27 Oct 2017

Yr3 Curriculum Update – 27/10/17

Working together to achieve success for every child

 

 

The Unit of Inquiry:

A scientific understanding of natural hazards reduces their impact on human societies.

 

UOI

The Year 3 learners continue to throw themselves enthusiastically into their inquiry into natural hazards.  The last two weeks have been heavily weighted towards how we can gain new information as learners without simply copying from an original source, such as a book or website.

So how can we do this?  Well, we use a strategy called remote recording.  Don’t worry, it is not as secret agentic as it sounds!

Remote recording simply means that we keep a physical distance between our research sources and our recording tools.  In the case of the last two weeks that means that we keep research materials such as reference books, newspapers and computers in one area (like a classroom) and our inquiry books in another area, the shared area works well.  Then, a learner researches in the classroom and when they think they have learned something new and relevant, they leave the source where is is and go to their Inquiry book to record their new understanding.  Having to leave the original source behind means that a learner can only record the information that they are able to understand.  It is a powerful routine for helping the learner to construct their own understanding of the information they are researching.

 

English Writing

In writing, students have been focused on researching and writing informative pieces that tell all about their chosen natural hazards. They have conducted research through us of a collaborative website and books from the library. They have also been identifying nonfiction text features, further helping their understanding of the purpose of non-fiction books.

The writing genre that we are focused on is explanation which deliberately examines a phenomena by classifying it, recognising the parts of that phenomena and then recording what, when and where it acts. For example:

A typhoon can be described as a natural hazard which consists of a vortex of air, high winds and rain.  Typhoons form in the seas of southern China and move towards land where they deposit rain and bring winds.  If they cause harm to a human community they are reclassified as a disaster.

 

English Reading

Apart from the regular reading activities we had a treat today when 3A went on a reading tour.  They visited 3G and 3P where they partnered up and shared their original stories with their own private audience!  Everyone had a great time and both authors and audiences got a lot out of the collaboration.

 

Maths

In maths, we have been focusing on exploring addition and subtraction through open ended maths questions, maths manipulative and story problems. Students explain their thinking in a variety of ways, including drawing pictures and through teamwork.

An interesting challenge is to try to write a short procedural text which tells a partner exactly how to add two numbers.  The partner then attempts to follow the instructions exactly.  It is always interesting to see what they end up doing.

We have also been continuing to investigate and understand measurement.  Rather than simply measuring lengths we have been using open ended puzzles to ensure our measuring has a purpose.  If you need to know anything about how much string is needed to tie up parcels of various shapes and sizes, just ask us!  We might not immediately know the answer, but we know several methods to get to the answer!

 

Creativity, peer conferencing and other wonders …

The learning in Year 3 is never a simple process, but it is always interesting and engaging, and the children have a big say in what is being learned and how they are learning it.  This level of agency is absolutely crucial for the deep learning that we aim to delivery to the learners.  Here are a few pictures which capture the spirit of agency, creativity and collaboration.

 

Home Learning (optional)

If you are hankering after a nice hazard based project to get your teeth into, hanker no more!  We’d love to hear if you have tried any ‘hazard simulations’ at home.  They don’t need to be big and fancy and they don’t need to look like something that might win a science fair, but they should be interesting to watch and leave us with more questions than we started with.

This example of how to model a tsunami at home gives you the idea.  If you want to and have the time to do so, why not create and video a natural hazard of your own then share it with us

 

Dates for your diary:

Remember the Parent-Teacher Consultations are next week on the 2nd November and the week after on the 9th November. Please book your appointment via Gateway. If you would like to bring your child with you they are very welcome to join our discussion of their learning.

 

There is a teacher’s training day on 6th November so school will be closed to students.

Remember if you have any concerns or questions about your child’s learning and wellbeing at school please contact your child’s teacher in the first instance.

 

Thanks

The Year 3 Team.