Welcome To Year 3!

I hope that you’ve had a lovely summer. I’m excited to welcome your children into Year 3 to start their Key Stage 2 journey. Miss Leng and I have lots of fun and engaging activities planned, so don’t forget to ask questions about your child’s day. 

Tribal Tales: Imagine this place 5000 years ago. Head back to prehistoric times to reveal the secrets of an ancient time. Learn how the people of Britain developed over thousands of years, from the Stone Age to the Roman invasion. We will work as a tribe to build, explore and reflect on British history!

Spelling and Times Tables Homework is set every Friday! Also,  please keep reading journals up-to–date. We aim for a minimum of 3 reads each week. Finally, don’t forget our PE days are Mondays and Fridays!

Maths: This year we will be continuing with the ABACUS programme of Mathematics to build on the children’s knowledge. Also each lesson will contain a reasoning challenge to encourage deeper mathematical understanding.   

Maths Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Use multiples of 5 and 10 and bonds to 100 to solve additions and subtractions: add and subtract 1-digit numbers to and from 2-digit numbers 

• Comparing, ordering and understanding the place value of a 2- and 3-digit number 

• Count on and back in 10s and 1s to add and subtract 2-digit numbers 

• Solve addition and subtraction problems 

• Compare and order 2 and 3 digit numbers 

• Know multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5, 10, 3 and 4 times-tables 

• Doubling and halving 

• Know and understand the calendar, including days of the week, months and years. 

• Tell the time to the nearest 5 minutes on an analogue clock and digital 

• Know the properties of a 3-D shape 

• Stops Reasoning Questions (RUCSAC method) 

English: This term our novel study is ‘Stig Of The Dump’ by ‘Clive King’. We will become immersed in our class text during our Reciprocal Reading lessons.  St Thomas tries to promote links from our reading into our writing. This gives the written more of a purpose.  

The written genres that we will be covering are:  

• Recount: Neanderthal on the loose 

• Stone age information book 

• Narrative: Adventure Story 

• Instructions: how to make a spear 

• Recount: Diary entry discovering Stonehenge 

• Poetry: Winter sonnet poetry 

Reading 

The text will be used as a stimulus to build on their reading skills. In class, our Reciprocal Reading activities will focus on different skills: from group/ paired discussions to independent Cracking Comprehension activities. We will be looking at strategies on how to answer a range of questions.  Also we will be clarifying unfamiliar words to build on the children’s evolving vocabularies. 

Spelling & SPAG 

We will follow the Year 3 Read Write Inc Spelling Programme to focus on a fortnightly spelling pattern and Year 3 & 4 National Curriculum Spellings. Additionally, children will have exposure to Rising Stars Skills Builder which will revise, consolidate and build on their Spelling, punctuation and grammar knowledge. 

Physical Education  

Class 3’s PE days are Mondays and Tuesdays 

St Thomas will be adopting a more skills based approach to deliver PE. We will be focusing on fundamental skills and movements: Agility, Balance and coordination. St Thomas will encourage lots of opportunities for children to exercise and adopt a healthy lifestyle.  

Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Multiskills 

• Gymnastics 

Science 

Class 3 will be taught to apply scientific methods, skills and lead practicals through the Cornerstones programme of study. 

Science Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Explore the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal 

• Plant a selection of the grain crops that Bronze Age farmers would have grown 

• Find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change  

• Take photographs of the shadows and discuss patterns observed 

• Set up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests 

History  

Pupils will be taught about the changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. 

History Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Arrange pictures and dates on a timeline to show the chronology (Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age) 

• Compare finding to show how life changed over the ages 

• Understand how archaeology helps us find out about the past. 

• Understand why Stone Age people evolved from hunter-gatherers to farmers 

• Monuments & ceremonies through the ages 

• Identify why the rise of wealth and trade created tensions between settlements 

Geography  

They will use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present their findings. They will be aware of human and physical features in their local areas and further afield.  

Geography Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Discover a prehistoric site; use a four-figure grid references  

• Describe the location of objects and places on a simple map. 

• Work in groups to do an archaeological dig; classify objects into natural and man-made objects 

• Look at a range of aerial images; consider which places are worth investigating 

• Make diagrams and plans of an Iron Age hillfort; describe its features 

Art and Design  

Class 3 will use their sketchbooks to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas. They will have opportunities to get creative with a range of different medias. 

Art and Design Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Use a range of sketching pencils to capture their observations  

• Neanderthal portraits 

• Printing Neolithic patterns 

• Stonehenge paintings 

• Charcoal cave paintings 

• Clay pottery making Beakers 

• Studying the great artists Andy Warhol to recreate his style 

Design and Technology  

They will Use research and develop design criteria to innovative products. Their products will be aimed at a particular group and fit a purpose. 

Design and Technology Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Look at tools from the ages; explain how they might have been made and used 

• Design and make Stone Age tools and Jewellery 

• Make a Stone Age structure using a range of materials 

Religious Education  

Class 3 will follow the Rotherham agreed syllabus supported by the Discovery RE syllabus. Together these will reinforce the children’s understanding of Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity and support St Thomas’ values.  

Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Hinduism - Focus Diwali 

•  Sikhism - Focus The Amrit Ceremony 

• Christianity- Focus Christmas

PSHE & RSE 

PSHE will complement our RE work. The JIGSAW programme of study and The Discovery RE work simultaneously and instil a deeper connection. St Thomas core values and British Values will give each child a well-rounded insight into understanding society. 

Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Being Me in The World 

• Celebrating Difference 

Spanish MFL  

The children will have frequent practise to listen, comprehend, speak, read and write in Spanish. The I Languages scheme of work is interactive, fun and engaging. 

Modern Foreign Language Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Greetings 

• Asking and saying name 

• Asking How you are 

• Instruments 

• Numbers 1-10 

Music 

St Thomas follows the Charanga scheme of work which is an active and upbeat scheme that delivers fun and engaging music lessons. 

Music Learning Coverage for this term: 

• Listen and appreciate Music 

• Recognise instruments and the sounds they make 

• Understand different Genres of music 

• Learn choruses and verses to songs 

• Find the beat through body percussion 

I thoroughly look forward to the Autumn term.

Thank you

Mrs Turner

Miss Leng