The last two weeks have been incredibly eventful for Grade 3! We’ve been busy exploring, creating, performing and reflecting as we continue to develop our understanding of the world around us.
Expressing Ourselves Through Music and Dance
We have continued our Unit of Inquiry, exploring how people use music and dance to express their feelings, ideas and cultural identities. Alongside our classroom investigations, students have also been working hard in preparation for our upcoming Winter Music Performance Day.
Students have taken ownership of an important part of this process by deciding which instruments they would like to play. We now have a very promising musical ensemble taking shape! Through regular rehearsals, students are developing their musical skills while also strengthening their communication, collaboration and self-management skills. We are looking forward to seeing their hard work come together in the final performance!
Our UOI explorations have also taken us into the fascinating worlds of traditional Indian dance and the Māori Haka. By investigating how these different cultural traditions communicate identity, emotions, beliefs and shared values, students have been developing a deeper appreciation of the many ways people express who they are.
Taking inspiration from their research, students then put their creativity into action by developing their own original dances and movement pieces. This provided a wonderful opportunity to move beyond simply acquiring knowledge and begin applying their understanding through creative expression.
An especially exciting development was seeing students independently record videos of their performances and upload them to their own digital learning portfolios. This was a significant step towards greater student agency and ownership of learning. Students were not simply completing an activity for their teacher; they were actively documenting, sharing and taking responsibility for their own learning journeys.
Looking Backwards to Move Forwards: Our Visit to Zenkoji
As we approach the conclusion of Unit 4, we have already begun turning our attention towards the big ideas of our upcoming Unit of Inquiry, Unit 5, which will explore ancient cultures and how people in the past lived, worked and organised their communities.
To help us begin thinking about the relationship between the past and present, we enjoyed a fascinating visit to the historic Zenkoji Temple in Nagano City.
Surrounded by centuries of history, students had the opportunity to observe and consider how historical places can provide evidence of the beliefs, traditions and ways of life of people who lived long before us. We encouraged students to use their imagination, ask questions and consider what life might have been like in ancient times.
One particularly memorable experience was completing the famous Kaidanmeguri. Students made their way through the completely dark passage beneath the temple’s altar, searching for the symbolic key. According to tradition, touching this key connects visitors with the Buddha and offers the promise of spiritual rebirth. It certainly provided us with a memorable opportunity to reflect on the importance of faith, belief and tradition in human history!
Afterwards, we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch together in a nearby park.
Looking Ahead
Next week, we will be bringing Unit 4 to a close through our summative assessment activities. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate and reflect on the knowledge, skills and conceptual understandings they have developed throughout our exploration of how people express themselves.
It has been wonderful to see the creativity, curiosity and growing independence of our Grade 3 learners over these past two weeks. We have plenty more exciting learning ahead, and I look forward to sharing it with you!
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
