Useful Documents
Year 3 Spring 1
Dear Parents and Carers,
I wish you a warm welcome back after the holidays and a happy new year, I hope you have had a restful break with your families. In Year 3, we will revise our school values of Respect, Good Manners, Patience, Perseverance and Honesty. We will continue to use our reward system 'Brookhouse Monsters University' to acknowledge positive behaviour and attitudes that are consistent with our values. Pupils are aiming to achieve silver, gold or platinum awards. If your child is in the winning University team, they will celebrate with a reward at the end of the term.
Homework
Please encourage your child to complete their homework each week. Homework will be collected in on a Wednesday to be marked and returned by Friday. There will also be online tasks to complete on PurpleMash, SPAG.com, Reading Plus and Times Tables Rockstars. All children are familiar with using the online learning platforms therefore your child should be able to login and complete assigned tasks independently. Furthermore, your child will be given a list of vocabulary to explore on a weekly basis for our Whole Class Reading sessions. It is important that your child completes this work so they are able to access the text that we will be reading. You may feel your child is a fluent reader, however it is crucial that you read with your child as much as possible at home to support their phonics and comprehension.
Attendance
At Brookhouse, attendance and punctuality are paramount. Thank you for your support in ensuring that your child attends school every day. The higher a pupil’s attendance, the more they are likely to learn, and the better they are likely to perform as they progress through school.
Our topic for this term is 'Rock and Roll!'
English
Our focus for English this term will be 'Discussion'. To begin with, we will analyse various texts, exploring the language, structure and features used in discussion texts. After that, the pupils will be immersed in numerous discussion topics, where they will look at different points of view, form arguments for and against and provide their own views. Then, they will innovate a discussion text focusing on the structure and effective use of language. Finally, pupils will plan and write their independent discussion text on their chosen topic, using the skills that they have acquired throughout the unit. The following unit of work is 'Poems on a theme'. To start, pupils will listen, read and discuss a range of poems. Then pupils will create their own poem based on a theme. By the end of the unit, pupils will learn their poem by heart and perform it to an audience. All units will utilise the 'Talk for Writing' strategy of Imitate, Innovate and Invent.
Reading is a priority of ours at Brookhouse therefore Whole Class Reading sessions take place every day, where pupils are expected to read a range of texts and answer questions by predicting, summarising, retrieving, making inference and explaining. We also have a specific focus on vocabulary. In school, we will continue to use the online reading resource called 'Reading Plus' and encourage pupils to complete lessons at home. It is imperative for you to support your child with reading, please use the question stems to check for understanding. Also, ensure your child is learning their spellings for ten minutes daily.
Maths
In Maths, our aim is to improve maths fluency, reasoning and problem solving. We do this through concrete, pictorial and abstract models. In Spring 1, pupils will be developing their knowledge of measurement, focusing on length, mass and volume. The pupils will be measuring the length of various objects and converting the measurements into different units of measure for example: metres into centimetres and centimeters into millimetres. They will then learn to apply this knowledge to reasoning and problem solving by utilising the QUACK method (please ask your children what this means). Please encourage your child to practice their times tables at home, in order to aid them with this, your child can use Times Table Rockstars and the maths area on Purple Mash. All website links can be located on the Website Star above.
Science
In Science, we will learn about 'Rocks and Soils'. We will explore what rocks are and how they are formed. They will carry out various investigations to understand how scientists categorise rocks. By the end of the unit, pupils will become rock detectives and compare and contrast different rocks. Children will be expected to work scientifically by setting up simple practical enquiries including comparative and fair tests, making careful observations and using scientific evidence to answer questions. Please encourage your child to learn their knowledge organiser which will assist them with their weekly quizzes.
History
In History, pupils will learn about the Stone Age in Britain. They will explore the different periods within the Stone Age as well as looking at the main events that occurred during this civilisation. Pupils will be making historical enquiries and ask questions about the Stone Age. We will then compare life in the Stone Age to present life and understand how Stone Age people moved around, hunted for and gathered food and how they cooked their food.
Art
In Art, pupils will explore the Parietal art also known as cave art. We will be looking at what materials were used in the Stone Age to create this style of work. They will then be experimenting with different grades of pencils, charcoal and pastels to create our own parietal art on sand. The final product will be evaluated by themselves and others.
Physical Education
P.E sessions will take place on a Thursday afternoon, our unit is Dance - Rock and Roll. Please ensure that your child comes into school wearing their full P.E kit. The kit should include a yellow P.E top with the school's logo matched with black shorts, jogging bottoms or leggings and black pumps or trainers. Over the top, children will wear their school jumper or cardigan. All jewellery must be removed, ensure earrings are taken out before the session or covered with plasters.
In addition, pupils will be starting swimming lessons, which will take place on a Wednesday morning. Please ensure that your child brings in their swimming kit in a large carrier bag. This will need to include a large towel, swimming costume or swimming trunks and a swimming cap. Jewellery is not permitted, therefore remove earrings before Wednesday.
PSHE
In PSHE, we will be completing a 'Families and Friends' unit, where pupils will learn what makes a positive, healthy relationship. Furthermore, well-being will be a main focus throughout the year, pupils will have the opportunity to share and discuss any concerns or worries openly.
Oracy - Voice 21
As a school we are developing our oracy, learning to talk and learning through talk. In class, we have created discussion guidelines to aid meaningful discussions. We will encourage pupils to fully participate by taking on a range of roles and utilising sentence stems to articulate their ideas. We will provide opportunities for discussion in all areas of the curriculum.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to discuss these with us at the beginning or end of the school day. Alternatively, you can arrange an appointment through the school office.
Thank you for your support, from all of the Year 3 team
Miss Martin (Class Teacher), Mrs Khonat (Higher Level Teaching Assistant), Mrs Hussain (Special Support Assistant) and Mrs Saleem (Special Support Assistant).