Year 3 2024 - 2025

Welcome to Year 3!

Autumn Term 2024

Miss Hilditch, Mrs Bundy and Miss Morris

English

During the first half term, we will be focusing our writing around the text "Grandad's Secret Giant". Our writing outcomes will be:

A comparative description

A character description

A retell on the beginning of the story

A dialogue sequence

Maths

In maths, mental recall, including times tables, doubling and halving numbers and number bonds is vitally important if children are going to make good progress. Using the internet, games or board games can help reinforce the maths needed for Year 3 in a fun and enjoyable way. Please click on the links below to support both written and mental maths.

History

Our history focus is Prehistoric Britain.

Through this topic we will be finding out:

• Was Stone Age man simply a hunter and gatherer, concerned only with survival?
• How much did life change when man learned how to farm?
• What can we learn about life in the Stone Age from a study of Skara Brae?
• Why is it so difficult to work out why Stonehenge was built?
• How much did life really change during the Iron Age and how can we possibly know?
• Can you solve the mystery of the 52 skeletons of Maiden Castle? 

Geography

In Geography we will be learning about the 'Rainforests'

We will be considering:

• Where in the world are tropical rainforests?
• What is the Amazon rainforest like?
• Who lives in the rainforest?
• How are rainforests changing?
• How is our local woodland used? 

Science

During this term our Science topic will be 'Rocks'.

We will;

• Compare different kinds of rocks based on their appearance
• Group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their simple physical properties
• Describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock
• Explain Mary Anning’s contribution to palaeontology
• Recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter
• observe how much water has filtered through different types of soil.

We will take a scientific enquiry approach to our learning by:

• Observation over time
• Pattern seeking
• Identifying, classifying and grouping                          
• Comparative and fair testing
• Research using secondary resources

P.E

Our regular PE days for this term will be Monday and Friday. Please make sure that your child wears the correct Excalibur PE kit. A list of the full PE kit is on our website.

Snacks

Please could you send your child in with a healthy snack for their midmorning break.  Children can also purchase warm snacks at breaktime from school.  

Water Bottles

It is important for children to drink water throughout the day.  Therefore, children may bring in bottles of water each day so long as the bottle has a secure lid. It is also really helpful if every bottle is clearly labelled.  Please can you remind your child to take their bottle home every night for washing and refilling.  

Homework

• Maths - sent home on Mathletics every Friday for the following Friday. We would also recommend that your child spends time working on their mental maths and timestables (x3, x4 and x8). They have a login for TT Rockstars plus they can visit Hit the Button which is free online. 
• Reading - sent home every Friday for the following Friday via a paper copy with questions set from a short text to help improve comprehension
• Spellings - either a spelling rule or words from the statutory Y3/4 spelling list - Sent home half termly - Tested on a Monday

Please contact Miss Hilditch if you have any queries or questions. I will do my very best to help you. I look forward to working with you and your child throughout the year.