Unit 4 - Sharing The Planet

Central Idea: Our actions affect life on Earth

Lines of Inquiry: 

Connection: Biomes

Causation: Human impact on biomes

Responsibility: Protecting the Earth

Key concepts: connection, causation, responsibility

Related concepts: connection, system

Learner profile: principled, caring, thinkers

Approaches to Learning: research skills, social skills

This unit we learned about ecosystems, and the effect of human activities on the planet. We worked hard developing our social and research skills, and making connections between our own actions and how they affect the Earth. 

We learned about biomes, food webs and the effect of humans on these systems. We went on a field trip to the Maihama Incineration Plant, to learn about what happens to the waste that we make in Osaka. 

The student council theme for the month was trash to treasure.  With this in mind we worked with Grade 8 to create items from recycled materials, selling those items at the Grade 8 pop up shop.  We also took our items to other classes during the last week of our unit, and sold almost all of the items that we made. We were able to raise enough money to buy a book that we chose for the school library. The book we chose was The Mess That We Made by Michelle Lord

For our celebration of learning we made slide shows about what we had learned making individual goals for the future, and presented to our family members. 

English

In English we continued to work on our spelling, keeping track of our weekly word lists and practicing with our spelling partners.  We continued to practice our presentation skills focusing on our goals from the previous unit.  We also published the second edition of our classroom newspaper, reporting on our favourite activities and projects from term 4. 

Mathematics

This unit we focused on time and measurement.  We estimated and measured elapsed time, using digital and analogue times.  We estimated length, mass, and volume, recording our estimates and final measurements each week.  We also used measurement to design a tiny house, and furniture to connect our understanding to real world examples. 

International Children’s Festival

Grade 3 learned about Maori culture and collaborated with the Kindergarten class during ICF this year.  They enjoyed researching their own questions and created a slideshow, games and posters to showcase their learning. 

Each class learned about a different culture, and on the day were able to go to the different classrooms and learn about the different cultures that were being celebrated. On the tenth floor we had different foods for students to try including Turkish ice-cream!

It was a very exciting and interesting unit!