Chestnut
Welcome to
Our topic this term is...
Where we will be looking at the journey of humankind from the Stone Age through to the Roman Empire.
Topic
Where have we come from?
In this History based topic we will be learning the following;
- Pre-Roman Britain: changes in Britain from the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age
- Roman Britain: The Roman Empire and its impact on Britain
Some of our learning activities will include:
1. Explore life of early man: what was it like? What were houses, clothes, food, and conversation like? How did it change? Put it on a timeline
2. Journey forwards in time to Bronze Age: explore and compare to Stone Age. What changed? Why?
3. Journey to Iron Age – explore and compare.
4. Discover the Roman Empire and go on a journey with a Roman soldier as they embark on their trip to UK.
5. Explore the Romans and their arrival in Britain
6. Explore the impact on Britain and compare to life today – what do we still use?
DT - through LOTC
We will use our outdoor/forest sessions for our DT this term.
- We will design and build a stole age hut - wattle & daub
- Learn about and recreate our own Stone Henge
- Design, make, evaluate and improve a Roman boat or carriage
Geography
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Whilst exploring different eras, we will look at how the surrounding land changed and was used. For example, how people in the Stone Age lived off the land; Mining in the Iron Age and Roman development of the land – cities, towns, river use, building development |
English
In English we will be developing our reading and writing skills, building on our hard work from Year 2.
We will be exploring the following texts and genres:
Description: We will use 'Journey' by Aaron Becker to write a story scene description.
Story Ending: Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura. We are going to imagine we are the Stone Age child and create our own endings to the story.
Roman Diary: We will be writing as though we are Roman Soldiers, describing a day in our life. Roman Diary by Richard Platt will help us with understanding the structure and language of a diary entry.
Escape from Pompeii by Christina Balit will provide us with lots of interesting information and help with our Letter Writing skills, (which we will also need when writing to Father Christmas!) 
Alongside these texts, we will also have the following class readers:
The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd The Iron Man by Ted Hughes.
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:
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Place Value - Numbers up to 1000 Addition and Subtraction, of 3 digit numbers, including using formal written methods Multiplication and Division, including TOxTO |
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.
Rocks
- Compare and group together different kinds of rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties
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Describe in simple terms how fossils are formed when things that have lived are trapped within rock
Recognise that soils are made from rocks and organic matter
Forces
- Compare how things move on different surfaces
- Notice that some forces need contact between 2 objects, but magnetic forces can act at a distance
- Observe how magnets attract or repel each other and attract some materials and not others
- Compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of whether they are attracted to a magnet, and identify some magnetic materials
- Describe magnets as having 2 poles
- Predict whether 2 magnets will attract or repel each other, depending on which poles are facing.
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 & Swimming
PE will take place on Wednesday afternoon (Games), and on Thursday afternoon (swimming) this term.
Children will need to wear their swimming kit under their uniform on a Thursday. Please ensure they bring underwear for after the lesson!
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 'Journey' where we will be focusing on the journey of humankind.
Our homework project is open-ended, enabling your child to be creative in a way that they enjoy. The project will be in two parts, one in each half-term. The project consists of two options. You can complete one or both of them.
Due Date: Friday 8th December
Open classroom: Wednesday 13th December 3.15pm - 4.30pm
Your tasks:
Option 1: Research the Roman Empire and create a timeline of significant events during this time period. This can be presented in any way that you wish.
Option 2: Design and make a Roman Shield.
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 21st September.
Please see a complete topic plan below, which details all subjects being taught in Year 3 during Autumn Term.
