Welcome to our Class Page
Please find our Curriculum Map here: Y3 Summer 2021 Curriculum Map
To access your child’s home learning via the Class Dojo, please copy and paste the following link: https://home.classdojo.com/#/login?redirectTo=%2Fstory
16th July 2021
Happy Friday everyone! What gorgeous sunshine we have for the weekend! We have had the most fantastic week and there have been lots of very smiley faces and excited children who have been loving every minute of Enrichment Week!
On Monday, we enjoyed a music recital from Claire who is a classical musician. Children loved listening to the different tunes she played on the piano – even though some of the pieces sounded a little scary at first! We talked about the way music can make us feel and we asked excellent questions to find out more information about Claire and her amazing talent! In the afternoon, we enjoyed an art workshop with Mrs Russell. We will finish off our masterpieces next week and the results are bound to impress you!
Tuesday was a very exciting day when we had the opportunity to enter a planetarium! The huge dome-shaped planetarium looked amazing and we couldn’t wait to get inside. During our session, we explored space, the space station and enjoyed an exciting film called ‘Dinosaurs at Dusk.’
On Thursday, we experienced an African Dance workshop and children loved moving their bodies to the rhythm of the music! We even got to wear animal masks to perform our dances to the rest of the class.
We have also completed more Art in class too and have been thinking about ways to keep safe and how the organisation ‘Child Line’ is there to support us if we need help.
Have the best weekend and we will look forward to two more days left in Year 3! We have lots of fun planned and I hope children will really enjoy these last 2 days!
Miss Harding
9th July 2021
We have had another week packed full of learning which ended brilliantly with an ‘African Drumming’ workshop. The workshop marks the beginning of ‘Enrichment Week’ and there will be plenty of exciting sessions to look forward to next week.
In Science, we have been investigating forces and conducted an experiment finding out about the invisible force friction. The question we created for our experiment was, ‘What do you think will happen to the height of the ramp when we change the type of surface but keep the toy car the same?’ Children found out that the carpet allowed more friction which is the reason why the ramp could be raised to a higher position before the toy car rolled down.
In Maths, we have been working on finding right angles and we decided which angles were smaller or larger than right angles.
In History, we have found out about the life of Robert Raikes and how important his creation of ‘Sunday Schools’ were for children in Gloucestershire. We can’t believe how different life was back in the 19th century! Imagine a life without any TV’s or electronics?
Have a lovely weekend everyone. We’re looking forward to ‘Enrichment Week’ next week and we can’t wait to share all of the lovely activities with you.
2nd July 2021
What a busy week we’ve had in Year 3! We absolutely loved our ‘Sport’s Day’ where we enjoyed going around all of the different stations before throwing ourselves into the obstacle race! We were tired out by the end of it and children loved watching their teachers join in at the end! Many thanks to Montagu Academy for supporting us with this.
In English lessons this week, we have been working hard to use causal conjunctions when writing an explanation text about a volcano. This has been tricky but we’ve used all of our learning powers to succeed! We loved finding out how volcanoes are formed and how they erupt. I was very impressed with the fabulous vocabulary children used, e.g. magma chamber, eruption and tectonic plates.
In Maths, we’ve been adding, subtracting and comparing different measures. We have started focussing on mass and finding out about weighing in kilograms and grams. If possible, try and get involved with some baking at the weekend and measure out the ingredients on some weighing scales.
In Art, we have started to find out about the work of William Morris. We looked at many of his printing designs and zoomed in on one particular style. Using pencil and colouring pencils, we tried to replicate this pattern.
In Science, we have started a new investigation where we are finding out about friction as a force. We have planned our experiment and thought carefully about ways we can make it a fair test. Next week, we will carry out our investigation where we will test different materials which will be used on a ramp for a car to travel down.
Well done to all of you for continuing to work so hard at school and home and for always trying your best. We only have a few weeks left in Year 3 but we will have lots of lovely lessons to look forward to, especially when we get to ‘Enrichment Week’- watch this space…
Have a lovely weekend and fingers crossed the sun will shine for us all!
25th June 2021
Our fantastic ‘Wow assembly’ kicked off another amazing week in Year 3. All the children blew me away with the way they presented their words or acted out their roles. We hope you have managed to enjoy the performance whether it was live or recorded. Well done, Year 3!
This week in Maths, we have been finding out about measures, including measuring in millimetres, centimetres and metres. Children loved the practical lessons where they have been measuring items in the classroom and then converting the measures.
In English, we are beginning to focus on a new target which is to use causal conjunctions in our sentences, e.g. therefore, consequently, as a result. We will begin to write our own explanation text about volcanoes and will work hard to use causal conjunctions to link cause and effect sentences.
Some children in Year 3 have been selected to prepare and present a country dancing routine with Mrs Lewis. They have loved this experience and have been constantly asking when they can go again!
Our Sports morning will be next Tuesday morning where children will enjoy a carousel of different activities, followed by an obstacle course. As always, it is such a shame we are not allowed to invite parents in but we will aim to take lots of photos for you to see next week.
Enjoy the weekend.
Miss Harding
18th June 2021
This week we have been busy preparing for our ‘Wow Assembly’ which we will perform on Monday 21st June. Children have all worked hard to practise their lines, act out roles and even learn tongue twisters. I won’t give anything else away but we hope you enjoy the performance next week!
As part of our PSHE curriculum, we participated in the national Brake’s walk and enjoyed a walk around our local area. Luckily, the sun was shining on us all and the behaviour from all pupils was excellent! We considered the safe ways to cross a road and thought carefully about remembering to ‘stop, look and listen’ and how we can use features to help us cross busy roads, e.g. islands in the middle of a main road, zebra crossings etc.
In English, we have been writing about Mary Anning’s childhood. Children were fascinated to find out that as a baby, Mary Anning survived a lightning strike! We’ve focused on using our fronted adverbials again, especially adverbials of place, e.g. in the distance, outside the house.
In Maths, we have calculated the duration it takes for something to happen and we have challenged our learning when tackling time problems. We will be moving onto measures next week and will begin measuring in millimetres. This will require lots of concentration!
In History, we are finding out about Gloucester in the 1800’s. We will be looking at the differences in buildings back then and comparing them to the houses we have today. If you find yourselves shopping in Gloucester town centre this weekend, have a look at some of the older buildings and monuments, e.g. the Old Bell, Robert Raikes, the New Inn. We will soon find out more about Gloucester in the 1800’s.
We hope you all enjoy a lovely Father’s Day weekend!
11th June 2021
This week we have enjoyed eating our packed lunches outside every day and the sunshine has been lovely!
In English this week, we have been writing our own diary entries for Mary Anning. We have used fronted adverbials in our sentences and we are now focussing on using adverbials of place. Finding out about Mary Anning’s discoveries has interested all of us and we are keen to show off this learning in our ‘Wow assembly’ very soon.
In Science this week, we have been finding out about soils and different soil types. We observed and studied soil from three parts of the country and predicted what type of soil it could be. We found out that we were working with clay soil, sand soil and peat and discussed the similarities and differences between these soil types.
In Maths, we have been working on digital time and the difference between ‘a.m’ and ‘p.m.’ This has been interesting to learn but we need to keep looking at the clocks during different times of the day to practise these skills. Again, if children have watches, encourage them to wear them to school. I will choose different children each day who will be our ‘time spotters’ and will have a go at telling the class the time when asked.
In Art, we have practised drawing our fossils and thinking carefully about the different patterns we can see. Our techniques are definitely improving all the time and children are refining their observation skills.
Children have all brought home the lines they need to practise for our ‘Wow assembly.’ Please remind them to practise through the weekend as we will have a run through on Monday. Thank you for your support with this.
Enjoy the beautiful sunshine this weekend!
28th May 2021
At last, we’ve enjoyed some sunshine this week and it has definitely brightened up our playtimes!
In Design, we used our own plans to make sandwiches and it was so much fun! Children loved being in our practical area and thought carefully about the skills involved. We even designed our own sandwich packages and children came up with the brand names for their sandwiches, such as ‘Ham and Lettuce Express!’ Thank you parents for helping out with the ingredients!
In Maths, we have been working on telling the time to the exact minute, e.g. 12 minutes past 1. We discussed when we would need to use exact times, for example when catching a train and needing to be at the station for a specific time. Children love using the mini clocks in the classroom and we will soon be moving onto digital time too. Keep practising this over half term please as every little helps! We are also very excited to introduce our new ‘Times Tables’ app, ‘Times Tables RockStars.’ Each child in Year 3 will come home on Friday with their username and password and it would be great to hear that children have had a play with this app during half term.
In Art, we have been identifying patterns found in nature and we looked closely at the ripples, swirls and waves seen in the sea. Children had a go replicating some of these patterns and we had some impressive results!
In Science, we have been finding out how fossils are formed and in our whole class reading sessions, we have learning about the life of Mary Anning and her discoveries! Children loved hearing about the ‘curiosities’ Mary found and we have answered comprehension questions related to the book, ‘Stone Girl, Bone Girl.’
We’ve been busy creating our own narratives this week in Literacy and children have focussed on using all of their class targets. I have been so impressed with the fantastic attitudes and the amazing writing produced – well done Year 3!
Have a lovely half term – I hope the sun continues to shine for us all. Looking forward to seeing you all in June!
Miss Harding
21st May 2021
We’ve had a fantastic week of learning! I’m very pleased with the way children are using their learning powers in all lessons. In particular, children in Year 3 have been focusing on the ‘Keep Improving’ power and we’ve had some real ‘lightbulb’ moments to celebrate!
In Maths this week, children have shown great determination when learning to tell the time. We have moved onto using five minute intervals to tell the time now, e.g. 10 minutes past 4. Time is always a tricky concept for many children to get the hang of but Year 3 are demonstrating a ‘Have a Go!’ attitude to enable them to make great progress. Parents – please can you keep asking children what the time is to consolidate this learning. If children have a watch, please encourage them to wear it and use it! Little and often is always very effective!
Our English lessons have focused on our new target – ‘using adverbials to show where something is happening (place).’ We have been writing in the style of a narrative and have continued to use ‘Varjak Paw’ for inspiration. Our Whole Class Reading sessions this week has focussed on ‘Oliver and the Seawigs’ which children have thoroughly enjoyed. They have focussed on answering comprehension questions in detail and used evidence from the text to support their opinion.
In Science, we have been petrologists, also known as being ‘Rock Detectives! This week, we have been testing the permeability of rocks and whether igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary rocks are the most permeable. Children loved using pipettes to observe whether water soaked into the rock (permeable) or whether the water ran off the rock (impermeable). Even though this vocabulary is tricky, children have already started using and understanding these words. More words to add to our Vocabulary Books- well done Year 3!
Children have loved Art sessions this week where they have investigated the patterns found in sea shells. Thank you parents for letting us borrow these! Using careful observation skills and adding a splash of colour has helped to improve Art work and children are very proud of their masterpieces!
In Design, children have been thinking about healthy meals and they have designed their own sandwiches. On Friday, children will come home with a short list of ingredients ready for their sandwich making next week. We are grateful for your support with this.
Have a lovely weekend! Fingers crossed for some sunshine!
Miss Harding
14th May 2021
We’ve enjoyed another busy week in Year 3 and the days have just flown by!
Luckily, we escaped this week’s showers and managed to enjoy the sunshine during our PE session! We have started looking at batting and bowling techniques ready for cricket sessions later this term. Using tennis rackets to bat the ball has been fun and we tried to keep all tennis balls within the MUGA!
In Science, we started an investigation to find out which rock would be the most effective when creating a paving slab for the front entrance of our school. Our first test this week has been used to test the hardness of different rocks. We have been learning lots of new vocabulary related to our rocks topic and have been thinking about the difference between sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks.
We are starting to look at patterns in nature during our Art lessons. We used our observation skills to sketch fossils – thinking carefully about adding detail to show the patterns. Children have loved bringing in their own rocks and fossils from home to share with the class.
In English, we wrote a letter from Varjak to his family explaining what has happened and what his plan will be! Children have been able to sequence the events of a text using time adverbials.
We also used the laptops on Friday to work on our ICT skills. This caused great excitement but all children worked well to learn how to copy and paste images and type into a text box.
7th May 2021
We have enjoyed another busy week of learning in Year 3!
In Maths we have moved onto calculating with fractions. We’ve been finding fractions of amounts and used counters or our own jottings to support our learning. I have been very impressed with the children’s understanding of this and many learning powers have been used this week! Well done, Year 3!
Our English lessons this week have continued to focus on the adventures of ‘Varjak Paw.’ We have been using fronted adverbials to improve the beginning of our sentences. Spellings are still being worked on in class – remember to practise your spellings ready for Monday’s spelling test!
In Science this week, we have started our topic on rocks and fossils. We used magnifying glasses to observe a range of rocks closely. After this, we worked on our sketching skills when drawing our own images of the rocks. Some children have brought in rocks from home and this has been added to our Science display. If you have any rocks or fossils at home, please bring them in for us to see.
In Art, we have been finishing our weaving projects and we’ve painted the clay tortoises we made last week. Children can’t wait to take these home!
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Miss Harding
30th April 2021
We’ve had a lovely week in Year 3 which started with our National Maths Day on Monday. We used Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot as our stimulus and enjoyed many Maths activities related to the story. Making our own clay tortoises and weighing them was one of our favourite tasks and we found it interesting to compare the weights of our tortoises! We couldn’t believe that the life expectancy of a tortoise is 100 years old! We compared the life expectancy of a tortoise with other animals and illustrated the differences when drawing our own block graphs. Finally, we made our own tortoise ‘Pet Shops’ where we bought and sold different breeds of tortoises using money. This day definitely helped us to appreciate how much fun Maths really is!
In Geography, we have been exploring our ‘critical thinking’ skills this week when asking our own Geographical questions. We worked well in partners to use ‘Question Generators’ to improve our vocabulary and to enable us to develop our higher order thinking skills. This strategy helped us to create thought provoking questions which will be used to find out more about our local area in the coming weeks.
In our writing sessions, we have centred our learning on the fantastic book, Varjak Paw. We are working on our new target, which is to use time adverbials in our sentences. Drama techniques, especially ‘conscious alley,’ have helped us to really explore the main character Varjak and we loved working as a class to get involved with this.
Remember to keep reading 5 times a week or more to be in with the chance of receiving one of our ‘Regular Reader’ awards!
Have a lovely bank holiday weekend- fingers crossed the sun will make an appearance again!
See you on Tuesday!
Miss Harding
23rd April 2021
Welcome to the Summer Term everyone!
We have absolutely loved the sunshine this week! On Monday, we made the most of the sunny weather by taking our Science learning outside. We have been investigating our shadows in Science. After a discussion on how shadows are formed, we enjoyed working with our partners to draw around each other’s shadows. We also investigated the difference between our shadows during different times of the day.
In English, we have started our new text, Varjak Paw and we have written some fantastic character descriptions of Varjak.
In Maths, we have been working on the topic of money and finding change.
In RE, we have been finding out about Jesus’s first disciples and how they felt when they started to follow Jesus.
In Art, we have started weaving and will move onto exploring our own weaving patterns.
In PSHE, we have been exploring different types of families and how we are all unique but every family is just as special! For this activity, children worked in a small group to make their predictions about the special relationships they can see in different families.
We have enjoyed our Montagu PE sessions outside in the sunshine and this week, we were practising our throwing and catching skills.
Homework has now started back up again in Year 3 and spellings are our big focus! Please remember to practise the spellings you have children, as you will have a test on Monday!
I hope the sunshine lasts into the weekend and we can all make the most of a sunny couple of days.
Miss Harding
1st April 2021
We have really enjoyed the sunshine this week- especially playtimes! It was Year 3’s turn to have the Playpod and we have had so much fun!
In Science this week, we have enjoyed another experiment where we found out whether objects were transparent, opaque or translucent. We did this by using a torch to investigate whether they blocked the light to create a shadow.
In RE, we have been finding out about Ramadan and we made lanterns. Traditionally, Muslims used lanterns to wake people up ready to eat their last meal before Ramadan started. The last evening meal was called Suhoor. Lanterns were also used by women on their way to the mosque.
In English we have been busy writing our own recounts and in Maths we have started to add money. As always, lots to fit into a week but we’ve enjoyed using our learning powers to do our very best!
We wish you all a very happy Easter! Hopefully the sun will continue to shine. Enjoy the break and I am looking forward to seeing everyone in two weeks’ time.
Miss Harding and our Year 3 team
26th March 2021
We have worked so hard this week and our Maths has been fantastic! In our Maths lessons, we have started to look at division and we thought carefully about the answer when there was a remainder. To support us with our learning, we could use bead strings and this helped our understanding too.
English has been fun as we have focused on the text ‘Diary of a Killer Cat,’ to help us when writing recounts. We have been learning how to use subordinating conjunctions to improve the structure of our sentences. As part of our writing activities, we needed to think of naughty activities Tuffy the cat could get up to at home- we did this so well….
In RE lessons, we have been finding out how Muslims pray in Mosques and the importance of prayer for all Muslims. We have started to find out all about the tomb left by Fu Hao when studying the Shang Dynasty.
In Science, we have started to learn about the terms transparent, opaque and translucent and have grouped objects under these terms.
We have started up our ‘Regular Readers’ awards so please try and encourage children to read every day so they are in with a chance of winning a book!
It has been lovely talking to you all for our Parents Evening appointments but if there’s anything else I can do to help, please always let me know.
Have a lovely weekend.
Miss Harding
19th March 2021
Year 3 have had a busy week and we’ve all enjoyed getting stuck in with lots of new learning.
In English, we have started to use subordinating conjunctions to link clauses in our sentences. We have enjoyed using ‘The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe’ and have worked hard this week to write a letter from Lucy to her parents.
In Maths, we have just started to work on division and learning what remainders are. Using bead strings have helped us to use the grouping method and we are beginning to show a great understanding.
Science this week has been particularly fun! Thank you, parents for bringing in the cardboard boxes for us – they have been used in an investigation where we have found out how we see! After putting some objects inside our boxes, we used torches and shone the light into holes. We know that dark is the absence of light and we began talking about how light travels in straight lines.
Please remember to bring your reading log into school every day.
We hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Miss Harding
12th March 2021
We’re all back together again and what a fantastic week we’ve had in Year 3!
We have been taking part in Science Week and the theme this year is ‘innovating for the future.’ Year 3 are learning from past inventions and we are looking at the 1950’s. The main invention we have been excited about is the NASA space rockets and their first operations into Space. One of the best experiments this week was our mini rockets we tested! We put half an alka seltzer tablet into a film canister which contained a small amount of water, turned it upside down and watched the blast off! Children then altered this experiment by changing one factor, e.g. a whole alka seltzer tablet, a different liquid, an addition of sugar to the container. After a thorough plan had been created, including a question and general set up of the investigation, children tested out their mini rockets! This was great fun!
Miss Harding also showed us her new ‘Stomp Rocket’ which launched foam rockets 100 feet into the air! We got to make our own rockets (using the toilet rolls you brought in) to test out the design features and whether our rockets will reach the same heights! We all loved stomping our rockets into the sky!
The Scientist we focused upon this week was Marie Curie and we found out about her innovations in Science and medicine. We all asked interesting questions and understand that she made a massive impact on the way cancer can be treated today. After reading up about her life, children summarised their key findings ready to go into our Science floor books.
On Friday afternoon, we will take part in a STEM activity by making our own ‘Pasta La Vista’ towers. Teams of children will work together to use jelly babies and spaghetti to make a suitable structure to hold the strength of a balloon. All learning powers will be needed for this activity and important team building skills will be developed!
What a wonderful first week back as a whole class! Have a relaxing weekend!
11th December 2020
An exciting week for us in Year 3: each morning, we have helped to spread Christmas cheer to all of our parents! It started on Monday when we sang our I sing Pop Christmas songs as parents arrived. On Tuesday, we gave out delicious mince pies to everyone. On Wednesday, parents were treated to candy canes and a Christmas poem. On Thursday, we gave out chocolate coins to all our parents and remembered to wish everyone a ‘Merry Christmas!’
Finally, on Friday we performed the carols we sang for our Year 3 Christmas play. We hope we helped to make you feel festive!
With all the excitement of Christmas, we’ve still managed to work hard to complete our new Literacy target: using capital letters, full-stops, question marks and exclamation marks. We have written character descriptions of Edgar from ‘Edgar the Excitable.’ On Friday, we completed our ‘Big Write’ where we have written the story of ‘Edgar the Excitable’ in our own words.
In Maths, we have been busy subtracting numbers mentally and in Science, we have found out about the life cycle of a plant. In RE, we have learned about the ‘ten commandments’ and how they tell Jewish people the correct way to live.
This week, our Christmas play has been rehearsed, refined and filmed for you to see. Our narrators, singers, actors and poets have performed incredibly well and I am so proud of everyone. We hope you enjoy the performance!
Next week is our last week in our current school building and we will celebrate the last school week of 2020! We are all so excited about moving to our lovely new school building- we hope you are too!
Have a lovely, festive weekend.
Miss Harding
4th December 2020
Exciting news for Year 3… we have our very own elf! His name is Billy and he only comes out to see us when we’re all being very quiet and hard-working! Billy even sits on the quietest children’s tables but we know not to touch his hat or the magic may disappear. He has loved hearing us sing our Christmas songs and he thinks we’re almost ready to start filming!
Towards the end of last week, we carried out our Science biscuit investigations. Each group planned their own investigation and children remembered to start with the question they would like to investigate. Some groups decided to use milk as the dunking liquid and we were all very surprised to learn that rich tea fingers can be dunked more than 100 times in milk before breaking apart! When being dunked in water, this result was very different and the rich tea finger did not last long at all! We have now produced block graphs to represent our results and we’ve worked independently to draw our own conclusions.
In English this week, we have written our own letters from Tom which describe the days of the storm in ‘The Mousehole Cat.’ All children have worked hard to include expanded noun phrases. We are still focusing on adding in maths lessons and we can now add 99 to a 3-digit number by rounding and compensating.
In R.E. lessons, we have found out about the Jewish festival of Passover and we thought carefully about the Sedar meal and how each food represents the story of exodus and the importance this has on Jewish people. In Science, we have started thinking about seed dispersal and how seeds move from one place to another by wind, catching a lift, exploding from plants, travelling through water or passing through an animal’s digestive system.
Children – keep practising your lines for the Christmas play. We will be filming on Thursday and the film will be uploaded on Class Dojo by Friday.
Enjoy a relaxing weekend everyone!
Miss Harding
27th November 2020
20th November 2020
We’ve had a jam-packed week again in Year 3 and the children were particularly excited during our ‘Wheelie Day!’ The focus of our day was ‘safety on our roads.’ When riding on their bikes and scooters, the children learned the correct hand signals to use, which would indicate their direction to other road users. In class discussions, we watched a couple of videos about the dangers of speed and how we need to be aware of cars when out and about near the roads. We talked about ‘stopping distances’ and the effect travelling quickly has on the amount of time it takes for the car to stop. Back in the classroom, the children enjoyed making their ‘road safety’ posters.
In Science, we took part in a special ‘zoom’ session with Stem ambassadors who talked about their jobs and what they do for a living. Senior Research Technician Caragh Whitehead talked about the products of plants and how we use plants for medicine. Energy Researcher Alex Dickinson talked about geothermal energy and how it can be used to supply heat and hot water to homes. The children listened carefully to the presentations and enjoyed finding out how the Scientists learned from their mistakes and how they used all their learning powers to succeed.
In Maths, we have been learning our 8 times tables and could even answer division facts using our tables. Singing the times tables songs have helped and definitely made our Maths lessons much more fun! We’re now able to recap on our 2, 5, 10, 3, 4 and 8 times tables. Try testing the children with three times tables questions every day – little and often helps them to stick!
In English, we have enjoyed reading, ‘The Mousehole Cat’. Our current target is to use apostrophes to show possession, e.g. ‘Tom’s pet cat was called Mowzer.’ In our reading sessions, we have loved finding out about ‘The BFG.’ Children have been retrieving information from the text to answer questions.
In History, we found out about Stone Age homes and how they are made. We investigated how people would use ‘wattle and daub’ to construct their houses. Children were disgusted to learn that people from the Stone age mixed manure, mud and water in this process and smeared it onto the walls of their homes! We have practised our ‘pointillism’ skills in Art and have written about ‘Rosh Hashanah’ in our R.E. lessons.
With all of that as well as our Montagu Sports session, I’m sure you’ll agree that we have packed in a huge amount of learning! Children can have a well-deserved rest this weekend do they’re ready for another busy week!
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
13th November 2020
Children in Year 3 have worked hard this week to begin learning the 3 times table. We have enjoyed the challenge and started looking at related division facts too. 4 times tables are next on our list, followed by the 8’s. Keep practising at home children – remember little and often really helps!
In English this week, we’ve started looked at our new text, ‘The Mousehole Cat.’ We enjoyed finding out about Mowzer and worked hard to predict and then write our own endings of the story. Our focus target for the next few sessions is using apostrophes to show possession, e.g. Mowzer’s tummy rumbled and Tom’s hat blew away. We will begin to use the fantastic language from this story to write out own descriptions of a powerful storm next week.
When learning about the importance of Remembrance Day, children worked hard to read War poetry including, ‘In Flander’s Field.’ The children were filmed performing the poems and I will post the videos on Class Dojo by the end of the week. Children did this so well and I’m sure you will enjoy the videos.
In Science this week, we carefully considered ways to improve our last plants investigation. Our new investigation with viola plants has started and we will take care to make sure a fair test is being carried out. The children have thoughtfully decided that we need to water all plants with the same amount of water this time and to avoid ‘over-watering!’ We will check our plants throughout the term to see how well they are doing!
In other great news for Year 3…the winner of the bird table competition has been announced and a photo of the successful child with the winning design is included in the photographs. A huge well done!
Remember next Tuesday is our ‘Wheelie Day.’ Please make sure children that you have your bikes and scooters at school – and don’t forget your helmets!
Happy Friday and enjoy a relaxing weekend!
6th November 2020
It is great to see everyone back to school after the half term break and thank you parents for the children’s involvement with their Science home-learning tasks. The photos and videos of the nature walks and Science experiments have been fantastic and we will share them with the class on Friday afternoon.
Using ‘mentimeter’ for the first time has been fun- thank you to all children for typing in what you found on your Autumn walk. Here are the results:
It isn’t too late to add to this word cloud. Use the link: https://www.menti.com/3qnaf9d5og to type in the name of the seeds you’ve found on your Autumn walk.
In English this week, we’ve been focusing on writing instructions for how to survive in the savage Stone Age. Children tried to include all features of instruction writing and they thought carefully about the way ‘Stone Age’ people would have made weapons and hunted animals before cooking and eating the meat. We had some great discussions and the children were excited about the thought of hunting woolly mammoths!
In Maths, we have identified the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. We looked at new vocabulary related to shapes including the words, ‘quadrilateral’ and ‘polygon’. The children enjoyed handling 3D shapes in class and counting how many faces, edges and vertices they had.
We have found out about ‘Remembrance’ this week and what we are remembering on Remembrance Sunday. In Art, children make their own soldier silhouette collages and they are beautiful! Some will be given to St James’ Church while a couple will be given to Tesco Quedgeley to display. We hope you enjoy looking at the photos of children’s remembrance art.
In Humanities, we are still learning about the Stone Age and we’ve researched the daily life of a person living in the ‘Stone Age.’ Children made some fantastic mind-maps which show facts they have learned. One example is shown in our photos this week.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
23rd October 2020
We’ve been working hard again this week and the children definitely deserve their half term break! It has been lovely speaking to all parents/carers during our phone calls this week and the support from home has been fantastic – thank you!
In Maths, we have been identifying horizontal, vertical, parallel and perpendicular lines. We’ve had a go at drawing quadrilaterals which have perpendicular sides and some which do not. At the end of the week, we used a carroll diagram to sort quadrilaterals when considering whether they had parallel or perpendicular sides.
In English, we have worked on writing instructions. The children really enjoyed the book, ‘How To Wash A Woolly Mammoth,’ and we have written clear instructions of how to keep woolly mammoths clean!
We have been History detectives this week when trying to guess how people from the Stone Age used different artefacts. In Science, we looked at water transportation and conducted an experiment to find out how stems carry water to the flowers and leaves.
On Tuesday, we enjoyed a visit from the developers at Kier who showed us what our new school looks like! All the children were so excited and asked thoughtful questions like, “Will we have a big football pitch?” and “How big are the classrooms?” Not long now…..
Finally, we have all entered a competition to design a bird table. Photos show some of Class 3’s entries. The winning design will be made into a real bird table by the builders and we will see this in our new school.
Have a lovely half term everyone and enjoy the rest! There is Science homework on Class Dojo to keep the children busy and I’m looking forward to hearing how you’ve all got on.
Miss Harding
16th October 2020
As a treat for meeting their class target, Year 3 have been rewarded with their very own netball hoop to use at playtimes. Children had to show how grown up they had become with their learning and to focus on using the learning powers in all lessons. The photos only show a snippet of all the fun they’ve been having and playtimes are much more exciting now!
In English lessons, children have enjoyed writing their own version of ‘The Blue Umbrella’ story. We have had some amazing writing as children have worked hard to include interesting descriptions as well as using conjunctions in their sentences.
In Maths, children have been busy recognising tenths as fractions and decimals. We have worked hard to count up and down in tenths and to plot tenths on a number line. Children really enjoy the challenges in each lesson and more children are now able to extend their learning by answering our ‘Solve It’ problems.
In RE this week, children have enjoyed listening to the story of Adam and Eve called, ‘The Fall.’ In Science, we considered which parts of the plant we eat. The photos show children grouping each food to show whether we eat the seeds, fruit, stem, flower, root or leaf. We didn’t realise that when eating peas, we are eating the seeds of the plant and when eating carrots, we are eating the roots!
Another week packed full of interesting learning! Next week, I’ll be able to ring you all for our parents’ evening appointments. Looking forward to talking to you all then. In the meantime, have a lovely weekend.
Miss Harding
9th October 2020
Class 3 have worked so hard this week and the children’s focus and attitude in lessons have never been better! Since I’ve been so pleased with how well all children have risen to the challenge of being juniors, I decided our class could attend an afternoon tea with Mrs Moss! Everyone was so excited to enjoy a cake or two; many asked to show Mrs Moss their work. It is lovely to see the children becoming so proud of the work they are producing in lessons.
In Maths this week, we have been busy comparing and ordering numbers. In English, we have moved onto our new writing target which is to include co-ordinating conjunctions in our writing. We have been enjoying ‘The Stone Age Boy’ in our reading lessons and answered questions to improve our inference skills.
In Art this week, we have made our own Stone Age cave paintings and we considered telling a story – just like they did in the Stone Age! Our Science experiment has now started and children have worked in groups to investigate what a plant needs to grow. Each group have a different variable to change: water, soil, light and air. We will let you know how we get on with our investigations. Finally, in History lessons we have been learning what BC and AD mean on a timeline and we enjoyed making our own timelines.
I think it’s safe to say there has been LOTS of learning again this week and everyone deserves a long, relaxing rest at the weekend!
2nd October 2020
This week, I have been very impressed with the progress being made in Class 3 – particularly during our Maths lessons. We have been storming onto the trickier challenges now and are becoming much more confident when finding 10 more or 10 less than a 2 or 3 digit number. The children have used place value counters in lessons to help their understanding of what is happening to the numbers and it has worked a treat!
In our English lessons, we have been writing letters from Leon (Leon and the Place Between) to his Mum which explains about his unusual trip to the circus. The children’s presentation and handwriting is beginning to come on beautifully now and I am proud with how the children are taking care of their books. We have been rehearsing and understanding the content of poems in our reading sessions and the children loved performing, ‘Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face!’ Who knew laughter would be rolling out of the classroom when participating in an English lesson?!
In Art this week, we have started designing our own cave paintings and we will brave the paint next week! We used basketballs in our Montagu Sports lessons and in RE, we have worked hard to learn our lines when practising for our Harvest Festival performance. The finished video will be shared on Class Dojo next Monday! Another jam packed week of learning!
Enjoy your weekend,
Miss Harding
25th September 2020
We’ve had a busy week again in Year 3 with lots of new learning! Our KS2 ‘Learning Powers’ characters have been shared with the class recently and children have been working on improving their Growth Mindset. Children were excited to see their favourite ‘SING’ characters representing each power and they have been aiming to show off their learning powers to secure the prize of a special trophy which stays on their table all day! Take a look at our new characters below.
We loved watching a clip of Meena Elephant demonstrating the ‘Have a Go!’ power and one member of our class was the first child to earn the ‘Have a Go’ trophy! Check this week’s class photos to see which pupil is our ‘Have a Go’ champion!
In English, our new target has been to write commas in a list and we have written some amazing character descriptions of ‘Abdul Kazam’ from ‘Leon and the Place Between.’ This week’s reading sessions have focussed on ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ and we’ve enjoyed finding out more about the characters, ‘Bunce, Boggis and Bean!’ Our vocabulary is expanding all the time thanks to our ‘word of the day!’ Ask your child about the new words they have learned this week. One of the words we delved into was ‘beastly.’ I was delighted to welcome a ‘star pupil’ into school this morning to tell me how beastly the weather was! I hope the new words are being shared at home too!
In Maths, we have been counting in 50’s and 100’s and also counting on and back in tens. Lots of practise is definitely paying off and the children may be counting to tens in their sleep!
In our History lessons, we have started finding out about timelines. Children loved making their own timelines and it was very interesting to find out about the special moments in their lives! We will begin looking at a range of historical periods of time on a timeline next week and a special sticker will be given to the first pupil to tell me what BC and AD stands for on Monday!
In Science, I brought in a few dead plants from my garden and children worked collaboratively when discussing what may have happened to the plants. We then wrote out a list of reasons as to why plants may die. This important learning will help with our plant investigation.
Thank you parents for helping out with the spellings this week! The results were much higher than the week before and it was clear to see that children had put in a lot of practise at home – well done, children! The home learning on Class Dojo is now available and this weekend, homework can be accessed using the website or app. I will still send out spellings as it good for children to keep a paper copy and to practise their handwriting at the same time.
I hope the information on what we have been doing helps as I know from experience that children don’t always tell you what they’ve done at school! Any questions, please ask.
Miss Harding
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- Class 3 ‘Have a Go’ champion!
18th September 2020
What another exciting week to be at school with all of our friends! Class 3 have been very lucky to have so many sunny playtimes and the children have loved sharing the play equipment together.
In our English lessons, we have been writing diary entries and witness statements when focusing on the characters in, ‘Leon and the Place Between.’ We have moved onto our new target and will be working on writing commas in a list.
In Maths, we have worked hard to consolidate and improve our understanding of place value. We placed 3 digit numbers on number lines and practised reading and writing 3 digit numbers in numerals and words.
During RE, we have been thinking about the creation story and the wonderful world God made. We designed our own fantastic posters to highlight the problems facing our planet today, such as pollution and deforestation.
Our Science topic is plants and we have labelled plants while identifying the function of each part. We enjoyed using the iPads to research the different parts of a plant and we will look forward to starting our first investigations very soon!
A few reminders for Class 3:
- Remember PE kits please as we have PE lessons every Tuesday and Friday
- Please practise spellings the children bring home as we have our spelling tests every Wednesday.
- Reading at home with your child is invaluable and helps in all areas of the curriculum. Please read as regularly as possible (5 times a week is expected) and write a short note in the Reading Diary
11th September 2020
Class 3 have had such a busy week and all children have worked well to get into a good school routine. Following our class rules and remembering our values has been a big focus this week and we have had many reflective discussions surrounding ‘compassion’ and how to show kindness to others. Hopefully children can show lots of kindness at home this weekend!
In English, our target has been to use ‘a’ and ‘an’ correctly before a noun, e.g. ‘a ballerina,’ ‘an ocean.’ We have linked this target into our writing and worked well to complete descriptive paragraphs based on the story, ‘Leon and the Place Between.’
In Maths, we have worked our socks off to further develop our understanding of place value. We can now write 3 digit numbers in numerals and words while also being able partition three digit numbers in different ways.
Our Stone Age History topic started this week and we have focused on asking questions we would like to research. We had a few questions about Stone Age houses and we’re all looking forward to finding out more about people from the Stone Age and how they lived.
PE caused lots of excitement and we were delighted to start our weekly sessions with Montagu Academy!
Homework has also started this week and children should have brought this home to you with a note on the front cover explaining the expectations. Please work hard to learn your new spellings as we have our first spelling test on Wednesday.
Learning to behave like a junior is hard work and I have been delighted to see children already improving their level of independence in lessons. The photos included show some of the wonderful work completed in class this week!
Miss Harding
4th September 2020
What a wonderful first week back for Class 3 who are now officially juniors! All of the children have enjoyed settling into our brand new classroom and the reading corner has already been a BIG hit! I’m so pleased that children love reading already and we’re going to enjoy lots of stories together this year!
It has been fun getting to know each pupil and we’ve been busy making a class ‘All About Me’ book. I have found out lots of interesting facts about the children already! Some pupils have requested that myself, Miss Whitelock and Miss Noble also make our own poster to add to the book. I think they’re looking forward to getting to know us better too!
In the first couple of days, children also worked well with their partners to consider our new class rules. Parents- you’d be so proud of their responses as they all agreed to show kindness towards one another. One rule children decided upon was treating others in the same way as they would like to be treated themselves! What a grown up response!
This week, we’ve thought carefully about developing a ‘Growth Mindset’ and how our positive attitude will help us with our learning this year. We discussed how JK Rowling made many errors but thankfully didn’t give up- great news for us as without her resilience, we wouldn’t know anything about Harry Potter! We also found out about all of Michael Jordan’s failures and how his many set-backs in life and ability to get up and try again, helped him to become one of the most successful sportsmen in the world! We are currently in the process of inventing our own Key Stage Two Growth Mindset characters – watch this space!
It has been a lovely first week for me since joining the Clearwater family! I have been made to feel very welcome thanks to all the children’s helpful requests. We are going to have a great year!
Miss Harding
