Welcome Year 3! We have such an exciting year ahead!

Spellings are sent home on a Monday and tested the following Monday.

PE is on a Wednesday and Friday afternoon.

Outdoor learning is on a Thursday.

Homework is sent out on a Friday and due back on the following Wednesday.

English

We have lots of amazing texts to explore in this Autumn half term. In the start of half term, we will be reading Jill Barklem’s ‘Brambly Hedge.’ We will be looking at descriptive writing and creating our own character description of Lord and Lady Woodmouse. We will then look at Grahame Baker-Smith’s book ‘The Rhythm in the Rain,’ and will be creating our own setting descriptions inspired by the text. After that, we explore the world of poetry looking at Matt Goodfellow’s ‘Bright Bursts of Colour’ and using the poetry to inspire us to write our own structured poetry. For our oracy topic, we will be learning about how deliver a guided tour and create our own guided tour of the school. After half term, we will be reading ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis as well as ‘When the Stars Come Out’ by Nicola Edwards. With these texts we will be writing our own newspaper reports and diary entries.

Maths

In maths, we will begin by developing our knowledge of place value exploring numbers up to 1000 and learning how to read, write, compare and order these numbers. After that, we will move onto addition and subtraction, revising both written and mental math methods. After October half term, we will be looking at multiplication and division and we will explore the 3, 4 and 8 times tables.

Science

At the start of half term, we will be looking at the topic ‘Forces and Magnets.’ We will investigate how objects can be pushed and pulled, discover the patterns in how magnets attract and repel, and even design our own compasses. Alongside our topic, we will be learning about the scientist André-Marie Ampère and his work around magnetism.  This topic involves lots of fantastic practical work including investigating how different materials can affect the distance a toy car travels. We will also be developing new key stage two scientific skills which includes making scientific predictions and conclusions from results. After half term, we will move on to the topic of ‘Light,’ where we’ll investigate what light is, what we need in order to see it, and how shadows are created through a range of experiments. Our scientist for this topic will be Justus Von Liebig.

History

This term we will be conducting a Local History study, looking at the industrial revolution and the impact of Mills in Barnard Castle. We will develop our knowledge of Primary and Secondary sources by examining historical photographs and images from the time when the mills were thriving. We will develop skills to create our own historic timeline and our own historical enquiry questions and gain an understanding of the lives of the wealthy and poor during this time. During this term, we will have the opportunity to go on our own historic guided tour of Barnard Castle to develop more knowledge about the history of our town.

Geography

The topic for this term will be ‘Rivers’ looking specifically at the River Tees as a case study. We will exploring the water cycle and the rivers important role in the cycle. We will also be learning about how to identify the key features of rivers such as the upper, middle and lower courses. During our case study of the River Tees, we will strengthen our fieldwork skills by exploring High Force and how the flow of the River Tees is controlled. We will also hopefully have the opportunity to create our own field sketches.

RE

In RE we will be learning about the religion Hinduism. We will start the term by recalling what religion is and being able to name some key religions. We will then look at how some Hindus worship and finding out the importance of Mandir’s and shrines. We will also be exploring who Hindus worship. After half term, we will be moving on to Christianity, looking specifically at Advent and how Christians celebrate it across the world.

Computing

We will begin the term by looing at privacy and security and how to stay safe online. We will even be creating our own password tumblers so that we can create sensible, safe passwords when we are using our devices at home. We will later be learning about digital devices, looking at how they work and how they can help us. At the end of the term, we will be creating our own stop motion animations.

French

Year three is a particularly exciting year as it will be the first time we will be formally learning a language! We will start by learning how to say, read and write greetings, numbers to 10, colours, days and months through a variation of fun games. After half term we will be looking at the geography of France and learn how to describe locations and weather of different towns and cities.

Art

In Art this term, Year 3 will be taking part in the whole-school “Big Draw,” developing their drawing skills inspired by illustrator Charles Mackesy. They will explore pattern, tone, scale, and perspective using a range of media. Later in the term, the children will create their own festive tie-dye fabric artwork, learning about different fabrics and techniques, inspired by artist Hugo Pineda. Along the way, they will build their knowledge of colour, experiment with complementary colours, and reflect on their artwork through discussion and evaluation.

PSHE

In PSHE this term, Year 3 will be following the My Happy Mind programme, focusing on the ‘Meet Your Brain’ unit. We will learn about how our brain works, how it helps us in our daily lives, and how understanding it can support positive wellbeing, resilience, and confidence. Through fun activities and discussions, we will begin to develop strategies to look after our minds.

Outdoor learning

This term of outdoor learning will focus on developing teambuilding skills by doing lots of fun activities such as a scavenger hunt, playing outdoor games that support teamwork and an assault course. After half term, children will learn to stay safe around a fire and how to make and whittle fires safety. We will also have the chance to cook some tasty treats around the fire!

Music

For music we will be following the Oak National Academy. We will cover singing for performance and building texture with melody, drone and ostinato.

 

 

DT

Details to be given out later in the Autumn term…