Class 3

Welcome to Year Three

Dear Parents/Guardians and Children

Welcome you to Year 3. This year, is like no other experienced in recent times. There will be challenges ahead but ones I know we can tackle together. I am more excited than ever, and so you should be too. 

I just wanted to let you know about a few things and I will keep you updated as we go along.

Home learning

Weekly spellings and homework are an integral part of learning, however should only be done if there is meaning behind it. We will be giving homework and spellings this year, however this will not start until at least week 3 of the Autumn term.

Spellings will come out on a Monday and coincide with our spelling lesson. We then have a spelling test on a Friday. I will not be marking their practice spellings but instead be focusing on their dictation, spelling test and spelling sentences throughout the week.

Homework will be set on a Thursday and in most cases will be due back the following Tuesday. However I am very firm believer in children being allowed to be children. I feel that if additional home learning will enhance their learning then I will of course set homework, however if not then I won’t. Homework on the whole will be research or project based. The children will be given a set topic/theme to research and then present back their work in some way. This open ended style of homework gives each child the opportunity to achieve at their level and to present back their work in a style them feel comfortable.

Reading is an integral part of home learning. If you do nothing else this year at home with your children then read with them and read to them. Children develop so much knowledge by hearing different people read. They hear different dialects, different intonation and a range of different vocabulary. Everyone learns to spell or tell the time in different ways, reading is no different.

Timetables is also a key part of lower key stage 2. We will be going back to basics with the 2s 5s and 10s initially and then working on 3s, 4s and 8s, in that order. After a few weeks back we will start our weekly tests and children will be expected to learn whatever number they are on for that week. For instance, if your child is working towards passing their 10s, then they will be expected to know their 10 times table up to 10 x 12 but also their division facts for that number too.

Example – 8 x 10 = 80 and 80 ÷ 10 = 8

Information about home learning will be delivered will be sent out towards the start of term. However like I said, this won’t be for the first few weeks.

Our curriculum

Normally we would spend a few weeks assessing the children before starting on the Year 3 curriculum. This year, this will be more important than ever. I am planning on going over year 2 key concepts in both math and literacy within the first month or 6 weeks before embarking on Year 3. That being said, if I feel that your child is where they need to be then I will not be holding them back.

Our key theme this term is on prehistory and is covered under our key question which is ‘Would you rather live in Stone Age Britain or Iron Age Britain?’. We then move onto our geography theme in spring followed by our summer term theme of The Romans. We will be doing lots of PE, both inside and out, looking at a variety of RE themes throughout the year, Plants and Rocks and soils amongst others in science and focusing heavily on PHSE/P4C and our mental health. Our full range of curriculum can be found on the school website.