This past week has been a whirlwind of learning, laughter, and exciting new experiences, and we couldn’t be prouder of how well the class has adapted and how much they have achieved, already!

Check out our Year 3s in the news: Friendship and fun for Upton’s new Year 3 group – The Isle Of Thanet News

Thematic

This week, Year 3 dived head first into their exciting new topic—Pre-History Rocks! From the very first lesson, the children have shown fabulous curiosity and enthusiasm as we began to explore what life was like in the distant past.

We kicked off the week by asking the big question: What is History? The children shared their ideas, and we discussed how history helps us understand the world we live in by studying the people, places, and events of the past. It was great to hear the children think about how learning from history shapes our future. We talked about what it means to be a historian and how they are like detectives, piecing together clues to understand what happened in the past. We talked about the different types of evidence historians use, like written documents, artefacts, fossils and how these help us build a picture of life long ago.

We then explored the meaning of pre-history and introduced children to the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age. To help children understand when these periods of pre-history occurred, we examined a timeline, before then looking in more depth at the three periods of the Stone Age. We examined how each period brought new developments, shaping the way people lived and worked.

Next week, Year 3 will be donning their scientist hats as we begin an exciting new investigation into rocks and their properties. This hands-on exploration will be closely linked to children’s learning about the Stone Age, where we’ll be examining how early humans used different types of rocks to create tools for survival.

English

This week in English, Year 3 explored another wonderful text by Anthony Browne: Voices in the Park. At the beginning of the week, we spent time reading and discussing Voices in the Park. The children were captivated by how the story is told from four different perspectives, which sparked great conversations. We then worked on summarising the key events in one part of the story, which the children then sequenced in chronological order,- re-writing the events in their own words. The second half of our week focused on developing vocabulary. We took a closer look at one of the characters, and generated vocabulary to describe them. Building on this, we then turned our attention to the setting. Anthony Browne’s illustrations of the park are rich with detail, and the children were eager to describe it. Together, we generated a list of sensory words, thinking about what you might see, hear, and feel if you were walking through the park. The children really let their imaginations run wild, creating vivid descriptions that brought the setting to life on the page.

Next week, Year 3 will embark on an exciting new journey in English as we begin studying the book Stone Age Boy by Satoshi Kitamura. This text will be our focus for the term and is closely linked to our Thematic learning on pre-history. We can’t wait to see how the children engage with the story and deepen their understanding of life during the Stone Age.

  

Maths

It’s been another busy and exciting week in Year 3 Maths! The children have been consolidating important concepts that lay the foundation for their number sense and mental maths skills. This week, our focus has been on partitioning, flexible partitioning, and fact families. The children have been working hard to master these ideas, and we’ve had a lot of fun along the way!

Next week, we’ll continue to build on these skills and explore new ways to apply them in different mathematical contexts. We’re excited to see how Year 3 will use their newfound number knowledge in the coming lessons. Keep up the great work, Year 3!

       

Early Morning activities

A settled start to the day is key to unlocking the best learning opportunities for our children. Each morning, we set the children activities to ensure every child begins their day, focused, engaged and ready to learn. These daily activities aren’t just about settling down; they are packed with purpose, encouraging critical thinking, problem-solving, and most importantly, child-led discussions that help develop key communication skills. Starting the day with practical activities helps children transition smoothly into the school day, boosts their confidence, and gets them thinking critically right from the start. A calm and settled start to the day truly sets the stage for successful learning, and we’re proud to see our Year 3s thriving because of it!

 

    

Author of the term

Each term, we love to celebrate an Author of the Term, introducing our children to some of the world’s most beloved writers, encouraging them to explore literature in a fun and meaningful way. This term, we are thrilled to shine the spotlight on Roald Dahl, one of the most cherished children’s authors of all time. This week in our class assembly, the children have been diving into Dahl’s magical world of storytelling, and today, we mark a special occasion: ‘Roald Dahl Day’, which would have been his 108th birthday! To celebrate Author of the Term with our children, our English Leaders: Miss Bunce and Miss Watkins have set the children of Upton a challenge:

 

Home Learning

Attached below, is the overarching Thematic Curriculum homework ideas. Please refer to the homework menu which gives a variety of creative tasks for the children to choose from. Children only need to complete one task as a minimum, but can choose to complete more if they wish. Children have been given a Home Learning book to complete their Home Learning tasks in.

Home Learning is due in on Friday 25^th October 2024

Reading journals

With AR Assessments complete, children will now have their Reading Journal. In their journal, you will find their ‘Term 1’ ZPD sticker, their AR and TTRS login details, along with their Mathletics login details. We have also included some hints and tips of how to support children when hearing them read at home- you can also find a copy of this attached, below. Please ensure children are reading every night and are likewise taking quizzes.

Spellings

Spellings will be issued next week and will invite children to complete tasks online. Tasks will follow the spellings being taught for the term and are designed to be engaging and fun. Further details will follow in next week’s Blog, so keep your eyes peeled!

Times Tables Rock Stars

• Tasks to be completed online, with new tasks set every week.

• Children’s logins will be stuck into their Reading Journal.

Mathletics

• Once a week- this week’s tasks have been set.

• Tasks will always follow the learning that week.

• Children’s logins are stuck into their Reading Journal.

Reminders

• Year 3 have PE on Tuesdays and should come to school dressed in the correct school PE kit.

• 3B and 3G will swim on Mondays this term- children will need to come dressed in their PE kit to school on this day, and bring with them their swimming costumes to change into. 

• Swimming kit reminder: full swimming costume/swim shorts and swimming hat.

• Should you wish to discuss how your child has settled, don’t forget to sign yourself up for a 5-minute parent-teacher meeting for Monday 16^th September. Meetings will be held from 1pm until 4pm- we look forward to seeing you there.

• Children are to bring in healthy snacks for breaktimes.