Year 3 Trip to Cambridge Botanic Gardens

We had a wonderful time exploring the gardens; drawing different flowers and hunting for various trees including the tallest tree in the gardens, the Redwood, which is a whopping 31 metres tall.

We also enjoyed travelling through the different greenhouses and learning all about carnivorous plants!

Cambridge Museum of Zoology visit

What a wonderful time Year 3 had at the Museum of Zoology!

The children learned about birds from our local area as well as further afield.

They spent time in the gallery looking at the size of animal skeletons, searching for different animals, such as ones that live in the southern hemisphere, and finding different types of rodents.

In the learning zone, they used microscopes to look closely at moths and butterflies. They learned that the wings are covered in scales. On one butterfly, the detail was so clear that it looked like the wings had been sprinkled with blue glitter. The children also observed and identified animals found in the River Cam.

The children had an amazing day of learning and were praised for their enthusiasm and questions.

Thank you to the Museum of Zoology for being wonderful host and looking after us so well.

Autumn Term 2023

Welcome back! We hope you have all had an enjoyable summer and are ready for the move into KS2. As you may already be aware, children in Y3 will no longer get a free healthy snack so we ask if parents could provide their child with a piece of fruit/vegetable/cheese to eat during the morning break. There is not an afternoon break in KS2.

In English, pupils will spend the first few weeks revising grammar and punctuation skills with a particular focus on nouns, verbs and the subject of a sentence. We will then be looking at non-chronological reports and writing our own report about extinct animals.

In Maths, pupils will start the half term learning about right angles and finding the perimeter of rectangles and squares. We will then move on to look at adding and subtracting across the 10 boundary before looking at the place value of numbers to 1000. Children will have a weekly times table ‘speed test’ where they will have a list of questions to complete. If they complete all the questions correctly in under a minute then they will be able to move onto the next times table. The children will complete the tests in the following order:

x2  x10  x5  ÷2  ÷10  ÷5  x3  x4  x8  ÷3  ÷4  ÷8

In Art, pupils will continue to experiment by using a range of materials, including paint, to create different marks. They will also mix colours. Pupils will be taught how to use a variety of painting techniques, including tonking and sgraffito. They will explore how to combine techniques to create texture and shape.

In Science, pupils will compare and group together different kinds of rocks based on their appearance and simple physical properties, describe how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock, and recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter.

In Computing, pupils will develop their understanding of digital devices, with an initial focus on inputs, processes and outputs. We will start by comparing digital and non-digital devices, before introducing them to computer networks that include network infrastructure devices like routers and switches.

In History, pupils will look at the different ages of the Stone Age (Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic) and focus on artefacts, burials, monuments and places as evidence of the differences between the Stone Age and the Iron Age.

In RE, pupils will be learning about temples and deities in Hinduism.

In PSHE, our first unit is Conflict resolution. The children will learn about conflict which occurs between friends and the feelings and behaviour associated with this. They will learn conflict resolution skills such as negotiating, compromising and ‘giving and taking’ to help resolve a conflict so that both people are happy with the outcome. The second unit, Beginning and Belonging, will focus on building positive relationships in the classroom and they will develop ground rules and explore what these mean in practice. The children will revisit their Networks of Support and consider how they can help and support others.

In French, pupils will be learning how to greet people, say colours and know the names of some classroom objects and how to describe them.  

In outdoor PE, pupils will be learning ball handling skills, with a focus on netball and basketball. In indoor PE, pupils will be taking part in gymnastics.

In Y3 homework will be as follows:

Daily: Read a book for at least 15 minutes

Weekly: TT Rockstars for at least 20 minutes

          Phonics and Spelling practice as appropriate

P.E will be on Mondays and Tuesdays for Mr Parkes’s class, and Tuesdays and Wednesdays for Miss Nightingale’s class. We ask that your child bring their kit in on Mondays and take them home on Fridays for washing. Please note that it is a legal requirement for children to remove all jewellery before taking part in PE lessons. Please can you encourage your child, where possible, to not wear any jewellery on PE days or ensure they are able to remove earrings independently as school staff are not permitted to help with this and ears may not be taped.

If there is anything that you wish to discuss please come in and speak to one of us. We hope the children will embrace the new challenges they will meet this year and we look forward to an enjoyable and productive year. 

Kind regards,

Miss Nightingale, Mr Parkes and the Year 3 Team