Year 3 – Redwood Class
What We’ve Been Up To This Term
What makes the Earth angry?
As well as our key text, Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit, we will be exploring the book Atlas of Adventures by Lucy Letherland learning about the seven continents and the different animals, people and sights unique to each of the locations.
Books your child could read at home:
- Running Wild by Michael Morpurgo
- When the Earth Shakes by Simon Winchester
- Pebble in my Pocket by Meredith Hooper
What have we been doing?
The children have shown real enthusiasm for the book ‘War and Peas’! As part of our English learning, we have acted out the dialogue of the two kings and had great fun representing one of the main scenes in the book, the food fight, focusing on the body language and expressions of the characters. Can you guess who is who by looking at the picture from the book? We have been developing our observational skills in science by exploring the parts of different flowering plants from our playground. We identified the stem, petals, anther, sepals and the filament.
Still thinking about food, we have been creating observational drawings of apples.
Autumn Term 1 – Redwood Class
English
The children’s learning will be linked to the core text War and Peas by Michael Foreman. They will explore a variety of fables such as Aesop’s fables, identifying the main features. They will use conjunctions to extend and explain ideas and prepositions to describe a scene. They will learn how to punctuate direct speech too. As part of their reading, they will consider how a character might change as a result of an event. The children will be given opportunities to write their own fable.
Maths
The children will be identifying and representing numbers using different representations. They will learn how to find 10 or 100 more or less than a given number and read, write, compare and order numbers up to 1000 in numerals and in words. They will also count from 0 in multiples of 50 and 100. They will learn to add and subtract numbers mentally and by using formal written methods.
RE
The children will be considering the key question ‘What do Christians learn from the creation story?’ To do this, the children will place the concepts of God and Creation on a timeline of the Bible’s ‘Big Story’ and describe what Christians do because they believe God is Creator. They will also ask questions and suggest answers about what might be important in the creation story for Christians living today, and for people who are not Christians.
Science
The children’s learning will be focused on plants. They will explore the different parts of flowering plants, the requirements of plants for life and growth and the role of flowers in the life cycle including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal. They will identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat.
PE
The children will be focusing on developing their passing and shooting skills. This will include dribbling, attacking and defending. There will also be a focus on agility and co-ordination.
PSHE
The children will be exploring families and friendships. They will learn to recognise and respect different types of families, the different ways people care for each other and what to do if a relationship makes them feel unhappy or unsafe.
Art/ DT
The children will develop their practical skills of recording by selecting and drawing from first-hand observation. They will also look at a range of Georgia O’Keefe’s work who had a unique way of capturing flowering plants.
Autumn Term 2 – Redwood Class
English
The children’s learning will be linked to the core text The boy with the Bronze Axe. They will be encouraged to infer and explain characters’ feelings, thoughts and motives from actions and what they say. They will begin to understand that the language and vocabulary used is related to the text type. They will also explore non-fiction books and non- chronological reports about Stone Age. They will group events/information into sections and will have the opportunity to write their own non – chronological report. The SPaG focus will be on conjunctions, adverbs, prepositions to show time and the prefixes ‘mis’ and ‘re’.
Maths
The children will be developing their knowledge in relation to addition and subtraction. They will add and subtract 2-digit and 3-digit numbers crossing 10 or 100. They will investigate how to exchange by using mental strategies and formal written methods. They will solve addition and subtraction word problems. The will estimate answers to calculations and use inverse operations to check their answers.
RE
The children will be considering the key question ‘What is the trinity?’ To do this, the children will identify the difference between a ‘gospel’ and a letter and be given the opportunity to develop their understanding around baptism and the trinity. They will describe how Christians show their beliefs about the trinity in worship and make links with bible texts. The children will make links between some Bible texts studied and the idea of God in Christianity, expressing clearly some ideas of their own about what the God of Christianity is like.
History
The children will be focusing on prehistory to understand the differences between Stone Age people and modern people. They will explore cave paintings focusing on the materials and colours used and the themes represented. They will learn about the types of shelters Stone Age people built exploring a popular monument in the UK, Stonehenge. They will explore the clothing and the diet of Stone age people. distinguishing the differences between their diet and ours. The Bronze Age and Iron Age will be introduced to the children too.
PE
The children will be focusing on football developing their passing and shooting skills. This will include dribbling, attacking and defending. There will also be a focus on agility and co-ordination.
PSHE
The children will be focusing on caring friendships, which will be a theme across the school. They will learn how friendships make them feel happy and secure and how people choose and make friends. The children will consider what is appropriate to share with their friends, classmates family and wider social groups. They will learn about what privacy and personal boundaries are including online. They will explore basic strategies to help keep themselves safe online such as passwords, using trusted sites and adult supervision. They will learn about both the effects and consequences of bullying.
Art/ DT
The children will explore cave art and create their own cave painting using oil pastels. They will design and make axes and spears for hunting. They will look at Celtic patterns, designing their own Celtic shields using water paint.
Music
The children will listen and appraise songs. They will build on their knowledge and understanding about the interrelated dimensions of music through warm up and flexible games.
French
The children will focus on greetings. They will be able to say hello and goodbye French. They will learn to ask how someone is and ask others what they are called.
Spring Term 1 – Redwood Class
English
The children’s learning will be linked to the core text ‘Greek Myths’. They will be encouraged to explain and identify how the language shows the setting of a book. They will consider the importance of fronted adverbials and how to find identified information. Children will be given opportunities to re-tell a Greek myth, write their own myth and a recount.
Maths
The children’s learning will be linked to the core text ‘Greek Myths’. They will be encouraged to explain and identify how the language shows the setting of a book. They will consider the importance of fronted adverbials and how to find identified information. Children will be given opportunities to re-tell a Greek myth, write their own myth and a recount.
RE
The children will be considering the key question ‘What kind of world did Jesus want?’ To do this, the children will make clear links between the calling of the first disciples and how Christians today try to follow Jesus and be ‘fishers of people and they will offer suggestions about what Jesus’ actions towards the leper might mean for a Christian.
History
The children’s learning will be around a study of Greek life and achievements and their influence on the western world. The children will answer questions such as ‘Who were the Ancient Greeks and what did we learn from them?’ ‘What were the main differences between Athens and Sparta?’ ‘What was daily life like in Ancient Greece?’
PE
The children will observe and evaluate movements describing the contrasting dynamics. They will also perform a pair/group dance. Links will be made with traditional Greek dances. The children will compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.
PSHE
The children will be focusing on caring friendships, which will be a theme across the school. Their learning will be about on developing strategies to resolve disputes, to recognise how their behaviour affects others and build on their learning about positive relationships.
Art/ DT
The children will observe and evaluate movements describing the contrasting dynamics. They will also perform a pair/group dance. Links will be made with traditional Greek dances. The children will compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.
Music
The children will experiment with making sound using the recorder. They will begin to play some simple tunes using combinations of the notes B, A, G in time with a given rhythm. They will rehearse and perform with others.
Spring Term 1 – Redwood Class
English
The children’s learning will be linked to the core text ‘The Street Beneath my Feet’ by Charlotte Guillian and Yuval Zommer. The children will work on apostrophes used for possession and contraction. They will be using fronted adverbials, expanded noun phrases and prepositional phrases. They will practise placing a comma after a subordinate clause at the beginning of a sentence, to mark an embedded clause, to mark off a name and the reporting clause in direct speech. They will explore verb tenses such as Simple Past. They will write a fictional story about a journey they took to the Earth’s core and back again.
Maths
The children will be exploring fractions and time. They will be able to name unit and non-unit fractions. They will explore the equivalence of a half and 2 quarters while they will be able to count in fractions. The children will explore what a tenth is, counting up and down in tenths using different representations. They will find a unit fraction of an amount by dividing an amount into equal groups. They will be able to find factions of a set of objects and equivalent fractions. They will learn to compare, order, add and subtract fractions. They will learn to tell the time to 5 minutes and to the minute, finding and comparing durations of events.
RE
The children will be considering the key question ‘What is Hinduism?’ To do this, we be focusing on its origins, core beliefs, festivals, special places. The children will be introduced to the religion by exploring who founded Hinduism and where, locating where Hinduism was founded. The children will explore the different holy books, identify key Hindu symbols and understand their meanings. They will be able to explain the main beliefs in Hinduism and which places are special to Hindus. They will be able to name and describe some special Hindu festivals and the meanings of Hindu symbols.
Science
The children will be exploring rocks, fossils and soil. They will compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties. They will be able to describe how igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks are formed. They will conduct experiments and record results based off a rock sample. They will be able to explain how fossils are formed by reporting on findings including oral and written explanations, displays or presentations of results and conclusions. They can will explain how soil is made, setting up simple practical enquiries, comparative and fair tests.
PE
The children will be exploring their skills linked to cricket. They will be learning about over arm bowling toward a target as well as throwing towards a target, defending and striking at the wicket, fielding as a team and the rules of quick cricket.
PSHE
The children will explore the topic around changes. They will be able to identify changes that they and other children may experience in their lives. They will name emotions that may be involved in loss and change situations and they will describe what helps and hinders when they are experiencing difficult feelings. The children will be able to describe how someone who experiences bereavement might feel. They will discuss how to develop strategies for coping with feelings associated with loss and change. They will explore who can help them if they are experiencing difficult emotions, and how to approach them.
Art/ DT
The children’s focus will be on collage. They will work on their collage skills using shapes, textures, colours and patterns in collage. They will investigate tessellation and pattern in collage. They will be able to say how artists have used texture, colour and pattern in their work.
Music
The children will be introduced to the Dragon Song, a song about kindness, respect, friendship, acceptance and happiness. They will listen and appraise it, playing instruments with the song. They will have the chance to clap rhythms for the rest of the class to copy back.
French
The children will revise French expressions and will recognise some family words in French. They will have the opportunity to introduce their own family. They will explore counting in French. They will count up to 15.
Spring Term 1 – Redwood Class
English
The children’s learning will link to the text Atlas of Adventures. The children will be encouraged to retrieve and record information from non-fiction texts. They will learn how to scan a page or paragraph to find key words or information. They will be able to identify and explain how language can be used to show settings – historical or cultural. They will learn to select and use precise noun phrases to enhance writing and check their own writing for repetition of nouns. Then they will plan writing, discussing and recording ideas. They will use drama to develop their ideas and respond to questions using evidence from the text.
Maths
The children will focus on geometry, exploring properties of shape and on measurement, mass and capacity. They will be drawing and comparing angles. They will be introduced to the words ‘acute’ and ‘obtuse’ as a way of describing angles. They will recognise and describe 2-D and 3-D shapes. They will measure and draw straight lines accurately in centimetres and millimetres. They will identify horizontal and vertical lines of symmetry in shapes and symbols. They will identify and find parallel and perpendicular lines in a range of practical contexts. The children will measure, compare, add and subtract mass and capacity.
RE
The children will be considering the key question ‘What is Judaism ?’ learning about key aspects of the Jewish faith. To do this, the children will explore the main beliefs held by Jews. They will be able to explain who founded Judaism and where. They will understand that Jews believe there is only one God and that they live by ten key rules. The children will learn about the Jewish holy book and explore the key Jewish festivals. They will name and explain the meanings of Jewish symbols.
Science
The children will explore forces and magnets. They will compare how things move on different surfaces. They will notice that some forces need contact between 2 objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance. They will observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others. They will conduct experiments to compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted or repel a magnet. They will be able to describe magnets as having 2 poles and be given many opportunities to make scientific predictions about magnets..
PE
The children will be applying and developing a broad range of skills in Athletics. They will take part in sprint races, long distance races and team relays races exploring techniques including baton handling, long distance throwing, running and standing long jumps.
PSHE
The children will explore the topic around sex and relationships (RSE). Our discussions will be around body knowledge, functions, changes and awareness. They will be able to recognise the main external humans body parts, including scientific names for sexual organs. The children will understand the physical differences between males and females. They will learn to value their own body and recognise its uniqueness. Prior to starting this topic letters will be sent home to parents.
Art/ DT
The children’s focus will be lines. The children will understand that artists can use different line weight. They will explore how famous artists use lines in different ways, to show shape and texture. They will be taught to develop their techniques using fine motor control.
Music
The children will listen and appraise Classical music. They will continue to embed the foundations of the interrelated dimensions of music using voices. They will explore songs from the Baroque and Classical era, having discussions around instruments and tempo.
French
The children will revise French expressions and will recognise some family words in French and will have the opportunity to introduce their own family. They will explore counting in French. They will count up to 12.
