Year 3 – Redwood Class
What We’ve Been Up To This Term
What Makes Plants Grow and Flowers Flourish?
Through the core text of War and Peas, enriched by our other curriculum subjects, Redwood will be learning all about plants and flowers, and how they flourish as well as why they are important to us.
Books your child could read at home:
- Oh Say, Can You Seed? by Bonnie Worth
- The Dandelion Seed by Joseph Anthony
- Illustrated Stories from Aesop by Susanna Davidson and Giuliano Ferr
What are we doing at the moment?
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 Escape from Pompeii. 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 write instructions, to retell an event in the first person and write a historical information text.
Maths
The children will be developing their knowledge in relation to place value. They will learn to identify and represent numbers using different representations. They will consider different methods to find 10 or 100 more or less than a given number efficiently. They will learn to read, write, compare and order numbers up to 1000 in numerals and in words, Count from 0 in multiples of 50 and 100 and to add and subtract numbers mentally and by using formal written methods.
RE
The children will be developing their knowledge in relation estimation and using inverse operations to check answers. They will solve problems, including missing number problems, using number facts. They will calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division within the multiplication tables. As part of this they will explore how multiplication of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and division of one number by another cannot. There will be a focus on the recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables.
Geography
The children will be developing their knowledge in relation estimation and using inverse operations to check answers. They will solve problems, including missing number problems, using number facts. They will calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division within the multiplication tables. As part of this they will explore how multiplication of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative) and division of one number by another cannot. There will be a focus on the recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables.
PE
The children will be developing their communication and collaboration skills. They will learn different physical activities and sports and learn how to evaluate and recognise their own success.
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 be using discussion, pictures and words to develop and communicate designs for an erupting volcano and a tsunami. They will also select appropriate tools and materials for their designs.
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.
