Happy New Year! Welcome back to Year 3 with Mr Filby & Miss Donaghy with Mrs Whittington
Information about some of our learning in the Spring Term!
Subject | Learning | How you can help at home |
English | Our writing this term will be linked to our topics. In Spring 1 our topic will be Gods and Mortals. The children will study a range of Greek myths and will write a retelling of a myth. The stories include Perseus and King Midas. The children will be developing their writing of character descriptions and will learn to apply speech dialogue into their retellings. There will be a grammar focus on paragraphing, speech punctuation, adverbs, prepositions and apostrophes for possession. The children will be learning to use sources of information include online tools to research about mythical characters and will learn how to take notes on this information. | Reading for at least 30 minutes each day makes a huge difference. Please remember to read to your child and to see you enjoying a good book. Practise looking up words in a dictionary and choosing the relevant meaning. Use a timer and pit your speed against your child (let them win sometimes!) Talk about new and interesting vocabulary that they come across and make sure they understand the meanings. Use a dictionary to look them up. Talk about our topic. Any additional research will make them better writer! Spelling for this term will be sent home each week and taken from the year 3 and 4 common exceptional words. Click for list of year 3 and 4 common exceptional words. |
Maths | Multiplication and division: the focus is on learning strategies to multiply a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number. They will secure their knowledge of multiplying multiples of 10. They will also learn to use ‘flexible partitioning’ to divide a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number. We work with a range of resources. They also need to be able to explain their knowledge, using mathematical vocabulary. There will be a continued expectation to revise their timestable knowledge (x2, x3, x4, x5, x8, x10) which was covered last term. Length and perimeter: through practical resources the children will learn to measure using units of measure (mm, cm and m). They will learn to find equivalent measures using these units and make comparisons. Using squared paper and practical activities, the children will learn to calculate the area and perimeter of regular shapes. | They should know their 2, 5 and 10 times tables from year 2. By the end of year 3, they are expected to know 3, 4 and 8s times table and division facts. E.g. 3 x 4 = 12 12 ÷ 3 = 4 Monkfrith encourage them to learn all their tables through the weekly times table challenge. Click for list of times table challenge order. http://tablestest.com/ Times Table Rock Stars is a great way to learn their tables and it records the facts they know and do not know. https://play.ttrockstars.com/ MyMaths.co.uk homework will be set as appropriate but can also be used at anytime to practise anything they have learnt. If you learn best through song: 3x tables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XzfQUXqiYY 4x tables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ue9Kux95H0 8x tables https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X620IeUkYE Having an analogue watch and discussing time – how long activities last, what time they being/end |
Wider Curriculum | Gods and Mortals: this topic covers geography, history, science and DT. In geography, the children will study Greece and will find out about the physical and human features using atlases and globes. In history the children will learn about the ancient Greek civilisation and in Science the children will experiment with dark and light. In Art, the children will be exploring pottery designs and in DT the children will be looking at creating shadow puppets. . | Please talk about the topic and encourage your child to do additional research to help improve their knowledge and feel more confident to contribute in class. |
Computing | In computing we will be learning about stop frame animation. | Explore stop frame animation using lego or small world and take photographs. There are many apps that can be used to help the children create short movies. |
Music | This term Mr Filby will be taking each Year 3 class into our music studio each week for lessons in beat, rhythm and using percussion instruments to play as an ensemble. | Listen to music you love with your children, listen to music they love and encourage them to talk about it. Using vocabulary such as ‘beat, rhythm, tempo (speed) and bass/snare (two main types of drum sound)’ would be extremely beneficial. |
PSHE | We will be following the HEP framework. This term focuses on safe relationships and keeping safe online. The class representative for school council and eco council have been selected. Their half termly meetings will be fed back and discussed back in class. We will continue to use the Zones of Regulation as a tool to discuss emotions. | |
RE | This term our RE focus is on ‘Religion, Family and the Community’. The religions that they will be focussing on in Hinduism, Sikhism and Christianity. The children will study and compare places of worship and will have the opportunity to visit one. | Encourage your children to ask questions and talk about aspects of religion they might find interesting. Remind them that respect is important and perhaps how lucky we are to live in such a multicultural area. |
PE | The children will have a lesson taught by Non-Stop Action | Ensure the kit is in school, that it is labelled and that it fits. Any laces need to tied by your child. Being active is incredibly important for emotional well-being so walking to school, scooting or cycling is an excellent start and/or end to the school day. The children receive badges every month for walking to school regularly. |
It is an jam-packed half term, with lots learning and fun!
We would appreciate old newspapers and new tissues! Many thanks.