Spring Term 2022
W/C 28th March
Another busy week! Year 3 have wowed us with their resilience this week. It was lovely to see so many parents at parent’s evening and it is lovely to hear that the times table challenge homework is so popular with the children!
Our big news this week is all about our Geography trip to Skegness where we examined the human and physical geographical features of the town. We had such a wonderful day and the children were an absolute credit to themselves and the school. After a coach journey filled with spotting human and physical features along the way we arrived in a chilly Skegness. We explored the pier and observed lots of physical features; the sand, shells, rocks, the sea and seaweed.
We also noticed the human geographical features and recognised that lots of these were related to the tourism industry in Skegness. After bathroom stops the children were able to experience fish cake and chips at Harry Ramsbottoms, an ice cream or doughnut and then a very excited play on the beach. Some very brave souls even ventured into the sea to paddle in the icy cold water! Luckily, we brought lots of towels and changes of clothes with us. Accompanying us on the trip was Pete the Bear who got to experience his first ever beach visit. The children enjoyed showing Pete the wonders of Skegness and the coast. Pete was even implicated in some children becoming buried in sand!
In Maths this week we have been exploring tenths. We are learning that ten tenths equals a whole number. To help us to learn this we are using lots of demonstration, cubes and pictures because it is a tricky concept. However, Year 3 are doing really well with this challenge! I am very impressed.
W/C 21st March
Another busy week in year 3 with lots of exciting learning.
In English we have planned, drafted, edited and published our Big Write. This is a non-chronological report about the history of tea and the importance of fairtrade. This piece is based on the book we have been reading, The Cloud Tea Monkeys, which follows the journey of Tashi and her unwell mother. The children shared some insightful and thoughtful opinions on the importance of having fair working conditions and whether it is right for children to have to work to support their families. Well done year 3!
In RE we explored the features of a Mosque and the use of Islamic art as an expression of faith. We learned that animals and people are never used in Islamic art, however Arabic calligraphy is widely used because the Arabic language is believed to be divine. We learned that the word Islam is derived from the Arabic word sal’m, which means peace. We explored calligraphy and had a go ourselves.
As Geographers we learned about the Lincolnshire market town Boston and considered the human and physical features. We learned that you can actually see Boston Stump from the top of Lincoln Cathedral on a clear day and that many years ago, Boston was the second most important port in the country!
As scientists we explored the parts of a plant that help it to reproduce. This required us to look at both pollination and fertilisation which is tricky stuff! The children were fantastic and enjoyed their lesson on the field, acting as part of the plant or the pollinator, acting out the process of both pollination and fertilisation. Year 3 wowed me with their listening skills and fantastic team work.
W.C. 14.3.2022
We’ve had a lovely week this week in Year 3.
I would like to say how proud I am of all the children for showing empathy and consideration to those in Ukraine by supporting them on Wednesday with their donations for Ukraine.
This week in English we have been looking at fair trade in English getting ready to begin our non-chronological report on tea next week in English. In maths we have finished our unit on measure and will be starting our topic on fractions next week. In the afternoons we have been looking at how plants get their energy In science and where Boston is and why it is important in Geography.
W.C. 7.3.2022
What a busy week!
This week we have continued to look at measure and have been doing some tricky sums (converting our measure so that it is in the same units). We have been working really hard and showed some great determination looking at these new skills.
In English we have been looking at the cloud tea monkey, exploring how Tashi's life is different to ours and the struggles she faces having to pick tea whilst her mum is ill and can't work.
In the afternoons we have been looking art, exploring the different tools that artists used in the 19th century compared to the tools we use today, we practiced using these tools and immersed ourselves into the world of 19th century art.
We were also very fortunate to have a visit from the Fire engine this week, where we learnt about the role of firefighter and got to look inside the fire engine. We also had a visit from a local artist this week who taught us about macrame ahead of the River Light festival next week
W.C. 28.2.2022
Another fantastic week year 3 well done!
This week we have finished our unit on Money and have now began our unit on measurment, we have had lots of fun measuring different iobjects in the classroom and make predictions on weatehr we would use cm, mm or m to get the most accurate meaurment.
In English we have finished our leaflets on how to protect the rec and are looking forward to starting our new book next week.
We have had a few busy afternoons this week, we have started to look at symbolism in art and have created our own pages on what symbolism is and have looked at how art can portray feelings and ideas. We have also taken part in a science experiment where we explored how water travels thre plants (Mrs Parkin even let us try some of the experiemt- celery).
Last but not least on Friday we had world book day and we had so much fun looking at everyone's costumes! We were really lucky in year as 2 of the class won books from the book vending machine for best costume, with a fantastic shelock homes outfit and Russell from Up! To finish off the day on world book day we also took a trip to Sleaford Library, where we explored their range of audio books and all of the wonderful books they had to offer, we even got to select some to bring back to school.
W.C. 21.2.2022
The children have a had a good first wek back this week.
In maths we have been continuing our topic of money, where the children have been looking at how we use money in real life situations, including: adding, subtracting and giving change.
In English we have been looking at The Tin Forest and have now started creating our own leaflet on how we can protect our local environment 'The Rec'.
We have also continued our History topic on Ancient civilisations and have looked at the Shang Dynasty as well as Harrapa and Mohenjo-Daro.
Reminder: PE next week is on Tuesday and Thursday.
W.C. 17.1.2022
This week in English we have been planning, drafting and editing our big writes. This time, we have been focusing on writing a persuasive letter to the children of our school to make sure that they only cry for meaningful reasons. This way, the Tear Thief can use these tears to keep the moon bright! Next week, we will be writing up, completing a DIRT task and beginning our next unit!
In Maths, we have been continuing to learn our 8 times table for both division and multiplication, used our knowledge to compare different statements such as whether 7 X 3 or 8 X 6 is greater. We have also used our times table knowledge to expand our knowledge to other related calculations and started to use short multiplication for those trickier calculations!
In Science, we have explored what a vertebrate is and dived into the 5 animal kingdoms that make this group up. We have been able to explain how each of the five groups is different to one another by considering: if they give birth to live young or lay eggs, if they have fur, hair, feathers or scales and if they are warm or cold blooded. Next week, we will learn about invertebrates!
In RE, we have explored the first pillar of Islam more in depth. We know that Shahadah is the first pillar as it is the foundation of the Islamic faith. It is the first pillar that Muslims learn and is repeated when they pray.
In Music, we have listened and appraised some Bhangra music! We have learnt where this music comes from and how it was created. We know that it has been recently remixed and revitilised with a fusion of this and reggae, rap and drum and bass! We had lots of fun listening to it and even practiced some dance moves.
In PSHE, we have explored our dreams and goals. We know that along the way, we may face some challenges but that it is important to persevere!
W.C. 10.1.2022
Another busy week for us in Year 3!
In English this week we have been continuing to read 'the Tear Thief'. We hace looked at how to use similes and metaphors when using our creative writing and learning the difference between the two of them (this was tricky!). We have also used the present perfect tense in our writing to write a letter thanking the Tear Thief for her help. Once we had read the book, we considered the likes, dislikes, puzzles and connections that we could make to other stories. We also began to get ready for our big writes by trying to persuade people to only cry worthy tears to help the Tear Thief keep the moon bright!
In Maths, we have continued to practice our multiplication and division skills. We have been wowing each other with our explanations and representing the problems in different ways including in bar models. We're also getting much more confident in using our related facts and fact families! This week, we have practiced the 3-times table, divided and multiplied by 4 and begun to practice our 8s too!
In Science, we have learnt how we can categorise animals into groups depending on their diet. We have understood the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores and explained the diets each would have. We were able to give examples of these types of animals too and compared their diets to a humans.
In History, we have explored the achievements of the Ancient Sumerians. Did you know they created the chariot, cuneiform (their own writing script) and the 60 number system that we still use to tell the time today?! We had to consider which one we thought was the most important and explain why.
In Geography, we will be comparing Sleaford to other places in England. We began this by recapping what Sleaford is like including the human and physical features we might find. This included: schools, residential areas, industries and the River Slea.
W.C. 3.1.2022
Happy New Year- we're in the Spring Term! This term we are joined by Miss Massingham and our new trainee teacher Miss Stinchcombe - say hello if you see them!
Although we've only had four days this week, we have cracked straight on to our work and resumed our routine.
In English, we have completed our DIRT task from our BFG Big Write including focusing on how to use direct speech correctly, how we can develop our descriptions with expanded noun phrases and similes! After this, we began our next unit on the 'Tear Thief'. We started by looking at which emotions we think link with different jewels and colours. We have also worked on modifying word classes by using the progressive and past tense forms. This was tricky when the words didn't fit the typical rule! From this, we wrote a diary entry from the perspective of the Tear Thief.
In Maths, we have been continuing our work on multiplication and division. We recapped our understanding of equal groups and why this is important. We have been able to divide by 5 and 10. We have also worked on learning our 3-times table including multiplying and dividing. Keep practicing these at home!
In PE, we have started our unit of orienteering. This will take lots of patience and focus as we have to use our logical and lateral thinking to solve problems and work as a team!
In RE, we have started our work on Islam and understanding how the Islamic practices reflect the nature of Allah. To start this, we have explored the five pillars of Islam. We know that these are important to make sure that Muslims are following the Islamic beliefs correctly.
In History, we are learning about the Ancient Civiilisations of Ancient Sumer, the Indus Valley and the Shang Dynasty. As we will be working to compare these, we started by looking at what all of these civilisations had in common when looking at their location. We found they were all built around rivers, which made us think... why? We discussed the different reasons why we thought this was important including for transport links, food and other resources.
