Year 3

Welcome to Year 3

Week Commencing 15th July

Dear Parents and Carers,

May I start by saying a big thank you for your support over the past year, the children have been fantastic to teach and I've learnt as much from them as they have from me.  They are a credit to you all and I wish them every success for their learning journey as it continues into Year 4.  Have a fantastic summer and I hope to see you all looking refreshed and ready to take on Year 4 in September. 

Despite it being the last week, we have still been learning lots.  In Maths, we have been using our knowledge of shape, angles, turns and programming language to draw a whole host of different sized shapes in Logo.  The children were quite adventurous with their drawings and surprised themselves with what they could do.

In English we have been finishing off our adverts as well as using our guided reading to learn about Georgia O'Keeffe, an American artist famed for painting bold, oversized flowers.  The children have created a fact file about her as well as creating their own pictures using her style.  Have a look at our stunning creations below.  Ask the children if they can tell you a fact about Georgia.

Week Commencing 8th July 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been continuing our work on multiplication to secure our understanding of arrays and the grid method.  Today we have been using mathematical reasoning to help us problem solve.  The children found this challenging and didn't like the feeling of being stuck.  They were encouraged to use what they knew to solve the problem.  Ask them to explain how they solved the following problem.

In English we have planned our advert to sell a Stone Age tool and have now begun work on the final piece.  The children are using their persuasive writing checklist to ensure they include as many features as possible.

We have been learning about the parts of a flower in Science.  We discovered that flowers have male and female reproductive parts.  For pollination to occur the pollen grains must come off the male parts (the stamen) and land on the female parts. Pollen is then transferred to the ovary where it combines with the egg cells to form a seed.  This process is called fertilisation.

Week commencing 1st July 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been learning how to move from the grid method to the short written method for multiplication.  We began using arrays to represent the multiplicand, multiplier and product.  We then moved onto the grid method which partitions the multiplicand into tens  and units.  We then moved on to the expanded method which is similar to the grid before finally moving on to the short written method.  It can be quite tricky especially if we forget to carry over and the importance of knowing our times tables has been evident in ensuring we multiply correctly.  Take a look at the representations below and ask the children to explain each step to you.

In English we have been continuing our work on persuasive writing.  Earlier in the week the children, in pairs, planned and acted out their own advert using a range of props.  The children were very creative and acted out a whole range of scenes but most importantly they were able to include devices such as alliteration, pattern of 3, repetition, adjectives, facts and opinion to try and persuade us to buy their product.

We are continuing our work on plants in science.  This week we were learning about the leaves of a plant and how the roots take in the water which is then evaporated through tiny pores in the leaves.  The leaves pores are important because they need to take in air and sunlight to make their own food, this process is called photosynthesis.  We put some leaves in a dish of water and placed them in the sunlight; after some time, we observed tiny bubbles of oxygen on the sides of the glass and leaf which the leaf had produced.

Homework this week is English, pages 10 and 11 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 10th July.

30 Days Wild

Alice, our class Eco Ambassador suggested we take part in Staffordshire's 30 days wild in June in which we do something wild every day.  So we signed up for a pack which gave us lots of helpful tips and for each day of June that we are at school we are going to try and do something wild.  On the first day we collected wild flowers and are making a picture from them, on the second day we went cloud spotting and today we took our socks and shoes off to feel the wildness of the grass beneath our toes.  The children absolutely loved it (well most of us did :-)).  We have also danced in a down pour, looked for insects, recorded the wild things we could see outside our window and did a wild animal dance.  Additionally, we have used blades of grass to try and whistle with as well as picking up litter and finding a bee on a flower.  This week we have watched baby barn owls in their nest on a wild webcam, listened for wild noises,sketched a wild picture, made daisy chains and went wild on the tyre park.

Week commencing 24th June 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths, we have been recapping our work on unit and non-unit fractions, how to recognise them, compare and order them, and use them to find an amount of a number or group of objects.  The children are very good at giving examples of unit and non-unit fractions.  You'll have to ask them to show you an examples.

In English, we finished off our Ug narrative and have started a new unit on persuasive writing as the children are going to be writing an advert to sell a sell a Stone Age tool.  We watched several adverts in order to understand the different techniques used by companies to persuade people to buy their products.

Our French beans, that we planted in Science last week, have really grown with lots of roots growing through.  Take a look at our photos. This week, we have been looking at how water is transported around the plant.  We used celery and food dye to investigate this.  It was really interesting to see how the food dye had travelled up the stalk and had created red dots at the top and also how the veins in the leaves had turned blue.

Homework this week is maths, pages 33 and 34 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 3rd July.

Week Commencing 17th June

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week, has been assessment week so what better way for us to let of a bit of steam than our trip to the Wrekin Forest School, to learn about the Stone Age which the children absolutely loved.  In the morning, they learned how to make dens and build a round house using willow branches;  they made clay pots as well as bannocks (flat oat bread/biscuits) and apple Jam.  In the afternoon they gutted fish, made candles out of animal fat or bows, arrow and spears from willow.  In between times they roamed free around the grounds, swung from a rope swing, crossed a rope bridge, climbed obstacles, swung from a hammock or a tyre, and jumped on the bogoline amongst many other things.  The weather held out really well for us but it is safe to say we were rather muddy when we arrived back to school.

Homework this week is English, children to are complete pages 15 and 34 and return to school no later than Wednesday 26th June.

Week Commencing 10th June

Dear Parents and Carers,

In maths this week we have been recapping our mental and written methods of subtraction.  We have been learning that as the numbers get trickier and more apart it is better to use the formal written method.  We are having to remember to take the bottom number from the top and to exchange when we need to.  We have been doing great at writing our subtraction calculations in the right place value columns.

In English we have started a new book called 'Ug boy Genius of the Stone Age'.  We have been learning how to write a summary, as well as describing a character and a setting using adjectives to create expanded noun phrases.

This week in science we have been finishing off our topic of Rocks, Soils and Fossils by making our own fossils using Playdoh and Plaster of Paris.  We are waiting for the last few to set before taking them out of their moulds.

Homework this week is Maths, children are to complete Pages 31 and 32 and return to school no later than Wednesday 19th June.  The children will be exhibiting their Stonehenge projects on Monday afternoon to the rest of the school therefore there is still time to get your project in if you haven't.

Week commencing 3rd June 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

The children have begun to bring in their fantastic models of Stonehenge.  I have been completely blown away by their ideas, thank you for your support with this.  If you haven't managed to bring your model into school just yet don't worry you still have time before the children exhibit them to the school next week.

In English this week, the children have been writing a recount of an activity they did over the half-term holidays.  It sounds like you have all been very busy!  This has helped the children to separate their writing into paragraphs to make it easier to read.  We are still practising but we're starting to get there.

This week in Maths we have been using either mental or formal written methods to add 3-digit numbers together.  We are becoming much more confident with our formal written methods and are remembering firstly, to carry our '1' across to the tens column and secondly to include it in our addition when calculating the tens or hundred column.

We have been continuing our work on rocks, soils and fossils in science.  We have learnt the different stages of how a fossil is made.  Ask the children if they can recall them for you.   We then used chocolate to make the 3 different types of rock: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic which the children enjoyed.

Homework this week is English, children are to complete pages 22 and 28 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 12th June.

Week commencing 20th May 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been identifying, representing and comparing numbers up to 1000.  To help us do this we have been counting up and down in tenths, as well as  using bar charts to interpret data.

In English, we have been continuing our poetry work.  The children have been learning about how intonation, tone, volume and actions can all enhance a performance.  The children worked in groups to perform a poem and then evaluated their performance in order to improve it the next time.

We had a lot of fun in science this week by exploring soil.  The children learnt that soil is formed over thousands of years from rock and organic matter (ask them to explain what we mean by organic matter) and that in one handful of soil there are more micro organisms than humans on the Earth!  The children then planted seeds in different types of soil to see which will grow best.  We are hoping to comeback after the holidays to some green shoots growing through.

Week commencing 13th May 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in Maths we have been continuing our work on reading and writing numbers.  The children have been learning about Roman numerals and should be able to tell you the three numerals they need to make all the numbers up to twelve.  Additionally, they have been using estimation to determine how many repetitions of a task can be done in a given time.  We have some strong hoppers in our class! 

In English we have been learning about the poetry of Michael Rosen.  We created a fact file about him and have been using his poems 'Help' and 'I'm Tired' as a basis for our own.  

We have been investigating erosion in science this week by rubbing similar rocks together to see if they eroded.  The children had different rocks to choose from and made a prediction before beginning their investigation.  The children's results showed that pebbles didn't erode when rubbed together but chalk did.  They discussed that this was most likely because chalk was softer in structure.

Homework this week is English, pages 21 and 40 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 22nd May.

Week commencing 7th May 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been learning to recognise the angles in a turn and have been creating turn patterns.  We are becoming more confident with turning clockwise and anti-clockwise as well as recognising the angles and degrees in a turn.

In English, we have been writing our closing paragraph for our information leaflet on how to care for planet Earth.  Soon we hope to put it all into our leaflet.

Homework this week is maths, pages 27 and 28 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 13th May.

In PE the children the children have been practising their sprinting technique.

Week Commencing 29th April 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

Welcome back after what I hope has been a restful Easter break.  Our new topic is 'Can you survive the Stone Age?' The children have come back to find a cave in our classroom complete with boulders, animal skins and spears.  They are very excited about having some cave time.

As an introduction to our new topic ‘Could you survive the Stone Age?’  The children have been learning how archaeologists excavate areas to uncover long hidden secrets from the past.  The children are beginning to understand how objects found by archaeologists are pieced together and used to develop theories to discover how people from the past lived.  After seeing a geophysical picture of the school grounds the children made their way down to the garden area where they conducted an archaeological dig of their own.  They took care to excavate carefully and protect any objects they unearthed.  The children were excited to find pottery, pieces of jewellery, flint and animal bones.  Based on these finds the children considered why the objects might have been left here and concluded that it was probably from an early settlement.

Take a look at our topic web to see what else we are learning this term.

In English, we have written the opening paragraph to our information leaflet on how to look after Planet Earth and are now working on our sub-paragraphs.  We have some very passionate children who want to make a difference to our environment.

In PE, and despite the rainy weather, the children have been practising their running and movement skills.

We have had some wonderful Stone Age fact files come into class, well done to the children on their hard work.  This week's homework is English.  Children are to complete pages 13 and 14 and return to school no later than Wednesday 8th May.

Week commencing 8th April 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been learning to tell the time, first to the nearest 5 minutes and then to the nearest minute.  Some of us have been finding it quite tricky but we are persevering.  We were having some fun this morning with our maths starter by find the person who had a matching time card.

In English, we have been learning about the features of a letter as well as how to identify a formal letter from an informal one.  We have been using this information to write thank you letters to all the people that have helped us with our school research project.

In PE today the children have been enjoying the sunshine by practising their tennis skills outside on the 3-G pitch.  They started with some warm-up exercises before practising their racquet skills.

Homework for the Easter holidays is Maths, pages 25 and 26.  In addition to this, Children are asked to research around our Summer term topic which is the Stone Age and create either a fact file or poster to show what they have learnt.  All homework is to be returned to school no later than Wednesday 1st May.

Have a great Easter break and we will see you in a couple of weeks.

Week commencing 1st April 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

We started April off with some great foolery.  I managed to trick the children, with my crutches and sling,  into thinking I'd fallen off a horse at the weekend.  The children then spent the morning playing some great pranks on each other.

Many thanks to those of you who were able to make our Mother's presentation and listen to our whole class Kenning poem.  As you can imagine we had great fun making the poems and listening to them being read aloud.  The children also did some incredible artwork of their mums which can be seen below.

In maths, we have been working with scale.  Our multiplication tables and fractions work has helped us to understand this.  We have found scaling up to be quite easy but scaling down has been much trickier.  We have been using measurement to help us understand the concept.

Homework this week, is English.  Children are to complete pages 16 and 18 which are to be returned to school no later than Wednesday 10th April.

This week in PE, the children have been undeterred by the wet weather and have been enjoying practising their tennis skills in the hall.  We have some powerful hitters!

Week commencing 25th March 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been learning how to scale up using multiplication and scale down using division and fractions.  We have been creating scaling models to help us understand this concept.

In English, we have been continuing our research on sustainability to find out more facts and information about how to look after our planet.  Alice, did some research about eco bricks using plastic waste.  As a class we are going to collect waste plastics from our lunch boxes to make some eco bricks.  We then hope to use the bricks to make something useful.

Homework this week is Maths, Pages 20 and 21 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 3rd April.

Week commencing 18th March 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week has been national Shakespeare week and we have been studying the story of Macbeth.  The children have read up to the point where Macbeth is considering killing the King and have been discussing whether or not he should go through with it.  We have done hot seating where children took on the role of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and answered questions about their plan to kill the king.  We also did a conscience alley where the children advised Macbeth and his wife as to whether they should carry out the murder.  This has enabled the children to formulate a for and against discussion which they have planned and are now writing out.

In maths we have been learning strategies to multiply larger numbers by 5, 10 and 20.  Some children found this tricky but were really good with persevering in order to get the right answer.

Due to my illness last week there was no homework which the children said they were thrilled about.  Back to normal this week though, homework is English.  The children are to complete pages 9 and 30 and return them to school no later than Wednesday 27th March.

This week, we also say a fond farewell to Evie and her brother Charlie, who are off on new adventures, across the water, in France.  We will miss them both very much and wish them all the very best of luck.

Week commencing 11th March 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week is national Science week, Year 3 were challenged to investigate paper helicopters to see which ones stayed in the air longer.  The children began by investigating flight and observed how a scrunched ball of paper fell to the ground in comparison with a flat sheet of paper.  They then made their paper helicopter and dropped them from height whilst timing how long they stayed in the air.  After our initial investigation the children discussed what modifications they could make and chose to cut the rotors into 4 pieces rather than 2.  They then carried out their investigation again to see if they could observe any differences.  The children found that their helicopters stayed less time in the air with 4 rotors.

Week commencing 4th March 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we celebrated World Book day and I was blown away by the children's fabulous character costumes, well done to you all.  Rowan was our class winner with his handmade costume of a phoenix.

In English we have started a new book called 'Here we are, notes for planet Earth' which we are using to help us write an information leaflet about how to look after our planet.   We have also be learning how to use relative clauses to add more detail to our writing.

In maths we have been continuing with our fraction work.  We have been learning about unit and non-unit fractions and how to use a unit fraction to find a fraction of an object or number.  We are also learning and practising our 8 multiplications tables.  Being in our costumes didn't deter us from learning the 8 multiplication tables with BBC Super Movers.  You can find a link to their site below.

Homework this week is maths, pages 18 and 19 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 13th March.

Week commencing 25th February 2019

Dear Parent's and Carers,

Welcome back after half term.  This week in maths the children have been learning how to represent numbers in different ways and in different contexts such as using money.

In English we have been focusing on our text Kensuke's Kingdom whilst finishing of our biographical story about Jemmy Button.  The children have been fantastic with some of their descriptions.

In PE, this half term the children are learning how to play tennis.  They braved the rain this afternoon to learn some new racquet skills.   

Homework this week is English, the children are to complete pages 6 and 8 and return no later than Wednesday 6th March 2019.

Week commencing 11th February 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week we celebrated one world week, Year 3 had chosen Germany with a focus on their carnival celebrations.  Our morning kicked off with a demonstration of Bhangra dancing and later in the afternoon we all got to have a go ourselves.  The children learnt a farm dance in which they ploughed the fields and sowed seed.  They all did really well to keep in time with each other.  Alfie, was commended on his smiling throughout the dance which is important in India.

During the week, we learnt all about the German carnival season.  We learnt that the season begins on the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.  We discovered that there is a carnival prince who leads all the processions and masque balls.  We also learnt about the Weiberfastnacht carnival in which the ladies go out cutting of the men's ties to make them their boyfriend!  We made carnival masks, came to school dressed for carnival to celebrate Rosenmontag and enjoyed some German food tasting.  The children particularly enjoyed the frankfurter sausages and Frikadellen.  We even had some brave children who were willing to give sauerkraut a go.  

This week in maths, the children have been recapping their mental strategies and formal written methods to subtract 3-digit numbers.  We are working hard at this and trying our best to remember to exchange so that we get the correct answer.  Some of us are beginning to check our answers by using the inverse.

After beginning the plan for our biographical story last week, we are now onto writing it.  The children have applying all the skills they have learnt to write an excellent story about Jemmy's adventures.

The homework over half-term is maths.  Children are to complete pages 16 and 17 and return to school no later than 27th February.  Additionally, children have been given a sheet to complete about how they are linked to different countries around the world.  this could be through family, visits or possibly have lived there.  We are hoping to use the information to build up our world display board.

Enjoy your half-term break.

Week commencing 4th February 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths the children have been using mental calculation strategies and formal written methods to add 3-digit numbers together.  Some of us are finding it tricky to carry over to the tens and hundreds columns but we are persevering.

In English, we have finished reading our book Jemmy Button which the children have really enjoyed.  We have now started to plan our own version from the perspective of Captain Robert Fitzroy, using a story board.

In PE the children have been continuing with their gymnastics work and were once again on the apparatus this afternoon, showing off their balancing and jumping skills.

Homework this week is English,

Week commencing 28th January 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week as part of our local historical study of the school we went on a visit to the church to learn about the information they hold and how it can be useful to our study.  We met with the church warden who told us all about the different bishops who have presided over the church, including Bishop John Lonsdale who we found out gave land opposite the church to enable a new national school to be built.  We went and had a look at the school which is now a private home.  

In maths this week we have been learning to recognise and count up and down in tenths.  We have been using our best silly voices to do this.

In English we have been continuing with our book Jemmy Button, we used role play to act out Jemmy's visit to King William IV and Queen Adelaide so that we could write down our conversations and punctuate them using inverted commas.

Homework this week is maths, children are to complete pages 12 and 13 and return to school no later than Wednesday 6th February.

Our school library day has now changed from Thursday to Friday, children are encouraged to change their books regularly.

Week commencing 21st January 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week as part of our local historical study about the school, the children undertook a visit to the library to learn about the different sources of information they hold.  We also met with a local historian who showed the children a lot of his artefacts and documents.  The children were given a research question each and had a fantastic pouring over the books and asking questions to find their information.

This week in maths, we have been writing and comparing numbers.  The children have been using the maths equipment to represent a given number.

In English we have been continuing with our book Jemmy Button, the children have been writing a diary entry about the day the visitors came to his country.  The book is based on a real character, why not ask your child to find out some information about the real Jemmy.

Homework this week is English, children are to complete pages 7 and 25 and return to school no later than Wednesday 30th January.  This work will consolidate our learning on fronted adverbials and past and present perfect tense.

In Gymnastics this week the children have been practising their balances.

Week commencing 14th January 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in maths we have been counting in steps of different sizes.  We have mainly focused on 4, 8, 50 and 100 using different contexts such as statistics and measurement to help us understand how this fits into our wider place in the world.  The children have also been using TT Rock Stars to help them become more fluent in recalling their multiplication tables.  A link to TT Rock Stars is below, should you need another copy of your child's login details please let me know.

In English the children have been using description and prediction to help develop an understanding of a character solely from the front cover of the book.  They have also been creating comparative and superlative adjectives by adding the suffixes -er or -est to an adjective.  Why not challenge them to see if they can create some for you.

Homework this week is maths.   Pages 14 and 15 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 23rd January.  Homework not returned will be completed during Golden Time as per our positive behaviour policy.

Week commencing 7th January 2019

Dear Parents and Carers,

 I trust you had a much needed break over the Christmas period and have fully charged your batteries ready  for the Spring term.  This term our topic is 'My Place in the World'.  The children will be undertaking a historical study of the school to discover how it has changed over the years.  To that end if you have any old pictures or maps that you are willing to share with us we would be most grateful and will ensure that they are returned to you in one piece. 

This week in Maths the children have been continuing their work on shape and angles.  We spent some time in the school grounds trying to find different shapes, and angles within those shapes.  The children had lots of fun making angles using their own body parts.

In English we have started a new unit on how to write a biographical story.  The children were really enthused to write about the life of a Victorian school child.

Homework this week is English.  The children are to complete pages 12 and 37 and return to school no later than Wednesday 16th January.

Week commencing 10th December

Dear Parents and Carers,

The children have been working hard this week perfecting their carol service performance.  The performance is to held Wednesday 19th December at 6pm in the Holy Trinity Church.  Your support in ensuring your child attends the service is appreciated.  Homework this week is maths, pages 10 and 11 are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 19th December.

Week commencing 3rd December 2018

Dear Parents and carers,

Thank you so much for your support with our Egyptian day, I was completely overwhelmed by the effort you all put in to the children's costumes.  They looked absolutely fabulous.  They have had a fantastic day and thoroughly enjoyed our arts and crafts as well as the Egyptian food tasting.  We had some very brave food tasters.  Homework this week is English, pages 32 and 33 to be completed and returned no later than Wednesday 12th December.

Week commencing 26th November 2018

Dear Parents/Carers,

This week the children have been getting excited about the upcoming Key Stage 2 Carol Service, to held in the Holy Trinity church on Wednesday 19th December 2018 at 1800hrs, and have been very enthusiastic throughout rehearsals.  Homework this week is maths, pages 8 and 9 of the homework booklet are to be completed and returned to school no later than Wednesday 5th December.

Week commencing 19th November 2018

Dear Parents/Carers,

The children were super excited to come to school in their pyjamas today for Children in Need.  They had a great time at the different stalls playing games and buying lots of goodies to eat.  This term, in PE, the children are focusing on dance.  Today they were choreographing some basic dance routines to music.  Homework this week is English, pages 29 and 31 to be completed by Wednesday 28th November.

Week commencing 12th November 2018

Dear Parent's Carers,

The children have been supporting Anti-bullying week this week by wearing their odd socks to show diversity and difference.  We have also had lots of discussion on what bullying is and how to tackle it.  We have referenced the theme of RESPECT as well as our value of friendship to help us make the right decision in challenging situations.  Homework this week is Maths, pages 6 and 7 of their books are to be completed and returned no later than Wednesday 21st November.

Week Commencing 5th November 2018

Dear Parents/Carers,

Welcome back after half-term, we trust that you have had a nice relaxing break and have enjoyed the festivities of the Halloween period.  The children have been making some good progress with their swimming which was evident this week.  Please note that our last swimming session will be on Monday 3rd December.  I have received some fantastic project work which shows, not only, how hard the children have been working over their break but also their passion for the Ancient Egyptians.   A well done also to those children who got up and read or spoke about their family links with the Military during our Remembrance Service.  This week's homework is English, children are to complete pages 4 and 5 about nouns and adjectives which links into our Ancient Egyptian Myth writing.

Activity Days

Wednesday: Homework due in

Thursday: PE 

Thursday: Book change

Friday: Library

Friday: Homework distributed

Our Year 3 curriculum comprises the following themed areas:

British Values

The children have been learning about our British Values and the importance of rules.  To that end we created a set of class rules to help us remain safe and happy whilst we learn.  We have all signed the rules  and agreed to abide by them.

Maths Practise