Alpha - Summer Term

Welcome to Year 3 Alpha Class.

In Maths we will continuing to follow White Rose Maths in the Summer term by exploring Fractions. This will build on our learning so far this year of; addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, mass and capacity and fractions. We will be moving on to learning about time and money, ready to progress into Year 4.

As we move into the Summer term, we will continue to build upon the skills that we have learnt as part of our Talk for Writing project. We will continue to study and write a range of narrative genres, using our story mapping and oral rehearsal skills to become confident in an existing text, before applying our knowledge of grammar and devices to our own independent writing. We will also work on developing our writing skills by applying them to a range of non-fiction texts.

In Science we will begin our 'Plant Nutrition and Reproduction' project. We will learn to link plant structure to function and identify plant parts associated with water transport and reproduction. This will build on our prior learning, naming and describing the function of different parts of flowering plants, including the roots, stems, leaves and flowers. We will observe fibrous roots and taproots and investigate how water and nutrients are transported in plants. We will create the life cycle of a flowering plant and learn the parts and functions of flower parts. We will ask scientific questions about pollination and research to find the answers. We will finally learn about seed formation and dispersal and identify how the structure of seeds aid dispersal.

In History, we will be focusing on 'Emperors and Empires', we will learn about the growth and decline of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. We will discover the absolute power of the Roman emperors and study the hierarchies of Roman society and the Roman army. We will study the first invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC and the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43. We will learn about Boudicca’s rebellion, Hadrian’s Wall and the Romanisation of Britain, including how Christianity came to Britain and investigate the legacy of Roman Britain in our local area.

In D&T we will be focusing on exploring 'Greenhouses' by thinking about the purpose, structure and design features of greenhouses, and compares the work of two significant greenhouse designers. We will learn techniques to strengthen structures and use tools safely. We use our learning to design and construct a mini greenhouse. We will be focusing on greenhouses as they were first constructed by the Romans as the Roman emperor Tiberius was very fond of cucumbers and ate one piece every day. Roman gardeners developed their own system of year-round cultivation of cucumbers in order to receive fresh vegetables for the emperor’s table every day.

 In Art we will be creating 'Beautiful Botanicals'. This project is linked to Emperors and Empires. We will learn about the genre of botanical art and create weavings, two-colour prints and beautiful and detailed botanical paintings of fruit.

Our PE focus this term is 'Net/Wall Games' and 'Athletics'.

Net/wall games  
The children will be introduced to the tactics associated with net/wall games alongside the key vocabulary associated with the skill and sport. Through this unit the children's learning will be focused on accurate throwing and catching, aiming, target practice through sport specific practices.

Athletics
The children will be building on learnt techniques (athletic performance) to develop these into skills within a number of athletic events. Children will develop the preferred techniques of throwing, jumping and running within an athletic context.

In French we will be deepening our understanding of basic language skills which include, numbers 1-20, days of the week, colours, times and months of the year.

 Our PSHE focus this half term will be 'Relationships' where we will explore in detail our relationships with others and ourselves. We will look at roles and responsibilities of families and move onto exploring friendships with a particular focus on conflict and resolutions. There will be a link to computing where we explore ways of keeping ourselves safe online as well as what is means to be a ‘global citizen’. We will finish the unit by celebrating our ‘web of relationships’ and being appreciative of the relationships we have.

R.E is taught for one hour a week and over the first Summer Term we will be exploring 'The Kingdom of God' and answering the learning question - When Jesus left what was the impact of the Pentecost?

Music in Year 3 is delivered to the children by Mr Belgrave, a music specialist who has joined the teaching team at Wenlock. Pupils will develop and refine musical performance skills beginning this term by learning the recorder and how to read musical notes. Pupils will appraise their own work and that of others, refining their use of appropriate technical vocabulary to describe what they hear.

Useful information

Our class PE days are on Tuesdays and on Fridays. Please ensure your child wears their named, correct school PE kit on these days, that earrings are not worn and long hair is tied up.

The children have access to their water bottles in the classroom during the day. Please ensure that your child has a named water bottle in school which is taken home regularly to be washed.

Your child is welcome to bring in a snack of fruit or vegetables each day. Please note that we are a nut free school.

Reading books is your child's responsibility and they will be responsible for quizzing and changing their own book. Please ensure they record the date and title of the book that they have chosen in their reading record. 

Weekly Home Learning (Approximately 30 minutes a day)

Each week your child will be set: 

• Daily reading
• Daily Times Tables Rockstars
• Spelling practice on Spelling Shed
• Pick and Mix Grid in their home learning book

Spellings and Phonics:  It is expected that in Year 3, all the Year 1/2 words and Year 3/4 list of spellings are known. Please practise these and use these words in your writing. Remember to use some of our Spelling strategies!

Times Tables:  This is vitally important!! We spend the time to help the children to learn their times tables in preparation for the Year 4 multiplication check test. Keep practising - with TTRS!

Pick and Mix Grid: These grids allow pupils to choose a few activities which particularly interest them and spend the term working on them before bringing them in to share with the class.

Home Learning Support

Please click on the links below to gain access

Year 3 Curriculum Planning Documents

Knowledge Organisers