Welcome to Year 3

The Year 3 team:

Mrs Smith - 3 Crystal

Mrs Davis and Mrs Downing - 3 Lion

Mrs Sheppard supports Year 3

In Maths this term Year 3 will cover:

• Number - Fractions
• Measurement: Time
• Geometry - Properties of Shapes
• Measurement - Mass and Capacity

In English this term Year 3 will cover:

• Persuasive Writing
• Haiku poetry
• Narrative - Science Fiction stories
• Explanations

Suggested Additional Activities:           

• Research different types of rocks, soils and fossils.

• Go on a rock hunt! Can you identify different types of rocks that you find?

• Make a rockery - either a real one in the garden or out of junk - ASK AN ADULT FIRST!

• Make a cartoon or animation to explain how fossils are formed.

• Visit the Think Tank science museum in Birmingham. 

Use these links for further information and ideas

Visit the Think Tank -

https://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/thinktank

Visit the FREE Lapworth Museum of Geology, Edgbaston - 

https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/lapworth-museum/index.aspx

Visit Dudley Museum and Art Gallery - geology displays -

https://www.dudley.gov.uk/see-and-do/museums/dudley-museum-at-the-archives/

If you have some spare time, you might like to try some of these activities:

• Read!! Enjoy a book, read about the places you visit or research your favourite science or history topic.
• Practise your times tables. In year 3, our aim is to know the following times tables forwards and backwards (eg.  2 x 3 = 6  and  3 x 2 = 6  so  6 ÷ 2 = 3  and  6 ÷ 3 = 2): 2 x table, 10 x table, 5 x table then 3 x table, 4 x table and 8 x table.
• Maths: Keep working on telling the time, using money when you go to the shops, measuring in the kitchen and playing games involving dice and counting.
• Writing: You might like to write a diary, send a postcard, make up a quiz to test your family or friends, write a story or copy from a book to work on your handwriting.

With best wishes from

Mrs Smith, Mrs Davis, Mrs Downing and Mrs Sheppard

The Year 3 Team

OUR ROUTINES:

Reading - All children have access to our class book shelves every day. They can choose any book and change it when they wish. Children have been asked to write down the title of their chosen book in a notebook which stays at school. We encourage children to take the book home and share it with you, but ask that it is brought into school each day for registration time and other reading opportunities. If your child has chosen a particularly challenging book, you may like to take it in turns to read or even read the entire book and ask questions to check that they have understood the text. Some children may also have a Rapid Reader book to support their reading at a specific level. These will be changed each week.

Spelling - The children have been sent home with a sheet of spellings which they will be tested on over the coming half term. Please practise at home. Each list has been dated with the intended test date (Tuesdays). Before the next set of spellings are given out, we will determine which phase list is required. We will look at weekly test results and whether the children are able to use their learnt spellings in their everyday class work.

Number Heroes (times tables) - Times tables are essential as building blocks to all maths. The expectation for year 3 pupils is to have learnt the following times tables by the end of the academic year: x2, x10, x5, x3, x4, x8. This includes division as well as multiplication (eg. 2 x 3 = 6 and 6 ÷ 2 = 3) The following webpage explains the government's plans: 

  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/multiplication-tables-check-development-process 

Each week (Fridays) we intend to do our 'Number Heroes' times tables sheet. Children will be sent home with their paper as soon as possible after their test day to inform you of their progress and to help children know which tables they need to work on. Some practise time will be built into our school week, but additional practise at home would be hugely beneficial.

Mathletics - We have sent home new login cards for Mathletics. You can access this website here, using the tab Parents then Useful Links. We will set some tasks which are linked to our class learning. There are lots of activities to do following the set task, many of which will support times tables learning.

We hope that this information is useful, but if you have any further questions, please ask.

Many thanks for your support,

The Year 3 Team