Welcome back to Monkfrith!
Year 3 promises to be a wonderful year with Mr Filby & Miss Donaghy with Mrs Michaels (on Weds)
Please label all your child’s clothes – check it after they’ve been washed, as they have a habit of coming off. We will be encouraging your child to look after their own possessions – so they need to know where they are at the end of the day.
If you missed the Meet the Teacher meeting in week 2, click on the link.
Information about some of our learning in the Autumn Term!
| Subject | Learning | How you can help at home |
| English | Our writing this term will be linked to our topics. In Autumn 1 term our topic is called ‘Predator’ – both animals and plants! The children will start with using dictionaries, followed by thinking about the features of non-fiction texts. Once they have written a short fact file, they will hone their skills and create a non chronological report all about sharks. This will then be presented in the form of a poster. Following this the children will be writing a story about the adventures of a dragonfly. Autumn 2 is when the ‘Mighty Metals’ topic will take place. The children will start their writing with a biography, followed by a variety of genres using the book ‘Iron Man’. They will be writing a description, as well as writing in role and writing a letter. If you read this in preparation, we would ask that your child does not divulge their knowledge. The children will be taught joined writing 3 times per week. They will have 3 spelling sessions, following ‘No Nonsense’, as well as having a dictation on a Friday – which will check the Year 3/4 spellings sent home for homework | Reading for at least 30 minutes each day makes a huge difference. Please remember to read to your child and to let your child see you enjoying a good book. Share poems! Even if its a silly short poem you remember from your own school days or (if your child is lucky enough) an actual poetry book. Reading poems to each other and memorising phrases is excellent for understanding vocabulary, sentence structure, description and beginning to understand figurative language. 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 a 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 | This term, the children will be starting with ‘Place Value’. They will be expected to know the value of each digit in a three digit number as well as being able to partition into HTO and also to be able to partition it in a more flexible way. The children will have access to equipment, including base ten and place value counters, as well as working tables. We will then move to ‘Addition and Subtraction’, which will involve the children being able to represent their workings pictorially (having the equipment as/when necessary) and moving them onto using the column method. Finally we will turn our attention to ‘Multiplication and Division’. Here we will look at using ‘arrays’ to support our learning as well as revisiting the 2x, 5x and 10x tables (as well as the inverse). The 3x and 4x tables will be introduced and we will work at manipulating facts to answer a variety of questions. Just before Christmas we will endeavour to work with the 8x tables. Throughout, we will be looking at using what we already know and thinking about the links between and across information. Once a week the children will be able to participate in the times table tests in a bid to earn the coveted blue, silver, gold and platinum badges. | 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 is a key skill and even though we don’t work on this until the Summer, it is such an important skill for you to keep going. |
| Wider Curriculum | Predator: This term’s topic, as mentioned above, is all about predatory animals and plants. The children will learn about the human skeleton and out joints, as well as thinking about animal skeleton and how they have adapted. We discuss different types of fossils and how they have formed, as well as thinking about what they can tell us. The children will find out about predatory plants and what they need in order to survive. .Mighty Metals: Here we will explore different forces (magnetism) as well as electric circuits. We will be looking at conductors and insulators too. | Please talk about the topic and encourage your child to partake in additional research to help improve their knowledge and feel more confident to contribute within the class. |
| Computing | In computing the children will be creating simple databases In the first half term. This will be followed by looking at Computing Systems and Networks | Games like ‘Guess Who’ will encourage your child to create focussed questions. |
| Music | This term Mr Filby will be taking each Year 3 class into our music studio each week for lessons in listening, appraising and responding to music. The genres covered will range from drum and bass to classical and many things in between! | In a low pressure setting, listen to music you love with your children, listen to music they love and encourage them to talk about it. Sing! Discussing how tempo, instrumentation and overall forms of pieces of music contribute to emotions would be highly beneficial. If not, simply discussing a favourite part of a song and why you like it will show the children that music is something that can be actively investigated, rather than just passively enjoyed! |
| PSHE | We will be following the HEP framework. This term focuses on ‘Emotions and Feelings’, ‘Peer influence/pressure’ and how we fit into our community. The class representative for school council has been democratically chosen. The class representative will attend meetings, question their peers and bring ideas to the meetings as well as give feedback to the 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 and the Individual’. The religions that we will be focussing on are Islam, Hinduism and Judaism. The children will think about what it means to belong to a religion, as well as looking at symbols and clothing as a means to identify religion. We will be looking at similarities between faiths. | Encourage your child 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 a jam-packed term, with lots of learning and fun!
We would appreciate old newspapers and new tissues!
Many thanks,
Your Year 3 Team