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Year 3

Welcome to Year 3 

Spring Term 2024

Areas of study for Year 3*

Literacy


During the first half term, we will be working on the story of Stone Age Boy,  with the aim of writing our own adventure stories about time travelling, comparing how our environment today is different from the way it would have been in the Stone Age.  Continuing to link to our history topic of Stone Age to Iron Age, we will go on to look at the story Ug.  We will use the story as a basis to focus on our skills of using direct speech accurately.

After February half term, the children will work on writing and performing their own nonsensical, rhythmical poems, using the poem The Trouble With My Brother as an example.  They will practise varying the tone, speed and volume of their voices to fit with the theming of their poems.  We will then go on to study the book The Tear Thief.  They will be exploring how authors use the ‘show not tell’ technique to explain how characters are feeling and developing their use of descriptive language to convey characters’ emotions.

Numeracy

We will begin the term by recapping the 3, 4 and 8 times tables, which we were working towards the end of the autumn term.  We will then move on to a unit of work on length and perimeter.  The children will practise measuring in millimetres, centimetres and metres.  They will learn to identify equivalent lengths and compare lengths, as well as calculating the perimeter of a range of different shapes.

The pupils will then focus on fractions, understanding that a fraction can be seen as a part of a whole.  They will work on being able to identify the numerator and denominator within a fraction, comparing and ordering fractions, placing fractions on a number line and recognising equivalent fractions.  They will use concrete resources to help them represent unit and non-unit fractions.

Finally, we will complete a unit on mass and capacity.  Pupils will practise using sets of scales to weigh in grams and kilograms, recognising that different sets of scales have different intervals between the marks on the scales.  They will be notice equivalent weights and compare different masses.  They will revisit the addition and subtraction skills we covered in the autumn term to add and subtract different masses.


Reading

During guided reading lessons, the children will have the opportunity to read aloud, discuss and answer questions across a range of genres, including narratives, non-fiction texts, poetry and playscripts. Using our whole school approach of VIPERS style questions, they will practise how to interpret a text, retrieve information and prove their answers, as well as making plot predictions and summarising sections of a text. They will also have opportunities to discuss the authors’ choices of words and phrases.

MFL

In French this term, the pupils will learn the French words for up to ten different animals, including the correct determiner for that animal.  They will begin to use the verb être (to be) in the very useful phrase ‘Je suis’ (I am).

They will then go on to look at the French words for different types of fruit.  They will look at the spelling of the words and be able to express likes and dislikes of different types of fruit, as well as understanding the likes and dislikes of others.

PSHE/RSHE

This term, our focus is Living in the Wider World.  This will involve work on children’s rights and responsibilities, how we build and uphold laws and the consequences of rule breaking.  Children will reflect on how one person’s actions can have an impact on others.

In line with Safer Internet Day, we will be looking at the theme of Inspiring change, making a difference, managing influence and navigating change online, as well as reinforcing how to remain safe online.

RE

The children will be considering a key question this term, ‘How can rules influence a follower’s lifestyle?’.  Children will begin by looking at rules they know e.g. in school, at home and in clubs. They will then move on to look at the 10 commandments and the parable of the good Samaritan, recognising its importance in Christianity. They will then investigate the 5 pillars of Islam and the importance of fasting and Ramadan. They will look at the 5 k’s and understand what Sewa is and why Sikhs have langar kitchens. Finally, they will learn about the importance of Easter to Christians.

PE

In Gymnastics this term the children with learn, develop and apply travel and rotation on the floor, with hand apparatus and partner work through focussed skill development, sequence creation and games. After half term, they will learn, develop and apply flight and balance on the floor, on low and large apparatus through focussed skill development, warm ups and games. 

History

As part of our topic on the Stone Age through to the Iron Age the children will be looking at the three time periods in the Stone Age: the Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age), the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) and the Neolithic (New Stone Age). They will learn about the changes brought about during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age with regards to how they lived, what they ate, how they got their food, what they wore and what their houses were constructed of. They will use a range of primary and secondary sources of information.

We will also enjoy a Stone Age Workshop in school, where the children will get the chance to handle a range of artefacts, try their hand at archery and explore how weapons and tools were crafted!


Science

This term, the children will be learning about the different types of rocks and soils and how they are formed. They will also look at how fossils are formed, how they are then found and the significance of Mary Anning. The children will get the opportunity to do some fieldwork, digging up soil samples and investigating what the soil was made up of using magnifying glasses.  They will learn about the different layers of the Earth, including how volcanoes are formed and what happens when they erupt.

Music

In the unit Latin Dance, pupils will explore salsa rhythms by learning to dance salsa, play a clave rhythm, sing the song, and play a percussion part. They will also compose rhythm patterns to incorporate into their whole-class performance.

Later in the term, they will look at the March from The Nutcracker, developing active listening skills by responding to musical themes through movement.  They will also experience call-and-response patterns through moving with a partner.  Finally, pupils will be exploring ways to create word-based pieces of music, communicate atmosphere and effect and listen and compare how different composers have approached creating word-based compositions.

Computing

In computing, the children will start to look at communication in the form of emails and how they are sent.  They will learn how to attach a document and download an attachment.  Networks and the Internet (Searching the Internet)  The children will explore how the internet is created and be required to explain what it is, the difference between the internet and the world wide web (WWW) and explain how the internet provides access to the WWW. They will begin to understand how a webpage works and is coded, how Google indexes pages and how to how to safely and effectively search the internet. The children will use the internet to research information to support their literacy and geography sessions and learn how to present information clearly.


Art, Design & Technology

The children will begin the term by looking at the cave paintings discovered and they will then go on to create their own using chalk and oil pastels.  They will then go on manipulate clay to create Beaker pots and will use different tools to decorate them.  They will look at the landscape work of a number of different artists through different periods and they will look at creating different tones of colour to create silhouettes of Stone Age landscapes.

*If you require additional information relating to our school curriculum, please ask at the school office or the class teacher.