VELS Level 3 - Years 3 and 4 at School
In Years 3 and 4 children develop a deeper understanding of the relationships between school, home and the community. They are becoming more capable of concentrating on tasks for longer periods of time. Children are encouraged to be confident in discussing ideas, expressing opinions and listening to others at home and in the classroom. They understand that they need to work with others and be part of their class and school.
In Years 3 and 4 standards are set in twelve areas of learning. The table below shows areas in which standards are set for assessment and reporting in these years.
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Victorian Essential Learning Standards - Years 3 and 4 |
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Physical, Personal and Social Learning
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Discipline-based Learning
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Interdisciplinary Learning
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Children broaden their knowledge and show interest in a wide range of events and people around them. Standards are introduced in additional areas such as personal learning, thinking processes, the humanities, science, civics and citizenship, and design, creativity and technology. Students may also have learning experiences from other areas of learning such as languages other than English. Students also continue to build on the knowledge and skills developed in earlier years.
Standards in Years 3 and 4 in particular areas of learning are illustrated in the following examples.
English
English skills are practised across all areas of learning and include:
- responding to a range of material including imaginative stories and informative texts
- expanding vocabulary as understanding of stories and informative texts increases
- strategies to locate, select and record using key information from texts
- expressing and backing up opinions with facts and evidence
- understanding how to structure sentences and use a range of punctuation, for example exclamation marks and quotation marks.
Mathematics
Standards in mathematics in these years include:
- recognising and naming common threedimensional shapes such as spheres, prisms and pyramids; locating and identifying places on maps and diagrams
- estimating and measuring length, area, volume, capacity, mass and time using appropriate instruments; comparing likelihood of everyday events
- applying mental and written number skills to everyday contexts such as shopping.
Information and Communications Technology and Personal Learning
By the end of Year 4 children have built up skills in information and communications technology (ICT). Standards include being able to:
- create an electronic folder
- use email confidently
- use recommended search engines.
Children are encouraged to evaluate the information they receive electronically and reflect on its usefulness.
The Humanities
In the humanities students become more aware of the diverse range of people, cultures, nationalities and religions that make up their own school, community and the broader society. They develop a basic understanding of how our democracy works and where laws and rules fit. They describe symbols and explain events of special significance to their background, their community and Australian life in general such as Anzac Day.
The Arts
Learning in the arts can involve an arts discipline (for example, visual arts), or a combination of arts disciplines (for example, dance and music). All students will be assessed against standards in both the performing and visual arts.
How Sophie learns about science, and design, creativity and technology
In Years 3 and 4, science becomes a clear part of Sophie’s learning program. She develops knowledge and skills that enable her to achieve the standards. Examples of standards in science include:
- exploring the structure of plants and animals
- investigating with others and reporting on experiments such as changes in substances
- learning how to classify things such as insects and birds
- examining forms of energy in everyday life
- considering how people influence their environment.
In design, creativity and technology, Sophie also learns how to investigate simple technological systems, design and put different items together to make a product, such as a pulley arrangement to lift a weight. She meets the standards by:
- drawing and labelling design ideas
- planning how to make a product
- safely making products using tools and equipment
- testing and evaluating the product.
National Assessment Program - Literacy And Numeracy (NAPLAN)
In Year 3 students participate in the national NAPLAN tests in Reading, Writing, Language Conventions and Numeracy. These national tests provide information on how students are progressing, support improvements in teaching and learning, and provides a framework to compare student performance around Australia. NAPLAN tests were introduced in 2008 and replaced the Victorian Achievement Improvement Monitor (AIM) tests.
