Our Curriculum

    Chestnut

    Welcome to

    Our topic this term is...

    This is a geography-based topic where we will learn about the United Kingdom, including countries, capital cities, regions and our local area. We will then compare London to Paris, a place in Europe!

    Topic

    Home or Away?

    In this Geography based topic we will be learning the following;

    • Name and locate countries and cities of the United Kingdom, geographical regions and their identifying human and physical characteristics, key topographical features (including hills, mountains, coasts and rivers), and land-use patterns; and understand how some of these aspects have changed over time.
    • Locate the world’s countries, using maps to focus on Europe (including the location of Russia) and North and South America, concentrating on their environmental regions, key physical and human characteristics, countries and major cities.
    • Understand geographical similarities and differences through the study of human and physical geography of a region of the United Kingdom, a region in a European country.
    • Use maps, atlases, globes and digital/compute mapping to locate countries and describe features studied.

    DT - Cooking and Nutrition

    We will start the term with a DT project: Cooking and Nutrition - eating seasonally. Children will learn the following during this project:

    • Understand the source, seasonality and characteristics of a broad range of ingredients
    • Cooking savoury dishes
    • Become competent in a range of cooking techniques [for example, selecting and preparing ingredients; using utensils and electrical equipment; using awareness of taste; using their own recipes]
    • Understand and apply the principles of a healthy and varied diet.

    History

    We will touch briefly on the history of the capital cities in the UK as well as the history of Paris, France.

    English

    In English we will be developing our reading and writing skills, building on our hard work from Autumn Term.

    We will be exploring the following texts and genres:

    Story Writing: The Lorax

    Explanation: A variety of non-fiction texts about plants and animals

    Persuasion: Paris & London holiday broachers 

    Alongside these texts, we will also have the following class readers:

    The Puffin Keeper, by Michael Morpurgo                After the Fall, by Dan Santat

                                          

     

    Guided Reading will take place daily, where we explore a range of text extracts from contemporary literature, classic literature, poetry and non-fiction texts. 

    Reading at home

    We expect children to be reading every day at home, even if it is just for 10 minutes! Children who have read 5 or more times will receive a tick on the reading chart and house points. These will be checked every Friday (where I will sign the planner). At the end of each half term, children who have achieved this every week will receive a certificate and small reward. Children can write in their planners themselves when they have read, in fact we encourage them to do so, but please ensure an adult has signed on Friday otherwise they will not receive their house-points! 

    The focus for reading in Year 3 is on comprehension, so to help your children understand what they are reading, ask them lots of questions.

    ´Why has the character done that? What do you think they are like? Why?
    ´What do you think will happen next? Why
    ´Why has the author used that word? What effect does it have? What other words could they have used?
    ´What has happened so far? Which was your favourite part? Least favourite part? Why?
     
    Please sign reading diaries to say when you have listened to your child read.

    Maths

    We follow White Rose Maths in all classes. This term we will be learning:

    Multiplication and Division, including TOxTO, continued

    Length and Perimeter

    Fractions

    Mass and Capacity

                                                    https://whiterosemaths.com/parent-resources

    Children will sit a multiplication arithmetic test in Year 4 on their times tables from 1-12.

    By the end of year 3, children will need to know the 3, 4 and 8 (as well as 2, 5 and 10 times table learnt in Year 2)

    The only way achieve this is to practice! We will be doing times table practice in class daily, however, it will require practice at home too at least 3 times a week (even if this is asking your children questions in the car on the way to school!)

    Science 

    Science will be taught as a discreet subject when the topic does not easily link with our focus for the term.

    Plants

    • Identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants: roots, stem/trunk, leaves and flowers.
    • Explore the requirements of plants for life and growth (air, light, water, nutrients from soil, and room to grow) and how they vary from plant to plant.
    • Investigate the way in which water is transported within plants.
    • Explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle of flowering plants, including pollination, seed formation and seed dispersal.

    Animals, including humans

    • 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.
    • Identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

    Music

    In Year 3 you will be learning to play the Ukulele! You will each be given an instrument and will be able to take this home to practice each week. 

    These lessons will take place on a Tuesday therefore please could you ensure that they bring in their instrument on a Monday every week.

    PE 

    PE will take place on Monday afternoon (Gymnastics), and on Tuesday afternoon (Games) this half term.

      

    PE kits should be bought into school at the start of each half term, and remain in school throughout. 

    Learning Outside the Classroom

    Forest school sessions will be on Friday afternoons, children are to come to school in their outdoor clothes on this day and bring their kit with them.

    -Please remember gloves, hat, long sleeved tops, trousers and waterproof clothing to ensure your children stay warm and comfortable.
    -Also, please make sure that your kit is labelled to help reduce the chance of losing any items.
    - long sleeved tops and trousers are needed regardless of the weather - if you wish to send these as a change of clothes or a layer that is fine in Summer term. 

    For more information, please visit our LOTC area on the website 

    Homework and Spellings

    Spelling

    We will have daily spelling sessions incorporating lots of different activities for children to learn Year 3 spelling patterns and work on including them into their writing.

    Alongside the spelling patterns, each Friday the children will have a list of around 10 spellings, taken from our new scheme: Spelling Shed

    I will send these out every week on a Friday via Google Classroom. They will then be tested on these spellings on a Friday.

    They can also access Spelling Shed online at www.play.edshed.com a parent guide on how to use this is here: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/files.edshed.com/docs/Parent+Guide+for+Spelling+Shed.pdf

    If you would like to further support your child at home, please practice the Year 1/2 and 3/4 common exception words, which can be found in their planners.

     

    Homework project

    This term, our topic is 'Home or Away?' where we will be comparing the UK to Europe.

    Our homework project is open-ended, enabling your child to be creative in a way that they enjoy. 

    Your task is to choose a European country: research traditional foods from the country; make a main and pudding from the countries traditional foods. This can then be presented in any way you would like (powerpoint, picture page, booklet etc,) but must include recipes, images of you making both meals and reviews of the food from the people who tried them. A great homework to get the family involved in!

    Please submit homework to either Google Classroom, or in person. 

    Due date: Friday 8th March

    If you have any questions about any of the above, please ask via Google Classroom.

     

    Interest Boards

    In KS2 Children have the opportunity to create an 'interest board' and present this to their classmates. 

    Below you will find a list of dates, with your child's name next to it. This is the date they will be presenting their interest to their peers, and will always be on a Thursday. Please can they bring their 'board' in on the Wednesday before their date to ensure it's in school for them to present.  

    An 'interest board' is a short presentation to share information about what it is that they are interested in. This can be presented in a range of formats, the choice is yours (e.g. a powerpoint sent in via email, a poster, a display board, a quiz, photo board etc). The children may also want to bring in pictures or objects to support their presentation to show the rest of the class.

    After sharing it with the class, their creation will be on display for the week for the class to see and they will be able to answer any questions their classmates have about their interests. It's their time to share something they really enjoy!

    Please visit our twitter page to see some of the previous Y3 and Y4 interest boards for inspiration!

    The first board this term will be presented on 18th January

    Please see a complete topic plan below, which details all subjects being taught in Year 3 during Spring Term. 

     

    Contact Us

    Fairfield First School, Stourbridge Road, Fairfield, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, B61 9L

    01527 873081

    office@fairfield.worcs.sch.uk