do this week

Please make sure that you...	Here’s some more you can do...
Read for at least 15 minutes every night Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: a cat, Location: the school, Object: a pen Make a 3-digit number using digit cards.  Write the number, then count by 2’s from this number.  Record the next 10 numbers in the sequence. Do you notice any patterns?	Write a recount of our Excursion to the Museum. What did you learn? Who would enjoy visiting the Museum? If you could change something about the Museum, what would it be and why? for an easy way to get to these links, visit our blog, http://stanthonysyear2.blogspot.com.au/

Reading Log	Text Read
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Parent Signature

How Has Exploration Changed Australia

This term, our unit of enquiry in Human Society and Its Environment (HSIE) explores the question, How Has Exploration Changed Australia?

One question that Year 3 raised at the beginning of the unit was about how Aboriginal people already lived in Australia, and why Europeans thought it was okay for them to establish a colony on Aboriginal land.

This past week, we learnt more about this, and how it has influenced how we understand Aboriginal land rights today, by viewing this news story:

 

View the full story with transcript and other resources on the Behind the News page

Homework Term 1 Week 9

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: a dog, Location: the park, Object: a torch
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then count by 2’s from this number. Record the next 5 numbers in the sequence. Do this at least 10 times.

Here's some more you can do...

• View the animation of the Last Supper

• Have a look through the convict database and see what types of crimes convicts were transported for.

Homework Term 1 Week 8

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: a timer, Location: Hawaii, Object: a computer
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then count by 10’s from this number. Record the next 5 numbers in the sequence. Do this at least 10 times.

Here's some more you can do...

• View the video The Easter Story

• Using the skills you practised responding to Dead Insect, write a personal response to something that you have viewed (eg an artwork, a television program, a movie, etc.).

What do paper planes have to do with Maths?

This week, Year 3 are making and throwing paper planes - all for a mathematical purpose.  There is a lot of Maths that we can do with our paper planes.  Here are a few things we will be exploring:

Measurement
We are learning to accurately measure distances in centimetres and metres (and perhaps even millimetres!) using trundle wheels and tape measures.

Data
Our measurements will give us a great set of data to analyse, ask questions about and make comparisons with.

Number operations
Can we find the difference between two distances?  What would be the total distance flown by all the planes in our group?  What if the plane flew three times as far?  What if the plane flew a quarter of the distance?

Fractions and Decimals
If we only record the distance in metres, then we need to use decimals to show the distance accurately.

Here are some photos of some of the work that we've done this week:

Homework Term 1 Week 7

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: a frog, Location: the river, Object: a trophy
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then count by 5’s from this number. Record the next 5 numbers in the sequence. Do this at least 10 times

Here's some more you can do...

• Try the Change Maker activity
• Imagine you are one of the disciples. Tell the story one of the days of Holy Week from their perspective

Gold or Fold Mufti Day

Thank you to everyone who supported our mufti day.  Today our school collected $822.20 to help build a learning centre in the Philippines as part of the Diocesan World Youth Day pilgrimage.

Thank you also for brightening up our school today with lots of yellow and gold!

Homework Term 1 Week 6

As discussed at our recent parent night, we will now send the coming week's homework home on Friday.  It is up to your discretion as parents and carers to decide when you want and/or need to do homework so that it is completed for Friday.

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: a musician, Location: a park, Object: bicycle
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then count by 2’s from this number. Record the next 5 numbers in the sequence. Do this at least 10 times

Here's some more you can do...

• Watch the Behind the News story about the First Fleet
• Print off and complete the On the Road to Easter Word Search

Can't find the digit cards that you used last week?

Download another copy

Homework Term 1 Week 5

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night
• Do at least half ¾ of a page of “surprise writing” - Character: monkey, Location: museum, Object: handbag
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then count by 5’s from this number. Record the next 5 numbers in the sequence. Do this at least 10 times

Here's some more you can do...

• Try the Better Buddies spot-the-difference
• Try the Maths activity Place Value Charts

Can't find the digit cards that you used last week?

Download another copy

Mufti Day this Friday

Don't forget that this Friday (26 February) is a Gold or Fold Mufti Day.  This is a diocesan-wide initiative to raise funds for the building of a learning centre in the Philippines, where an earthquake caused widespread destruction.  This centre will be built by our World Youth Day pilgrims when they visit en route to WYD in Krakow, Poland in July.  Thank you for your support.

See our school's facebook post for more information:

St Anthony’s World Youth Day “Gold & Fold” Mufti Day is this Friday 26 February. ALL children are asked to wear...
Posted by St Anthony's Primary, Girraween on Saturday, 20 February 2016

Homework Term 1 Week 4

Please make sure that you...

• Read for at least 15 minutes every night 
• Write down 5 questions that you have after reading a text at home this week
• Make a 2-digit number using digit cards. Write the number, then write the number that is 10 more and 10 less than that number. Do this at least 10 times

Here's some more you can do...

• Try the Better Buddies word find
• Try the Maths activity The Number Partner

Digit cards

You will see that the Maths task under Please make sure that you... requires digit cards to make numbers.  Each student will be provided with a sheet of digit cards to be cut up and used at home during the year, but in case they don't make it home, or you need another set you can download them here:

• Digit cards

Year 3 Term 1 Curriculum Overview

Welcome to Year 3.  Please find below our Curriculum Overview for Term 1.

Download our Curriculum Overview

We look forward to letting you know more about our learning in Year 3 this year at our You and Your Child's Learning Session on Tuesday 16 February at 6:30 pm.