Year 3

In Year 3 we have three classes- Miss Emmett in Ash, Mr Richards in Beech and Mr Randall in Willow.

Important Information

Children will be dismissed from the door next to the carpark at 3.25pm daily. Please ensure P.E kit is left in school and taken home at the end of a term to be washed. It is important to note that some P.E lessons will take place outside and as the winter sets in, children will need to bring warmer clothes.

Spelling tests will be set on a Friday ready to be tested the following Friday. Any extra support you can give your children to learn these spellings and then continue to spell the words correctly moving forwards will be greatly appreciated. As little as five minutes at a time is still hugely beneficial. It is also very important that times tables are secure as they are key to grasping most mathematical concepts; please practise with your children regularly. Please also ensure your child reads at least three times a week at home. Talking about what they have read will help them understand and comprehend their reading, which will help them when they take an Accelerated Reader quiz.

What are we learning about this year?

Our exciting topics for term 1 and term 2 – The Romans are Coming! I In this topic the children will be learning about how the Romans took over from the Celts! The children will get a chance to dress up as a Celt and experience living as a Celt for the day! There is also an educational visit to Carleon which is a welsh village that has preserved Roman Remains!

In terms 3 and 4 our class topic will be Hot and Cold. The children will be learning about the extreme places on Earth, that are both hot and cold.

In terms 5 and 6 the topic is Rainforest Explorers. The children will have an opportunity to learn about the rainforests, take an educational trip to Bristol Zoo and be able to handle live animals from the rainforest!

English

We start terms 1 and 2 by learning about fiction which includes familiar settings, text based week based on the text George’s Marvellous Medicine and non-fiction will be linked to our Roman topic where the children will be involved in writing a report about the Roman Army.

Within terms 3 & 4 the children will be learning how to express themselves with performance poetry. They will also be writing adventure stories and using researching skills with non-fiction information texts. They will create shape poems. The text based week will be based on the story of the Iron Man by Ted Hughes. They will also be writing letters that will be linked to our topic, where they will be imaging that they are explorers in the Arctic and Antarctic.

Finally during terms 5 & 6 the children will be writing and performing from play- scripts. They will be learning about how to be persuasive and create a persuasive text. There will be an opportunity to use their imagination and write descriptions. They will also be working on book reviews. We will also be re-visiting familiar settings and shape poems.

Maths

This year we will be revising the written methods for all four number operations. This includes: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

We will also have the opportunity to apply these skills, through interesting and engaging problem solving activities and contextualised maths lessons. We will be working hard to develop our mental maths strategies; in particular ensuring children all know their times tables.

In terms 1 & 2 children will revise the four written methods place value, multiplication and division. Children will then move on to look at fractions, and exploring 2D and 3D shapes.

Within terms 3 & 4 children have the opportunity to find the perimeter of shapes. The children will also be revising the written methods for the four number operations. The children will have practical investigations that include studying different measures such as weight, capacity and length.

Finally during terms 5 & 6 there will be an opportunity to solve a variety of problems involving areas covered throughout the year. These will include the four number operations.

Science

Our first Science unit is all about light and shadow. Then we move onto rocks and soils and finally in term 2 forces and magnets. During the science lessons, the children will have the opportunity to experiment with the different materials, such as the magnets and also research and find out facts within each science topic.

In term 3 and 4 we focus on healthy eating with our nutrition and diet topic. Following on from this, we look at the structure and function of the skeleton and the muscles in our bodies.

In term 5 and term 6, we study plants, where we look at the changes in growing plants and learn about the life cycle of plants.

How can I help my child at home?

Listening to your child read at home as often as possible continues to be essential to their progress. Children are to borrow books from the class library or from the school library. Please continue to practise spellings and times tables on a weekly basis. Please also see the website links on this page.

Page website links (Please list below)

Woodlands School Resources: http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/index.html

What 2 Learn (Activities): http://primarygamesarena.com/Play/Literacy-Listen-and-Spell-82-1409

KS2 Bitesize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/english/spelling_grammar/

Mathletics: http://www.mathletics.co.uk/

Top Marks: http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables