Grade 3/4 October Learning Highlights
October has been a busy and exciting month of learning in Grade 3/4! From learning new skills on in-line skates to exploring the natural world around us, students have been building confidence, curiosity, resilience, and connections to their learning community.
Physical Education | Alien In-Line Skating
One of the highlights of our month has been participating in Alien In-Line Skating! A huge thank you to our School Council for generously covering the cost of this amazing opportunity for our students.
Throughout the residency, students have been learning new movement skills, challenging themselves, and discovering the importance of perseverance. Learning something new is not always easy, but that is where some of our most meaningful growth happens!
As a grade team, we are learning that when we practise new skills, our brains make connections, helping us become more efficient and confident learners.
Each time students get back up after a fall, try a new strategy, or celebrate a small success, they are developing resilience and learning that growth takes time, effort, and practice.
It has been wonderful to see students encouraging one another, taking risks, and having so much fun along the way.
Science | Exploring Living Systems
We have also been taking our learning beyond the classroom walls!
In Science, students have been exploring Living Systems, investigating how plants, animals, and other living things depend on one another within an ecosystem.
During our outdoor learning experiences, students became nature detectives, searching for evidence of producers, consumers, and decomposers in our school environment. They also considered which herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores might make their homes in the natural spaces surrounding our school.
These experiences encouraged students to slow down, observe closely, ask questions, and make meaningful connections between classroom learning and the world around them.
Our outdoor explorations have also provided a wonderful opportunity to begin developing geographical thinking in Social Studies as students notice and compare the natural and human-made features of our community.
Outdoor Learning | Secret Path Week and Take Me Outside Week
October brought opportunities to deepen our connections to the land through Secret Path Week and Take Me Outside Week, with students engaging in outdoor learning and community walks.
During Secret Path Week, students learned about Chanie Wenjack, a young Anishinaabe boy who died in 1966 while trying to walk home after escaping from a residential school.
Through meaningful conversations and our participation in the Walk for Wenjack, students reflected on the importance of truth, reconciliation, and belonging.
Take Me Outside Week encouraged us to recognize the many benefits of learning outdoors, including opportunities to build curiosity, support well-being, and develop a deeper appreciation for the land.
Together, these experiences reminded us that learning does not only happen inside a classroom and that we all have a responsibility to care for the places and communities we share.
Mathematics | Number Sense and Place Value
In Math, students have been thinking deeply about numbers and place value.
Grade 3 students have been strengthening their understanding of how numbers are composed, represented, and compared, while Grade 4 students have been extending their learning to larger numbers and decimals.
Our Grade 4 mathematicians have been making real-world connections through money, exploring how dollars and cents relate to decimal place value and how understanding the value of each digit helps us make sense of prices, compare amounts, and solve everyday problems.
Across both grades, we have continued building mathematical thinking routines through Number Talks and our weekly Problem of the Week challenges.
These low-floor, high-ceiling tasks invite all students to get started while providing opportunities to extend and deepen their thinking.
Students are learning that being a mathematician is not just about finding the correct answer, but also about explaining their reasoning, considering different strategies, and learning from one another.
Literacy | Developing Instructional Writing Skills
Our writing this month has focused on becoming clear and thoughtful communicators.
Students have been exploring instructional writing through familiar everyday tasks, such as how to make a sandwich, brush their teeth, and wash their hands.
While these activities might sound simple, students have quickly discovered that giving clear instructions requires careful thinking!
We have been practising how to:
- Organize ideas in a logical sequence.
- Use transitional language such as first, next, then, and finally.
- Include descriptive details that help readers understand exactly what to do.
- Apply sentence structure, parts of speech, punctuation, and word choice to make writing clear and interesting.
Through modelling, practice, and opportunities to write independently, students are developing confidence in sharing their ideas and recognizing the importance of writing with an audience and purpose in mind.
Looking Ahead | November
As we move into November, we look forward to continuing to nurture our students' curiosity, independence, and willingness to take on new challenges.
October has reminded us that some of the most powerful learning happens when we try something new, explore the world around us, and discover what we are capable of achieving together.