What’s Happening in Grade 3 in Term 2 2025

Important Dates:

• Swimming: Tuesday 12th – Friday 22nd August
• Italian day: Thursday 28^th August
• Father’s Day stall: Thursday 4th September
• Curriculum day: Friday 5^th September

In Reading and Phonics students will be:

• explicitly taught spelling generalisations for words following rules such as ‘fszl’ (The “FSZL rule,” also known as the “Floss rule” or “fizzle rule,” is a spelling rule in English where the letters f, s, z, and l are doubled at the end of a one-syllable word after a short vowel sound), ‘silent and final e’, and ‘ar vs a’.
• reviewing reading words with silent letters and long vowel sounds.
• learning how to make a reasonable choice for spelling words that include these sounds through identifying different spelling patterns within the English language.
• improving their fluency by reading decodable passages connected to the letter sounds we have learnt.
• participating in a daily review to help strengthen their previous knowledge and enhancing recall of the spelling rules they have learnt (topics learnt in both Term 1 and Term 2 of this year).

In Core Knowledge students will be:

• expanding their vocabulary through daily instruction on content specific vocabulary related to knowledge units.
• understanding the text elements of informative texts.
• answering literal, inferential and evaluative questions of Fiction and Non-Fiction texts.
• building their background knowledge in the Culture of Japan, Ancient China and connection to our country.
• The Culture of Japan
• Describing the geography of the country of Japan.
• Describing what life is like living in modern Japan.
• Learning about some of the cultural traditions that are still practised in modern Japan.
• Identifying the main geographical features and staple foods of Japan.
• Identifying popular pastimes in Japan.
• Understanding the importance of nature in Japanese art and culture.
• Ancient China
• Learning about two of the country’s main rivers: Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze (Chang Jiang).
• Learning about some traditions, such as the teachings of Confucius (for example, honour your ancestors).
• Exploring some special places, such as the Great Wall of China.
• Discovering the invention of paper, the importance of silk.
• Learning about special days such as Chinese New Year.
• Investigating how ancestors were honoured in ancient China.
• Analysing Chinese inventions and discussing which inventions are most useful.
• Connection to Country
• Discussion of Country/Place used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Reading Dreaming Stories.
• Discussing how First Nations peoples have a strong connection with the land.
• Learning about the cultural significance and history of Uluru.
• Exploring why Kakadu is an important place in Australia.
• Exploring local places that are important to First Nations Peoples.
• Learning about respecting and protecting sacred sites.

The Geography of Australia

• Discussing how the continent of Australia formed and who lived there
• Learning about the states and territories of Australia
• Exploring key natural landmarks in Australia
• Discovering a range of man-made landmarks in Australia
• Learning about the different climates experienced in Australia
• Studying the different seasons in Australia

Ancient Greece

• Exploring Ancient Greece, a civilization shaped by the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, including the island of Crete
• Learning about the city-states of Sparta, known for its military power, and Athens, where democracy began
• Analysing key historical events like the Persian Wars (Battles of Marathon and Thermopylae), along with the origins of the Olympic Games
• Discovering how the Greeks worshipped gods and goddesses
• Learning about great philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
• Studying Alexander, the Great and how he spread Greek culture across the world

Greek Myths

• Building on the Ancient Greek Civilization domain
• Exploring several well-known Greek myths and mythical characters, including Prometheus and Pandora, Demeter and Persephone, Arachne the Weaver, Oedipus and the Sphinx, Theseus and the Minotaur, and others
• Learning about common characteristics of myths and examining story elements in the myths

In Writing students will be:

• Identifying and inserting subject and object pronouns within a sentence.
• Identifying and inserting possessive adjectives within a sentence.
• Identifying and inserting possessive pronouns within a sentence.
• Combining 2-3 short declarative sentences (using pronouns and conjunctions). E.g. Tim likes broccoli. Tim Likes beans. Tim does not like peas. -> Tim likes broccoli and beans, but he does not like peas.
• Expanding a simple sentence with a fronted adverbial phrase/adverb. E.g. Without a sound, Joe tiptoed to the kitchen. Carefully and nervously, Beth climbed the ladder of the Faraway tree.
• Separating words in a list using commas.
• Developing sentences: statement, question, command, exclamation – based on a picture or story.
• Practising their letter formations in Victorian Modern Cursive font with a focus on achieving desired legibility, size and fluency on 18mm dotted thirds.

In Mathematics students will be:

Addition & Subtraction

• Doubling and halving numbers with related equations.
• Solving addition and subtraction problems using bar models.

Multiplication & Division

• Skip counting, making arrays, and writing repeated addition.
• Using bar models and mathematical modelling for multiplication.
• Identifying units in multiplicative problems.

Sharing & Grouping

• Exploring the difference between sharing and grouping.
• Representing grouping with arrays and repeated subtraction.
• Modelling remainders and solving division problems in various ways.

2D Shapes, Polygons and 3D objects

• Identifying, describing, and using two-dimensional shapes.
• Combining, splitting, rotating, and problem-solving with shapes.
• Recognising and sorting regular and irregular polygons and features like parallel lines.
• Identifying, describing, and sorting three-dimensional objects and their features.

In Inquiry students will be:

• Using a play-based approach to show case what they have learnt within the Core Knowledge units.

Wellbeing:

We will be using the Respectful Relationships program.

Students will engage in lessons looking at Help Seeking strategies and Positive Gender Relations.

Smiling Minds is a tool that will be used alongside the Respectful Relationships program to further develop skills to support their social and emotional wellbeing.

Home Learning:

In addition to supporting your child to complete the Expected Home Learning tasks each week, you may also like to encourage your child to select one or more of the following tasks:

• Encourage your child to read aloud to you to assist them with fluency and expression and ask questions about what they are reading to ensure comprehension of the text.
• Keep a holiday diary/journal to write about the weekend, events or special days during the term. Focus on using boundary punctuation, conjunctions, adverbs, adjectives, correct letter formation and finger spaces.
• Play Mathematics games (cards/dice) to revise counting, addition, and subtraction skills.
• Use cooking as an opportunity to discuss measurement, fractions, and time.
• Support your child to continue to use a growth mindset when faced with challenges or new experiences.