Year 3

ENGLISH

Let the Magic Begin in Term 6!

This term, Year 3 will be stepping into a world of wonder and imagination as we dive into Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister and Grahame Baker-Smith. Through this magical story, we’ll explore how to create atmosphere in our writing by choosing powerful adjectives and adverbs, and we’ll continue to develop our understanding of accurate speech punctuation.

As the term progresses, we’ll become persuasive performers, crafting captivating advertisements to invite people to our very own circus! Expect plenty of alliteration, emotive language, and irresistible offers that no one will want to refuse.

To round off the term, we’ll transform into poets! We’ll learn how to structure limericks and clerihews, carefully considering rhyme and syllable patterns to make our poetry pop. We’ll also be polishing our speaking and listening skills, ready to perform our poems with confidence and flair.

Get ready for a term full of creativity, imagination and a touch of magic!

MATHS

For our final term in Year 3, we embark on exploring the properties of shape. This includes looking at turns and angles, including right angles. We will also explore 2D and 3D shapes and their properties.

In our final few weeks we will be looking at pictograms and bar charts and how these can be used in our daily lives.

Note to parents/ carers

It is crucial that all children become confident with their times tables as they will be sitting the Year 4 times table test in July 2027. More importantly, understanding multiplication (along with the fast recall of other number facts) really is the cornerstone to fluent mathematics.

Please ensure your child regularly goes on TT Rockstars at home as part of their weekly homework after it is introduced. Little and often (5 minutes a day) is an effective way of improving recall.

FOUNDATION

Swimming will take place on Wednesdays, starting the first week back in Term 6. We will be improving our running, jumping and throwing skills while learning about athletics in our second PE slot of the week, which will take place on Friday.

Every Monday, we will continue to explore the Playscape and use its surroundings to complete activities and work together with a focus on a variety of objectives from PSHE and Forest School. We are hoping for sunshine but please ensure your child has the appropriate clothing with them for all weather e.g. wellies and waterproofs or sun cream and sun hat!

In Science, the children will continue on their exciting scientific journey. We will be asking our own scientific questions and conducting practical investigations to find out the answers. First up, how can a solar oven be made more effective? (Before that even: what is a solar oven?) 

This term sees us learning about coastlines in Geography and eventually making our own miniature one.

In DT, we will delve into the world of pencil case design. We'll get creative exploring materials and stitch our way to a personalised creation in our classes. Thimbles optional!

In Computing, we will be debugging programmes in SCRATCH.  

In PSHE, we will be reflecting on our achievements and the growth mindset that helped us.  

In RE, we'll delve into the query, "What does it mean to belong to a religion?" with a focus on Hinduism. 

Many thanks for your continued support

Regards,

Mrs Mallon, Mrs Walker and Mr Barge

- P.E. days this term are: Wednesday – Swimming and Friday – Athletics. Please wear your full P.E. kit to school on Friday and don't forget your swimming kit on Wednesdays.

- Forest School is on a Monday.  We suggest children have their Forest School clothes in all week and they can store wellies outside.

– On a Monday, Homework & Spellings will be given to your child to stick in their Homework Book. Homework books, online apps and Reading Records need to be completed and brought into school on Friday for your teacher to check.  In Year 3, the expectation is that homework works out to be about 20 minutes a day or approximately 1 and a half hours a week: this should be a combination of spelling practice, daily reading, use of online learning apps (Nessy and TTRS) and set homework tasks (Maths/English/Foundation).

– Reading at home. In Year 3, this should happen every day. Reading 15-20 minutes a day can significantly impact a child’s development. It improves language skills, vocabulary, and comprehension. Regular reading fosters critical thinking, creativity, and empathy. It also strengthens the parent-child bond and instills a lifelong love for learning and books, paving the way for future academic success. This can be in a variety of forms, such as: children reading independently, sharing a chapter together and reading on Fonetti (if your teacher has given you access). Also, remember reading to your child and listening to audiobooks is extremely beneficial too!

We expect children to read as much as possible at home (daily) as part of their weekly homework tasks. Reading records should be commented in by an adult a minimum of 3 times a week. Reading Records and reading books should be transferred between home and school every day. Please ensure Accelerated Reader quizzes are completed within 48 hours of finishing the book. See below for the links to assist with reading using apps and AR Quizzes. We expect every child to complete a minimum of 3 quizzes every term.

Term 3

There will be homework set each week which will consist of either Maths/English consolidation, spelling and reading. Occasionally, we may set an extended project homework over 2 or 3 weeks based on a topic we are exploring.

Spelling

Weekly spelling homework should consist of the spelling activity as well as practicing the the spellings for the week. 

Reading (daily)

Reading should happen every day. It can take a variety of forms, such as children reading independently and sharing a chapter together. Remember that listening to audiobooks can be very beneficial too. 

Adults, please remember to listen to children read and sign their Reading Records a minimum of 3x per week.  

Online Apps

Nessy (for reading and spelling) and Times Tables Rock Stars (for maths) are now available. We encourage children to use these at home regularly. Just 5 minutes a day can make a big difference.

Children’s log-ins should be found in their Reading Record. If you are having problems with these websites, please let us know as soon as possible.

For reference: 

DIGITAL FAMILY AGREEMENT

ONLINE SAFETY HOMEWORK LETTER

If your child requires medication to be kept in school (including inhalers), please ensure it is in their school bag that is kept at their desk throughout the day. If your child has additional medication, please ensure the office has been informed and parental consent has been given for us to administer it.

Outdoor Learning – wellies/boots and waterproofs. Children should have these in school if they wish to use the playscape and field in the autumn and winter months. Our outdoor learning time is on Mondays so definitely make sure it is in for then.

Please note that the appropriate uniform and PE are also required. Children should not be wearing jewellery (unless it is one pair of stud earrings which must be removed for PE). All kit/clothing should be named. If you do not have the suitable kit, please let your teachers know. Please contact the office if you have any issues with the appropriate clothing.

Club opportunities will be presented to the children early this term and parents will be contacted regarding how to book their child a place at these fantastic opportunities. 

 

To sign up for music lessons, please see the links below:

Rocksteady – https://www.rocksteadymusicschool.com/

Other Music Lessons – https://uksouthglos.speedadmin.dk/registration#/

Email: music@wema.org.uk 

Homework queries can be communicated through the Homework Books or Reading Records. All other queries should go through the office (paulton_jun@bathnes.gov.uk) or give us a call on 01761 418137.  Also, please continue to use the office phone line to report your child’s absence. 

Open Door Friday

Every Friday after school, you are invited to come into the classroom to share and look at your child’s work. It's a great opportunity to see what they’ve been up to!

Click on the pictures below to go to Nessy and TTRS.

READING @HOME

Oxford Owl for Home with lots of free resources for Primary age. It can provide your child with a schemed reading book. The free ebooks include : Biff and Chip, The Oxford Reading Tree Books, Project X, TreeTops.
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/

As a parent, you will need to sign up and log in with your email address to access lots of the e books. Most have an audio option, to read along or listen to the book being read and additional activities, including comprehension questions to help when you are sharing the books together. There is not a subscription, and you are not expected to buy any of the books.

Book recommendation

Write your name, book details and reason for your recommendation on the Padlet below:

Additional learning links:

– Topmarks English and Maths Games – https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ see below for help

See the picture below for help. Click learning games at the top of the website. Then select either Maths or English on the left-hand side. Check you’ve selected the right age! Finally, choose a category of game, browse the games and choose one to play.

Useful websites

These websites will help you for Writing:

www.topmarks.co.uk/english-games/7-11-years/punctuation

www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/interactive/literacy2.htm

www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/topic/punctuation

For Reading:

www.funenglishgames.com/readinggames.html

www.readers.com/resources/education/kids-online-reading-games/

For Maths:

www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables

www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm

Fun with times tables

Practice singing along to the songs below to help you learn you times tables.