Hello BCPS Community,

It has been another busy and engaging fortnight in the Grade 3/4 learning space. Our students have continued to demonstrate enthusiasm, curiosity and persistence across all learning areas. We are very proud of the effort students are putting into their learning and the way they are supporting one another throughout classroom activities.

Writing

In Writing, students are about to start researching a location in Australia that they would like to visit and using their findings to begin planning a persuasive speech. Students will be learning how to locate important information, take effective notes and organise their ideas into clear arguments. A strong focus has been placed on understanding information and recording facts in their own words.

As part of this learning, students have explored persuasive writing techniques such as using descriptive language, emotive words, facts and examples to convince others. Students will begin planning speeches about why others should visit their chosen destination, with some examples being the Great Barrier Reef, Phillip Island or Uluru.

Families can support this learning at home by discussing places around Australia and encouraging children to explain why they would like to visit them. Asking questions such as, “What makes this place special?” or “Why would you recommend this location to others?” can help strengthen persuasive speaking and reasoning skills.

Mathematics

In Mathematics, students have been building on their understanding of place value through recognising, representing, partitioning and ordering numbers up to 4 digits. Students have participated in a variety of hands-on activities and games designed to strengthen their understanding of hundreds, tens and ones.

Throughout the fortnight, students have explored different ways to represent numbers. For example, students may create the number 4,356 and explain it as 4 thousands, 3 hundreds, 5 tens and 6 ones. Students have also been learning how to partition numbers in multiple ways and compare and order numbers from smallest to largest.

Families can support this learning at home by encouraging children to identify and read larger numbers in everyday life, such as prices, number plates or house numbers. Asking questions such as, “Which number is larger?” or “How many hundreds are in this number?” can help reinforce place value understanding.

Reading

In Reading, students have been focusing on oral fluency and comprehension through a range of activities including choral reading, partner reading, annotation tasks and comprehension questions. Students have been practising reading with expression, following punctuation accurately and building confidence when reading aloud.

Students have also been learning how to annotate texts by highlighting important vocabulary, underlining key ideas and recording their thinking. These activities support students to think more deeply about what they are reading and strengthen their comprehension skills. Throughout the fortnight, students have responded to both literal and inferential comprehension questions using evidence from the text to support their answers.

Families can support this learning at home by reading together and encouraging children to read aloud with expression and fluency. Discussing books and asking questions such as, “What was the main idea?” or “Why do you think that happened?” can help students further develop their understanding of texts.

Inquiry

In Inquiry, students have been exploring how navigation and exploration have changed over time. Students have been learning about the tools and methods explorers used in the past, compared with navigation today.

As part of this learning, students participated in a hands-on navigation activity around the classroom, where they worked together to search for clues connected to exploration and navigation. Students discovered and discussed important key words such as sail ships, maps and navigation tools while practising teamwork and problem-solving skills.

Families can support this learning at home by discussing how people navigate today compared to the past. Conversations about maps, compasses, GPS and navigation apps can help students make connections between historical exploration and modern technology.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to another fantastic fortnight of learning ahead.

Kindest wishes,
The Grade 3/4 Team