Classes 2023-2024 -
Year 3 @ WW 2023-24
Welcome to Year 3 @ West Wick
Class Teacher: Mrs Cockram
Support Staff: Miss Airey, Mrs Mages, Mrs Navarra, Miss Croon
Our PE Days are Tuesday and Thursday– children can come to school on those days wearing their PE kits.
Term Five: Monday 15th April– Friday 24th May 2024
Term Six: Monday 3rd June – Wednesday 24th July 2024
Spelling List —> Spellings Term 5 Weeks 27-32 and Spelling Term 6 Weeks 33-38
This term our enquiry will be ‘How did the Nile help Ancient Egyptians survive and thrive?’
Over the next two terms we will be learning how the Ancient Egyptians used the river Nile to survive and thrive. Learning about Ancient Egyptian farming techniques, how they communicated and how they built amazing structures like the pyramids.
English
In English, we will be reading the text ‘The boy who grew dragons’ by Andy Shepherd. This is an engaging novel which gives children the opportunity to practise their retrieval, prediction and inference skills in reading. We will also look at some poetry and non-fiction texts to enhance our comprehension skills across different text types.
In our writing lessons, we be learning to write a fairy tale using the text ‘The Egyptian Cinderella’. We will explore how to write creatively modelling our story on this version of the fairy tale Cinderella. Another of our units focuses on poetry using the text ‘Walking with my Iguana’. We will then explore a portal ‘time slip’ story which will give us the opportunity to use our knowledge of the historical periods we have explored this year.
Maths
We will begin by exploring fractions where we be finding equivalent fractions, learning how to read and write fractions (including tenths) and how to add and subtract fractions with the same denominator. After this, we will move on to Geometry where we will learn the names and properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We will continue to reinforce our fluent recall of the 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times tables and their related division facts.
Science
In Science, we are learning about plants. We will look closely at the parts of a plant, the life cycle of flowering plants and the requirements of plants for life and growth. We will be closely focusing on plants that live in Egypt linked to our learning enquiry.
RE
Our RE Unit for this term is ‘Why are some journeys and places special?’. We will be exploring the different journeys that the children experience in their lives and how people of different faiths go on pilgrimages to demonstrate their beliefs.
Our values this term are Service and Trust.
Music
In Music, we will be enjoying some lessons delivered by a visiting teacher from West of England Music Association. We will be learning how to play the Djembe drum.
PE
We will start in Term 5 by practising our athletic skills in preparation for sports day. We will also continue to develop our balance and coordination skills during our Real PE sessions. In Term 6 we will learn how to play tennis; working on our hand eye coordination skills and learning how to use a racket.
PSHE
Our Jigsaw unit this term is ‘Relationships’. As part of this unit we will be looking at family roles and responsibilities, friendships and being a global citizen. In Term 6, our Jigsaw unit is ‘Changing Me’ focusing on how our bodies and how babies grow.
Term Three Thursday 4th January 2024– Friday 9th February 2024
Term Four Monday 19th February 2024 – Thursday 28th March 2024
Spelling List —>Spellings Term 3 Weeks 8-14 Spellings Term 4 Weeks 15-20
This term our enquiry will be ‘How did people start to settle?’
We will begin by exploring settlements within our local area and looking for geographical reasons why people may have chosen to settle here in the past. As historians, we will then explore the Stone Age beginning with finding evidence to discover what life was like before people started to settle in one place and then learning how life changed in the Neolithic period as people moved from being nomadic hunter-gatherers to living in farming based communities. As geographers, we will explore the features of a Stone Age settlement, such as Skara Brae and Cheddar and decide which one we might have preferred to live in.
English
In English this term, we will be reading our anchor text ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. This is a classic and much-loved story which merges the genres of science fiction and fairy tales. We will be continuing to develop our retrieval and inference skills as well as exploring new vocabulary such as cogs, axel and furnace.
In our writing lessons, we will be learning the tale ‘The Stone Trolls’ by Dean Thompson and using it as a basis to create our own stories. We will be revisiting how to use expanded noun phrases, fronted adverbials and prepositions within our writing. Towards the end of term 3, we will also be exploring poetry by reading ‘The Journey Through the Stone Age’ and using it to innovate our own poems about the past..
In term 4, we will develop our understanding of reading non-fiction texts and learn more about the Stone Age by exploring ‘Skara Brae’ by Dawn Finch.
In our writing lessons, we will revisit writing to inform by creating a set of instructions based on ‘How to look after a pet mammoth’. We will then explore how to write a newspaper report and will create one based on the discovery of the Stone Age remains at Skara Brae.
Maths
We will develop our understanding of additive relationships and column addition where we will also further explore mental strategies for addition and subtraction calculations. We will then move on to exploring multiplication, focusing on developing rapid recall and confidence with the 2, 4 and 8 times tables and their related division facts.
In term 4, we will revisit standard written methods of calculating by exploring column subtraction and we will look at the relationship between addition and subtraction. We will then learn how to tell the time accurately to the nearest minute and explore different types of clocks such as digital, analogue and ones with Roman numerals.
RE
Our RE Unit for this term is ‘Why do religious books and teachings matter?’. We will be exploring different religious writings and how believers take meaning from them, as well as looking at how we can express our own beliefs. We will look at how religious communities treat their religious texts and how they draw meaning from them. Finally, we will also explore how moral messages can be delivered through stories and how people can express their religious beliefs through their own stories. Our value in term 3: Friendship.
In term 4, our RE unit is ‘Salvation’. We will be exploring the different events in the Easter story and learning about how Christians celebrate Easter. Our value in term 4: Forgiveness.
Science
In Science, we will learn about different food groups and the nutritional value of different types of food. We will learn what our bodies need to be healthy and we will be finding out about our main organs and the important role played by our skeletons. We will also learn about our muscles and how our skeletons change as we grow older.
PE
In our PE sessions at school, we will develop our dynamic balance and coordination skills through netball and tag rugby. We will also be developing the cognitive cog – identifying areas for improvement in our work and being able to say what we are doing well.
PSHE
Our Jigsaw unit for term 3 is ‘Dreams and Goals’. These sessions will allow the children to reflect on and express their dreams and ambitions. We will learn how to stay motivated and persevere when working towards our goals as well as how to overcome any obstacles. Finally, we will share our successes and celebrate what we have already achieved.
In term 4, our Jigsaw unit is ‘Healthy Me’. As part of this unit we will be finding out how to keep our bodies healthy and how to keep ourselves safe.
Term 1 and 2
Term One Wednesday 6th September 2023 – Thursday 12th October 2023
Spellings – For Term 1 we will be revising key spelling patterns and rules from KS1. A list will be sent home with your child each week and we will carry out a spelling check every Tuesday. In Term 2 we will then be working through the list below (Term 1 Weeks 1-7).
This term our enquiry will be ‘How has electricity impacted our lives?’
We will be exploring where electricity comes from, its journey to our homes and discovering how electricity has changed our lives and how we can use it safely. We will be learning how to construct a simple series electric circuit using switches, buzzers, bulbs and batteries. Do you know the difference between a battery and a cell? By working scientifically, we will be investigating conductors and insulators and bulb brightness. Lastly, we will be learning how light travels and understanding that dark is the absence of light. Using this knowledge, we will be exploring the dangers of light, reflective materials and how shadows are formed.
English
In English this term, we will be reading ‘Too Small Tola’ by by Atinuke. This book includes three charming stories about a young girl who lives in a flat in Lagos, Nigeria. We will be learning to explore different cultures, compare lifestyles and reflect on how life is different around the world. We will be continuing to develop our retrieval and inference skills and upskilling our sequencing and order skills to ensure we are able to closely refer to the text.
During our writing sessions, we will be exploring the Pie Corbett text ‘The Nightmare man’. We will be learning to write a suspense story using techniques such as show not tell, ellipses and dramatic connectives. Towards the end of term, we will be exploring the poem ‘Dark’ By James Carter identifying different poetic features, techniques and further developing our speaking and performance skills.
Maths
This term we will focus on mental arithmetic skills for addition and subtraction and our knowledge of place value. We will revisit number bonds to 10/20 and efficient strategies for adding and subtracting smaller amounts. We will then move onto consolidating our understanding of place value up to and including three digit numbers. We will be learning to count in hundreds and manipulate three digit numbers to secure our understanding. In addition to our daily lessons, there will be weekly arithmetic practice and an expectation that all children are fluent in their times table and division facts by the end of the year.
Science
We will put our scientific skills to the test as we explore forces and magnets. We will explore new concepts such as friction and investigate how magnets attract and repel. As artists, we will study the work of Andy Warhol and the creation of Pop Art. We will be learning to identify warm and cold colours and how to create our very own paint palette.
RE
Our first unit – ‘What is it like to follow God?’ asks us to think about the significance of God’s messages, his behaviour and lessons learnt through the teachings of the bible. We will begin to understand the importance of a covenant and the impact it has upon others. We will study the story of Noah and the Ark and explore the relationship between promises and actions. In reflection, we will consider the positive benefits of having a healthy relationship with God and how the teachings of God may make a difference to our lives today. Our whole school values are: Thankfulness (Term 1) and Respect (Term 2).
PSHE
Our term one Jigsaw unit is ‘Being Me in My World’. These sessions will allow the children to learn and reflect on their place in both our community and the wider world. We will start by setting our whole school and class expectations before thinking about goals for the year ahead.
PE
In Term 1, we will be developing our fundamental movement skills focusing on footwork, coordination and static one leg balances. We will also be swimming at Hutton Moor. In Term 2, we will explore different ways of travelling, balancing and creating rotations in our Real Gym lessons.