Welcome to Year 3!

We are so excited to welcome you to Year 3 for a fantastic year of learning, discovery, and fun! In Year 3, you'll explore new topics, develop your skills, and make wonderful memories with your friends. Our classroom is a place where curiosity and creativity thrive, and we can't wait to see you grow and shine.

We’re thrilled to continue our exciting adventure together as we begin Summer 1. 

Summer 1 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 -  PE with Mrs Taylor and Class Prayer

Wednesday - Gospel Assembly, PE with Coach Danny and Music with Mrs Allen

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

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. (Daily for 10 minutes)

Reading - children need to read every day and have their reading diary signed. (Daily for 10 minutes)

 

What will we learn during Summer 1 ?

Writing

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

Flood by Alvaro F Villa (Narrative - Tragedy)

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold (Narrative - Adventure)

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 Nothing to See Here Hotel by Steven Butler

The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepher

 

 

Our lessons will focus on reading fluency, understanding word meanings in context, summarising and answering retrieval questions. We will also focus on building independent inference skills to delve deeper into the different themes, characters and events in each of the texts. 

 

For our class novel lessons, the children will continue to explore and read the whole text of  The Nothing to See Here Hotel by Steven Butler.

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Maths

In Maths, we will study Fractions, Money and Time.

We continue to use White Rose Maths, firstly developing the children's fluency and building on the application of mathematical knowledge to deepen their understanding, master concepts and apply what they have learnt to a range of problem-solving and reasoning. 

Here are some links to help with learning:

Fractions - KS2 Maths - BBC Bitesize

Money - KS2 Maths - BBC Bitesize

Time - KS2 Maths - BBC Bitesize

 

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. 

Times Tables Rock Stars (ttrockstars.com) 

 

RE - To the Ends of the Earth

In this branch, the children will explore Easter and the Holy Trinity. They will learn that Easter is a joyful season lasting 50 days, from Jesus’ resurrection to Pentecost.
During this time, Christians celebrate that Jesus is alive and that God’s love continues through the Holy Spirit. The children will discover that Christians believe in the mystery of the Trinity — that God is One, but also Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They will explore what it means that Jesus is God, not just created by God, and how this shows the closeness between God and Jesus. Through prayer, the children will see how Christians express their belief in the Trinity and the Holy Spirit.
They will look at signs and symbols that represent the Trinity — such as three interlocking circles, a triangle, or three candles — and understand how these remind Christians of God’s unity and love. Finally, they will reflect on how the Easter season helps Christians to celebrate life, hope, and the presence of God in the world today.

 

 

Science - Animals including Humans

   

The children will be exploring the following:

• Living things need food to grow and be healthy.
• Plants can make their own food, but animals cannot.
• To stay healthy, humans need to exercise, eat a healthy diet and be hygienic.
• Animals, including humans, need food, water and air to stay alive.
• Skeletons protect organs inside the body.
• Skeletons allow movement.
• The body is supported and stopped from falling on the floor by the skeleton.
• Skeletal muscles work in pairs to move the bones they are attached to by taking turns to contract and relax.

We are also looking forward to our trip to Chester Zoo!

 

 History - British History Heroes

The children will be learning about the following:

• Mary Seacole was a nurse who wanted to help injured soldiers in 1853.
• Winston Churchill was a British Prime Minister from 1940-1945 and again in 1951-1955.
• Winston Churchill led Britain to victory in the Second World War.
• Lord Shaftesbury helped improve working conditions for poor children. 
• Elizabeth Fry first visited a prison in 1813 and found the women and children imprisoned in appalling conditions.
• Elizabeth Fry campaigned for better conditions in prisons.
• William Wilberforce campaigned to abolish the slave trade.
• Emmeline Pankhurst helped women to win the right to vote.
• In 1903, the Women’s Social and Political Union was formed by Emmeline Pankhurst.

Useful Websites

https://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/winston-churchill

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zh7kdxs

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/true-stories-elizabeth-fry/zvh8mfr

 

DT -  Structures

The children will explore the following:

• How photo frames are made strong and stable.
• What features help a structure stand securely without falling.
• How to design a freestanding photo frame using labelled sketches.
• How to choose materials and shapes that suit their design.
• How to measure and mark materials accurately.
• How to cut and join materials safely and carefully.
• How to use finishing techniques to improve appearance.
• How to work neatly and take pride in presentation.
• How to test the stability and attractiveness of a finished product.
• How to evaluate their work and suggest realistic improvements.

     

 

 

Physical Education

In Year 3, children will take part in netball and athletics lessons where they will develop key movement skills such as accurate chest, bounce and shoulder passes, safe footwork, pivoting and simple attacking and defending techniques in netball, while athletics will focus on improving their arm and leg action for sprinting, taking part in simple relays using a beanbag baton, completing mini obstacle courses while balancing an object, developing an effective take‑off for the standing long jump, practising speed bounce, performing a push throw (chest push), continuing to develop techniques to throw for greater distance, and competing safely and fairly in obstacle courses that involve moving over, under, through and around equipment.

 

Computing

Creating Media - Desktop Publishing

The children will learn key desktop publishing skills as they explore how text and images work together to share information. They will recognise that words and pictures can be edited and arranged in different ways, choose suitable page settings, and add their own content to create a simple publication. They will also learn how different layouts suit different purposes and begin to understand why desktop publishing is a useful tool for presenting information clearly and creatively.