Year 3

Mrs Clarke and Miss Richardson

Summer Term - Why are the achievements of Ancient Greece are important today?

Our Theme

Our driver theme this term is called ‘Why are the achievements of Ancient Greece are important today?’ We have started off with our Ancient Greece day where we time travelled back to this time to find out what it was like living there. We will look at the time line to see how long this period was and what happened during this time. We will find out about the different states and will compare Athens and Sparta. The children will be looking at photographs of artefacts such as pottery and statues and learn how the Ancient Greeks lived their life, what they believed in and what they enjoyed doing. Finally, we will be finding out about Alexander the Great and piecing together everything we have learnt to answer our enquiry question.

English

In English, we are focusing on myths and legends, playscripts and explanation texts. We will explore the genre of myths and we will be reading lots of different stories from Ancient Greece. The children will plan and write our own characters and settings for our new Greek myth. We will be using an amazing book called ‘Tell Me A Dragon’ to write a playscript and explanation texts.

Reading, as always, will be a crucial part of the children’s learning. The children will have a variety of reading lessons this year, whole class comprehension lessons, Little Wandle reading groups, AR quizzes, as well as one to one reading.

Maths

In Maths we will explore the use of fractions. We will start by considering that a fraction is part of a whole and exploring how to represent this using diagrams and numbers. We will then explore angles and shape using vocabulary such as obtuse, acute and right angles to describe the angles.

Science

In Science this term we will be learning about our amazing bodies. We will consider the importance of eating the right amounts of different types of food and how this food provides us with the right nutrients to keep us healthy. We will learn about our skeleton and will be able to name some of the bones. We will also find out why we need a skeleton and how muscles help us to move.

In RE, we will be exploring a focussed enquiry question: ‘How can Braham be everywhere and in everything?’. We will be learning about some Hindu Gods and Goddesses and then finding out about Braham. They will understand that there is one God that take many different forms.

Art

In art, we will be exploring mosaics and repeated patterns. We will look at the techniques the Ancient Greeks used and will be using some artefacts and designs as inspiration. We will develop our printing techniques and will use block printing to design and create our own Greek mosaic.

This half term the children will be taking part in tennis skills and fitness. They will learn how to perform basic skills needed for tennis with control and accuracy. The children will learn how to perform a basic forehand action and how to keep a rally going. They will also be improving their fitness and stamina by taking part in some circuit trainings and aerobic activities.

Computing

In computing this half term we will be exploring simulations. The children will discover what simulations are and how they are used. The children will then create their own simulation story.

PSHE

In PSHE this half term the children will consider many aspects linked to the unit ‘Relationships’. They will think about how they can make friends and consider how they can solve friendship problems.

Important information

PE this half term is timetabled for Tuesday and Thursday. Children should come to school wearing a white T shirt, black shorts/joggers and trainers/plimsolls.

The children will need to bring in their reading books and reading records every day. They will be able to quiz on their AR books during the school day.

Homework will be sent every week. The tasks are outlined in the weekly email sent to parents and are explained in class. There will be an English task and a maths task that links to the lessons we have been doing during the week. Children will also need to read to an adult 3 times per week and record this in their reading records. They can also use Timestable Rockstar to help them secure their multiplication and division facts.

Spellings will be sent home weekly in their yellow spelling books. These will be a focus during our spelling lesson during the week. It would be great to learn any tricky words at home. Please bring in the yellow spelling books on Friday so you can have the next set of words. Many thanks.

How you can help at home

Children can access Purple Mash at home to do some extra games with the spellings for the week. They can also access the computing lessons for this half term.

Support your child in learning multiplication and division facts.

Listen to your child read at least 3 times per week and have discussions about the text (record the reading sessions in their reading records).

If you have any queries or questions about this information or any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Many thanks,

Mrs Clarke.

We work with a company called SEND Supported at school and they are releasing newsletters each week offering support and guidance to parents of children who many have additional needs in school. Please find below a link to these newsletters:

There are also lots of other resources and information available on their website. The 'Things to do Issue 2 - Resources' file has some lovely activities for all children regardless of whether they have additional needs or not. There are lots of great visual puzzles and games for children to play so please have a look if you can. There are also resources available now to support with developing children's memory skills in 'Thing to do Issue 3 - Resources.'

Useful links:

English: