Class Three Newsletter – Autumn Term
Autumn Newsletter – Year 3
Dear Parents
Welcome back, I hope you’ve all had lovely summers and are ready for the new term!
Class 3 have a busy term ahead with lots of different activities including our trip to Colchester Castle on 31stOctober. More information to follow later in the term. If any parents feel they may be available to help throughout the year with various trips, forest school etc. then please let me know (please do not go to the office). Thank you.
Topic- The Romans (History/Geography)
In our topic work we will be learning about the period when the Romans were powerful in the world. We will learn about the Roman ruling systems and the change and expansion of the Roman Empire, their invasion. We will also learn about some of the rulers of the Romans, life in Britain after the Romans had invaded and the Celtic Queen Boudicca and her uprising against the Romans. We will explore gods and goddesses and the impact of the Roman Empire on life today.
English– we will be studying a variety of text types to help develop your child’s writing skills including: Roman myths, in which we will read, explore and discuss myths; role-play being Roman gods and retell myths from different perspectives. They research and write their own myths, presenting them to an audience. We will look at poems from around the world in which children are immersed in a diverse range of festival and celebration poems from around the world. We will learn to write a newspaper report all about the Romans and Pompeii, where we will be exploring what life was like in Roman times by research, role-play, they will then write a variety of recounts to create a Roman newspaper. They will also look at persuasive writing with the aim of writing their own advert.
Grammar includes: punctuating speech; conjunctions for time and cause; using grammatical terminology using fronted adverbials appropriately, using conjunctions, adverbs and prepositions to express time and cause, using the present form of verbs in contrast to the past tense, using adverbs to express time and cause and revising word classes.
Listening to your child read continues to be very important, as does discussing their understanding of the texts they are reading. There will be daily classroom time for reading, handwriting, grammar and spelling activities. Children must bring their reading journals and books to class every day. Inside the cover of their reading journals are a selection of reading challenges, they do not have to be completed for every book read. However, when your child has finished a book they can choose and complete a challenge, this is with the aim of achieving a bronze, silver and gold reading challenge certificate-awarded for numbers of challenges completed.
Maths –This term we will be building on knowledge of place value including partitioning numbers and ordering them. We will then be moving on to addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. We will also be building on the children’s times tables knowledge of 2,3,4,5,6,8,10 times tables and improving their speed and confidence in mental calculations.
At home it would be helpful if you practiced telling the time both analogue and digital and continued practicing times tables and related division facts.
Science –First half term we are studying animals including humans in which we will learn to identify that animals, including humans, need the right types and amount of nutrition, and that they cannot make their own food; they get nutrition from what they eat. We will also learn to identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.
In the second half of this term we will be learning about light and shadows which will includebeing able to recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light. Noticing that light is reflected from surfaces. Recognising that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect their eyes. Recognising that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. Finding patterns in the way that the size of shadows change.
French –We will begin learning numbers 1-10 together with days and months. The children will learn how to say hello, goodbye, introduce themselves and say how old they are.
Computing –The children will be learning to use various word processing software (Microsoft office) and how to use the internet to accurately search for information.
Art and DT –In art our theme is harvest, we will be making observational sketches and developing our still life drawing and painting. We will also be studying Roman art particularly mosaics.
In RE we will be learning about the local parish church and ideas and beliefs about god. We will also be learning about Mother Teresa and advent.
Music – with Wider Opportunities Essex music service the children will be learning the samba drums.
PE will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays. Mr Dyce will be developing gymnastics skills on Wednesday afternoon. On Friday, we will be developing our basic skills of passing and receiving a ball. Each child will need trainers suitable for use on the field as well as the playground. Please ensure your child has full PE kit in school on these days which includes a separate jumper, pair of shoes and socks to the ones they wear in the day-particularly girls wearing tights.
Homework– It is greatly beneficial to your child’s learning for you to hear them read whenever possible, the children will be set spellings to learn each week on a Friday, ready for a test on the following Friday. The spellings will be recorded in their home spelling book in order for them to practice these at home. Please assist them with look, cover, write, check activities to consolidate their learning. Maths, English, Science or Topic homework will be set on Fridays for return the following Wednesday tasks are set in order to support and consolidate the learning taking place in class. Please support your child to ensure that they understand what has been asked of them and to make sure that their work is clearly and neatly completed.
If you have questions or concerns, please make an appointment to speak to me before or after school.
Best wishes
Miss Turner
A message from Mrs Rudkin and Miss Sabin:
We would like to pass on our thanks for the generous and thoughtful gifts we received at the end of last year, we really do appreciate them.
Thank you.