Year 3

Year 3 Newsletter

Term 1 & Term 2 2019

 

Miss Prentice, Mrs Gumbeer, Miss Balchin and Mrs Bradley are excited to be welcoming the children back to school from their summer break and into Year 3 class. A warm welcome also goes out to all the parents/carers of Year 3 children. We hope all of the children enjoyed their summer holiday and are now ready to try their hardest at a new year in Key Stage 2. Our first term consists of fun and engaging lessons, planned with excellent learning opportunities in mind.

 

Our topic this term is ‘Extreme Explorers’. This is a project with a geographical focus on different cultural lifestyles around the globe; this will include locating countries on the world map, identifying regions, reading maps and knowing key topographical features: including the continents and the natural wonders of the world. We will be learning about a variety of explorers, chosen to hook the children and allow us to learn the difficulties they faced from country to country. All of the explorers begin their journeys in the UK and as they venture far and wide, we will join them on their expeditions and find out how they managed to survive extreme conditions. There will be great opportunities throughout this term to walk in the shoes of each explorer and look forward to new discoveries as we do so.

 

Our vision is to…

• Create challenging and stimulating learning that is exciting and engaging for the children.
• Motivate children through unique experiences and learning opportunities.
• Allow children to explore new things and develop their thirst for knowledge.
• Encourage children to have pride and high expectations in their work, to not fear challenge and to push themselves to achieve their individual best.

 

English

Although our topic will have a Geography and History focus, we will also be using these remarkable people as inspiration for our English learning. To begin, the children will have the opportunity to demonstrate their retained knowledge of instructional writing from Year 2. It is hoped that your child will be able to show the same level of understanding (or better) that was presented in their writing at the end of July. We will then use this as a baseline and starting point for this new academic year. To help your child, it would be beneficial if you continued to read stories to them at least 3 times a week. By doing this, your child will have the opportunity to access a book that is pitched a little higher than their own reading ability, which in turn gives them the exposure to a wider range of vocabulary. It would be great for any new and adventurous vocabulary that the children acquire and learn about to be written in their Reading Record book as this can act as a gentle reminder for them to include these in their writing.

 

Below are details of the grammar content to be taught during Year 3:

 

Maths

In Maths, we will begin the year continuing to build on number and place value knowledge.

 

Pupils will be taught to:

• count from 0 in multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100; find 10 or 100 more or less than a given number
• recognise the place value of each digit in a three-digit number (hundreds, tens, ones)
• compare and order numbers up to 1000
• identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations
• read and write numbers up to 1000 in numerals and in words
• solve number problems and practical problems involving these ideas.

 

Once this knowledge has been secured, we can then move onto building addition, subtraction, multiplication and division strategies to complete the first term. We are continuing to ensure that we all become masters of the mathematics curriculum where reasoning and problem solving using the help of our Maths characters - ‘Convince Me Vince, Generate Jess, Captain Conjecture’ – will deepen our understanding of mathematical concepts. During this year, the children will be encouraged to use maths equipment, draw pictures and use abstract approaches to help them solve maths challenges and demonstrate their understanding in greater depth.

Computing

This term we will begin with a focus on how to keep safe on the internet and how to use technology responsibly. We will also continue to build on developing effective programmes, using Scratch to design codes that move objects in a variety of directions across the screen and perform varying tasks.

 

Music

Mr Hole has joined the school this academic year and will be working with the children in Year 3 on Friday mornings. They will use our first topic, Extreme Explorers, as a link to their learning in Music.

French and Grammar

Your child will have the opportunity to study French and Grammar (each for 45 minutes) with Mr Hollingshurst every Friday morning.

 

Religious Education

The children will be learning about the religious beliefs involved with Hinduism. We will also be looking to find the similarities and differences between Christianity and Hinduism. This includes learning about where it was founded, the special places and festivals that take place and significant symbols that reflect the religion. They will also take part in celebrating the traditions of Diwali in October.   

 

PSHE

In this first term, the children will be focusing on the JIGSAW PSHE units, ‘being me in my world’ and ‘celebrating our differences’. This theme focuses on self-awareness, motivation and social skills.

 

PE

PE lessons will be on a Monday and Friday every week. This will include one indoor and one outdoor lesson per week.

 

Please remember to take your child’s earrings out on PE days as if your child is unable to remove their own earrings they will be excluded from participating in PE for health and safety reasons. Remember also to fasten up any long hair/long fringes with soft hair bands. Please ensure to include a pair of socks if your child wears tights. PE kits will be sent home every term for washing.

 

Science

In Science this term, we will be learning about Forces, Magnets and Electricity and linking it to our Extreme Explorers.

 

Homework and Library

Homework books will be sent home every Thursday and should be returned no later than the following Tuesday. Each week, the pupils will bring home English and Maths CPG booklets to complete ONE workout in each book, following in order of the booklets. These workouts follow along with the learning that takes place in class and will support your child’s learning journey. Please encourage your child to aim for high levels of presentation, as with any other schoolwork. For example, Maths should be completed in pencil and include written methods where indicated and English books should be completed in black pen with joined handwriting and complete sentences where applicable.

 

As part of your child’s homework, to help them develop a love of reading, they should be reading for at least 10 minutes every day and recording this in their reading record. The children will have the opportunity to change their library books in the morning as they enter class. May we request that you make a comment each time you hear your child read and sign it to confirm they have finished a book in order for them to change it. We recommend that they are encouraged to read a wide range of genres. Please encourage your child to read their library books and return them regularly.

 

Spellings

Every Thursday, the children will also be given spellings to learn which will be assessed in the form of a dictation task based around the Year 3/4 statutory words. These will be stapled into their Reading Record book.

 

Visits/Enrichments

At the start of this term, we will be joining Year 4 on an expedition to Stanwick Lakes, where we will step into the shoes of an explorer. The children will learn about shelter building to explore survival outdoors and teamwork. They will also learn about the different ways of recording an expedition, studying outdoor art through collecting, drawing and photography. More information with transport details, dates and costs will follow in due course.

 

Water bottles

We welcome your children having water bottles in school, however, due to limited time and water machines, we have asked Year 3 children to take their bottles home every night and fill them up before coming to school the following morning. This allows your child to them access teaching and learning promptly during registration, as they will be provided with a maths task to complete every morning from 8:40am to review questions taught in previous lessons.

 

Healthy Snack

May we please remind families that children are welcome to bring a 'healthy snack' to school to eat during their break. As an Enhanced Healthy School, we encourage all children to eat either a piece of fresh/dried fruit or vegetable, when children bring biscuits or crisps they will be asked to save them to eat at lunchtime. Thank you for supporting our school with being healthy!

 

Parent’s Evenings

I would like the opportunity to meet with you and discuss your child’s needs and progress. Two evenings are to be held on the 16^th and 17^th October. However, if you wish to discuss your child’s learning before this, or at any other time, you are welcome to make an appointment. If you need to speak with me before school please ask at the school office first, thank you.

 

 

Miss Prentice

Year 3 Teacher