Welcome to year 3. I look forward to teaching you all and know we will have lots of fun learning together throughout the year. This first half term we will be looking at the following topics:
English
We will begin with a fictional text called 'The Storm'. The children listen to the story and predict what may happen at various points. They focus on character, setting and mood, asking questions as the story progresses and locating evidence in the text to answer specific questions. They understand why descriptive sentences are important and how setting affects mood. They revise and develop punctuating direct speech and then work on nouns, adjectives and expanded noun phrases. The writing tasks involve planning and writing a description of setting, and planning and writing a conversation using direct speech and correct punctuation..
The next unit is called 'All about Me' and is about creating an autobiography that they will then present on film or to a live audience. As a class, they read an autobiographical blog post from Little Red Riding Hood, responding to and asking questions about the text to develop their comprehension skills. They look at the use of language and gather success criteria for what makes a good autobiography. They then see the same text in the form of a PowerPoint presentation, and analyse the differences between the two types of text. After some teacher modelling, they practise storyboarding the main events from Little Red Riding Hood’s story to create PowerPoint slides. The children build on this experience to storyboard and then create their own autobiographical presentations. Time is given at the end of the unit for the children to practise performing their presentations, and for evaluating and feeding back on these performances. They then present to an audience.
Maths
We will be continuing to follow the 'Power Maths' scheme and this half term we will be learning: addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. Keep practising times tables at home (children should already know 10s, 5s and 2s and will be learning 3s, 4s and 8s in class) as this will really help your maths in year 3!
PE days and PE kit
We have 2 hours of PE each week with Mr Wolfe, on a Monday and a Wednesday. Monday will be Tag Rugby and Wednesday Hockey. Children will continue to come to school in their PE kit on PE days, please make sure the PE kit is: a white or navy polo top or t-shirt, black or navy jogging bottoms/shorts, a Booth Wood fleece and trainers. No branded sports kit should be worn. Children are advised to bring a spare pare of socks/shoes for PE as their feet often get wet on the grass.
Science
Our unit this half term is 'Animals Including Humans.' The unit recaps the children’s learning from year 2 about how animals survive and stay healthy and helps children to learn more about what makes a healthy, balanced diet. They learn about the nutrients that different foods provide and how these nutrients help our bodies. They also explore how different animals eat different types of foods and need different proportions of nutrients. They understand what food labels on packaging show and gather information from food labels to help them to answer questions. In this unit, children also explore the different types of skeletons that animals have and compare these. They learn some names of bones in the human body and carry out an investigation to explore if people with longer femurs jump further. They discuss how to plan a fair test and measure and record accurately. Children learn about how muscles help us to move and make a simple scientific model which they use to explain to a partner how skeletal muscles work. At the end of the unit children apply their ‘working scientifically’ skills to design and carry out an investigation of their own, based on the human skeleton.
History
Our unit this half term is 'Local History'. In this unit, children will learn about the local history of Loughborough and see how it has changed over the years.
Homework and spellings
Homework is given our weekly in KS2 and helps to keep you informed of your child's progress and the current topics in the classroom and also helps revise what we have learnt in school. Spellings will be set weekly and your child will receive a paper copy as well as the spellings being available on spelling shed and the website. Homework and new spellings will be set every Friday and will be expected to be completed by the following Friday.
Children will have logins to TT rockstars and Twinkl Spelling and should be encouraged to do this at home where possible. Please continue to encourage your child to read at home regularly, some children may now happily read on their own , which is brilliant. But reading out loud to an adult at home a few times a week is still great practise.
Things your child needs
A bottle of water (no juice please in case of sticky spillages).
A healthy snack for break.
Fridays are 'treat' days, so your child can bring a treat for their snack. Alternatively, your child can bring money for our school tuck shop, which will allow them to buy a sausage roll/drink (80p for a sausage roll, 50p for a drink or £1 for both).
Book bag/rucksack with reading book and reading record.
Wear PE Kit to school on PE days (Monday and Wednesday).
Contacting the Staff
The year 3 team is always here for your child and you. If you just need a quick word then you may be able to catch one of us in the morning or after school. However, if it is something that requires a longer conversation then please email rbeech@boothwood.leics.sch.uk or phone the office to book an appt.
We look forward to seeing you all back in school.
The Year 3 Team
