Abshot Road
Titchfield Common
PO14 4NH
Telephone: 01489 573276
www.st-johns-titchfield.hants.sch.uk
[email protected]
Headteacher: Elaine Merriman
"Living, Loving & Learning With Thankfulness & Hope"
Year 3 - Curriculum Letter – Autumn 1 2016
Dear Parents,
We would to take this opportunity to welcome you all back after a lovely warm summer
break. A special St Johns welcome to all our new pupils. We hope they will settle
quickly and make new friendships.
Our main focus is a historical based unit called “Who first lived in Britain?” Children
will learn about the Stone Age through to the Iron Age period of British Prehistory. This
will include our trip to Butser Ancient Farm near Petersfield on the 22nd September.
This unit will enable children to gain an overview of the major changes from Stone Age
to Iron Age and to consider how we know about a historical period without written
sources.
Our literacy units will be based around our Butser Trip and The Stone Age. The children
will write a recount of their experiences during the day. As the children learn more about
how people lived during this period, they will take part in role play and drama activities
which will help them imagine what it would be like to be a child living during this time.
The children will then use their drama skills to write diary accounts of a Day in the life of
a Stone Age child.
In Year 3, we are aiming for all children to be joining their letters fluently,
correctly and consistently as quickly as possible. When they can write in a neat
joined script in pencil, they will be awarded with a “Pen Licence” which they will bring
home so that you can celebrate this achievement with your child. This means they will
then be able to write in pen for all subjects apart from maths.
There will be dedicated/structured spelling lessons each morning. This follows on from
the Letters and Sounds in Key Stage 1. Your child will be learning spelling patterns as
well as the rules of grammar and grammatical terminology. They will be expected to
apply these rules in their daily writing across the curriculum. Spellings will be coming
home as a weekly homework activity.
Homework - will be set weekly for spelling, literacy and maths as well as reading. There
is an expectation that homework is completed by your child and handed in on time. We
will be sending home a separate homework booklet soon which will explain in more
detail.
Guided Reading sessions will also continue. Your child will have at least one session a
week with the teacher, where they will continue to develop their
comprehension and inference skills though a wide range of texts.
“Star Readers” continue in Year 3. Our expectation is that all children
continue to read aloud to an adult at home at least 3 times every week.
Reading regularly at home really benefits your child in all areas of the curriculum and
supports what we do in school. To be a star reader, once you have heard you child read,
please sign and date their reading diary. At the end of each week, your child’s teacher
will check the reading diaries and celebrate Star Readers in the class.
Maths - we want to ensure that your child becomes increasingly fluent with whole
numbers and the four operations including number facts and the concept of place value.
They will be expected to read and write numbers to 1000 and to begin to use three digit
numbers in calculations. The children will learn to count in multiples of 4, recall and use
multiplication and division facts for 3 and 4 multiplication tables. They will compare and
order unit fractions as well as finding and writing fractions of a discreet set of objects.
Problem solving activities where the children are encouraged to develop their
mathematical reasoning will also underpin our maths lessons.
Art - will be the study of Cave paintings. The children will
experiment with different media such as charcoal and chalks as
well as investigating the effects of these media on different
surfaces. They will then create their own “life stories in the style
of Cave Painting. We hope to have our own exhibition of Cave
art at parents evening for you to look at.
French - Children in Year 3 will learn simple French greeting phrases, learn to count to
20. They will sing French songs and be encouraged to answer the register in French.
RE- This unit is called Rites of Passage. The children will look at significant events
during their lives. They will learn that these events can be likened to a journey marked by
rites of passage. The children will then look beyond their own lives and study how other
religions celebrate rites of passage including the Hajj. In Year 3 we block our RE unit
over 2 days near the end of the half term.
Indoor PE - Children will identify and use skills which transfer weight. They will create
a sequence with a partner to show a variety of ways of receiving body weight with
control and accuracy, work co-operatively and offer constructive feedback.
Outdoor Games - will be throwing and catching skills over increasing distances. They
will make up new games which they will teach to others.
PE kit list for outdoor games; shorts, joggers, separate T shirt & sweatshirt (not their
uniform) and trainers. Indoor PE; shorts & T-shirt.
PE and games sessions are on Thursday and Friday afternoons for this half term.
PHSCE-New Beginnings - the children will learn to make new friendships and build
new relationships with the adults with whom they will be working. Each class will create
a Class Charter where they decide on rules for their own class. It is important that the
children establish good routines and understand the expectations for both their learning
and behaviour in Year 3.
Computing - Children in Year 3 will learn to log on, open and save work on a word
document. Our focus this half term will be basic word processing skills, such as learning
the different methods of making capital letters and deleting/undoing their work. During
our work about the Stone Age, children will have the opportunity to use search engines to
find out new information.
Collective Worship - This half-term in collective worship we are following the themes
of new beginnings, doors of opportunity, helping each other, prayer, harvest and
thanksgiving. These topics help us to understand more fully our school values of love,
thankfulness and hope. In the coming weeks we will be sending home a leaflet for each
value that explores more fully how these are developed.
General Reminders - If possible, please could your child bring a book bag to school as
rucksacks are rather bulky and take up a lot of space.
Your child needs to have a water bottle in school, clearly named, as we encourage them
to drink frequently through the day. Water bottles can be purchased at the office.
Reading books and diaries are to come to school everyday.
Please can you make sure tuck money is in a named wallet/purse. £1 maximum
Library Day- Each class teacher will send home a letter advising you when your child’s
library day is.
If you have any questions or queries, please do come and ask, we are happy to help.
We look forward to working with you this year.
Yours sincerely
Mrs Sale
Miss Hobbs
Mrs Sale
(Year 3/4 Team Leader/
Assistant Headteacher)
Miss Hobbs
Year 3 Teacher