Year 3

Welcome to Autumn 2!

Welcome back! We have another exciting half term ahead, packed with lots of wonderful learning opportunities. Our topic this half term is Our Changing Earth, where we will explore the incredible forces of nature that shape our planet, including volcanoes and earthquakes. Through practical activities, investigations and discussions, children will learn about the structure of the Earth, how natural disasters occur and the impact they can have on people and the environment around the world.

Alongside our topic work, we will continue developing our skills across the curriculum, building confidence, independence and resilience as learners. We are looking forward to a fantastic half term of discovery and creativity!

English

This half term, we will be studying the beautiful picture book Winter's Child by Angela McAllister. This magical story provides a rich stimulus for writing and will help the children develop their descriptive language, vocabulary and storytelling skills.

Through reading, discussing and responding to the text, the children will:

• Explore the characters, settings and key events in the story.
• Make predictions and justify their ideas using evidence from the text.
• Develop their understanding of character thoughts and feelings.
• Write descriptive setting paragraphs using ambitious vocabulary and expanded noun phrases.
• Create diary entries from a character's perspective.
• Write letters linked to events in the story.
• Revisit and apply dialogue punctuation accurately.
• Plan and write their own narratives inspired by the text.
• Edit and improve their writing to make it more effective for the reader.

Mathematics

This half term, we will continue developing our understanding of addition and subtraction before moving on to multiplication and division.

The children will:

• Build confidence with formal methods of addition and subtraction.
• Explore multiplication as equal groups and arrays.
• Learn and practise the 2, 3, 5 and 10 times tables.
• Develop their understanding of sharing and grouping.
• Explore the relationship between multiplication and division.
• Solve mathematical reasoning and problem-solving challenges.
• Use mathematical vocabulary to explain their thinking and justify their answers.

Science

Our Science unit this half term is Rocks and Soils.

The children will:

• Compare and group different types of rocks based on their appearance and properties.
• Investigate how fossils are formed over time.
• Explore how soil is created from rocks and organic matter.
• Sort and classify rock samples.
• Carry out practical investigations using different soil types.
• Record observations using diagrams, tables and scientific vocabulary.

Through practical enquiries and investigations, children will develop their skills as young scientists and learn more about the world beneath our feet.

Geography

As part of our topic Our Changing Earth, children will continue to explore powerful natural processes and the way they shape our planet.

The children will:

• Learn about different types of volcanoes and why they erupt.
• Identify and label the key features of a volcano.
• Investigate how earthquakes occur.
• Explore climate zones around the world.
• Use maps, atlases and digital mapping tools to investigate geographical features.
• Carry out simple fieldwork activities linked to their local environment.
• Understand how volcanoes and earthquakes affect people and places around the world.

Art and Design

This half term, our artwork will be inspired by the famous Japanese artist Hokusai, well known for his dramatic depictions of nature.

The children will:

• Learn about Hokusai and evaluate his artwork.
• Explore colour mixing techniques.
• Use different brushes, paints and artistic tools.
• Experiment with creating texture and movement through colour.
• Create their own artwork inspired by Hokusai's style.
• Use oil pastels and other media to produce a final piece linked to our topic.

Computing

This half term, we will be learning about Branching Databases.

The children will:

• Learn how information can be organised and classified.
• Create and answer yes/no questions.
• Group objects using different attributes.
• Build and test their own branching databases.
• Understand how databases help us sort and retrieve information.
• Compare branching databases with pictograms and other methods of presenting data.

Religious Education (RE)

Our RE unit asks the question:

What is the Trinity and why is it important for Christians?

The children will:

• Learn about the baptism of Jesus.
• Explore Christian beliefs about God and the Trinity.
• Understand how these beliefs influence Christians today.
• Investigate infant and believer's baptism.
• Explore why Christians celebrate Christmas.
• Discuss important religious beliefs and traditions.

PSHE

Our topic this half term is Celebrating Difference.

Children will:

• Learn about families and how they can be different.
• Discuss ways to manage disagreements and conflicts.
• Understand what bullying is and how to respond to it.
• Explore the impact of kind and unkind words.
• Learn how to give and receive compliments.
• Develop empathy, respect and understanding for others.

PE

This half term, Year 3 will be taking part in Tag Rugby.

Children will:

• Develop passing, catching and handling skills.
• Learn how to move into space and support teammates.
• Improve their understanding of attacking and defending.
• Learn the basic rules of tag rugby.
• Develop teamwork, communication and sportsmanship.
• Apply their skills in small-sided games and competitions.

Spanish

This half term, the children will continue developing their Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing skills through a range of engaging activities.

They will:

• Revisit and recall colours
• Learn new colours
• Learn the names of days of the week
• Learn the months of the year
• Recognise the nouns written down
• Express their birthday month
• Write the date in Spanish.
• Learn about Christmas traditions in Spain.

Music

We are continuing our work with Tameside Music Services this term and will now be developing all of the skills we have learnt so far even further when learning how to play the recorder.

They will now focus more on:

• Developing their understanding of pulse, rhythm and pitch.
• Build confidence performing as part of a group.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the children to begin learning a musical instrument whilst developing the skills needed to read music and perform together.

Alongside recorder lessons, they will continue to enjoy listening to and discussing different styles of music, especially our chosen musicians of the month. The whole school will also continue to enjoy weekly singing practice in the hall.

We are looking forward to a fantastic second half term full of learning, creativity and new experiences. Thank you for your continued support and we can't wait to see all the wonderful progress the children make during their second half term in Year 3!

Miss Daulby, Miss Davies and Mrs Owens 😊