English
In the first part of Spring term, Year 3 learnt all about the Stone Age. We used this as a fantastic opportunity to explore what day-to-day life would have been like in this period. We looked at the tools the Stone Age people used and the different ways they caught and prepared food/clothing as well as the various types of dwellings they had. We studied Stone Age themed books in Guided reading to support our assessed piece of writing. First, we looked at an informative picture book called, “The Pebble in my pocket” which followed the life cycle of a rock. Then we read, “Stone Age Bone Age” which as another picture book that combined elements of non-fiction writing in a narrative style.
Finally, we read, “A Rock is Lively” and admired the beautiful illustrations! We used all of our knowledge from our History unit to help us write a recount in the style of ‘Stone Age Boy’ by Satoshi Kitamura.
In the second half of Spring term, we looked at Fairy tales, focussing on the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’ We read different versions of the tale from ‘Paco and the Giant Chile Plant’ by Keith Pollette to ‘Kate and the Beanstalk’ by Mary Pope Osborne. We then innovated parts of the story to create our own version which we then presented using our word processing skills. We have created our own class book of fairy tales and they look amazing!
To round off the term, we continued with the theme of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ and created haiku poetry.
Maths
This term, Year 3 have been working on multiplying and dividing a 2-digit number by a 1-digit number. Then we moved on to measuring lengths and measuring the perimeter around a closed 2D shape. After this, we worked hard on comparing, ordering and counting in fractions. We also used number lines and bar models to work out equivalent fractions. Finally, we have loved using the equipment to learn about weighing mass in standard units of grams and kilograms and measuring volume and capacity in millilitres and litres!
Science
Our focus in Science was Mary Anning in Spring 1 and rocks and fossils in Spring 2. First, the children made their own fossils and excavated using tools. We learnt how to identify igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic from their physical features and this helped us to remember how each rock was formed.
During Science Week, we explored the science of making toothpaste! We agreed that a good toothpaste should kill bacteria, have a nice scent and stay on the toothbrush! We carefully mixed ingredients to make our toothpaste. We then needed to think scientifically to plan a fair test to compare our own toothpaste to branded toothpastes. Finally we collected the results in a tally chart and presented the results in a series of bar graphs.
Art
This half term, we have looked at the works by Georgia O’Keefe. Year 3 has emulated them using the techniques of shading and toning.
We initially used sketching pencils, showing how we are able to use the different shading techniques to create colour and shape variation.
We completed our Georgia O’Keefe unit by sketching and then painting flowers in the style of the artist.
History/Geography/D&T
We started our learning about The Stone Age by mapping the timeline of the era before meeting our visitor who showed us his artefacts. We discussed the evidence used that aids our understanding of what happened in this time period and analysed cave paintings before creating our own. We gathered sticks and other materials to see the different effects of mark making on textured paper. We also learnt about evidence of settlements by looking at Skara Brae and inferring what kind of lifestyle they had at the settlement. We finished the term by creating our own model round houses with authentic decoration. We also learnt how, later in the stone age, humans used weaving and sewing for clothes and bags. We also thoroughly enjoyed our return to the cooking room this half term and baked healthy flapjacks.
In D&T, have been exploring various sewing techniques and using them to make our own bags! After choosing between a variety of designs such as the drawstring bag, the children created their own labelled sketches to show what their bags would look like, including deciding what colours to use and what fastenings they would like. The children then practiced their running, overcast and back stitches on pieces of paper before selecting the stitches they most wanted to use and using them with the real materials. The children have really enjoyed creating their own bags and their final work is fabulous!
R.E.
Year 3 explored the Big Question: How Do People Express Commitment to a Religion in Different Ways?
We looked at the three religions: Christianity, Sikhism and Judaism and learnt about the different (and sometimes similar) ways they expressed their commitment to their chosen religion. We learnt about the special ceremonies in each religion – Baptism and confirmation in Christianity, Bar Mitzvah (boys) and Bat Mitzvah (girls), in Judaism and the Amrit ceremony in Sikhism. We were really lucky to have a whole day off curriculum where we learnt more from Marsha and Todd [Discovering Judaism] about Judaism.
PE
This term, children have enjoyed learning how to play tennis. They learnt the correct technique for the forehand, backhand and volley as well as having a go at serving to start a point. There were lots of fun games to play throughout the unit of work and the children also enjoyed playing competitive points at the end of the term. In Real PE they have focussed on sending and receiving balls to their partners.
Spanish
In Spanish this term, Year 3 children have been learning to name different classroom equipment, eg. un lapiz, (a pencil), una regla (a ruler), un boligrafo (a biro) and, my favourite, un sacapuntas (a pencil sharpener). We have been learning to spot masculine and feminine nouns and started to see how that affects the adjectives we use. Un lapiz rojo (a red pencil)/Una regla roja (a red ruler).
The children have looked at different ways of translating text – using dictionaries and apps on tablets.
Music
For Music, children in Year 3 have been increasing their ukulele skills! As well as learning different picking and strumming patterns we have started holding down the strings on different frets to create chords, beginning with A minor and F. The children particularly enjoyed playing ‘Land of the Silver Birch’.
All the children also took part in a very exciting rock band workshop – learning about the electric guitar, drums, keyboard and the role of the vocalist as front-person. We then ended the term with a live performance of Jazz from the Norfolk Music service.
Computing
This term we have been building on the concept of sequence as ‘a set of instructions read from beginning to end’ whilst learning the fundamentals of the Scratch coding platform. We have opened example programs and explored how a sequence of blocks will make a Sprite move across the stage. Pupils have been writing a program to move a Sprite around a maze with arrow key inputs and they have worked hard to debug any errors in their sequence of code.
