Welcome to Year 3!

We’re so excited to begin Autumn 2 and continue our fantastic Year 3 journey of learning, discovery and fun! This half-term, we’ll explore exciting new topics, develop our knowledge and skills, and enjoy lots of memorable experiences together as our learning adventure continues.

Our classroom remains a place where curiosity and creativity thrive, and we look forward to seeing everyone grow even further in confidence, kindness and independence. We can’t wait to make the most of another exciting and successful half-term together!

Autumn 2 Weekly Timetable 

 

Each day, the children will focus on the core subjects in the morning – Writing, Whole Class Reading, Maths, Spelling and Times Tables.  Foundation subjects are spread out throughout the week. 

Important sessions to note:

Monday -  Singing and homework will be sent home

Tuesday -  Class Prayer and PE (dance) with Mrs Taylor

Wednesday - Gospel Assembly

Thursday - Class Prayer,  Homework due in, Spelling and Arithmetic Tests.

Music with Mrs Allen and PE with Mrs Abbate. 

Friday - Praise Assembly

Please remember to have your PE kit in school every day. Children need to be in full school uniform and will get changed at school, prior to the lesson. 

Homework

Homework will be set and sent home on a Monday and should be returned by a Thursday.

Children should spend 20 minutes on each piece of weekly homework. Children do not need to complete all their homework in one go. Little and often throughout the week is key! 

English and Maths homework will be sent on a 3-week rotation, unless there is a particular 'Themed' homework that week.  We have been providing a homework club twice a week, which has been a real success. Please contact the school office if you would like your child to attend. 

English Homework – reading or writing (one piece on a three-week rotation)

Maths Homework – consolidation of the week and / or timetables (one piece on a three-week rotation)

Themed homework – if there is a significant event happening, we will use homework as a chance to explore these, instead of English or Maths.

Times Tables Rockstars and Spelling Frame - all children have personal logins. Children need to practise every day in preparation for their arithmetic and spelling tests on a Thursday.  Regular practice also gives children the opportunity to climb the class leaderboards and celebrate their achievements. As they progress, they can earn Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates, which are awarded during our Praise Assembly.

Reading –  children need to read every day for 10 minutes and have their reading diary signed. Reading is one of the most important skills children can develop, as it helps to improve vocabulary, comprehension, imagination and confidence across all areas of learning. A little reading every day can make a huge difference to a child's progress and enjoyment of books

 

What will we learn during Autumn 2 ?

Writing

In our literacy lessons, we will be exploring the following texts:

Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman (Non-fiction – writing a setting description)

 

Christmas Dessert – writing a persuasive social media post

The children will develop their writing skills through sentence-stacking lessons and build up to an independent writing task. 

Grammar, punctuation and spelling - KS2 English - BBC Bitesize

SpellingFrame 

 

Reading

During our guided reading lessons this half-term, Year 3 will be reading and analysing text excerpts of the following:

The Colours of History by Clive Gifford

 

The Whatifs by Shl Silverstein

 

An Alien in the Jam Factory by Chrissie Sains

 

Our lessons will focus on reading fluency, understanding word meanings in context, summarising and answering retrieval questions. We will also focus on developing independent inference skills so children can read beyond the surface meaning and explore the ideas, themes and messages in the texts.

For our class novel lessons, the children will continue to explore and read the whole text of George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl.

 

 Maths

In Maths, we will continue to build on our learning from Autumn 1 by developing our understanding of addition and subtraction before moving on to multiplication and division.

We will use White Rose Maths, developing the children’s fluency first and then building on the application of mathematical knowledge to deepen their understanding, master key concepts and apply what they have learnt through a range of problem-solving and reasoning activities.

Here are some links to help with learning:

Adding and subtracting - Year 3 Maths - BBC Bitesize

Addition & subtraction in Year 3 (age 7–8) - Oxford Owl for Home

Multiplying and dividing - Year 3 Maths - BBC Bitesize

Multiplication & division in Year 3 (age 7–8) - Oxford Owl for Home

Times Tables 

The children have dedicated time twice a week to learn and practise times tables to ensure they are increasing in accuracy and speed. This needs to be supported daily at home for at least 10 minutes. By the end of Year 3, children should aim to know the 3, 4 and 8 times tables as well as 2, 5, 10 times tables. 

Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com) 

 

RE - Prophecy and Promise

                    

In this branch, the children will learn why Sunday is a holy day for Christians and explore how Catholics celebrate Mass through prayer, signs and actions. They will learn about the events leading up to Jesus’ birth in the Gospel of Luke, discovering how Mary and Joseph trusted God and how angels shared God’s messages. Children will also explore the meaning of Advent, its symbols and traditions, and learn how Christians around the world prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

 

Science – Forces and Magnets

            

In this topic, the children will learn about forces and magnets and how they affect the way objects move. They will explore different types of forces, including pushes, pulls and friction, and investigate how these forces can make objects speed up, slow down or change direction. Children will compare how things move on different surfaces and discover that some forces need contact between objects while others can act from a distance. They will investigate magnets, learning that magnets have north and south poles and that like poles repel while opposite poles attract. Through practical investigations, they will test which materials are magnetic and find out how magnets are used in everyday life. Keywords such as force, friction, surface, magnet, magnetic, attract, repel, pole and metal will help them develop their scientific understanding and use scientific vocabulary accurately.

Useful Websites

Forces - Year 3 Science - BBC Bitesize

Year 3: Forces and Magnets | Resource Collection

 

 Geography – Spatial Sense

           

In Geography this half term, Year 3 will continue developing their spatial sense and map-reading skills. The children will learn how to use a compass to identify directions and understand how symbols provide information about places on maps. They will explore grid references to locate features accurately and investigate the physical and human features of different locations. Through comparing places, pupils will identify similarities and differences in landscapes, settlements and land use, helping them to develop a deeper understanding of the world around them.

Useful Websites

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zvsfr82

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1NfYYkezys

 

Art – Painting

        

  

In Art this half-term, Year 3 will explore the beautiful impressionist paintings of Claude Monet. The children will learn how Monet used colour, light and expressive brushstrokes to capture scenes of nature. They will experiment with different painting techniques, including dabbing and layering colours, and create their own colour palettes to represent water, sky and reflections. Using these skills, pupils will produce their own impressionist-inspired landscape paintings before sharing and discussing their artwork, reflecting on the colours and techniques they have used.

 

Physical Education

In PE this half term, Year 3 will enjoy developing a range of physical skills through dance and invasion games. With Mrs Taylor, the children will explore movement, rhythm and expression as they create and perform dance sequences. With Mrs Abbatte, they will take part in Game Sense invasion activities, developing teamwork, communication and tactical thinking while learning how to attack, defend and work effectively as part of a team.

Computing 

Creating media - Stop frame animation

In Computing this half term, Year 3 will continue their work on creating media through stop-frame animation. Building on their planning, the children will complete their Ancient Egyptian animations, learning the importance of working carefully and consistently to create smooth, effective sequences. They will review and improve their animations by evaluating what has worked well and identifying areas for development. Finally, pupils will explore how adding other forms of media, such as sound effects, music and titles, can enhance their finished projects. They will complete and evaluate their animations, reflecting on the creative and technical skills they have developed throughout the unit.

PSHE/RSE

In Year 3, children follow the myHappymind and Ten Ten Life to the Full programmes to develop their understanding of emotions, self-worth and character. They learn that feelings can change as they grow and that all emotions are a natural part of being human. Children explore the range and intensity of different feelings, discovering that emotions are neither good nor bad and learning how positive actions and talking to trusted adults can support their emotional well-being. They also think carefully about the images they see in the media, learning that these do not always reflect reality and can influence how people feel about themselves. Throughout these lessons, children are reminded that God created each of us uniquely and loves us exactly as we are. Through the Celebrate unit, pupils explore what character strengths are, where they come from and which strengths they use most often. They learn why these strengths are important, how they can be used in challenging situations and how, with practice and perseverance, they can continue to grow and develop them throughout their lives.