Autumn 1

Take a look at all of the interesting things we have been learning in Year 3 this half term! 

English

We have been reading the folk tale 'The Tin Forest' in English. We began by looking at the front cover of the book and sharing predictions about what we thought it was about and what might happen. 

The children have enjoyed listening to and reading the story. They have thought carefully about the Old Man's feelings and have used prepositions to describe the wild forest that the character dreams of. 

The children have chunked the plot of the story and planning their own innovations, including new characters. They have worked very hard and created some beautiful storyboards. Super work, Year 3. 

Our second unit of this half term is 'Biography' and we began by sharing our own important memories and how they made us feel when remembering them.

The children have explored several biographies based on different famous people such as J K Rowling, Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter, David Beckham and Usain Bolt. We also discussed how to answer questions about a biography text and how to find specific information in different paragraphs.

The children chose famous authors and celebrities who they would be interested in finding out more about. We made a list and the children researched their favourite person to create a fact file. The children then sorted this information into the correct paragraphs and wrote their final biography.

For their independent write the children were inspired by the COP26 event including David Attenborough so as a class we chose to write a biography about him too.

Everybody has worked so hard and the children should be very proud of the writing that they have produced!

Maths

We have been busy learning all about Place Value this half term. The children have been representing numbers in different ways and have been on a place value hunt around school! 

We have also used number lines to identify and order numbers up to 1000 and have learnt about increments. The children have used their knowledge of greater than and less symbols to compare and order numbers. They have also identified 10 more, 10 less, 100 more and 100 less of numbers up to 1,000. The children have also been counting up in 50s and have been working hard to solve problems using their reasoning skills. 

Science

This half term we have been learning all about 'Animals Including Humans'. We began our topic by discussing what we already know. The children then worked with a partner to complete a challenge - they were given pictures of human bones and had to put them together to create a human skeleton. We had some very interesting looking skeletons at the end of the activity which made everyone laugh!

The children have also identified and labelled the bones of a human skeleton and learnt about its functions. We have also looked at different types of skeletons and have explored endo-skeletons, exo-skeletons and hydrostatic skeletons. The children enjoyed researching which type of skeleton their favourite animal has. 

RE

In Year 3 we have been discussing Harvest. The children have thought carefully about how we celebrate Harvest in schools and why Christians celebrate this festival. With Mrs McDougall, the children have explored how people around the world celebrate Harvest. We have also looked at the Jewish festival called Sukkot. The children worked with a partner to make a sukkah which we displayed in the corridor for everyone in school to see!

The children thoroughly enjoyed participating in our Harvest Service. Caleb, Grace, Joshua C, Finley, Ava, Adam, Faye, Lacey, Bella and Dillon shared information about Harvest on Earth and how Harvest is celebrated across the world. 

We have recently started our 'Called by God' unit in RE with the children discussing when they have been asked to do things and by who. The children will consider what it means to be called by God and the responses that people have made to that call. We will look at Prophets and stories from the Bible. 

Worship

Jesus said "I am the Good Shepherd." 

On Tuesday, Year 3 led whole-school worship as across school we have been thinking about our journey with Jesus. We encouraged everyone to think about the qualities of a shepherd and the job description of this role. 

Topic

In Geography, we have been learning all about the United Kingdom this half term. The children have identified places that they have visited in the UK for their homework. We have used a variety of maps and atlases to identify UK cities, rivers, hills and seas. The children have also explored map symbols and used compasses to learn about compass directions.

Computing

This half term we have been working with Mr Lenge to learn all about coding. The children have learnt lots of new vocabulary including alogrithms, bug, debug and loops. They have had a fantastic time working together with a partner to solve problems each week. 

PE

This half term we have been busy practising our fundamental movement skills, including running, hopping, skipping, jumping, throwing, catching and rolling a ball. We have been using these skills to play different games.

The children have also worked alongside coaches from the South Ribble Sports Development Team to participate in a Rugby festival.

Autumn 2

Have a look at what we are learning this half term in Year 3! 

English - Fables

We are learning about 'Fables' this half term in English. We listened to the soundtrack of a film and the children made predictions about the characters, the setting and the events. We then watched the video clip which was called 'Ostrich and Penguin' to find out if we were correct!

We have explored different versions of Aesop's fables using film clips and books. The children worked in pairs to read a fable and then use a story map to retell it aloud to the rest of the class using expression.

The children then chose two characters to include in their fable to match the moral 'Slow and steady wins the race'. 

Maths - Addition and Subtraction

We have started looking at addition and subtraction in Year 3. The children have been learning different strategies to solve calculations. We have also used manipulatives to help us add and subtract three-digit numbers.

Scoot Safe

The children have also participated in 'Scoot Safe' this half term. They learnt how to scoot safely to and from school. 

Donna and Danielle, coaches from the South Ribble Active Health Team, taught the children about the importance of wearing a helmet and using other safety equipment as well as identifying the parts of a scooter including the handle bars, frame, break, grip, clamp, deck and wheels. The children were shown how they need to check these parts of their scooter so that they know it is safe to use. 

Later in the afternoon the children went outside onto the playground to practise the skills that they had learnt. 

Trips

On Tuesday 9th November, Year 3 visit the local Tennis Centre to work alongside the South Ribble Active Health Team. The children learnt about how being physically active can help improve their wellbeing. The children worked on resilience and teamwork when playing football, learnt a dance routine and had a go on an inflatable assault course! 

"I enjoyed playing football. I was the goalkeeper." - Kory.

"I enjoyed everything about it!" - Nancy.

"My favourite thing was the inflatable assault course." - Finley.

Remembrance Day

On Thursday November 11th the whole school participated in a remembrance service. Every child created a poppy to hang on the railings outside of school for the local community to see. In Year 3, we have also read the poem 'Where the Poppies Now Grow' and have written lovely acrostic poems about Remembrance Day.

Kindness Week

The week beginning 15th November was Anti-Bullying Week and Year 3 we explored this year's message of 'One Kind Word'. On Monday we had 'Odd Socks Day' to celebrate how everyone is different. The children have also designed kindness superheroes, been 'Secret Kindness Angels' where they have had a mission to be kind to someone in our class all week, participated in kindness bingo where we have had different challenges to complete and participated in a whole-school Random Act of Kindness Day on Thursday. 

RE

This half term we have been learning all about Christmas in RE. The children have explored the Nativity story and discussed God's presence. We have also explored the story of Papa Panov and the children have created some beautiful story books to tell this story in their own words. Some of their work has even been displayed at St Saviour's Church - have you seen it?

The children have also learned their learning from RE when writing persuasive letters in English and have tried to convince The Bear from The Bear and the Hare story to wake up in time for Christmas.