Spring 2, Week 5 – 27/03/26
What a busy week Year 3 have had to round off a fantastic term! In English, we completed our information texts all about conservation in the rainforest. The class worked incredibly hard, including lots of brilliant information about the vital conservation work that takes place to protect these precious habitats. Their final pieces were a pleasure to read. In Maths, we have been exploring fractions. We deepened our understanding of the numerator and denominator, discussed what the whole represents, and practised comparing and ordering unit fractions. Year 3 have approached this with confidence! Our Science lessons turned us into real investigators. Working in groups, we wrote our own scientific enquiry questions and carried out investigations. These ranged from exploring which items sink or float to discovering which materials let the most light through. We made sure our tests were fair and presented our findings in colourful posters that included predictions, results, diagrams and findings. In PSHE, we learnt about the Zones of Regulation. We went outside to play “Find Your Zone”, moving to the Blue, Green, Yellow or Red areas depending on the emotion that was called out, such as tired, calm, excited or angry. Afterwards, we created freeze frames to show how different feelings look in each zone and to help us think more deeply about our emotions. A highlight of the week was our brilliant trip to the Stratford Butterfly Farm. Our guide, Wildlife Will, was incredibly knowledgeable and taught us so much about butterflies, insects and the rainforest. It felt as though we had stepped into the Amazon! Butterflies even landed on some of us! We held a stick insect, watched a spectacled caiman being fed and learned about many fascinating creatures. A photo gallery will be available on the school website soon. We also enjoyed a visit from the PTFA Easter Bunny and loved teaming up with Year 1 for an exciting Easter egg hunt on the school field.
Finally, we had our last swimming session of the term, which the children have gained so much from. A big thank you to Mrs Davis for accompanying us each week. Well done, Year 3! You should feel incredibly proud of everything you have achieved this term.
Spring 2, Week 3 – 13/03/26
Year 3 have had another busy week, full of lots of learning! In English, we completed our narrative writing based on pages from our class text, ‘Saving Sorya’ by Trang Nguyen. We strived to use key grammatical features and detailed description and took great care when writing up our final versions. We continue to work hard on our handwriting, and it has been fantastic to this skill develop. We have started our new unit of work in English where we will be writing an information text about conservation in the rainforest. During our hook lesson, we discussed how important the work of conservationists is, and the roles that they fulfil to help to protect the natural world. In Maths, we have been exploring length and measures. We have been converting between millimetres, centimetres and metres, as well as practising accurate measuring using rulers. Towards the end of the week, we began looking at perimeter which the class tackled with confidence. In Humanities, we continued to develop our understanding of the Amazon Rainforest by examining its physical and human features. We discussed how human activity can affect this fragile environment and the impact that this has on animals and their habitats. In RE, we continued our learning about Holy Week, focusing on how Christians mark significant days such as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. PE has been a highlight of our week. We have been working hard on our dance routines, demonstrating our teamwork abilities during the Maypole Dancing, and have continued to impress during our swimming lessons. Our confidence in the pool has been excellent, and we have shown determination and enthusiasm each week. Well done for a super week, Year 3!
Spring 2, Week 1 – 27/02/26
Year 3 have made an enthusiastic start to term and have been busy completing lots of super learning! In English, we have started our new class text: ‘Saving Sorya – Chang and the Sun Bear’. We have enjoyed exploring the graphic novel about Chang, a wildlife conservationist. As part of our Hook lesson, we sketched the paw prints of a sun bear, like Chang does in her field notebook. We are looking forward to completing our first piece of writing based on the story. In Maths, we have been working hard on multiplication and division, and have even been tackling division with remainders. In Science, we have begun our new topic of ‘Working Scientifically’ and have looked into what makes a fair test. We enjoyed discussing what a fair test is and why it is important, before completing a fair test as a class. We tested which paper towels were the most absorbent. We ensured that we only changed one variable to keep the test fair and made predictions. Many of us were surprised at the results we recorded! In Humanities, we have continued our learning on the Amazon rainforest and have looked at the different biomes around the world. We considered why different plants and animals can only survive in certain biomes and enjoyed plotting them on a world map. I have been so impressed with the Geographical understanding that Year 3 have demonstrated as we have moved through our learning. Well done, Year 3, for working hard and being ready, respectful and responsible.
Spring 1, Week 5 – 6/02/26
Year 3 have had another busy week and continue to demonstrate their fantastic attitude to learning. In English, we have been working on a range of grammar in preparation for writing our Persuasive Letter about protecting the rainforest. Year 3 have impressed me with their understanding of subordinating
conjunctions, short sentences for impact and adverbs to show cause. I am looking forward to reading their pieces of writing as they put their grammar skills into practise! In Humanities, we have been developing our Geographical understanding of the Amazon rainforest by locating the Amazon on a world map and identifying the countries within South America that it covers. We used atlases to locate these countries and are amazed at how expansive the Amazon rainforest truly is! We have been learning about nutrition and food groups in Science. This week, we have been recording and analysing data of the nutritional value of different foods. We looked at the traffic light labels on the front of food, and compared which was the most and least healthy. There were some surprises as we found that some foods held more salt, sugar or saturates that we had expected! We understand that it is important to eat varied foods as part of a balanced diet. In Music, we have enjoyed completing a unit on Chinese New Year. We have been learning about the pentatonic scale and have used this as we composed and performed a piece of music as a group. We have also had fun developing our batting and fielding skills during our Chance to Shine Cricket lessons. Well done for another brilliant week of learning, Year 3!
Spring 1, Week 3 – 23/01/26
Year 3 have been busy becoming brilliant young artists this week! They’ve been practising their sketching skills and learning the four golden rules of sketching: Hold the pencil on its side, draw in straight lines, shade evenly and leave no gaps! The children even learned fun actions to help them remember each rule — so do ask them to show you at home! They were incredibly focused and proud of their progress, and we can’t wait to see how their sketching skills continue to grow.
In English, Year 3 have written an additional chapter to ‘The Great Kapok Tree’, researching and writing about an Amazon animal of their choice. Year 3 have worked so hard on including details to describe the animal and their habitat and I have been so impressed with the effort and enthusiasm that Year 3 have shown towards their writing.
Despite the weather this week, we have had great fun completing fantastic outdoor learning! We are so pleased to have another turn at Forest School where we have been lucky enough to hear the woodpecker! Mrs Sabin has organised so many super activities for us from making bracelets to creating bird feeders that we hung up around the Forest School area. We have also enjoyed learning to play Cricket where we have completed activities in batting and bowling.
Well done Year 3 for another fantastic week of learning and for being ready, respectful and responsible.
Spring 1, Week 1 – 9/01/26
Year 3 have had a super first week back and have returned to school full of enthusiasm and excitement towards their learning.
We have started our new topic ‘Amazing Amazon’ and have enjoyed reading our new text ‘The Great Kapok Tree’. We started our learning about this book by exploring which animals live in the Amazon rainforest, before creating artwork based on the habitat of these animals. We learnt that the Kapok tree can grow to around 60 metres, so we went out on the playground to measure out how huge this really is – it was far longer than the whole playground!
In English, we explored a model text of the genre we will be writing and are so looking forward to getting started with our own writing!
In Guided Reading, Year 3 have impressed me so much with how engaged they are during our class discussions and have provided such thoughtful responses to questions about ‘The Great Kapok Tree’. We were happy to see that our predictions were correct when we reached the end of the story!
In Music, we enjoyed listening to music used to celebrate the Chinese New Year festival and watched a video of a traditional dragon dance. When listening, we considered the tempo, duration and dynamics. We had fun dancing to the music and considered how our movements linked to this.
Well done for such a fantastic week, Year 3!
Autumn 2, Week 5 – 5/12/25
Year 3 have had a fantastic week of learning!
We stepped back in time this week for a Stone Age Experience Day. The day began with pupils forming tribes with names such as The Spear Fighters and The Trouble Tribe!
Our first task was a Stone Age Engineering Challenge, where the tribes worked together to move a stone from Stonehenge using string, boards, rolling pins and wooden planks. This activity needed problem solving skills and gave us a greater understanding of the challenge that people from the Stone Age faced to build Stonehenge. In Stone Age PE, the tribes tackled an obstacle quest. We had a great time completing this task where we were running across stepping stones (hurdles) to throwing spears (foam javelins!) and
racing to collect food for our tribe. We especially enjoyed when Mrs Kempson or Mrs Smith held up images of predators from the Stone Age, meaning we had to rush back to our camp for safety! In the afternoon, we completed an activity where the groups had to locate images of food that early humans would hunt or gather around the school field, before deciding which would be safe to eat, and which would be dangerous – this was great fun! Later, we built dens for our tribes, considering what shelter and resources people from the Stone Age would need.
We have also been working hard in Maths, where we have been looking at complements to 100, and in English where we have been learning about prepositions. We are thoroughly enjoying our class text ‘The Stolen Spear’. We are excited to find out how the story ends!
In DT, we enjoyed designing a festive menu and we demonstrated our skills in Basketball during PE.
Year 3 impressed us so much with the knowledge, enthusiasm and excitement that they have demonstrated throughout this week.
Autumn 2, Week 3 – 21/11/25
Year 3 have had a very busy half term so far!
This week, Year 3 pupils impressed us with their fantastic food preparation skills during Design and Technology lessons. Working carefully and safely, they mastered techniques such as cutting, slicing, and peeling a variety of fruits and vegetables. Children demonstrated excellent knife control, used the bridge and claw grips confidently, and showed great teamwork when sharing equipment and tidying up. They also learned the importance of hygiene by washing hands and preparing clean workspaces before starting. Over the next few weeks, we will be trying a range of exotic fruit and looking at seasonal foods we eat at certain times of year.
In English, we have been writing contrasting character descriptions based on our class text, ‘The Stolen Spear’. We have written about Wolf, the shy character who is the opposite of his fierce father, Bear. Year 3 have thought carefully about the adverbs, adjectives and vocabulary that they have chosen to create vibrant descriptions based on our story.
In Maths, we have been working on column addition and subtraction – focusing this week on adding two numbers which exchange across a ten and across a hundred. Year 3 have shown a resilient and focussed attitude in lessons and have enjoyed progressing their understanding of this key operation.
In Humanities, we have learnt about local sites that were built in the Stone Age, Bronze Age or Iron Age. We learnt about The Rollright Stones, Uffington White Horse and Uffington Castle (an Iron Age Hillfort). It was so exciting to see that we lived locally to sites that would’ve been inhabited by people during this era of history.
Well done for another fantastic week, Year 3!
Autumn 2, Week 1 – 7/11/25
Year 3 have had such a fantastic start to the half term and I have been so impressed with how hard they have been working and the super choices they have shown.
In English, we have enjoyed starting our new unit of work and reading our new text ‘The Stolen Spear’ by Saviour Pirotta. We enjoyed our Hook lesson where we explored the blurb and front cover before listening to a Stone Age soundscape. We listened carefully, imagining that we were in our main character’s village. We considered what we could see, hear, smell whilst using charcoals or pastels to draw what we had imagined. We are excited to read this text and complete more work on it!
In Humanities, we continue to enjoy our Stone Age to Iron Age topic. We have been learning about Skara Brae – one of the settings from ‘The Lost Spear’. We were fascinated to learn about this Stone Age settlement and enjoyed looking at artefacts that had been found at the site.
In Maths, we have been working hard on addition and subtraction, using partitioning to help us to add and subtract across a 10 or 100.
In Music, we enjoyed listening to a piece of music by Mussorgsky called ‘Night on the Bare Mountain’. We drew the story that we thought the music told with varied results including pirate ships, mountains and the circus! We discussed pitch, dynamics and how the music changed as we listened to it.
In PE, we have started our units of Basketball and Gymnastics. We have enjoyed learning Basketball so much that lots of Year 3 have been playing it at lunchtime! In Gymnastics, we started to look at creating balances.
Well done, Year 3, for such a brilliant week!
Autumn 1, Week 7 – 17/10/25
Year 3 have had another fantastic week and have been working so hard on their learning.
In English, we have started writing our adverts for Stonehenge, aiming at persuading people to visit this prehistoric monument. In preparation, Year 3 have enjoyed learning interesting facts about Stonehenge and wrote quiz questions to test Mrs Kempson’s knowledge!
In Humanities, we have been learning about the Iron Age and the development of hillforts. We explored how the different features provided protection.
In Guided Reading, we have been learning the skill of ‘Summarising’ and have continued reading our class text, ‘Stig of the Dump’. We have enjoyed reading our novel every day and building the class story map.
In Science, we explored how palaeontologists can use the measurements of dinosaur footprints to estimate a dinosaur’s size. We measured dinosaur footprints – of a Allosaurus, Triceratops, Compsognathus and Brachiosaurus – and measured them. We used these to calculate the estimated length of the dinosaur’s body length which was great fun!
In Art, we have looked at abstract sculptures. We have created our own sculptures which utilised positive and negative space.
I have been so proud with the effort that Year 3 are showing and the hard work that they are putting into everything they do. Well done, Year 3!
Autumn 1, Week 5 – 3/10/25
Year 3 have had another busy week full of fantastic learning!
In English, we have started our new unit of work where we will be writing a persuasive leaflet to advertise Stonehenge. We have had a great time starting to learn about this mysterious Stone Age monument and have considered why we think it was built. We especially enjoyed our lesson where we built a replica of Stonehenge! Working in teams, we carefully included features such as the Heel Stone, the Horseshoe of Bluestones and the Outer Circle of Sarsen Stones.
In Maths, we have been working hard on our understanding of Place Value and have completed lots of fantastic learning including ordering and comparing numbers to 1000 and counting in 50s.
In Science, we have continued learning about rocks and their properties. We started this week’s lesson by going on a rock hunt around the school grounds which was great fun! We also completed an experiment looking at the permeability of different rocks, ensuring we maintained a fair test and using observations to find which stones were permeable or impermeable.
In French, we had fun learning key greetings as well as how to ask and answer the question ‘how are you?’ Year 3 enjoyed the opportunity to speak to their partners in French and also had a go at writing in French.
Forest School has once again been a highlight of our week. We have loved making fairy wands and fishing rods, making items for the fairy village, using natural paints like they did in the Stone Age, climbing, building and exploring the outdoors.
I have been so impressed with Year 3’s enthusiasm towards their learning across the curriculum. Well done, Year 3!
Autumn 1, Week 3 – 19/09/25
Year 3 have had a very busy start to term and have been working hard on settling into the routines of KS2!
They have shown that they are ready, respectful and responsible and have completed super learning across the curriculum.
In English, we have been enjoying our core text ‘Stone Age Boy’ and have been working on writing the story from an alternative perspective. We have considered character feelings, thought of fantastic descriptions of what Om (our main character) would experience in the Stone Age and are so excited to get started on our writing! I have been impressed with the class’s enthusiasm towards our book and their work. This has been supported by our learning in Humanities where we have learnt more about the Stone Age, focussing this week on the development of Stone Age people from hunter-gatherers to farmers.
In Science, we have begun our topic on ‘Rocks’ which the class have thoroughly enjoyed. We have compared and grouped different rocks including marble, granite, basalt and sandstone based on various characteristics. We have enjoyed this opportunity for hands-on learning.
We’ve started our new unit of Art, where the children have been exploring how to make 3D sculptures. They looked at the work of the artist Sir Anthony Caro and talked about how everyday shapes can be turned into exciting abstract forms. The class practised different ways of joining and building with card and paper, such as folding, rolling and slotting pieces together to make their structures strong. They then added their own creative touches with patterns, textures and colours to bring their sculptures to life.
Additionally, we have started Forest School sessions. Mrs Sabin was so impressed with how well Year 3
completed their outdoor learning. Well done, Year 3!
