Year 3

Mrs Clarke and Miss Richardson

Summer Term - What is Greece like today?

Our Theme

We have learnt such a lot about Ancient Greece last half term but now it’s time to look at what it is like in Greece today. We will be looking at where the country is in the world and what surrounds it. We will be looking at the famous places that tourists like to visit and why it is a popular place for holidays. We will be finding out what the climate is like there and will compare it to Binley Woods. We will also taste some Greek food!

English

In English, we will start our half term off with a book called The Crow’s Tale. The children will be using inference and prediction to find out the story bit by bit. We will find out information about one of the animal characters and will write a non-chronological report. Then we will be writing parts of the story – focusing on adding description and detail to our writing. We will also have the opportunity to work with a group to act part of the story out and write a short play. Another book that we will be using is called The Happy Prince. We will look at how we write a letter and will be writing a letter to one of the characters.
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 this half term, be learning about angles, shapes and measures. The children will be finding out about the different names to describe angles and be able to describe shapes using their properties. We will then move onto the next unit about measures. We will explore mass and will reading scales and estimating and comparing weight. Then we will be finding out about capacity. We have some exciting maths activities planned too.

Science

This half term we will be continuing our learning on plants. We will be looking more at seeds and pollinators and the job they do to help us in the garden. We will be looking at some unusual plants and finally designing our own unique plant. We have our exciting visit to Hatton Country World to look forward to as well.

In RE, we will be exploring a focussed enquiry question: ‘Would visiting the River Ganges feel special to a non-Hindu?’. We will start by considering why water is precious and will find out why the River Ganges is special to Hindus. We will write two postcards imagining we have visited the Ganges – one as a Hindu and one as a non- Hindu.

In our DT lessons we will be finding out what makes a tasty healthy sandwich. We will consider what our favourite sandwich is and listen to others. We will taste some food items that we could use when we design a healthy sandwich. We will learn some techniques to cut food safely and will then make our healthy sandwiches for others to try.

This half term the children will be learning the skills of athletics and Cricket. We will be learning how to be accurate at catching and throwing and how to hit the ball using the bat. We will enjoy a few games of Kwik Cricket too!

Computing

In computing this half term we will be using Microsoft Powerpoint to make a presentation. The children will be learning the different ways to make their presentation their own by adding shapes and choosing fonts, sizes and colours.

PSHE

In PSHE this half term the children will consider many aspects linked to the unit Changing Me. We will be finding out about how babies grow and how our bodies change when we start to grow up.

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: