Year 3General InformationDear Parents, A warm welcome to you! My name is Terry Evans, teacher and Team Leader for Year Three. I am new to Hong Kong and to Discovery College and I have received such a warm welcome, I already feel part of the Discovery College family. I arrived from Anglesea, Australia, about one month ago after teaching at Kardinia International College in Geelong. In Australia I have three sons, one daughter and son in law and 2 beautiful granddaughters. I have now settled in Midlevels and spend my spare time exploring this very exciting city. I look forward to meeting everyone and to working together to provide a motivating and rewarding curriculum for our students. Hello! My name is Damian Trimingham and I am teaching class 3DTM. I am from England but have lived overseas most of my life in places such as Jamaica, Malawi and Hong Kong. I went to school in Hong Kong from the age of 8, going to Kowloon Junior School and KGV. My wife is Japanese and we have 3 children – Lucy (Year 3), Lisa nearly 4 and Lily 5 months old. I enjoy most sports but especially football and squash. Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Austin and I am the class teacher for 3JAN. To give you a brief introduction about myself, I was born and raised in Hong Kong and grew up in a multicultural family (with my father being from the UK and my mother being Indonesian-Dutch). I have two children: Julian (2.5 years) and Ryley (5 months). I am really excited to getting to know you and the students in my class and the wonderful units we will be exploring this year! We are all looking forward to a great year with our students and yourselves in partnership. We are also very lucky to have three Educational Assistants working along side us. Our EA's are working in our classes full time to assist each of the teachers as well as all of our students. Our Year Three EA's are Jane Andrews (3.3TES); Anuradhda Dutt (3.1DTM); Merry Sugiarto (3.2JAN). Email contacts are: We are looking forward to having a great year with you and your children. Regards, News & UpdatesSeptember 7, 2010Year 3 has had a very exciting beginning to the new school year, meeting old and new friends, new classrooms, new teachers and new experiences. The students have settled in well and new and motivating learning is already taking place. It was great to see so many parents at our recent information evening. Working together - teachers, parents and students - we will provide for our children the most motivating, encouraging and academically sound curriculum we can. We look forward to sharing these experiences with our College community. We've had a good parent response to being a camp volunteer and look forward to working with some of you soon. More information about camp will be available in the near future. Please download the Year 3 Camp presentation (link below) to see the camp and the activities we will participate in. Powerpoint (PC, 8.1MB) | PDF (Mac/PC, 7.9MB) 'You tell us' week is coming up with bookings now being made via DC Website at discovery.edu.hk/cms/webapps/primaryAppointmentBooking/. Parents should have recieved their login details by now. Please log on and choose a time slot that suits you best. A questionnaire has been sent home, if you can fill it in and return it to school before your appointment it would be much appreciated. We look forward to meeting you and hearing about your child. Our current unit of inquiry focuses on 'how people use a variety of skills and strategies that contribute to their role in a community of learners'. You will find more information on this unit and some targets under the 'Unit Info' tab. In reading we are focusing on setting up routines for the year, the skills and strategies we use in our preferred learning styles, as well as how we all contribute to our learning community. In digital literacy and library, we are learning about organisational skills required by us to achieve best learning. We will also be focusing on the writing process, especially recounts. You can find targets for our 'writing process' unit under the 'English' tab and targets for visual and oral language are included on the unit of inquiry target sheet. Our Maths unit is on Place Value and Number Properties. Targets for this unit can be found under the 'Maths' tab. Students are encouraged to revise these skills on the Mathletics website. Programme of InquiryUnit 1 – How we organize ourselvesOur first unit is about organizing ourselves, especially our learning. The central idea for this Unit of Inquiry is: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: connection and reflection Learner profile focus: risk taker and inquirer Attitude focus: respect and tolerance Unit 2 – How we express ourselvesOur second unit will be on using art forms to express ourselves. Our central idea for this unit will be: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: form and perspective Learner profile focus: knowledgeable and open minded Attitude focus: appreciation and creativity Unit 3 – Sharing the PlanetOur third unit will be about the effect people have on their environment. Our central idea for this unit will be: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: form, responsibility and reflection Learner profile focus: caring and reflective Attitude focus: cooperation and integrity Unit 4 – Where we are in time and placeOur fourth unit will be on exploration. Our central idea for this unit will be: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: form and function Learner profile focus: communicator and risk taker Attitude focus: confidence and curiosity Unit 5 – Who we areOur fifth unit will be about healthy lifestyles. Our central idea for this unit will be: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: responsibility, causation and reflection Learner profile focus: principled, balanced and reflective Attitude focus: enthusiasm, independence and commitment Unit 6 – How the world worksOur final unit for the year will be on the reasons 'matter' changes. Our central idea for this unit will be: During this unit we will inquire into:
Teacher questions:
Key concepts: function and change Learner profile focus: thinker and reflective Attitude focus: commitment and empathy English Language OverviewThe following document outlines the language units covered in Year 3. Please note the timing and duration of these are approximate and may change to suit the needs of a particular class. You will also note that our language programme is closely tied into our units of inquiry and to information and communication technology (ICT).
Written Language (Reading and Writing)Skills in written language can be organized into two categories: surface features and deeper features. Surface features refer to the conventions of grammar, spelling and punctuation. These skills are common to all written language units in Year 3. The deeper features of written language refers to skills such as audience awareness and purpose; content and ideas; organization and structure and language features. The characteristics of these features differ depending on the genre of the text being read or written. For example, the organization and structure of narrative text differs greatly to that of a persuasive piece of writing. Targets for the genres covered in Year 3 will be posted below as each unit begins.
Reading is a key feature of all daily activities in Year 3. Some of the reading activities students in Year 3 will be engaged in are listed below.
Spelling is a strong feature of our written language programme. In Year 3 students are beginning to revise and proof read their own written pieces. Students are firstly taught skills to be able to identify when they make mistakes or when they are unsure of a spelling. Secondly, they are taught strategies of how to correct their own errors. Students take part in a regular spelling and word study programme. They are (expected to learn a set of 6-10 words,) focus on breaking each word into syllables and may work on finding the root of the words, build on the word roots and identify specific patterns and features related to those words. Student word lists will come from the following sources:
Oral Language (Speaking and Listening)Oral language encompasses all aspects of listening and speaking – skills that are essential for ongoing language development, for learning and for relating to others. Our oral language programme provides opportunities for learners to participate as listeners and speakers in formal and informal settings. During some units students will be required to make formal oral presentations in order to describe or explain their learning or to persuade others. Visual Language (Viewing and Presenting)Students are provided with many opportunities to develop their visual language skills. They will develop skills of interpreting, using and constructing visuals and multimedia in a variety of situations and for a range of purposes and audiences. ICT will naturally play a large role in the development of visual language skills. Maths OverviewThe following document outlines the Maths units covered in Year 3. Please note the timing and duration of these are approximate and may change to suit the needs of a particular class. As each unit begins, Maths targets for that unit will be posted below.
Ongoing TargetsIn Mathematics we cover a number of ongoing targets, which we focus on throughout the year. They are very important and will be regularly revised in class. We also encourage that the students revise these concepts regularly at home to keep them fresh in their minds. Unit TargetsThroughout our Year 3 Mathematics units, the students are working towards achieving targets that show their understanding of the content and their ability to implement them in various contexts. Student success for each 'I can' statement is measured through their formative and summative assessments, a range of 'hands-on' classroom activities and observation of the student's understandings as well as independent working skills.
Mathematical StrandsThe Maths curriculum is organised into 5 strands. Below you will find a short descriptor for each strand for this level. It is important to note that different learners develop at different rates and may therefore be moved beyond these or be working on skills and concepts to build up to this level. Number – Learners will develop their understanding of the base 10 place value system and will model, read, write, estimate, compare and order numbers to hundreds or beyond. They will have automatic recall of addition and subtraction facts and be able to model addition and subtraction of whole numbers using the appropriate mathematical language to describe their mental and written strategies. Learners will have an understanding of fractions as representations of whole-part relationships and will be able to model fractions and use fraction names in real-life situations. Pattern and Function – Learners will understand that whole numbers exhibit patterns and relationships that can be observed and described, and that the patterns can be represented using numbers and other symbols. As a result, learners will understand the inverse relationship between addition and subtraction, and the associative and commutative properties of addition. They will be able to use their understanding of pattern to represent and make sense of real-life situations and, where appropriate, to solve problems involving addition and subtraction. Measurement – Learners will understand that standard units allow us to have a common language to measure and describe objects and events, and that while estimation is a strategy that can be applied for approximate measurements, particular tools allow us to measure and describe attributes of objects and events with more accuracy. Learners will develop these understandings in relation to measurement involving length, mass, capacity, money, temperature and time. Shape and Space – Learners will continue to work with 2D and 3D shapes, developing the understanding that shapes are classified and named according to their properties. They will understand that examples of symmetry and transformations can be found in their immediate environment. Learners will interpret, create and use simple directions and specific vocabulary to describe paths, regions, positions and boundaries of their immediate environment. Data Handling – Learners will understand how information can be expressed as organized and structured data and that this can occur in a range of ways. They will collect and represent data in different types of graphs, interpreting the resulting information for the purpose of answering questions. The learners will develop an understanding that some events in daily life are more likely to happen than others and they will identify and describe likelihood using appropriate vocabulary. Online Resources
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CURRICULUM 
PYP Year 3
Y3 2010-11 Unit 1 Targets