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Welcome to year 3 - elder and juniper classes
Welcome to Year 3 - Elder and Juniper Classes
Teachers:
Miss Straw
Teacher: Elder Class
My name is Miss Straw and I am so excited to start my teaching journey at Sandown after finishing my degree in Primary Education at the University of Brighton. Outside of school I enjoy long walks with my puppy called Billie, and rides in the forest on my horse called George. I also enjoy reading and spending time with my friends and family.
Miss Jones
Teacher: Juniper Class
Mrs Thompsett
Teacher: Juniper Class
TAs:
Mrs Fonseca
TA:
Mrs White
TA:
This is the first year of Key Stage 2 and we build on the skills and knowledge the children have gained in Key Stage 1. We have many exciting focuses within our curriculum alongside English texts that encourage our young readers to dive into a world of books to inspire their imagination and learning.
Our three key driver topics are:
· Through the Ages
· Rocks, Relics and Rumbles
· Emperors and Empires
Each term, we have a mixture of Stunning Starts, Marvellous Middles or Fantastic Finishes to further engage our children in the topic and immerse them in their love of learning. Stone Age dress up day, Ukulele concert and a trip to Hastings Museum are just a few we will be enjoying this year.
Parental Engagements are held each term when we invite the children’s carers to participate in class events.
· Term 1 – Welcome to Life in Year 3 and Meet the Teacher
· Term 2 – Making an Advent Wreath Clock
· Term 3 – Loving Reading
· Term 4 – Ukulele Concert
· Term 5 - Beautiful Botanicals Art Exhibition
· Term 6 – Book Look
Parent Consultations will be arranged throughout the year to set your child’s targets and discuss their progress. If you would like to speak to us at any other time, please feel free to message us on Class Dojo.
Have a look at the tabs below to see what we have been learning about in each term.
THROUGH THE AGES
What a busy, fun-filled first two terms! The children have now settled in to Year 3 and are working hard every day to ‘Be the Best’ they can be.
English
In English, we started the year reading Roald Dahl’s ‘The Magic Finger’. We have explored the story through role-play and used it to inspire writing diaries and poetry. Then we went back in time to the Stone Age and read Ug: Boy Genius and his Search for Soft Trousers by Raymond Briggs. We wrote more letters and wrote an archaeological report. We also read recipes to help us cook potatoes in a variety of ways and a radio script to help us learn about our carbon foot print. We also enjoyed reading some narrative poetry – ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’ and ‘’Twas a Night Before Christmas”.
Maths
In Maths, we have learnt about place value to a thousand and practiced using mental strategies to add multiples of ten and one hundred. Next, we learnt how to use the column method for addition and subtraction. The children then moved on to securing their knowledge of the 2,5 and 10 times table and started learning their 3, 4 and 8 times table. Then, we explored how using our multiplication facts could help us solve division problems. At the end of the term, we invited our parents into school to help us make Wreath clocks to help us learn how to tell the time.
Science
In Science, the children have been learning about Animal Nutrition and the Skeletal System. They explored the human body, focussing on types of skeletons, muscles and joints. The children also learnt about keeping our bodies healthy and the different food groups. They enjoyed predicting and investigating the fattiness of various foods. The children have also learnt about living things, including how animals can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores, needing food, water, air, shelter and space. At the end of the unit, the children investigated the question ‘Do some people have stronger muscles than others?’
Design and Technology
Building on their knowledge of healthy eating in Science, the children learnt to peel, cut, slice and cook a wide variety of vegetables. They made vegetable ratatouille which some devoured eagerly. Finally they designed and made their own tacos.
History
During History this term, the children have begun to explore the Stone Age and enjoyed dressing up for our ‘Stone Age Day’. We started the day by sharing our learning about Stonehenge and Skara Brae between the two classes through a presentation. Later in the day the children also had a go at cave painting, creating pictures they imagined might have been in the walls such as hunters, animals and sceneries. Moving into Term 2, we learned that the Stone Age ended because people discovered how to make bronze, and how this changed how people lived. The children then learnt about the Iron Age and how the Celts shared their knowledge of Iron with others. This created blacksmiths which created new farming tools and meant that Iron Age people had more free time and could work in other jobs.
Art
In Art this term, we have been learning about colour theory and exploring complimentary colours. Children used their learning about colour to create their own final abstract piece using different colours and shapes. Then the children became potters. First they learnt about Bell Beakers, pots made in the Bronze Age, and explored pattern making on clay. Then they design and created their own pots and were very proud of their pieces of work.
Geography
In Geography, the children have been learning the topic ‘One Planet, Our world’. The children have learnt how to map read to find different countries on the map. We also learnt how earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains form when the tectonic plates move.
As you can see, we have had a busy but exciting start to the year, with lots of new things planned for the next term.
TERM 3
Year 3 have had an excellent start to 2023!
English
The children have continued to work their socks off and are making brilliant progress in their learning. They have greatly impressed their teachers with their developing narrative and letter writing skills in English. We have been reading the text ‘Cliff-hanger’ by Jacqueline Wilson which the children loved!
Maths
In Maths we have focused our learning on telling the time ready for some children to start earning their independence watches. We then moved on to exploring measurement by thinking about length and mass.
Science
In Science the children have been learning about contact and non-contact forces, including friction and magnetism. They investigate frictional and magnetic forces, and identify parts of a magnet and magnetic materials.
Geography
In Geography the children have been learning about the features and characteristics of Earth’s layers, including a detailed exploration of volcanos and how the tectonic plates move and what effects they can have. We started the term of with a visitor from a rock and mineral expert. The children learnt about the different rock types (igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic); what rocks are made of; and also a little bit about how they are formed. They also learnt about some crystals that can be found in the rocks.
Art
In Art this term the children have learnt about the genre of figure drawing. They have studied the figure drawings and urban landscapes of the artist LS Lowry and create wonderful pieces of artwork in his style to show scenes from the playground. I’m sure you will agree that we have some wonderful artists in the making!
RE
In RE the children have been learning about the religion Islam and how Muslims worship. They have been looking at what a mosque is and what happens during Ramadam.
PE
In PE this term we have been focusing on the cognitive cog. The children have been learning their dynamic balancing on a line and ball skills coordination. The children practiced this by walking along a line as a three legged race. The children found it very challenging but also great fun!
Term 4
English
This term we have been reading ‘Escape from Pompeii’ by Christina Balit. The children also enjoyed writing some fantastic rhyming poems about Pompeii. They have also enjoyed writing an informative text to explain to others how living near a tectonic plate boundary might be a risky choice!
Maths
This term the children have been learning about volume and how to convert values between ml and L. We then moved on to exploring fractions and thinking about how these can support us to fin d apart of a whole or whole group.
Science
In Science the children have been using their learning about forces to further consider magnetic forces and how the earth itself has a magnetic field. The children have had plentiful opportunities to experiment with and explore different types of magnets, and have been able to answer some enquiry questions about them as a result.
Finally we ended the terms exploring fractions and thinking about how these can support us to find parts
Geography
After thinking about the layer of the earth in detail last term, this term we moved on to learning about tectonic plates and how these can cause natural disasters. The children have learned about how different plate boundaries can cause different land formations and the effects of these. We have looked especially closely at volcanoes which the children thoroughly enjoyed and have linked this to our book in English.
RE
This term we have focussed on Jewish celebrations including Yom Kippur and Shabbat. The children were very surprised to learn that during Shabbat for 24 hour each week Jewish people do not use any electronic devices! We also looked at some of the food Jewish people cook and eat during celebrations and how food can act as a symbol of their beliefs.
DT
A topic that has inspired the children to really show their creativity skills this term is our ‘Making it move’ DT topic. The children have learned all about cam toys, cam mechanisms, and the movements that can be created from using these. Every child had the opportunity to design and create their own Cam toy and we saw some fantastic ideas arise. Our final products were amazing!
Trip
This term the children also enjoyed a trip to Hertmonceux science centre. We enjoyed watching a ‘forces’ science show and exploring the various exhibitions Herstmonceux has to offer. They also enjoyed a ‘bridge building’ workshop. The children learned a lot and had a fantastic day.
We will be continuing to learn about lots of these topics in Term 5 and 6 with lots of other exciting topics as well. We are looking forward to an exciting new Term together.
Term 5
History
In term 5 we learnt about the history and structure of ancient Rome and the Roman Empire, including a detailed exploration of the Romanisation of Britain. We saw lots of artefacts from the Roman period and guessed what they might have been used for, we then learnt more about them and researched them online.
Science
In Science we have learnt about the requirements of plants for growth and survival. We describe the parts of flowering plants and relate structure to function, including the roots and stem for transporting water, leaves for making food and the flower for reproduction.
Art
In art we learnt about the genre of botanical art. They create natural weavings, two-colour prints and beautiful and detailed botanical paintings of fruit. We enjoyed going outside and creating a combined natural weaved wall.
English
In Term 5 we read ‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’ by Hans Christian Andersen. We enjoyed going on the adventure with the Tin soldier and proud of how brave he was even through such challenging times. We enjoyed writing noun phrases about the tin soldier and then putting them into a spine poem.
Game on Challenge day
We had a full filled PE day focusing on our 8 essential skills. The children worked on all the skills throughout the day. Using their team work skill by creating a football kit as a group. Using their creativity and staying positive skills creating a game as a group and then going outside and playing the game. The children loved the day and leant a lot about how to develop their skills for the future.
What a fantastic, fun filled term we have had! We are looking forward to our final term together ** ** and hoping for lots more sun.
Term 6
History
In term 6 we have continued to look at the Roman Empire. We have learnt about all the fantastic inventions they created in Britannia that we are still using today. We have learnt about Hadrian ’s Wall and understood why it has been created. The children even became archaeologists and created Vindolanda tablets. These were notes that were written in Latin while they were in the Roman forts.
Science
In science we focused on light and shadow it taught the children about light and dark. They investigate the phenomena of reflections and shadows, looking for patterns in collected data. We also looked at the risks associated with the Sun and conducted an experiment to see the effect sun cream has on protecting our skin.
DT
In DT this term we have learnt about the purpose, structure and design features of greenhouses, and compares the work of two significant greenhouse designers. We have learn techniques to strengthen structures and use tools safely. We have used our learning to design and construct a mini greenhouse. I’m sure you’ll agree they are pretty fantastic!
Maths
Maths this term we have learnt all about angles. We have learnt how to make a right angle and then use this to help us identify obtuse and acute angles. We have also looked at line and shapes and enjoyed finding different shapes around the school and classroom.
Sports Day
To finish off the term together, the children took part in Sport Day. The children loved having parents/carers back supporting and cheering them on. They ran, jumped, hopped and kicked their hearts outs! It was lovely to see so much great teamwork and genuine excitement for their friends!
It’s been a great year and now the children head onto their Year 4 adventure!
