Year 3

Meet the team

Year 3 author focus

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to the Summer Term, the year seems to be disappearing fast. We hope that you had a relaxing and chocolate-filled Easter break and are ready for the last term of Year 3. Please find below, a summary of the learning that Year 3 will be covering this term.

For regular updates about what happens on our classes, don’t forget to follow the school Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Upcoming trips:

We will do a local area walk to look at how we can improve the area as part of our English work
Think Tank – Monday 9^th June
The Big Sing – Wednesday 9^th July (parents invited to school for a performance at 2:30pm)

Summer Term Spelling focus

Summer Term Curriculum
Maths		We will continue to begin every morning with our ‘Early Bird Maths’ which focuses on retrieving key skills and times tables. This term, our main Maths lessons will begin with fractions before moving on to working with money and telling the time. Later on, we will be looking at shape and statistics. Your child can support their learning by completing a short session on Times Table Rockstars 3-5 times a week. Log in details can be found in each child's reading record.
English		In English this term we will be writing for a specific purpose and will be developing stamina and independence in the children’s writing while focussing on vocabulary and sentence structure. We will be writing narratives, persuasive leaflets and incident reports. We continue to use a range of excellent books as the inspiration for our writing. These include: Weasels, Tin Forest, Tuesday and The Day I swapped my Dad for two Goldfish.
Science		As scientists we will be continuing our plants unit by finding out how different plants grow and the life cycle of flowering plants. Then we will move on to studying light and shadows.
History		Our topic this term is Ancient Greece. We will find out where Greece is, what democracy is and Greece’s importance as an ancient civilisation. By the end of the unit, we will be able to answer the question: “What impact have the Greeks had on our lives today?”
Geography		We will be linking our learning to our History topic on Ancient Greece by studying modern day Greece and comparing it to our local area.
Art/DT		Our art unit is working with shape- we will be looking at printmaking and collages including studying the work of the artists Henri Matisse and Claire Willberg. In DT we will be focusing on food and cooking,
PSHE		Our value this term is Ambitious. We will also be checking in with the children regularly and having discussions on how to support our mental health. Our main PSHE lessons are about citizenship and economic well-being
RE		This term we start by focussing on Christianity answering the question What kind of world did Jesus want?” before linking all our work on Christianity, Judaism and Islam when we think about “How and why do people try to make the world a better place?”
French		We will continue our learning by learning about types of transport and the circus.
PE		Our PE will be changing about this term. We will continue to have PE on a Tuesday, but the other session will change about a bit this term. We start with 3 weeks of Tag Rugby on a Thursday, After Half term our PE days will be Tuesday and Friday
Homework
Reading	Reading books will be checked daily. We ask that your child’s schoolbook is read at home every night with a written comment made in the Reading Record. Please ensure this is a meaningful comment to show that they have understood what they have read. Reading is part of their weekly homework and should be a focused 10-15 mins each day if possible.
Maths	Maths homework will be set weekly and aim to support and embed key skills taught throughout the year. This will be set on a Friday and should be completed and returned by the following Thursday.
History/ Geography	Children will be given a list of different learning activities to complete. These are linked to our history and geography topics. These last for the whole term and the expectation is that the children complete as many as they possibly can.

Summer Term Newsletter

Summer Term newsletter.pdf

Summer 2

Summer 1

Welcome back to Great Malvern for the Spring Term. We hope that you had a fabulous Christmas and Happy New Year. We would just like to update you about this term's learning.

In the first half of this term, we will be focussing on History and learning about a time of change in Great Britain, through our topic: Soot, Smoke and Steam. This will be a jump back to The Victorians and The Industrial Revolution. After half-term the focus will be Geography and our topic will be Extreme Earth: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami. Throughout the term, in Science, we will be studying animals including humans with an emphasis on movement, the skeleton, joints and muscles; before moving on to heathy eating and nutrition.

Our PE days are changing around a bit this term, so make sure your child has their PE kit in school every day. For the first few weeks we have tag rugby with a visiting coach on a THURSDAY and then our normal PE on a Friday. After half-term our PE days will be MONDAY and FRIDAY.

We have changed our spelling scheme to Sounds and Syllables, which means there will no longer be a spelling test. Here is a list of the spelling patterns being taught this term.

Spring Term Newsletter

Spring Term newsletter.pdf

KIRFS

Curriculum
Maths		We will continue to begin every morning with our ‘Early Bird Maths’ which focuses on retrieving key skills and times tables. This term, our main Maths focus will begin with multiplication and division before moving on to length, perimeter and then fractions. The term will end with work on mass and capacity. Your child can support their learning by completing a short session on Times Table Rockstars 3-5 times a week. Log in details can be found in each child's reading record.
English		In English this term we will be writing for a specific purpose and will be developing stamina and independence in the children’s writing while focussing on vocabulary and sentence structure. We will be writing narratives, persuasive letters, fact booklets, descriptive menus and list poems. We have a range of excellent books as the inspiration for our writing. These include: Hermelin, The Detective Mouse; Leon And The Place Between And It Might Be An Apple.
Science		As scientists we will be studying Animals Including Humans with our topic: Health and Movement. By the end of the topic the children will be able to answer the questions: “Why do we have bones and how do they help us move?” and “Why is it important to eat different food types from all the food groups every day?”
History		Our topic this term is Soot, Smoke and Stem and we will learn about the industrial revolution and how many incredible inventions in the Victorians are still used today. We will also find out about the importance of coal to help us to understand what life was like back then. By the end of the topic, children will be able to explain "How did Britain change during the industrial revolution?”
Geography		We will be learning about our amazing and dangerous earth, through our topic Extreme Earth: Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami. This topic builds on our science knowledge of rocks and will involving looking at the layers of the earth, the location of volcanoes and earthquakes and why we get tsunamis. By the end of the topic the children will be able to answer the question, “What impact have Volcanoes, Tsunami and Earthquakes had on Earth?”
Art/DT		Our art unit is 3D art, ending by creating our own clay birds for display. In DT we will be studying packaging before creating our own boxes for Easter.
PSHE		Our values this term are Curiosity and determination. We will also be checking in with the children regularly and having discussions on how to support our mental health. Main PSHE lessons are about Safety and the Changing Body.
RE		This term we will be focussing on 2 world religions. First, we will find out about Islam before studying Judaism.
French		We will continue our learning by naming animals that live in the jungle and under the ocean.
Homework
Reading	Reading books will be checked daily. We ask that your child’s schoolbook is read at home every night with a written comment made in the Reading Record. Please ensure this is a meaningful comment to show that they have understood what they have read. Reading is part of their weekly homework and should be a focused 10-15 mins each day if possible.
Maths	Maths homework will be set weekly and aim to support and embed key skills taught throughout the year. This will be set on a Friday and should be completed and returned by the following Thursday.
History/ Geography	Children will be given a list of different learning activities to complete. These are linked to our history and geography topics. These last for the whole term and the expectation is that the children complete as many as they possibly can.

Spring 2

Spring 1

A big welcome to Year 3.

There are two classes in Year 3.

3LS with Miss Senter and Mrs Wallace

3NC with Miss Christopher and Miss Green

A big hello and welcome to Year 3.

Year 3 is a busy year with a very full timetable and there are many things that you can do to help your child to make sure they are making the most of every opportunity.

Our topic for this term is “The Stone Age”. The focus of our learning is History, but it will also include a variety of engaging curriculum areas. If your child does anything at home that supports their topic, please send it in, as it’s always lovely to celebrate children’s enthusiasm for learning!

For regular updates about what happens in our classes, please check the school Instagram and Facebook pages.

Autumn Term

Maths

We begin every morning with our ‘Early Bird Maths’ which focuses on retrieving key skills. This term, our main Maths focus will begin with place value and number, learning to use the formal method of column addition and subtraction. Later in the term we shall move onto multiplication and division, focusing on the 3, 4 and 8 times tables. Your child can support their learning by completing a short session on Times Table Rockstars 3-5 times a week. Log in details can be found in each child's reading record.

English

Following the Talk for Write structure we begin by reading, learning and innovating Little Red Riding Hood. The children will practice this fairy tale with actions, hot seating characters and thinking of ways to adapt the story to make their version unique. Later in the term we focus on "writing to inform" by exploring instructions using "How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth" to develop our writing skills.

The children will also get chance to become poets and deconstruct Haiku poems with a focus on how to write their own based around school and British values.

Science

As scientists we begin this year looking at Forces and Magnets and then explore Rocks and Soils, including the formation of fossils. We will be doing a range of scientific enquiry and practical investigations to support our learning.

History

Our topic this term is The Stone Age and we will learn how early humans lived, how their houses were built, the tools they used and look at some of the archaeological sites that help us to understand what life was like back then. By the end of the topic, children will be able to explain "How life changed in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age".

Art/DT

Time will be spent on enhancing our Stone Age project. We will be looking at different techniques to create projects including making a woolly mammoth, cave paintings and learning to sew.

PSHE

Our values this term are Generosity and Support. We will also be checking in with the children regularly and having discussions on how to support our mental health. Main PSHE lessons are all about Family and Friendship.

For the first half term, we will be developing our fundamental skills and cricket skills. Later on in the term, we will move onto ball skills and dance.

PE days for the first half term are Tuesday and Friday. PE kits can remain in school during the week.

At the end of the term we will explore Christianity and the Bible in the lead up to Christmas.

French

We will begin our learning journey by finding out how to greet each other and count up to 20.

Additional Information

PE KIT

Autumn 1 - P.E lessons are on a Tuesday and Friday.

Please make sure your child brings in their full P.E kit. This should include: White T- shirt, bottle green/black shorts, suitable trainers/pumps, warm green/black jogging bottoms. An optional plain black school hoodie can be worn on cooler days.

Remember

A named water bottle, reading record and a healthy snack every day.

Please name ALL uniform so that we can return it to your child if necessary.

Homework

Reading

Reading books will be checked daily. We ask that your child’s schoolbook is read at home every night with a written comment made in the Reading Record. Please ensure this is a meaningful comment to show that they have understood what they have read.

Reading is part of their weekly homework and should be a focused 10-15 mins each day if possible.

Spellings

Spelling lists will be set and tested on a Friday. Please support your child in learning the words that they bring home.

Maths

Maths homework will be set weekly and aim to support and embed key skills taught throughout the year. This will be set on a Friday and should be completed and returned by the following Thursday.

History

Children will be given a list of different learning activities to complete. These are linked to our Stone Age to Iron age topic. These last for the whole term and the expectation is that the children complete as many as they possibly can.

Yours sincerely,

Miss Christopher and Miss Senter

Year 3 key documents

Times Table Rockstars

All children have log in details for Times Tables Rock Stars. You can find this information in the front of their Reading Record. We would like them to play on the site as often as possible. They don't have to play for long as little and often sometimes works best. We will be choosing a Rock Star of the week in each class for children who have made the most effort/progress across the week, and will sometimes have "battles" where classes play each other.

Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com)

Another great maths resource is Hit the Button, for quick fire practise of number facts.

Hit The Button

Times Tables Games Lots of ways to practise recall and speed of times tables