This term we will be working on the following topics:

English    

Our focus texts will be The River by Marc Martin, Ganesh Goes Green by Lakshmi Thamizhmani, The Last Garden by Rachel Ip and Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher.

While exploring these texts we will learn to extend our sentences using a wide variety of conjunctions. We will create longer narratives using a range of tenses and direct speech using inverted commas. We will also ensure there is clarity and cohesion within our paragraphs with the appropriate use of nouns and pronouns. We will create characters, settings and plots using descriptive devices efficiently, such as noun phrases and prepositions, as well as effective word choices for non-fiction writing.

When assessing the effectiveness of our writing, we will suggest improvements in spelling, punctuation and the correct use of grammar. We will also propose changes to our vocabulary to make our writing more interesting and engaging.

During 'Guided Reading' we will be using a wide variety of texts to justify answers, opinions and arguments. Further to this, we will develop our understanding by predicting what might happen next from details stated and implied. We will also draw inferences and justify them using accurate evidence from the text.

 

Maths       

We will be teaching maths using the NCETM materials and guidance. We will be covering mental calculations, column addition and subtraction and the 2, 4 and 8 times tables. The children will be presented with various contexts, representations and manipulatives to support their mathematical learning. We will apply this knowledge to solving word problems, using bar modelling and part-part whole models as a key representation.

 

Science       

We will be studying two science topics this term. In Light, we will recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by a solid object. We will find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change. We will also recognise that we need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light. Finally, we will notice that light reflects from surfaces.

This will be followed by Plants, where we will learn about plants as a food source, label the reproductive parts of a flower, explore the role of pollination and fertilization in the life cycle of flowering plants and the role of seed dispersal in the life cycle of plants.

 

Geography  

We will identify water stores and processes in the Water Cycle. We will describe the three courses of a river and also name the physical features of a river. We will describe different ways a river is used, and we will list some of the problems around rivers.      

Out second unit is Where does our food come from? In this unit we will be considering the impact of food choice on the environment, how food is traded responsibly, different views on importing produces, considering the advantages and disadvantages of buying locally or imported food and building on our mapping skills by locating the origin for different foods and calculating the distance it travels to its final destination.

                                        

Art     

In our Art and Design lessons, we will be looking at developing shading skills and drawing techniques to create botanical-inspired digital drawings.

 

Music            

This term, Year 3 will be looking at two pieces of music about rivers: The Blue Danube, a waltz by Strauss and then Symphonic Poem Vltava by Smetana. We will be learning about texture, dynamics, duration and tempo, using this within composition and music technology.

Recorders will run alongside this topic and we will continue to build on what we learnt last term.

 

Computing  

During our Desktop Publishing unit, we will become familiar with the terms ‘text’ and ‘images’ and understand that they can be used to communicate messages. We will start to add text and images to create our own pieces of work using desktop publishing software.

In our Stop-frame animation unit, we will develop our understanding that animation is a sequence of drawings or photographs. We will then plan a short sequence, animate it, review and evaluate.

 

Physical Education (PE) 

During our PE sessions we will continue to develop our skills in the area of tennis and cricket with professional coaches. After the February half-term break, Year 3 will be having weekly swimming lessons.

 

French          

We will be continuing to learn French through French phonics, pronunciation, understanding and vocabulary through the topics Playground Games and French Classroom.

 

Religious Education (RE)   

In this unit about Signs and Symbols, children will explore the significance of religious signs and symbols. They will begin the unit by looking at everyday symbols and considering why they are important. They then look at symbols of God and how these are used across many religions.

       

Personal, Social, Health, Economic / Relationships & Sex Education (PSHE/RSE)   Our topics this term are: 

• Belonging to a Community: We will discuss the reasons for rules and laws in wider society as well as the importance of abiding by the law and what might happen if the rules and laws are broken.
• Media Literacy & Digital Resilience: We will learn how the internet can be used positively for leisure, for school and for work to recognise that images and information online can be altered or adapted and the reasons why this happens. We will discuss how to make safe, reliable choices from search results.
• Money and Work: We will also learn about jobs that people may have from different sectors, e.g. teachers, business people, charity workers and to challenge stereotypes through examples of role models in different fields of work, e.g. women in STEM.

• Your child should read for at least 10 minutes every day. Across the week, this should be a combination of independent reading and reading to an adult and for three comments to be made in their reading record by an adult. Please talk to your child about the book and check their understanding by asking questions about events and the characters’ actions. Please also explain new or unfamiliar vocabulary. Their book bag should come into school every day.

• Your child will have PE on Tuesday and Thursday. The children should come to school in their PE kit on these days.

• Your child needs to bring in a water bottle every day.

• The weather is often cold at this time of year and the children will go out to play if there is light rain. It is important that your child has a waterproof coat, gloves, hat and a scarf.

• We are a 'Healthy School'. Please do not put sweets or chocolate bars in your child’s packed lunch. Please do not send in sweets or other treats when it is your child’s birthday. If you want to celebrate your child’s birthday with their classmates, you could buy the class a book, send in a healthy snack such as boxes of raisins or buy stationery such as a pencil, but due to the impact on the environment, we ask you not to send in plastic toys.

• If your child is absent from school, please contact the school office: 020 8850 5486 and leave a message detailing why your child is absent. Please try to book medical appointments outside the school day and note that family holidays will not be authorised.

• If you have any questions or wish to raise a concern, please contact the class teacher in the first instance. Please use the email addresses above.

Please see the school calendar and weekly newsletters for information about events for Year 3.