Year 3-4

I can’t believe that we have reached the end of the Year!

I would just like to say thank you to the year, 3-4 students for being the most awesome class this year! I hope you have had as much fun learning as I have had teaching you and I am so proud of each and every one of you and the progress you have made since I started teaching you.  I know you will all work hard and do well next year in year 4-5. I will treasure the book you have made as well as the memories we have shared over the course of the year.

Chris, I am sad to see you leave but I wish you all the best in your new school. We will all miss you!

Congratulations to Jeremy and Leo for their Commendation and Citizenship awards. Your names will be up on the Wall of Honour when you return.

Have a wonderful summer break, you have all earned it, and enjoy this video of your planet song.

Year 3-4 planet song

Mr. Kearney

More…

Dear Parents and Children,

It has been an exciting week in the year 3-4 classroom. We began with a visit from a special guest, Miss Mia Shin, who joined the class for the day on Monday.

The students were happy to have her join us for the day and made her feel right at home as she participated in the learning activities.

In English, we learned a creepy performance poem and the students had a contest to see who could recite it with the most expression to scare Mr. Kearney.

The boys did well with their spooky rendition of “Do you dare…?”

In Math, we linked with our IPC unit on “Time and Space” with an exploration of how the lengths of shadows change depending on where the light source is.

We also took advantage of the sun and went outside to measure our own shadows in the morning and afternoon to see how they change. The students were surprised by the results.

I am pleased that the student’s silkworm projects are coming along as expected with some of the silkworms emerging as moths.

In IPC this week the students also completed their research projects and posters about their planets.

We continued with data and measurement in Math by creating a line graph to show our progress in our weekly math tests for this term

In literacy, the students have worked their way through the novel “Matilda” and created a play based on the chapter “The Third Miracle” in which Miss Trunchbull gets her just desserts courtesy of Matilda and her powers. It was entertaining to watch the students perform their scenes. They had to create a character and cast list, write actions and dialogue with correct punctuation and create a props list and finally type up their final draft and rehearse and perform their play. Well done to them!

In P.E. we continued with our gymnastics unit, this week learning linking moves – the chassis steps – and practicing combining this with our jumps and leaps. next week the students will combine all of the moves into making their own gymnastics routine.

We ended off the week with a fun detective activity where the students had to work in pairs to solve clues and find the perpetrator. it was a fun brain-teasing activity that the students all enjoyed.

That is all for this week. Do have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

Spelling Year 3: personify reflective parallel longitude latitude creature picture nature future capture

Spelling Year 4: personify reflective parallel longitude latitude famous nervous adventurous herbivorous carnivorous

Dear Parents and Children,

We are in the final stages of the term and the year but we have been busy in the year 3-4 class this week.

In English we edited and improved our balanced arguments based on feedback. We also looked at an amazing poem called “The Dragon Song” and learned about personification before planning our own personification poems which the students will finish next week. In literacy the students were excited to read about Matilda practicing for her plan against miss Trunchbull. We shall see what is in store next week.

In Math we continued our unit on measurement by looking at measuring length and height. The students had fun guessing each others height and seeing how close their estimates were as we measured everyone in the class, including Mr K. we then measured the length and width of the school hall and worked out its area and perimeter.

In IPC we are leaving our silkworms in their cocoons as they metamorphosise into moths. The students gathered their photo documentation of the life cycle and created presentations of the process. We are excited to see what happens next. We also learned about day and night and why their are different time zones around the planet.

P.E was spent practicing for the sports day. I am so glad that the students had such a good time participating in the games. We will find out the class and team game winners in the assembly on Monday. Thank you to all the parents who came to spectate. It is unfortunate that we had to cut the event short due to rain.  Next week we will continue with our gymnastics unit.

That is all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

Spelling Year 3: eclipse partial opaque translucent transparent pleasure treasure measure leisure enclosure

Spelling Year 4: eclipse partial opaque translucent transparent jealous serious hideous curious enormous

Dear Parents and children,

We are in the final month of the academic year but we are still keeping busy in the year 3-4 class.

This week we celebrated Rana’s birthday and all wished her happiness on the day.

We had the book character dress up day and it was entertaining to see the students in their book character get-ups, from Tintin to Dorothy and Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel to Dogman and the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland, the students got creative in their costume designs. Well done to Reyansh for being selected as the best dressed for his Willy Wonka outfit.

In English this week we started looking at elements of poetry that we have learned as well as some new ones. We looked at rhyming patterns and personification as well as rhythm, simile and alliteration. The students also typed up the balanced arguments that they planned and in literacy reading Matilda, the students learned about the sad reasons for Miss Honey’s lifestyle. They then did an activity where they had to try and make a weekly budget based on what Miss Honey has to live on. It was an eye-opening exercise that they learned from.

In Math this week we were doing measurement, first reviewing all kinds of measurement and the units and tools used and then focusing on weight, converting grams and kilograms and measuring real life items to create a bar chart. The students also completed word problems about weight.

In IPC we learned all about solar eclipses. The students learned about different reflective surfaces and had fun creating their own solar eclipse and then used the Augmented Reality software to research the different types of solar eclipses and made interactive movable posters to demonstrate their understanding. I am happy to report that their silkworms are thriving with some even making cocoons. The students are excited to see what will happen in the coming days as they take care of them.

In P.E we continued with our gymnastics unit, this week learning vaults and jumps from a springboard and vaulting board. It was another full and fun week of learning.

That is all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

Spelling Year 3: solar orbit satellite discussion mnemonic natural actual medical national festival

Spelling Year 3: solar orbit satellite discussion mnemonic dangerous mountainous joyous poisonous

Dear Parents and children,

It feels great to be back in the classroom after being absent for 2 weeks, I really missed teaching the students. This week we did a lot of fun things in the year 3-4 classroom. Firstly, I must mention that we all miss Chris dearly and began the week by making get well soon cards and sending messages to cheer him up.

In English we learned about mnemonics and created our own ones to remember the order of the planets in our solar system. We also looked at the features, pros and cons of a balanced argument -“Should children be allowed to own pets?” and started to plan our own balanced argument on a choice of different topics. In literacy we are really getting through “Matilda”. The students enjoyed reading about Matilda’s powers and felt sympathetic to find out how Miss Honey lives. We will continue reading chapters 17 and 18 next week.

In Math we continued with our geometry unit on coordinates. The students learned how to translate the movement of shapes on a grid and track the coordinates. We rounded off the geometry unit by learning about the properties of different 3-D pyramids and making nets of these.

IPC was a definite highlight as the students began their projects on “The Nature of Life” unit that we completed during E-learning. In groups they have to monitor and take care of silkworms, ensuring that they are fed and their enclosure is cleaned daily. They must also document the process of metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly over the coming weeks and create a presentation of it.     For our current unit, “Time and space”, we used AR software to research things about outer space. We also learned a song about the planets in the solar system.

In P.E. we started our unit on gymnastics by learning the correct way to jump and land and the proper way to complete as variety of different leaps as well as forward and backward rolls.

A full and fun-filled week of learning it has been.  A reminder that Thursday 25 June will be “Book Character Dress-up Day” so please get let your child get creative with their choice of costume of a popular literary character. Classes will vote on the best dressed person. I look forward to seeing their outfits.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

New words

Year 3: adapt extinct habitat there their inspect respect spectator spectacular spectacles

Year 4: adapt extinct habitat there their calendar grammar regular peculiar popular

Dear Parents and children,

Next week we will return to in-class teaching. Please ensure that your child brings their laptops with all accessories as well as the folders with all the teaching supplies that we provided at the beginning of the E-learning program. The  completed work sheets may remain at home although students should bring their posters and comic creations to display and share with the class.

This week we covered a great deal of work in our learning. In English the students created their own fables with a moral that they chose. they then converted their fables into comic books. In grammar we practiced homophones to avoid confusion between to, too and two and there their and they’re. in literacy we completed chapters 9 and 10 of Matilda and discovered Miss Trunchbull’s scary talent for “Throwing the Hammer”.

In Math this week we focused on division. first reviewing basic division facts and calculating division sums with remainders before moving on to strategies such as the Bus Stop written method. We then learned how to find fractions of whole numbers. We ended off the week with our weekly test and a game of “Division Bingo”.

In IPC this week we neared the end of our unit of “The Nature of Life” by understanding different habitats and what living creatures need to survive to avoid becoming extinct. The students made excellent presentations about animals that they researched. We learned about how animals adapt to the conditions of their habitat and the students got to create their own imaginary animal and explain how it has adapted to suit it’s environment.

We finished off our P.E. unit on Health and Fitness with the students reviewing videos of the fitness activities that they have learned and practicing their favourite activities.

That is all for this week. I look forward to seeing them all back at school on Wednesday. Please ensure that your child comes to school with a face mask and, if they use the school bus, be sure to accompany your child to the bus stop at the regular scheduled time.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

New Words

Year 3: possession apostrophe carnivore herbivore omnivore scope telescope microscope periscope gyroscope

Year 4: possession apostrophe carnivore herbivore omnivore exit extend explode external export

Dear Parents and Children,

It has been another full week of online teaching and learning in the year 3-4 classroom and the students really showed their creative chops in their work this week.

In English the year 3’s learned that the meaning of the word”scope” is related to seeing as it is applied to different words and the year 4’s learned the prefix “ex” is related to “outside”. The students had fun working in pairs analyzing a fable and present it to the class. They then had to work together creating their own fables around the moral  “Be kind to nature and it will be kind to you”. Their stories are wonderfully creative. We reviewed and practiced using possessive apostrophe’s in grammar.  In literacy we continued with chapter 7 and 8 of Matilda, reading about Matilda starting school and meeting Miss Honey and the formidable Miss Trunchbull. The students wrote fantastic limericks about Miss Honey and reflected on what makes a good teacher and role model.

For Math this week we practiced multiplication by using partitioning to break up  numbers and used that to make calculations with really big numbers. I am impressed with the students abilities to use this method to solve multiplication problems. We applied that to using different formal methods of multiplication, including the grid and ladder or vertical method of multiplication. We then used these method’s to solving tricky word problems.

In IPC we continued our exploration of “The Nature of Life” learning about herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. The students also used their plans from last week to create their own plant and animal classification key. They were then tasked with researching and animal of their choosing and I look forward to seeing their presentations next week.

In P.E We had fun with dance exercises and played the freeze game. We also learned about doing exercises in a given time limit and took note of the importance of resting between sets of exercises.

Another fun week of learning has passed us by. That is all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney

New words
Year 3 – factor dilemma reptiles mammals amphibians enough young touch double courage
Year 4 – factor dilemma reptiles mammals amphibians autograph autopilot automobile autobiography automatic

Dear Parents and Children,

I am pleased that the year 3 -4’s will return to in-class teaching on Wednesday 3 June.

We have accomplished a lot in this full week of online teaching and learning. I am so impressed with how hard the year 3-4’s have worked.

In English the year 3’s learned that the letters “ou” can sound like “u” and the year 4’s learned the prefix “auto”. The students had fun making anagrams out of words and their names. In literacy we continued learning about fables, this week the famous stories of the Town mouse and Country Mouse and the Tortoise and the Hare. We even saw the story being put into practice for real and were all surprised when the tortoise also won in real life as the hare stopped midway for a rest. Next week the students will research a fable of their own and plan an original fable with a moral based on what we have learned. The students really enjoyed this weeks chapters of Matilda. They practiced their “Arithmetic” and came up with wonderfully creative tricks to play on Mr. Wormwood. For Teachers day the students wrote lovely character descriptions of what their perfect teacher would be like.

In Math this week we learned about Factors – numbers that fit in to other numbers without any remainders or leftovers. The students also learned strategies for remembering their times tables up to 12’s. We will continue with multiplication and division next week.

In IPC we continued or exploration on the nature of life. The students are getting quite adept at classifying animals. We now understand that animals can be vertebrates or invertebrates and vertebrates can be further classified into other groups. The students brought some math into the IPC class by calculating the area of a leaf. They had a great time learning about life cycles and creating  a life cycle on a paper plate.

In P.E. the students got some exercise by practicing their Karate and Ninja skills. They also practiced their juggling skills that we learned before.

Finally, We all wish Reyansh a awesometastically splendiferously Happy Birthday for Saturday 16 May! Have a great day Reyansh!

That is all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

– Mr. Kearney

New spelling words for this week

Year 3: dialogue vertebrate classify predator prey wonder month brother another discover

Year 4: dialogue vertebrate classify predator prey anticlockwise antifreeze antivenom antisocial anti-gravity

Dear Parents and Children,

We hope you enjoyed Children’s Day on Tuesday and spent time with your family.

Despite it being a short week we covered a lot of work in the year 3-4 online classroom.

In English we continued looking at fables, this week reading about the mouse and the lion and understanding that what goes around come around. In grammar we reviewed the rules for direct speech and learned about reported speech.  In literacy we read chapters 3 and 4 of “Matilda”. We enjoyed reading about Matilda’s cunning plans to discipline her parents but also discussed if her actions were the right thing to do. We will continue with this fantastic book next week.

In Math we continued working with money amounts, decimals and fractions, correctly ordering and placing decimals on a timeline. We also compared decimals in terms of smaller, greater and equal to. Next week we will look at multiplication and division.

In IPC we continued our unit on “The nature of life” learning about food chains and food webs and understanding that organisms in an ecosystem can be classified into producers, consumers and predators and prey.  Jeremy showed us his carnivorous plant. We also played a game of “20 Questions” and then learned how to use a classification key to sort living organisms, particularly vertebrates (Mammals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and birds).

In P.E. the students learned that we can do a fitness routine at home with a simple piece of paper and we had fun doing “Frozen Yoga”.

A special message wishing Jeremy and Lois a happy birthday for Thursday and Friday and Happy Parents Day to all the mothers and fathers today. We hope that you all have a memorable day.

It was a full week of teaching and learning, have a wonderful weekend.

Mr Kearney.

New spelling words:
Year 3: producer consumer decompose fable process library dictionary summary secondary ordinary

Year 4: producer consumer decompose fable process interact internet intergalactic international interrupt

Dear Parents and Children,

We have plunged straight into learning in our first term of week 3 and the students have worked very hard.

In Math this week we reviewed place value, multiplying and dividing by 10 and 100, even with decimals. We applied this to making calculations with money – Pounds and pennies. We will continue with decimals and money next week.

In English we started learning about fables. We looked at 2 different fables and the morals and lessons that we learn from them. we learned that fables can be positive and negative stories but what is important is the lesson that we learn from them and how we can apply it to our own life. We will look at two more fables next week. We also started our new class reader, “Matilda” by Roald Dahl.  We read the first two chapters and learned about why Matilda is a very special girl and why reading books is important and can transport us to magical places in our imagination. We will continue with this fantastic book throughout the term.

In IPC we started our unit on “The nature of life” understanding that all living organisms are connected in the way they live. We learned about the 7 life processes that living creatures have in common and in an ecosystem we can group organisms into producers, consumers and decomposers. We will continue exploring the nature of life in the coming weeks.

For P.E. the students made their own exercise wheels to create a daily exercise routine. We had fun selecting different exercise for the class to perform.

Tuesday 5 May is Children’s Day and the school will be closed. There will be no online classes on that day so do take the time to spend it with your child.

That is all for this week. Have a wonderful weekend.

Mr. Kearney