Welcome to Wagtails Class

SPRING TERM

Welcome to Year 3

Wagtails

  

 

Mrs Greenard, Mrs Lewis and Mrs Rojas would like to welcome you back to the

Spring Term in Wagtails Class. 

This term, our topic is ‘The Rainforest’ and this will be taught through English, art and geography!

 

THINGS TO HAVE IN SCHOOL EACH DAY

Children should have a waterproof coat, if necessary, water bottle, homework diary and reading book in school each day. If it is hot and sunny, please make sure your child has a hat and sunscreen! If it’s wet or snowy, please make sure your child is dressed appropriately. 

ENGLISH  

We will be starting the term, reading and performing poetry. Children will generate lots of lovely words, choose a poem frame to work with and create their own poems about winter. We will then be writing poetry later in the term about the rainforest, using all the poetry skills we have developed.

One of the books we will be reading is The Great Kapok Tree. This will form the basis of our writing, which will include narrative using setting and character description. We will also write persuasive texts about saving the Rainforest.

YEAR 3 SPELLINGS

Children follow the Year 3 spelling programme.  New spellings are introduced on a Monday and are sent home to learn. The children are asked to practise them each night using the look-say-cover-write-check method. Children will also practise in school.

Children will be tested on those spellings on a Monday and are then encouraged to use these new spellings in their independent writing.

FASTER READ

Children will be reading two full novels as part of the Faster Read Guided Reading programme.

We will be reading The Last Bear by Hanna Gold and The Wreck of Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo.

TOPIC

Our topic this term is the Rainforest and we will be investigating ‘Why are rainforests important to us?’ Children will be finding out about biomes; locate where the Amazon rainforest is and describe the four layers of the rainforest. They will find out about the indigenous people and how they use the rainforest’s resources. Children will also find out about how the rainforest is changing. Towards the end of the term (when the weather is better – fingers crossed – we will be doing some field work of our own, heading to a local woodland and finding out what the spaces are used for.

 

ART

In our art lessons, we will be focusing on developing drawing skills – sketching, shading, using tone and noticing the shapes which make up a composition.

 

MATHS  

In maths, this term we will begin by exploring multiplication, followed by length and perimeter. Later on in the term, we will start using fractions and then end the term with mass and capacity.

SCIENCE

In our Science lessons, we will be learning about plants, which will focus on identifying plant parts (roots, stem, leaves, flowers) and their functions, understanding plant needs (air, light, water, nutrients, space), how water moves, and the plant life cycle (pollination, seed formation, dispersal).

P.E. 

P.E. for Wagtails is on Wednesday and Friday. Children will be participating in fitness and hockey.

It is important you wear your P.E. kit to school on P.E. days. PE uniform should consist of dark joggers, a school PE t-shirt, school jumper and trainers. We do go out in most weathers, so please make sure your child has appropriate outerwear to go outside.

YEAR 3 HOMEWORK

Please read as often as you can (3 times a week if possible) and remember to get your reading diary signed – these are checked each Friday. Reading certificates and prizes are given for the number of times you read.

Homework will be either one piece of English or maths. It will be sent home on a Monday and we would like it back the following Monday. Completing your homework means GOLDEN TIME! Children will also have new spellings sent home each Monday. Try to spend a little time each day practising for the test!

To help with the 'Times table Challenge', click on the link below to take your child to the Times Tables Rock Stars log in, 'My Maths' or Top Marks website.

https://play.ttrockstars.com 
https://www.topmarks.co.uk

Here your child can practise their times tables.
Remember there are bronze, silver and gold badges to be won.