Welcome to Year 3!

2023-24

In Year 3, our teachers are Mr Tickle, Miss Cameron, Miss James and Miss Jones. We are also supported by our dedicated Learning Support Assistant (LSA): Miss Wombwell. 

If you have any questions, please speak with your child's class teacher. You can speak to your child’s class teacher by phoning the school and requesting an appointment if they are not around at pick-up.

Keep referring back to this page for regular updates about the children's learning. 

Update - Friday 19th April 2024

We have had an action-packed first week back in Year 3. We started our new English topic, which is all about writing a persuasive letter to help us on our challenge to save the bees. We have done lots of research and started thinking about the key features we might see in creative writing.

In Art, we collected various natural materials (such as grass, flexible twigs and flowers) in our Forest School area. We then wove them onto a loom to create beautiful art pieces for our Beautiful Botanical topic. It was impressive that we learned a new skill quickly and worked well in small groups to make it happen.

We would also like to thank all the grown-ups who helped make Roman artefacts over the Easter holidays! Thanks to everybody's hard work, our museum was fascinating, informative, and fun. We looked at everybody's project and asked each other questions about their artefact and how it would have been used in Roman times. 

Update - Thursday 28th March 2024

We had a busy week as we've gotten closer and closer to the Easter holidays! We finished our English topic, and worked as journalists to write a newspaper article reporting on the recent theft of the Bona Lisa. We also got to have some fun taking our written pieces and using the laptops to design our very own newspaper with our article on the front page.

In DT, we finished our 'Making it Move' unit. Working in teams, we were able to plan and build our own toys with moving parts! We had to design and create cams, axles and followers and then put them together to create a working mechanism in our toy.

Our fractions topic has now ended in Maths, and we will be moving on to Mass and Capacity when we are back after Easter.

Everyone has worked so hard this term and it has been fantastic. We look forward to seeing everyone back on the 15^th April!

Update - Friday 22nd March 2024

We reflected on mechanisms in DT and considered why certain mechanisms create certain movements—like how a slider works, why a lever moves, and how a linkage can be used to make a paper man dance!

In Geography, we worked in teams to put together a short presentation of our findings from last week. We had to talk about what we learned when we investigated Quito last week and summarise our results. We remembered lots of information about the long—and short-term effects of earthquakes and the risks of living near so many tectonic plate boundaries.

We performed our final compositions in music based on traditional Chinese New Year music we have been listening to. Over the last few weeks, we have been practising using pentatonic melodies and writing them down, and this week, we brought everything together - including the dragon masks we made! It was a lot of fun, and we also got the chance to move around and create dances to go with the music performed by other groups.

Update - Friday 15th March 2024

In year 3, we became journalists this week in preparation for our new topic. We had to search around the classroom for clues and evidence that we hoped would lead us to discover who had stolen a priceless painting… the Bona Lisa! 

Having finished length and perimeter in maths, we have moved to our next topic which centers on fractions. We have worked on understanding what the numerator and denominator represent, as well as ordering fractions with different denominators. 

We have learned so much about our Geography topic this term, so we put this to the test by spending an afternoon looking at a city called Quito in Ecuador. Our task was to use our knowledge of earthquakes to find out how dangerous it might be to live there, as well as understanding the short and long term effects of earthquakes that happen there and across the world. 

Update - Friday 8th March 2024

We had a great time in Year 3 this week. Inspired by the Chinese music we had been listening to, we created our own melodies in Music using the pentatonic scale. After practising very hard in pairs, we performed in front of the class and discussed what we liked and could improve.

In Math, we have finished our Length and Perimeter topic. Now, we know how to measure and calculate perimeter for a variety of irregular shapes. We will move onto Fractions on Monday, beginning with learning about the parts of a fraction and how to understand them.

On Thursday, we enjoyed an off-timetable day for World Book Day! There were some amazing costumes, and we had a lot of fun participating in special reading activities. We performed some drama scenes we came up with, listened to our teachers' favourite stories, designed bookmarks and had a great time!

Update - Friday 1st March 2024

This week in year 3, we tried to draw parts of our school in the style of LS Lowry. We had to think about how we could use our skills to add tone to our sketches and other details. 

We wrote our apprentice pieces in English, thinking about how we could add suspense to a retelling of a chapter of Jumanji. Remembering our new skills - including how to punctuate speech properly - was tricky, but we worked incredibly hard on them. 

We also enjoyed Science Day - we spent the morning learning all about Louis Pasteur and conducting various experiments. It got slightly messy sometimes, but it was a lot of fun! We made leakproof bags, watched colourful water walk over the kitchen roll and made our drawings float on water using a whiteboard pen. 

Update - Friday 23rd February 2024

We have settled back nicely into our routine in year 3, and have gotten started on our new English topic - Jumanji! We had lots of fun reading the book together and started to think about how the characters feel at different points. We came up with many interesting ideas and started thinking about what suspense means and how we can identify it in a story.

In science, we have learned all about magnetic fields. We did different experiments using iron filings and two magnets so we could try and see the invisible magnetic field lines. Testing it out and feeling the magnets push each other apart was fun!

We were also very excited to return to our outdoor learning area this week - even though it was muddy, we had a great time! Next week, every child must have a change of shoes and kit to ensure nobody misses out when we go outside. 

Update - Friday 9th February 2024

This week, we finished our English topic by writing up full diary entries, pretending we were Arthur from our book “Me and Mister P”. We had to plan out our writing by picking out three main events from the story – our favourite part is when Mister P, the polar bear, got into the ice cream truck and ate all the ice cream!

Tuesday was Internet Safety Day, so we had a special assembly and lessons reminding us about how to be safe on the Internet. We created posters to help teach other people about internet safety and remind ourselves of the top tips. As good digital citizens, we have a lot of ideas about keeping safe online.

We learned a new skill in Geography this week – we learned how to conduct our research and create a database based on it. We worked in pairs using laptops to create a database of knowledge about active volcanoes across the world so that other people could look up facts like the last eruption and height.

Friday was Mad Hair Day! We had a lot of fun showing off our crazy hairstyles, and we hope all the parents had a good time creating our wonderfully mad hair. We are all looking forward to half-term after working so hard the last 6 weeks and will see everyone back on the 19^th of February.

Update - Friday 2nd February 2024

This week in Year 3, we started our new English topic. We are learning about diary entries and had a lot of fun acting out scenes from a diary entry we read together! We have also been practising our scanning skills to pick out the key features from a diary example.

During Art, we have made some very interesting creations using our sculpting and painting skills. We got out the clay and used clay tools to create sculptures that looked like fossils or leaves as part of our Ammonite topic. After they had dried, we used our knowledge of the colour wheel to mix up the best colour to paint with.

On Friday, we had Number Day! The year group had some cool outfits that fit our digit theme. We had to complete some tricky maths challenges and crack some codes given to us by Buddy, the Number Day mascot, to try and earn a special prize at the end of the day. Our teachers showed off a maths magic trick they used to guess a number we were thinking of before asking us to figure it out.

Update - Friday 1st December 2023

This week has been busy with everyone designing and making their tacos. In doing this, we thought about what made a healthy, balanced diet and how our designs could use the guidance from the Eatwell plate we looked at in Science and Design Technology. Having made our tacos designed, we then enjoyed eating them!

Update  - Friday 10th November 2023

This week, we have been working on our addition and subtraction methods in our maths. Using our place value counters, we have started to use the column methods. We found it a little tricky but soon got the idea!

We have also just begun our new design technology unit, where we can apply our understanding of nutrition from our science lessons from earlier in the half term. As part of this, we looked at the five main food groups and categorised them into groups. 

Update - Friday 3rd November 2023

This week in our English we received a letter from another school asking us to tell them about the Stone Age. As a year group, we discussed if we wanted to write back to them and share what we have found and decided this would be a good idea. As a result, we completed some research and made notes on the different parts of Stone Age life to ensure we knew enough to write. Next week, we will begin to think about the skills involved in writing letters.

In computing, we have begun to explore Scratch in preparation for us to programme our own game. While exploring Scratch, we found we could program it to play sounds and move around the screen. 

Update - Friday 20th October 2023

This week has been exceptionally busy! In English, we have been writing our final piece based on 'Anansi the Clever Spider' linking to our Black History Month work. Through this, the children learned to use speech within their stories whilst remembering not to use too much speech.

Through maths, we have continued to work on understanding addition and subtraction and made some super progress, particularly in using resources to support our thinking. 

In art, we have completed our pots in the style of Bell Beaker pottery. We used the clay tools to help decorate the pots in the styles we had explored earlier in the unit. We are very proud of how they've turned out!

Update- Friday 13th October 2023

This week, we have been beginning to use clay to create pots in the style of Bell Beaker pots. As part of this, we have explored using the clay and how to create different patterns as well as how to stick clay embellishments onto the clay pots. 

In geography, we have been looking at climate zones and where these are in the world. We used an atlas to help us find the five different climate zones and then began to identify the key characteristics of these zones. 

Through our history sessions, we have been exploring historical clues and putting together the clues to deduce what happened to 'Cheddar Man'. Using these clues, just like historians, we were able to suggest possible reasons why his remains were found and how these helped historians to learn more and more about the Stone Age. 

Update - Friday 6th October 2023

This week, we have been working hard to complete our final piece of art. As part of this, we have been thinking about the different colours we can use to complement each other and how this will impact the final piece. We also had to consider the different colours and how to mix them. 

In our science, we have also begun to think about the different bones in the body and how they are used. We found out that babies have more bones than adults, which was a surprising fact!

Update - Friday 22nd September 2023

This week has been extremely busy! On Wednesday, we had a visitor in school to do a workshop for the children on the Stone Age, Iron Age and Bronze Age, linking to our topic on 'Through the Ages'. In this, the children learned about life in each time period. 

Stone Age life: using stone for making tools and weapons and transitioning from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle to farming.

Bronze Age life: using metals, including bronze, to make tools, weapons and objects, and the creation of large settlements and social hierarchy.

Iron Age life: metals, including iron, to make stronger, more effective tools and weapons and fine, decorative objects. Farming was more efficient, and religion was an important part of life.

Update - Friday 15th September 2023

This week in our English, we have been looking at the features of African Folktales. As part of this, we have read some of the Tinga Tinga Tales books and considered the similarities and differences between the stories. Using this, we have begun to write our instructions for creating a recipe for a traditional African Folktale. It's been hard work, but we are getting there and are now thinking about the sentence structures and how these can be changed. 

In maths, we have been exploring place value and using concrete resources to help us represent numbers differently. 

Through our science, we have considered the different food groups and how this helps maintain a healthy diet. We used this understanding to explain the importance of the eat well plate. We've also applied our understanding to investigating fatty foods, which has helped us think about what we might eat less of in our diets.

Update - Friday 8th September 2023

This week, we have begun exploring the watercolours in our art unit. In our lesson this week, we used watercolours to mix different colours and thought about which are needed to make secondary and tertiary colours. In this, we had to think carefully about the amount of each colour we used. 

In geography, we have started to recap and develop our understanding of human and physical geography. As part of this, we have looked at images from around the United Kingdom and categorised them into human and physical features. 

Through our science, we have begun exploring different animals' nutrition. As part of this, we have considered omnivores, carnivores and herbivores and what they might eat. 

Welcome to Year 3!

2022-23

In Year 3, our teachers are Mr Tickle, Miss Chisnall, Miss Weeks and Miss Coupe. We are also supported by our dedicated Learning Support Assistant (LSA): Mrs Parkin. 

If you have any questions, please speak with your child's class teacher. You can speak to your child’s class teacher by phoning the school and requesting an appointment if they are not around at pick up.

Keep referring back to this page for regular updates about the children's learning. 

Update- Friday 14th July 2023

In science this week, we have continued to look at light and shadows identifying how shadows change length as the light source move. We tested this using torches and glue sticks and found that the shadow gets smaller as the light source moves over the object. 

Through our Design Technology lessons, we have begun to apply our understanding of transparent, translucent and opaque to help us design and eventually make our own mini greenhouses. We have begun by looking at some of the properties greenhouses need to have and thought about what they look like. 

In English, we have begun our final piece based on the story of 'Journey'. As part of this, the children have worked on developing vivid language to describe the setting they will move into and have begun to apply their understanding of a wide range of skills they have learnt over the year, including using complex sentences, fronted adverbials and inverted commas to punctuate direct speech.

Update - Friday 7th July 2023

Another extremely busy and productive week happened in year 3! In science, we have been exploring light and reflective materials. In doing this, we explored and classified a range of reflective and non-reflective materials. Following this, we identified and discussed similarities and differences between the two groups. 

Update - Friday 24th June 2023

In our maths work this week, we have been learning about finding unit and non-unit fractions of objects. To do this, we used our understanding of fractions to identify the numerator and the denominator of the fraction we were looking for and applied our knowledge of multiplication and division to help find the answer. At times, we found it a bit tricky, but we persevered and got there in the end. 

Through our English, we have continued to write our dragon care guides. As part of this, we have been thinking about our sentence structures to use a variety of complex and compound sentences as well as a range of fronted adverbials followed by a comma. 

As part of our science, we have begun investigating what plants need to grow. We planned our investigation by thinking of a question we wanted to know as part of a group. Some of the questions included what happens if a plant has no light, what happens if a plant has no water, and what happens to a plant if it can't use transpiration. 

Update - Friday 9th June 2023

In science this week, we have been exploring the different parts of the flower and how pollination happens. Through this, we looked at lilys and cut them open to see the different parts which helped us to label diagrams for our books. 

Through our art, we have continued to look at botanical artwork and how began to use this to inspire us to create our own botanical prints using lino. We found it tricky to begin with to carve our images into the lino but it got a bit easier the more we did. Hopefully, our template will be ready to use to print next week. 

As part of maths, we have continued to develop our understanding of using short division by linking our multiplication knowledge to division facts. We've been doing so well that we've now moved on to using exchanging within our problems and applying our knowledge to two-step word problems. 

Update - Friday 19th May 2023

It’s been another busy few weeks in Year 3! As part of our computing unit, we have been creating digital content about the book we read last half term – The Royal Rabbits. To do this, we have had to film using the iPads, thinking about camera angles and the types of shots we’ve used. We have also had to edit the videos together, thinking about the transition between shots and adding music and text.

In our RE lessons, we have created our mandalas to create a class shrine. 

Through our science lessons, we have investigated plants by looking at how transpiration happens and how plants absorb and transport water. As part of this, we learnt that the xylem and vessels transport the water from the roots to the leaves, where it is stored or evaporates through the pores on the underside of the leaves. We also found that if the vessels are blocked, it stops transpiration from happening.

Update - Friday 5th May 2023

This week has been another busy one! We have spent some of our afternoons learning about the coronation. As part of this, we learned about the different things we will see if we watch the ceremony at home. To help us understand the process, we also watched a summary video of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. To help learn about King Charles III and the royal family, we made his family tree and discussed the line of succession, including who previous monarchs have been and who future ones will be. 

As part of art, we designed tree frogs using red, white and blue as part of a whole school art installation. We used tree frogs as there is a tree frog which was named after King Charles III when he was the Prince of Wales. 

Update - Thursday 27th April 2023

In our art this week, we have explored botanical artists and tried out some of our own sketches. We found this quite tricky, to begin with.  As part of this, we then mixed and colour-matched using watercolours the flowers we had to create our palette of colours.

Update - Thursday 20th April 2023

This week we have begun our new topic of Emporers and Empires through which we will be exploring the life and times of the Ancient Romans. We began this by exploring images of Ancient Rome using the VR headsets, which was very exciting. We then used our historical skills of inquiry to discuss what they told us about life in Ancient Rome.  As part of this, we have shared the Roman projects the children completed over the Easter holidays - the children had clearly worked hard on these! 

Through our art lesson, we have begun to explore botanicals. As part of this, we have discussed weaving being a craft in which two sets of yarns or threads are interlaced to form a piece of fabric or cloth which is normally done on a loom. We then made our own botanical weavings using natural materials, such as grasses, flowers, twigs, and leaves. In our future lessons, we will be sketching and drawing botanicals before creating some of our own botanical prints using vinyl. 

Update - 24th March 2023

On Friday, we enjoyed World Book Day, where we explored a range of different books and completed a bingo card. We also had Waterstones come to visit us so we could swap our World Book Day book token for an exciting new book!

Update - Friday 17th March 2023

This week we have been finishing our suspense stories based on 'Jumanji'. We have created a new challenge for Peter and Judy to reach the Golden City of Jumanji. Our challenge included crossing a rope bridge over a crocodile-infested river! The children worked exceptionally hard on their stories and should be very proud of themselves!

Through science, we have investigated the strength of different magnets and how this affects the number of paperclips they can hold with some surprising findings as the children assumed bigger magnets would hold more!

Update - Friday 10th March 2023

It's been another busy week in year 3 with lots going on - including snow on Wednesday! 

In art, the children continued to explore the art of LS Lowery, famous for drawing simplistic figures. However, this has not been the case for all artists some of which have been fascinated by the detail of the human figure and draw it with great attention to detail. Through their lesson this week, the children first explored a range of other artists, such as Albrecht Durer, Christopher Willard and Hans Thoma, before creating sketches of hands and adding detail using the skills we have previously learned.

Through English, we have continued to explore suspense writing and are preparing to write our own final challenge for the Jumanji story we have been focusing on. The children are very excited to write about if the children manage to cross the rope bridge to reach the golden city of Jumanji.

Update  - Thursday 2nd March 2023

This week we have continued to learn about magnets through our science lessons. In our lesson, we found that some, but not all, metals are magnetic as they don't contain nickel, iron or cobalt. As part of this investigation, we considered how to make our investigation a fair test by considering the variables and what we needed to keep the same. 

Through our reading, we have continued to explore the text 'Royal Rabbits' by Santa Montefiore and Simon Sebag Montefiore. As part of this, we have used our skimming and scanning skills to find information from the text to answer questions. We have also been using our inference skills to determine how characters might feel, using evidence to support this. 

In English, we have continued to look at the text of Jumanji, thinking about how we can describe when the rhinos stampede through the house. In doing this, we have been thinking about how to build suspense and help our readers imagine this in their minds' eyes.

Update - Friday 24th February 2023

This week, we have returned to school to a variety of new units and topics! In our English, we are beginning to look at the story of Jumanji! As part of this, the children are building up to writing their own suspense stories similar to the structure of Jumanji. We started by exploring and sequencing the story and thinking about the different language we might find and use in a suspense story.

In our maths lessons, we started by looking at multiplication. We've

found this tricky but are making steady progress in securing the new method of expanded multiplication, using our known facts to help us.

Through science, we have moved on from looking at forces as a whole and focused on magnetic forces. We have started this by exploring the magnets and identifying they have two poles (North and South). We have also found that when two poles that are the same are together, they repel, and two different poles attract.

Update - Friday 9th February 2023

It's been a busy end to the half term in Year 3. In our art, we have used clay to create our versions of ammonite fossils. To do this, we explored different pieces of artwork to help us with our ideas before using the clay.

In our PSHE session this week, we have been developing our skills and understanding of teamwork. To do this, we worked in a team to design and cost out a garden for a specific group of people with disabilities. We used the 'solve it together' technique to resolve any issues or disagreements. We've also used this technique to help us when designing and making a banana racing car!

In this week's maths lessons, we have continued to look at addition and subtraction, applying our understanding to solving problems with money. As part of this, we have had to identify the coins and find different combinations of set amounts. We also had to help add up to three different amounts of money using our addition method and see the change to different amounts using subtraction. 

Update - Thursday 26th January 2023

In our geogrpahy lessons this week, we have been learning about soil and what it is, as well as what it is made from. We found that soil is a mixture of organic matter (dead and decayed plants and animals), air and eroded rock particles that come from the underlying rock, called the parent rock. As part of this we found out about the different types of soil - sandy, silty and clay. We then conducted an investigation to identify different types of soil. 

Through our maths lessons, we have been exploring addition and subtraction moving towards using formal written methods. In doing this, we have practised with place value counters to give ourselves a good understanding in what is happening at each stage. 

In science, we have continued to explore forces. This week we have looked at how forces can be measured using force meters. We discussed how forces are measured in newtons before exploring how much force was needed to conduct some everyday tasks such as pushing open a door or opening a draw. 

Update - Friday 20th January 2023

This we we have been exploring press printing in our art sessions. As part of this we designed our own motifs based on images we have explored in the last few sessions. This was then traced on to tracing paper before we could make an imprint into a polystyrene tile. Having created our tile we tried single colour printing, two colour printing and using the paints to create more interesting patterns.  

In our English lessons, we have just finished our non-chronological report about polar bears. Through this we thought about how to include complex sentences in our writing to allow us to include more detail and expand on what we have written. Once finished we have published our work to share with Nat Geo Kids. 

Update - Friday 13th January 2023

Throughour English unit, the children have continued to learn about polar bears and have now begun to use this information to construct paragraphs of their non-chronological reports. In doing this, the children have been working on developing their understanding of complex sentences and using subordinating conjunctions (although, because, when) to join the main clause and subordinate clause together.

In maths this week, the children have been working on developing their understanding of shapes. To do this they have learned about horizonal and vertical lines including identifying them on the a selection of regular and irregular shapes! They have also been using 'angle monsters' to identify acute, right and obtuse angles.

Update - Friday 6th January 2023

Welcome back everyone we hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This week we have started our new topic geography topic on 'Rock, Relics and Rumbles'. Through this the children have already explored different types of rocks and begun to classify them based on thier properties into sedimentary, ignious and metamorphic. 

In English, we have started to think about writing non-chronologcal reports about polar bears for Nat Geo Kids. In doing this we have begun to research about polar bears learning some very interesting facts including that polar bears have paws that up to 30cm wide and that they have 42 teeth!

Through our maths work we have been exploring 2D shape and using our meauring skills to draw examples of regular and irregular shapes of different sizes.