Welcome to Year 3!

I am Miss Davey, the Year 3 class teacher. The children are also supported in their learning by Mrs Bently. The children in Year 3 are fantastic learners and we have had lots of fun learning about ‘The Stone Age’ and 'Spectacular Spain'.  The children have just begun our new topic all about Greece, as we answer our topic question; 'Has Greece always been in the news?' The children will look at the geography of Greece and the history of Ancient Greece.

Literacy

During this Spring term, the children will begin looking at Greek Myths - linked with our Creative Curriculum topic all about Greece. The children will be given the opportunity to read a variety of different Greek myths, the children will then learn a Greek myth off-by-heart before writing their own Greek myth!

Other topics we will be covering during Spring term, include:

• Shape poetry - also linked to our topic about Greece.
• Information texts - linked to our next topic about Earthquakes and Volcanoes.
• Plays and dialogues.

So far the children have undergone topics learning about;

• Stories with familiar settings - the children wrote their own story including a familiar setting.
• Report writing – The children wrote their own report about the Stone Age, used the laptops to type up their report and created a PowerPoint about the Stone Age – presenting this to the class.
• Performing poetry – The children wrote their own poems based on ‘Fire, Burn and Cauldron Bubble’. The children enjoyed creating a scary, witchy atmosphere for their spells!
• Authors - Year 3 focused on stories by Quentin Blake. Children will retold Mrs Armitage on Wheels then wrote their own story based on Mrs Armitage on Wheels.
• Instruction writing - Year 3 wrote instruction explaining how to create a 'paper-plate snowman'.

Reading

We encourage you to read at home with your child whenever you can. Every morning, the children will have a 30 minute Guided Reading session. Each Reading group will have a focused session with me once a week. While I am working with a focused group, the other children will work on a variety of activities based on reading, comprehension and writing which will help them the develop their understanding of the text focus for that week. Children will also read one to one with myself or another member of staff. On Friday, the children have 20 minutes of Reading for Pleasure – where the children can read any book they like. The children thoroughly enjoy this! In Year 3, we love reading! Our author of the month is currently John Burningham.

To find information about different children's authors, click the link below:

http://clubs-kids.scholastic.co.uk/authors

Maths

During the Autumn Term, Year 3 focused on 'Number', as they learnt different strategies to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication and division calculations. Towards the end of the term we carried out some work on fractions. This Spring Term, Year 3 have begun looking at Measurement. The children will measure, compare, add and subtract; lengths (m/cm/mm); mass (kg/g); volume/capacity (l/ml). Children will learn how to measure the perimeter of simple shapes. Children will add and subtract amounts of money to give change, using both £ and p. Year 3 will also be learning how to tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII, and 12 hour and 24-hour clocks. Year 3 will continue to learn their 3, 4 and 8 times tables. We encourage children to practise their times tables as home as this greatly benefits their recall in mental maths sessions.

Topic

During  this Spring term, Year 3 will answer the question, 'Has Greece always been in the news?' Year 3 will learn about the geography and the history of Greece, as we answer a range of questions;

Where is Greece and why do so many people enjoy going on holiday there?

How do Greece’s physical features, including its climate differ from ours?

How does Greece’s climate impact on its people?

Who were the Ancient Greeks and what did we learn from them?

How would a tourist going to Greece today be reminded of the power of the Ancient Greeks?

… and the Oscar goes to? (Which Greek God would you choose to receive a special award?)

Would you have enjoyed being an Olympian?

What is democracy and what part did the Greeks have in creating it?

How would you go about reproducing a clay pot in the style of the Greeks?

Can I use a Greek style of dancing?

Religious Education

In RE, we are currently learning about Journeys. During this Spring term, we will also cover the topics Listening and Sharing, and Giving All.

Physical Education

PE is held now held on a Friday afternoon. Remember to bring in your PE kits. During Spring term, the children will work on Greek dancing.

Art/ Design Technology

Art and DT will be taught through our topic. The children have already had lots of fun creating Stone Age shelters and cave paintings for our Stone Age topic, and creating our own drawings of the matador for our Spain topic.  The children have many exciting DT and Art sessions to look forward to. During DT, the children will use clay to create their own Greek pots. During Art session, the children will use paints to decorate their pots.

Science

In Science, we are currently learning about Light. Throughout our science sessions, children will be taught to:

• Recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light.
• Notice that light is reflected from surfaces.
• Recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect their eyes.
• Recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by a solid object.
• Find patterns in the way that the sizes of shadows change.

Computing

During Autumn Term, children became Computer Programmers as they created their own Scratch Animation and they also became ‘Bug Fixers’, as they read Computer algorithms that had gone wrong – fixing the bug in the code. During Spring term, the children will become TV presenters. As they create their own videos giving information about the Greek Olympics.

During our Computing sessions, we have focused on Esafety. Just as we want to keep our child safe in the real world, we will want to do the same in the virtual world. It is important that we understand enough about the Internet to keep our children safe from harm but is equally important that we equip our children with the skills they need to keep themselves safe so they can experience the Internet positively and responsibly. We hope that you enjoyed the Esafety performance. Year 3 worked very hard putting the performance together. (See photographs below!) Thank you to every who entered into the Esafety poster competition and well done to the winners!