Thinking Third Grade

Last Tuesday, our Grade 3 students enjoyed a wonderful yoga session with Ms. Neela! Through a range of fun poses, stretches, breathing exercises, and quiet moments of focus, students explored ways to move their bodies thoughtfully and calmly. Yoga offers many benefits for children. It helps develop balance as students learn to hold steady positions, such as tree pose. It builds flexibility by gently stretching muscles and improving movement. Yoga can also strengthen coordination, posture, and body awareness. Just as importantly, yoga supports a sound mind and body. By paying attention to their breathing and slowing down, students practised calming their minds, managing big feelings, and focusing on the present moment. These skills can help them feel more settled, confident, and ready to learn. Our students showed great enthusiasm, concentration, and respect throughout the session. Thank you, Ms. Leela, for sharing such a positive and energising experience with us!

This week, Grade became model makers, problem solvers, and resource detectives! First, we worked in groups to build models showing pollution and different kinds of resources. Our teacher gave each group only a limited number of materials, so we had to share, plan, and think carefully about how to use them. Afterwards, we talked about what was challenging. Many students noticed that there were actually enough materials for everyone, but some groups took more than they needed. Some materials were wasted, and some groups made very large models when smaller ones may have worked just as well. We also noticed that everyone had to help clean up a big mess, even though only a few groups had made most of it. These experiences made us think about the world outside our classroom. We realised that people around the world can face similar problems when resources are limited or not shared fairly. Sometimes there may be enough for everyone, but waste and unfair sharing can mean that not everybody...

This week, our Grade 3 learners launched into their new Primary Years Programme (PYP) unit under the transdisciplinary theme: Sharing the Planet. To kick off our journey, we started with a simple yet powerful question: What does "sharing the planet" mean to you? First Impressions: What Does "Sharing the Planet" Mean? Our classroom discussion immediately buzzed with thoughtful ideas. A large number of students focused on environmental stewardship—highlighting the importance of taking care of Planet Earth, recycling, stopping pollution, and working together. A few students also wondered if the unit might take us into outer space to explore other planets! From there, we grounded our thinking right here on Earth by exploring the concept of resource allocation. The students dove into distinguishing between needs (things essential for survival) versus wants (things that are nice to have). By the end of the week, we introduced the core concept that will guide our l...

Last Friday, October 2, the whole school enjoyed an educational trip to different destinations. At approximately , the Upper Primary students set off for the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka. During their visit, students explored a range of materials, artefacts, and models that offered a window into life in different places and times. The museum’s exhibits were organised by geographical regions, including Oceania, Southeast Asia, Asia, the Americas, Europe, and Africa. This allowed students to compare cultures, learn about communities around the world, and appreciate the many ways people have lived and continue to live. After lunch, students had time to enjoy the outdoor areas. They walked around and explored the mini river, played on the playground, and spent time together in the grassy open space. The group left the museum at around and returned safely to school shortly before . It was a wonderful day of learning, exploration, and shared experiences beyond the classroom.

Grade 3 students are now in the final week of their unit exploring the form and function of body systems and the important ways these systems connect to help our bodies work. To demonstrate their understanding, students chose one body system they already felt familiar with or were especially interested in learning more about. Based on their shared interests, they worked collaboratively in pairs and small groups to investigate their chosen system. Their goal was to explain the form and function of the body system and share their learning through a creative presentation. Students could choose to create an informative poster, record a voice presentation, or make a video. Many students were fascinated by the skeletal system and chose to learn more about how bones support, protect, and help the body move. The muscular, circulatory, and respiratory systems were also represented, giving the class a wide range of body systems to explore. After completing their presentations, the Grade 3 stu...