Year 3
Welcome to Year Three and Key Stage two.
This year is an important milestone as we move from Key Stage 1 and settle into Key Stage 2. We learn new routines and are expected to become more independent both academically and socially. We become responsible for our own belongings, changing our reading books and completing our homework on time.
Reading and Writing
Reading in Year 3 focuses around a wide range of different types of reading including stories, poems, non-fiction and other writing (including longer books) with the aim of building a wider vocabulary. Reading is so important in many ways. Not only does it help to enhance language skills, but it’s also good for our well-being, too. We are encouraged to read regularly so we develop good reading and comprehension skills.
We continue to work on our handwriting, making sure our letters are joined up.
We work on how to plan and structure stories by using paragraphs and describing characters and settings in detail in their writing as well as writing poems, non-chronological reports, plays and dialogues. We begin to learn more sophisticated grammar and punctuation, including using inverted commas to punctuate direct speech.
Mathematics
We continue to build on the key skills we have gained in key stage 1 and we develop our solving problems and practise how to add and subtract 3-digit numbers using the column method. We build on times tables knowledge from year 2 and learn the 3, 4 and 8 times tables. We explore fractions and learning how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. We learn how to tell the time using analogue, digital and 24-hour clocks. We practise measuring the perimeter (the distance all the way around) of a 2D shape. We also investigate angles and recognise them as a measure of a turn.
Our science topics are:
Animals, including humans - We learn about how muscles and skeletons help animals and humans to move, support and protect them. We also look at nutrition - the types of food animals and humans need to survive.
Rocks – We study different types of rocks and learn how fossils are formed.
Plants – We study the different parts of flowering plants and investigate the requirements plants need for life and growth.
Light - We investigate how light is reflected from surfaces and learn how shadows are formed. Children might enjoy making these shapes with their hands in front of a light source, such as a torch, to make a variety of animal shadows on a wall.
Forces and Magnets – We observe how things move on different surfaces and how magnets attract and repel each other. We also learn how magnets attract some materials but not others.
Religious Education
In year 3, we learn about Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. We explore how deities and key figures are described in Hindu sacred texts and stories and what the purpose of visual symbols in the mandir. We consider what the main concepts reveal about the nature of Allah as well as the purpose of visual symbols in a mosque. We explore in depth what the Trinity means to Christians and why Christians call the day Jesus died ‘Good Friday’? We then consider what it means to live a good life and explore whether ‘good’ means the same thing to everybody. We make comparisons about these different religions and start to think about our own beliefs. Our work on global development encourages the children to consider what is happening around the world and we trace the journey of the cocoa bean from tree to chocolate bar. Our food forest topic encourages children to think about issues relating to food and hunger in the wider world. Our termly value work helps us to develop as well rounded individuals and what it means to love others as God loves us.
History
Our history topics follow in chronological order and include
Would you prefer to live in the Stone Age, Iron Age or Bronze Age?
- Why did the Romans settle in Britain?
- How hard was it to invade and settle in Britain?
We look at both primary and secondary sources to find out more about the past whilst considering the limitations and reliability of these sources.
Geography
Our Geography topics include:
- Why do people live near volcanoes?
- Who lives in Antarctica?
- Are all settlements the same?
We include field work to enhance our understanding of the world and make our learning more meaningful.
We also enjoy being creative though music, art and DT and developing our computing skills. We cover a variety of sports in PE and develop working as individuals and as part of a team.