Over the past three weeks, we have been strengthening our reading comprehension skills by reading texts and answering a range of question types, including literal, inferential, connection, evaluative and vocabulary questions. This repeated practise is helping us build our confidence in understanding the texts we read.

We have also been exploring persuasive texts, learning to identify the author's purpose and intended audience by looking at the words, pictures and text features used to influence readers. We have been learning the difference between facts and opinions by identifying statements that can be proven true and those that express personal thoughts or beliefs. We are learning to express our own opinions clearly and supporting them with strong reasons. We are experimenting with medium and high modality words and expanding our sentences with detail to make our arguments more convincing. We brainstormed ideas and wrote three persuasive pieces.

In Mathematics, we learned how to collect, organise and interpret data. We have practised asking questions, gathering answers through surveys, observations and recording information using tally marks on a tally table and picture graphs. We learnt how to compare categories, identify patterns, used our data to answer questions and explained our findings.

We explored position, direction and pathways. We used ordinal numbers like 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. to describe the position of objects and we practised how to give and follow directions using specific topic related words such as left, right, forward, backward, straight ahead. This has been so much fun! We learnt how to describe pathways, solve position problems and guided others from one location to another. 

We also learnt how to measure, compare and order the lengths of different objects, arranging them from longest to shortest and shortest to longest. We estimated and compared the mass of objects using hefting, developing our understanding of which objects were lighter, heavier or had the same mass.

This term in Challenge Based Learning, we will be exploring forces and motion and discovering how pushes and pulls can make objects move, stop or change direction. Through hands-on investigations, we have learnt that a push moves an object away from us, while a pull brings an object closer. We have also discovered that some objects only move when we push them, some when we pull them and others can move using both forces.

By experimenting with everyday objects, we are developing our understanding of how forces work in the world around us. We are learning to observe what happens when we apply a push or a pull and explain how these forces affect an object's movement. It has been exciting to investigate, make predictions and discover how we use pushes and pulls in our everyday lives, from opening doors and pulling toys to kisking a ball. We look forward to continuing our exciting explorations of forces and motion as we discover more about how pushes and pulls affect the world around us. We explored how gravity and air resistance affect the movement of objects. We learnt that gravity pulls objects towards the ground, while air resistance is a force that pushes against an object as it moves through the air, slowing it down. We used arrows to show the direction in which each force acts and discussed how these forces affect the way objects fall and move.

As part of our learning about forces and motion, we enjoyed an exciting and hands-on excursion to Scienceworks. During our visit, we explored how pushes and pulls can make objects move, stop, speed up, slow down or change direction. We investigated different objects and discovered how forces are used in everyday life, helping us make connections between our classroom learning and the world around us. We also had the opportunity to explore Scienceworks’ interactive exhibits, where we could experiment, investigate and discover the science behind movement. We had so much fun!

In personal and social learning, we began by exploring our school value of teamwork. We discussed how everyone has an important role in a team and how sharing ideas, listening to others and offering help can lead to success. We put our teamwork skills into practise by working together to create the longest possible paper chain, discovering how cooperation helps us achieve a shared goal. We also re-learnt about Stop, Walk, Talk again so that we don't forget to use the strategy when someone is bothering us or when we feel unsafe. Through discussion and practise, we explored how to stop the behaviour, walk away and talk to a trusted adult for help, allowing us to respond to challenging situations safely and respectfully.

In RRRR, we have been exploring ways to look after our mental health and wellbeing. We discussed what mental health means, identified things that help us feel happy, calm and safe and recognised trusted people we can turn to when we experience big feelings. We also practised using a problem-solving stoplight by act out scenarios and practise working through everyday social problems. These activities are helping us understand our emotions, consider other people's feelings and develop positive strategies for resolving conflicts peacefully.