Ever thought about being a secret agent? Well here is your chance to use your analysis skills to help the CIA break some secret codes. In pairs, work on these series of codes, trying to break them! Head to the CIA website by clicking here.

Our third type of movie/film/documentary making techniques is animation. We are going to see how we can use animation to make a short clip. To do this we will begin with a program on ABCya.com, click here.

If you want to watch this Brian Cox clip again at home, click here.

As we are studying the Earth, Sun and Moon this term, this interactive educational game is something we will look at. To play, please click here.

We will continue to investigate and learn about the Earth, Sun and Moon this term. Today we will learn through a fun game. To play, click here!

In the days before the graphics (pictures) on computers were very good, computer games were different. The first computer games involved text not pictures and they were a lot of fun! One popular one I recommend is Zork 1 where you must explore the setting without really being able to see it, almost like you’re blindfolded. Have a go, just click on the picture below!

What is a fair chance? What is the likelihood of winning? Here is a game we are going to use to explore chance and fairness. Click here

In maths we are looking at map reading using coordinates. Here is a fun learning game that tests your understanding of coordinates. Click on the dinosaur:

 

Try this harder one once you’ve finished the first game. Click on the spaceship below.

On Tuesday we will be looking at how to make stop motion movies on an iPad. Some students may already have a good understanding of this, others may not. If you want some help, check out this website for some advice: click here

We will look at other types of movie/video making in the coming weeks.

A really cool application to draw 3D objects with is called SketchUp. You can build all kinds of things and even print them in 3D. You can download it (for free I think) onto your computer. Simply go to the website by clicking here!

This term some of the students at our school decided to enter a poetry competition run by The Red Room. The only rules were that it needed to be about an object and that it wasn’t more than 20 lines in length. Those who entered can see their poems on the competition website. If you’re interested in having a look, click here.

Hi 3Aers, as you know Sienna has left for an amazing adventure. Her family are going to be keeping us all up to date with their trip by writing a blog. If you want to see what Sienna has been up to please take a look at the blog, just click HERE!

I found a really cool website for learning about Physics. You play a challenging game whilst learning about Physics.

TRY IT BY CLICKING HERE

In my TT Maths group this week we are looking at subtraction. We will run a challenge using AAA Maths. To go to the website, click here.

In Week 5 of Term 3 we had a great time with EZB (who cares!) doing some creative Poetry Slamming. EZB, or Emily, came in and did some poetry workshops with the Year 3s and 4s. It was a lot of fun and the students did a great job coming up with, and performing, their team poems. Well done poets of North Fitzroy Primary School!

On Thursday/Friday of Week 4, the 3-4s went to the North Fitzroy library. We looked at the Children’s Book Council of Australia awards. We read Jeremy and Banjo & Ruby Red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that we made chickens. We used paper cups, templates, textas and feathers and afterwards we used damp sponges and string to make them cluck.

   

 

In Week 4 of this term, the Year 3s and 4s had two videoconferences with the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI), DreamWorks and other schools from around Victoria.

In the first session we talked about the dragon flight and how it was made. The dragon flight is an exhibition about the movies How To Train Your Dragon 1 & 2. During the Dragon Flight it looks like you’re flying on Toothless’ back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the second session we spoke about the Madagascar characters and the structure of their bodies. We looked at the inspiration of the mad animal police Chantel Dubois. They created Alex with a big head and a skinny body because he is vain.

This term we have been looking at Interactive Games, or computer games. We have looked at how to make them, what is important when making one and comparing games available today to games from decades ago. We have seen that the graphics are very different, as are the sounds. We have looked at Ross’ Atari 2600 console (from when he was a little younger). If you’d like to try some of old Atari games online, click on either the logo or the Atari 2600 game console below to go to their website. Enjoy!

There is some great helpful videos about how to use Scratch, on the ABC website. We had a look at a couple of them but if you’d like to watch more and test your skills, take a look at the website. Simply click here.

Analogies are words we use to compare different things that actually have something in common. Have a go at this game, click here.

Another good way to experience computer coding is testing your skills and understanding on Google Blockly. Try these 10 mazes and see if you can move from the start to the finish, click here.

This term the Year 3s will be looking at Physical Science and in particular, Heat. 3A will be using a Padlet page to add words of information that we either already know, or learn about, to this class Padlet page. This is a 3A only contribution page but anyone can look at it. To see the page click here.

This term the Year 3s will be looking at computer coding by looking at coding games. One great programme anyone can use to start learning how to code is called Scratch. We will be using this a lot, so a good way to learn how it works is by trying these challenges, simply click here.

Today, Monday 14 July is Malala Day. We had a great discussion in class about school, education and the rights of all people. Malala Day was set up by a young Pakistani girl named Malala who is passionate about the rights of girls to get a formal education. Her story is both sad and inspiring. You can find out more by visiting her website: Malala

What are illusions? How do they work? Why do they work? Somehow illusions trick us, or confuse us!

Here is an example of two different illusions drawn together.

Below is an example of a Penrose illusion. If you want to try drawing one, well actually a rectangular one like above, click on this link for some instructions! CLICK HERE

The other half of the picture at the top is known as the devils fork. Hers is another example of it below. If you want to try drawing this, here are some instructions, CLICK HERE

Part of our Rich Learning Project this term looks at magic and how we can be deceived by it. Magic tricks can be put into a variety of categories. This week groups of students will look at the tricks on these websites below and report back about one in detail to the class.

http://magic.about.com/od/libraryofsimpletricks/ig/Easy-Tricks-for-Kids/

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/magic-tricks-for-kids

http://magictricksforkids.org/

https://www.youtube.com/user/julianmather1 (This will be shown by me to the class as it isn’t accessible by students)

On Wednesday the Year 3s had a visit from Monash University who took them through their Crystal Chemistry program. This was a hands on experience where students learnt about the differences between solids, liquids and gases, how solutions can become saturated (using m&ms) and how crystals are made. Students have all set up their own crystal making experiment that they will be observing over the coming weeks.

If you didn’t get a chance to order a copy of the Year 3/4 Concert from Term 1, you are able to order one by visiting this website, just click here.

Science is a lot of fun and this term we are looking at Chemistry. We will be looking at the states of matter, such as liquid, solid and gas, and investigate how they relate to each other and how they are different. We will be having a fun visit from Monash University who will be introducing us to how crystals form.

Chemistry is also about how mixing two or more things together, to make something new. A great and fun way to look at this is with the game Little Alchemy. Why not have a go yourself, just click on this link: Little Alchemy

In Term 2 all of 3A will be learning about how to blog. Each student will have received an email about their own school blog with instructions on how to log in. If you want to have a go during the holidays, go for it. Just remember an important safety rule:

Don’t give out your personal information; such as your full name, your date of birth or your home address.

Not all living things are the same, we all know that. So how do we classify them into different groups? I am sure you’ve all heard of animals and plants, well that is one step in putting living things into groups, but it goes a lot further than that! Have a go at this online activity that looks at classifying minibeasts depending on its features (head to this website then choose the Minibeast Classification activity).

Classifying Minibeasts