Welcome to Class 3
You can use the year3.montalbo@durhamlearning.net email address to contact Mrs Smith.
The Year 3 children have made a fantastic start to the year, and everyone has been impressed with their positive attitude to learning.
Key information for Year 3
- PE is on Mondays and Fridays
- Thursday 1st December 5-7pm Montalbo Christmas Fayre and Luminaire
Literacy
In Literacy, we have been learning about how to speak with confidence, emphasis and gesture. We have been creating a guided tour of the school and we look forward to sharing these with you soon. We have been taking turns to listen to each other and make sensible contributions to our conversations.
In our reading skills lessons, we have been reading the amazing picture book called ‘Rhythm of The Rain’ by Grahame Baker-Smith. We have been asking questions to develop our understanding, making predictions and learning new vocabulary. Next, we will be combining our reading and writing skills to produce our own short stories linked to the weather.
Later in the term, we will be reading ‘Brambly Hedge – Autumn Story’ by Jill Barklem. We will be focusing on our writing skills, learning about new grammar and sentence structures as well as re-visiting our use of punctuation. We will be writing longer pieces of work and checking we have used excellent features of our text type.
We will also be reading ‘Bright Bursts of Colour’ by Matt Goodfellow (a collection of entertaining poetry), ‘Tuesday’ by David Weisner, ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ (abridged) by C.S. Lewis and ‘When the Stars Come Out’ by Nicola Edwards. I think we are going to be busy!
Reading is the most vital skill to help all young learners develop successfully. Did you know, reading, spelling and vocabulary are critically important to a child’s lifelong achievement?
Maths
In maths, we have started our Place Value topic. We have been learning more about numbers up to 1,000. We have been partitioning numbers, for example 473 = 400 + 70 + 3. This has helped us to see the value of digits in 3-digit numbers. We have been chanting our 2x table as part of our ‘locked in learning’ and we will be counting in 5s, 10s and 50s this half term. A great skill to practice at home!
Later in the term, we will be looking at addition and subtraction. We will begin by re-visiting our number bonds, looking for patterns and by adding 10s and 100s. Our skills will develop so that we are able to successfully add and subtract 2-digit and 3-digit numbers. We will also consolidate our knowledge by looking at the inverse operations as well as daily reasoning and problem solving activities.
Science
This term we are looking at the topics of ‘Forces and Magnets’ and ‘Light’.
We will begin by exploring how objects move on different surfaces as well as learning that some forces need contact between two objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance. We will compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet. Later, we will describe magnets as having two poles and predict whether two magnets will attract or repel each other.
In our Light topic, we will be learning about the importance of light to see! We will recognise that light is reflected from some surfaces as well as recognising that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. Throughout our scientific skills work, we will also be exploring different scientists and asking questions about their work.
PE
In PE, we are learning a new dance for our Autumn ‘Dance Off Competition’! We have started by learning a 32 beat motif and next, we will look at adding in our own individual elements and paired work. We look forward to sharing our Dances with you virtually on WeDuc when they have been completed at the inter-school competition.
On Friday afternoons, we will be taught by the PE Coach from Staindrop School. He will be teaching us the skills and knowledge required to play successful games of Tag Rugby. We will be taking part in the cluster competitions at the end of the term – let’s hope we win!
As the weather gets colder, it would be sensible to bring additional layers of clothing to school on PE days. Remember – we come to school ready and dressed in our PE kits as this saves valuable learning time.
History
In History this term, we are going to be focusing on local history. We will be making historical enquiries and learning about the woollen mills in our town. We will also be exploring what daily life was like for those involved in the mills. We will be using photographs to compare buildings that were significant during the Industrial Revolution and those which were not. We will be remembering our historical knowledge through our ‘locked in learning’ questions and answers.
Geography
In Geography, we will be learning all about rivers. We will be exploring different parts of a river, why rivers flood and the journey of the River Tees. We will be carrying out field work studies as a whole class as well as spending time exploring the water cycle and naming and describing each part. We will also be using DigiMaps for Schools to explore the course of the River Tees. We also be learning more about High Force and where in the course of a river we might find waterfalls.
Religious Education
We will begin our year by revisiting what we already know about religion and worship. Then, we will move on to exploring Hinduism and how Hindus worship. We will also be learning about the importance of the Mandir, shrines and Puja. During the second half of term, we will be focusing on Christianity, exploring how and why Advent is important to Christians.
Art and Design
After our ‘working’ half term, we will begin our ‘creative’ half term. We will start a new art project which will involve a whole school drawing focus. As part of this, we will be building on our shading and hatching skills as well as looking at line, tone, stippling and scribbling. We look forward to sharing our art sketch books with you at the next Parent’s Evening.
Design and Technology
During our DT lessons, we will be building our skills by using cross stitch and applique to design and create a cushion. We will complete our design ideas by stuffing and sewing the edges of our cushions. We will follow the process of plan, make and review, so that we can learn from our process and discuss how successful we have been.
Computing
This half term, we will be learning about how a digital device works. We will then learn more about being ‘connected’ and what our school network looks like. We will also have a strong element of Internet Safety throughout the term – learning about the importance of privacy, passwords and how to deal with issues online and when using devices. In our second half term, we will use a range of techniques to create a stop-frame animation using tablets. Next, we will apply those skills to create a story-based animation. Our unit will conclude with us adding other types of media to our animation, such as music and text.
French
To begin, we will be learning French phonics and how to pronounce different sounds. Then, we will be exploring numbers 0-10, days of the week and daily greetings. We spend a lot of time speaking in French – particularly with new words and phrases.
Music
In Music this term, we will be learning the ‘Chilled Out Clap Rap’. This unit is built around a laid-back rap with accompanying clapping patterns and plenty of dynamic contrast. It offers opportunities for physical and creative activities that will us to develop our understanding of beat and rhythm. In the unit Latin dance, we will explore salsa rhythms by learning to dance salsa, play a clave rhythm, sing the song, and play a percussion part. We will also compose rhythm patterns to incorporate into our whole-class performance. We can’t wait to share our performances with you.