• Homework
• Key Dates

Mrs Maguire and Miss Jones.

Welcome to Year 3

Spring Term

Class Saint: St Paul

Welcome back and a Happy New Year to you all!

This term we are looking forward to learning about the following:

Religion

Our Religious Education topics this term will be ‘Galilee to Jerusalem’ and ‘Desert to Garden’. 

In the ‘Galilee to Jerusalem’ unit, the children will learn about; the visit of the Magi, the Kingdom on God, commitment to the Kingdom, parable of the Sower, Jesus working miracles, the Our Father and about St Therese of Lisieux.

In the ‘Desert to Garden’ unit, the children will learn about; the miracle of the loaves, the Last Supper, celebrating the Mass, the Eucharistic Prayer, God’s great love and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Mathematics

In Maths, we will continue to work through the Power Maths Scheme that I am sure many of you are now familiar with. The units we will be focusing on in the Spring Term are Multiplication and Division, Money, Statistics, Length and Fractions. Children will be expected to continue to learn their times tables ready for their weekly tests. They also have access to Times Tables Rockstars to help with their times tables practise.

English

In English, we will mainly work on a text-based approach, and enjoy reading a range of quality picture books, non-fiction texts and extracts from longer novels. Now that many of the children are becoming confident decoders, the reading focus begins to shift in Year 3, and concentrates more on developing comprehension skills.  Our shared texts will also inspire writing in a range of genres including, narrative, poetry, and instructional text types. This term, we will be focussing our English lesson on the books ‘Seal Surfer’ and ‘Big Blue Whale’

In addition, discrete grammar, spelling, and handwriting lessons will also be taught. Weekly spelling tests will be introduced this week and spelling lists available on the school website, via the Year 3 class page and dojo.

Science

In Science, we will be learning about ‘Animals Including Humans’ and ‘Plants’. Through these topics, the children will develop their scientific enquiry skills, making observations, predictions and conclusions.

In our ‘Animals Including Humans’ topic, the children will learn that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat. They will also learn that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection, and movement.

In our ‘Plants’ topic, the children will identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants and explore the requirements of plants for life and growth. The children will also investigate the way in which water is transported within plants and explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants.

History

This term we will be learning about ‘The Indus Valley’. An exciting workshop took place on Monday 13^th January.

In this topic, the children will learn about the advanced civilisation that developed there thousands of years ago. They will find out where the Indus Valley civilisation developed, what their achievements included, and how their society interacted with other civilisations. They will also compare the Indus Valley civilisation with Bronze Age Britain and discover how settlements in Britain at this time compared with Indus Valley settlements. Finally, they will investigate the evidence left behind by the Indus Valley civilisation and discuss their theories on why it declined and vanished.

Geography

This term, we will be learning about ‘Investigating India’

India! Sacred rivers, towering mountains, ever-changing climate, rich culture, beautiful temples and bustling cities. This 'Investigating India' scheme of work for will have the children mesmerised by the true essence of India. I cannot wait to teach this unit!

Computing

This term the children will be learning about touch typing and emails. Children will use iPads and laptops to access this part of the curriculum.

MFL 

They will also have French lessons with a French specialist.  

P.E.

P.E. will take place on Monday and Tuesday. Please ensure your child has their kit in school on these days and that all kit is clearly named. To begin with, it may well be warm enough for your child to wear their school PE shorts and top with a navy or black jumper/hoodie, but as the weather gets colder, they will need to wear navy or black joggers or leggings. On Mondays, please send the children in their PE kit to school and bring their unifrom in a bag to change into.

What homework will my child have to complete in Year 3?

All homework tasks are intended to benefit your child’s learning, by consolidating work done in school, and encouraging them to work more independently. Each Friday, I will update the Year 3 page on the school website to provide details of the homework set each week.

In Year 3, your child’s homework will include:

• Daily reading;
• Spellings (tested on Wednesday);
• Times tables (tested on Friday) practise on Times Tables Rockstars;
• One Maths or English task per week, which will set in CPG homework books (which will be sent home on Thursday/Friday and due in the following Thursday so they can be marked).
• Occasional Science, Topic or Religion based

Parents often ask if there is something they can do at home to support their child’s learning. Ensuring they complete their homework tasks to the best of their ability, and supporting them where necessary, will really help them to make good progress. Daily spelling practice, using the ‘look, say, cover, write, check’ approach, is invaluable in helping them to learn their weekly spellings and daily practise of times tables will also be essential.

I simply cannot emphasise enough the importance of continuing to hear your child read at home on a daily basis and in particular, to begin to support the development of comprehension skills, through discussion and questioning.

The following websites provide excellent online resources to support with homework too:

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks2/

https://www.timestables.co.uk/

https://ttrockstars.com/

When will my child be heard to read?

Your child will not necessarily be assigned a specific reading day in Key Stage 2. Therefore, please could you ensure your child has their reading book and yellow reading record in school every day.

This allows for greater flexibility with our timetable and more opportunity for your child to change their book more regularly. Once they have finished their book,    your child is welcome to change their book on any day of the week, provided their record has been signed.

What does my child need to bring to school each day?

Please ensure that your child has the following items in school on a daily basis:

• Their reading book and reading record carried in a blue school book bag;
• A named water bottle;
• A coat (even if the weather is a little inclement, we try to get outside at playtime as much as possible);
• A piece of fruit or a vegetable snack for break time (please be reminded that Year 3 children are no longer provided with a piece of fruit, as they have been used to in For those of you who are not familiar with our school policy, only fruit or vegetable snacks are permitted, including dried fruit);
• Break time snacks and drinks ranging from 20p – £1 will also be available to buy.

End of The Day Arrangements

We will be exiting through the hall fire doors, near the main school office, so please collect from there promptly at 3:10pm.

Any children attending Whizz Kids or The Den are handed over at their designated meeting points. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me directly, with a query or concern, by emailing smaguire@stgabriels.cheshire.sch.uk .

Please note teachers are no longer being contacted via messenger on Class Dojo. However, Class Dojo will be used for updates on the Class Story page.

I will endeavour to respond at the earliest opportunity, but since this email address cannot be monitored whilst I am teaching, if your concern is of an urgent nature, you may need to telephone the school office or email admin@stgabriels.cheshire.sch.uk

Yours sincerely,

Mrs S. Maguire (Class teacher)