Year 3 - Owls
Welcome to our class page
Mrs Wilson, Mr Bowen and Mrs Dodds will use this space to keep you informed about some of the things that Owl Class will be doing during this term. If there is anything that you need to know or would like to ask us, please come and speak to us in the playground, before or after school, or send us a message via the Contact Book, in a separate note or by emailing the office.
News
We shall be visiting Hampton Court this coming Wednesday 29th January as part of our history topic of 'The Tudors'. Thanks you to the parents who have been able to offer to help with this trip.
One new development for the children this term will be the issuing of Pen Licences. This does not usually happen until Year 4 but we thought that Owl Class could rise to the challenge. When we are happy that a child's handwriting is consistently neat and of an appropriate size, he or she will be able to use a pen for much of their written work in class. We shall provide their first pen with their 'Pen Licence' certificate. The onus is, of course, on the children to maintain a high standard in their writing thereafter.
Curriculum Topics for the Spring Term
English
All of our English topics will include aspects of reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar. They will each culminate in an extended piece of writing, using the various elements targeted. The various genres covered will be: Playscripts, formal letters, recounts, information leaflets, a balanced argument and a narrative story.
Mathematics
Our Maths this term begins with some more Multiplication & Division before we do work on Money, Statistics and Fractions. Times tables shall be an ongoing priority during the term.
Science
The science topic this term is 'Forces' which includes magnets.
Computing
The coding program 'Scratch' will be used as we think about fixing "bugs" in programs. We shall also use video to create presentations.
Topic
History this term will focus on the Tudors. We shall study the various monarchs of the period, particularly Henry VIII, and include some local aspects as well as our visit to Hampton Court.
Art & Design
Our topic this term is called 'Can we change places?'. Please ensure that your child has a named art apron/shirt in school at all times.
Design Technology
Packaging is the theme for our DT work this term.
Music
We shall continue having class Ukulele lessons on Monday afternoons.
P.E.
We shall be using the Real PE scheme for some of our lessons, which works on all the fundamental movement skills and various ball skills. We shall also be doing Games, Dance and Gym during the term. Our P.E. lessons are timetabled for Tuesday and Wednesday this term. Generally, P.E. kits should stay in school and then go home at half-term for washing. Please ensure that any child with hair long enough to go into her or his face, has sufficient hair-ties and, if girls wear tights to school, they should have socks in their P.E kit. In the cold weather, children can wear tracksuit bottoms but they should always have shorts for use indoors.
R.E.
We shall include studies on Christianity this term, with topics including 'Miracles' and 'Forgiveness'.
P.H.S.E.
Our topics are 'Dreams and Goals' and 'Healthy Me'.
French
Our French work will include the vocabulary of "Birthdays' such as numbers, days of the week and the months.
Home Learning
The learning that children do at home is hugely important and is, of course, an ongoing thing. There are many ways that the work that we do at school can be complemented by various learning tasks at home. Regular reading is vital and, particularly at this age, reading aloud to an adult. Please record this reading in the Contact Book.
The maths 'Fluency Booklets' are for daily practice of basic skills. We will regularly go over some of the activities in the booklets so they should come to school each day but please also talk to the children about the tasks.
Each week we will set activities from the Mathletics website to be completed. Please let us know if you are unable to access the site. We are practising times tables regularly in class and this should continue at home also. The Times Table Rockstars site is an excellent way of doing this.
Spellings will usually be given out on Monday. The usual procedure will be that we will test the children on a group of spellings, usually with a theme to them. They will then take home the list (that will show which ones they got correct and which ones they got wrong) and work on them over the next fortnight, when they will be tested again. We will obviously also look at them in class and aim to use them in context where possible. We have also sent home a sheet with all the words for the term so that parents can see what is coming up. This will also get over the problem of any lost sheets on Mondays!
Spellings - pre-tested and given out on 13/01/20 (due to be tested on Monday 27th January). The theme of these words is the prefix 'super-', usually meaning above, bigger or more than. There are also words from the Y3/4 list.
superstar
supercar
supermarket For any spelling, think: Can you "sound it out"?
superman What are the "tricky bits"?
superwoman
supernatural Write them out. Close your eyes and spell them in your head.
strength Write them out again but keep checking that you have done it correctly.
sentence
straight
strange
Spellings - pre-tested and given out on 20/01/20 (due to be tested on Monday 3rd February). Most of these words have the prefix 'anti-', meaning "against" or 'sub-', meaning "under". There are also some from the Y3/4 list.
antifreeze
antisocial
antiseptic
anticlockwise
subheading
submarine
subtitle
subdivide
continue
surprise
If you have any questions about the spellings, please try to catch Mr Bowen in the playground before or after school or put a note in the Contact Book.