Autumn Term

W/C: 10/12/18

Another busy working week for us in Year 3. In Maths we have completed our unit of addition and subtraction. We have continued working on our column method skills to solve two step worded problems to add and subtract.

In English we have finalised our drafts by editing them thoroughly ensuring we have all the skills included in each section of our shape poem. We then wrote our shape poems up in neat. They look fantastic!

In Topic, we have finished our unit of work 'Extreme Earth'. We looked at Mountains this week, we have learnt about the different aspects of a mountain and what part they play. Next we learnt about the dangers on the slopes such as: avalanches, cold chill and altitude sickness. We have really enjoyed learning about Extreme Earth and what disasters can happen!

W/C: 03/12/18

This week in Maths, we have been working on estimating. This is where we have to round to the nearest ten. For example, 84 to the nearest 10 is 80 and 58 to the nearest 10 is 60. We will be getting this to practise as homework next week.

In English this week we have been practising new skills to work on making our own poems even more exciting to read. We have learnt about similes; this is when we compare two objects, next we looked at alliteration; this is where two or more words next to each other start with the same letter. After this we worked on onomatopoeia; this is words that are sounds such as: BANG! SPLASH! POP! Finally we learnt about personification; this is where you give an object a human characteristic, here is an example: The trees wave at me in the wind. We have practised these skills because we will be writing our own shape poems about The Black Rock.

In Topic, we have continued with our Topic of Extreme Earth. We looked at the key aspects of a river. We followed Rosie the Raindrops adventure from her start at the source of the river and followed the river down as it got bigger and bigger through countryside's and then towns, finally ending up at the sea.

W/C: 26/11/18

We have had so much fun in Art this week, we were given the task of building a house to live in made out of kebab and cocktail sticks and marshmellows. We had to make sure it was structurally safe to live in. We worked in groups; here are some of our designs:

We were then told the dreaded news...

Our house designs had to withhold an Earthquake!!

We had to place our buildings on to a large tray of jelly and watch to see whether our house was structurally safe or not... 

Only one house survived...

We now know that to be structurally safe, we needed to try and use a triangular shape!

In Science, we did an investigation to see which temperature is the best for melting chocolate. We had to measure the temperature of the water and time how long it took for the chocolate to melt. 

We found out that the hotter the water, the quicker the chocolate melts!

W/C: 19/11/18

This week has been lots of fun! We had a problem-solving day where we had to use all of our Maths skills to solve the codes which cracked open the padlocks that then released new clues. There were a total of 9 codes to crack, the highest group managed to crack open 6! We had so much fun.

In English, we have continued to read on in our book. We have written a diary recount as if we were Erin falling off the boat. We worked really hard to use the skills we have learnt in English and put them into our diary recounts.

This week in Topic, we learnt all about Tornadoes! We found out all about the different strengths and sizes of tornadoes and how they are measured. We also watched the impact each tornado had on communities. Next we looked at another way people measure them, 'Storm Chasers'. We watched a clip showing how people chase the storm- not something we thought was very safe! These storm chasers use a special vehicle to travel in when chasing tornadoes, a Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV). These vehicles have lots of safety features in case they get into trouble or the tornado is too strong without them realising. This was really exciting to learn about.

W/C: 12/11/18

We have now completed week 2 of the Christmas Term. We have been working extremely hard again, in Maths this week we have been working on our skills to add and subtract a three digit number and a 1 digit number using a range of different methods. We have found this really tricky but have finally cracked it!

In English this week, we have been looking at lots of skills that we covered last term, in particular adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions. We then used these skills and applied them into our book that we are reading 'The Secret of Black Rock'. We are only half way through at the minute and so far Erin has fallen off the back of the boat into the ocean right next to the legend of the Black Rock. We have thought about how Erin might be feeling after falling into the dark ocean, her mum and dog have left her behind and she is right next to the Black Rock. 

In Topic, we have been continuing our Topic of 'Extreme Earth'. This week we learnt all about Tsunamis. This has been a really exciting natural disaster, what effects it has on people and the towns, how rescue centers work to support families and the communities and most importantly, how Tsunamis happen.

W/C: 07/11/18

Welcome back to school after 2 weeks of rest and relaxation. We have kicked off the term with a fantastic new novel in English called 'The Secret of Black Rock' by Joe Todd- Stanton. We have started reading this book and found out about Erin and her dog Archie and where they live. WE have looked at noun phrases and similes this week linked to the legend of the Black Rock. Erin is not allowed onto her mums fishing boat but she sneaks on whilst mum isn't looking. We then use this image to imagine what mum and Erin might be saying to each other with speech bubbles and then converting into direct speech.

In Maths we have started looking at mental addition and subtraction methods adding 10s and 100s to a number. We have worked extremely hard solving lots of problems.

In Art we are creating a modern take of the cracks on the Earths crust. We are using tissue paper and card to show the cracks n the Earths crust once the tectonic plates pull apart; we have really enjoyed learning about Earthquakes and how they work.

W/C: 14/10/18

This was our final week of Term 1 in Year 3- my it has been fun filled and very exciting. In English, we wrote our own non-chronological report all about volcanoes and even put in subheadings! Mrs Barratt was so happy when she read through them. In Maths, we have been solving problems again... we are getting so much better at not giving up when things don't go quite right!

In Science, we finished our unit of Rocks and Fossils by making our own fossil out of clay. Check these ones out:

In Art, we actually created a volcanic eruption! We used mentos and diet coke, these products reacts together to show us what an erupting volcano actually looks like. Look at these pictures:

W/C: 07/10/18

We have been busy yet again. In Topic and Science we have been continuing to learn about rocks, fossils ad volcanoes. This week we looked at how soils are made from rocks by watching Roger Rock and what happens over time. We have also completed making our volcanoes this week ready for explosions next week, we cannot wait!

Another amazing opportunity we had was on Tuesday. A lady came in to help us learn First Aid and how to help people if they need it, particularly: DR ABC, how to perform CPR and also how to help someone if they are choking, have been cut or burnt.

In English we have completed our skills for our next big write of our non-chronological reports. We have researched and planned what a volcano is, the different types of volcanoes and what happens when a volcano erupts. Mrs Barratt is looking forward to reading these next week when they have been written up in neat.

For Maths we have been working really hard solving number and practical problems! Some were really tricky, but we didn't give up! WE have also completed our Place Value unit so we finished the unit with our Post-test, Mrs Barrat said we are just so clever after telling us our scores!

W/C: 01/10/18

This week in Year 3 we have been learning lots of new things. In Maths we have been working on our reasoning problems and how we reason and explain our answers. We found this really tricky but are getting there!

In English, we have started looking at lots of features ready for our new unit of non-chronological reports. We have looked at a range of non-chronological reports all about volcanoes and taken notes as we have gone along. We looked at writing in the present tense and how to use subheadings and pronouns too. 

In Topic, we have understood the different parts of a volcano such as a conduit, magma chamber and main vent. We know what all of these things do! On Friday, we even started learning our new song 'Let your spirit fly' by Joanna Mangona. We tried to listen to the different instruments in the song and talked about the texture and tempo of the song. 

W/C: 24/09/18

What a fun and busy week yet again! This week we have celebrated Harvest Festival with Father Philip on Monday and then on Thursday we were really lucky to have Zulu Nation come in and perform in front of us. We were then given the chance to have a music workshop- we had so much fun!

In English this week, we looked at using time and cause adverbs in our sentences. We then concentrated on imagining if we were in Pompeii and the volcano erupted when we were there what it would smell like, look like, sound like and feel like. We then used all of these ideas over the past few weeks to write a setting description of Pompeii once the volcano erupted. After this, we edited our work. What amazing writing we have done.

In Maths we have been continuing to work Place Value, specifically ordering and comparing numbers. We have also worked on using a number line looking at the scales and what number would be in the middle.

W/C: 17/09/18

Another week has flown by again! We have been working hard understanding time, place and cause conjunctions, prepositions and adverbs. We have been using these skills and applying them into our sentences.

In Maths this week, we have been counting in 50's and 100's and working out the missing numbers. Can you try this one?

50, _____, 150, 200, _____

Also in Maths, we have been working on which number is greater or less than, ordering and comparing numbers all the way up to 1000.

In Topic, we were looking at the three different types of volcanoes: active- these are volcanoes are will continue to erupt, dormant- these volcanoes are currently sleeping and haven't erupted for some time, finally there are extinct- these volcanoes will not explode again. We looked at the world map and labeled all of the active volcanoes, we did notice a pattern as to where all of the volcanoes were placed. They are placed along the tectonic plate lines, however there are a few abnormalities, such as the volcano in Hawaii; we know that this volcano is in the middle of a plate because there is an fault with the plate.

In Science this term we have been learning about rocks, looking at the three different types of rock, igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. This week we started to learn about how fossils are formed in sedimentary rocks, the different types of fossils and where they can be found. 

W/C: 10/09/18

We have had a busy week this week. We have continued with our book 'Escape from Pompeii' this week, we have read right up to the part where the volcano has erupted and Tranio and Livia have escaped on a boat. We wrote our own setting descriptions of Pompeii before the volcano erupted focusing on noun phrases. We have also been introduced to using inverted commas for characters dialogue. 

In Maths, we have been continuing to work with knowing the value of digits, finding 10 more and 10 less, also 100 more and 100 less of any given number.

In Art, we have created volcanoes using pastels and blending colours. Have a look at this picture by Megan:

W/C: 03/09/18

Welcome to Year 3!

What a busy first week back we have had! We have come in acting and behaving like KS2 pupils already.

In Topic we are learning all about Volcanoes. This week in Topic we have looked at the 4 different layers that Earth has: Inner core, Outer core, Mantle and Crust. We know that the closer to the core the hotter it is! This links with our Science too, we learnt about different rocks that have been man-made or that are natural. We also know about Sedimentary, Metamorphic and Igneous rocks. Did you know volcanoes are made out of igneous rocks?

In English, we are following the theme of volcanoes by reading 'Escape from Pompeii' by Christina Balit. So far we have predicted what might happen in the story by looking at some clues on the front cover and we have been introduced to the main character Tranio. We are really excited to see what happens when the volcano erupts.

In Maths, our unit of work is Place Value. We are working really hard understanding the value of a digit in a three-digit number. Remember it is Hundreds, Tens and Ones.

Quick question:

What is the value of the 6 in the number 652?