Year 3 – Spring Term

Literacy

We will be following the National Literacy Strategy, and will cover the following:

Word Level

High frequency words, Look, Say, Cover, Check, handwriting, dictionary and thesaurus work, prefixes and various new spelling patterns.  This will build on, and consolidate, what the children have learnt in the Autumn Term.

Sentence Level

Commas in reading and their function, awareness of grammar to decipher new or unfamiliar words, word recognition, graphic knowledge and context when reading.  We will also be looking at singular and plural, uses of capitalisation, the differences between verbs in the first and third person and the function of adjectives within sentences.

Text Level

Instructional texts. We will also be investigating the styles and voices of traditional story language, sequencing ideas in stories, writing myths and fables and discussing typical story themes, eg. good over evil, weak over strong.

Numeracy

We will be following the National Numeracy Strategy, and will cover:

  • place value
  • addition facts
  • subtraction
  • money
  • odd and even
  • multiplication
  • division
  • relationship between × and ÷
  • fractions
  • direction
  • 3D shape
  • position
  • weight
  • handling data
  • time

We will also continue learning the times tables in class.

Science

Magnets and Springs

The children will learn:

  • that there are forces between magnets and that magnets can attract and repel each other
  • to make and test predictions about whether materials are magnetic or not
  • that magnets attract some metals but not others and that other materials are not attracted to magnets
  • that magnets have a variety of uses
  • how to investigate an aspect of the behaviour of magnets
  • that springs are used in a variety of ways
  • that when a spring is stretched or compressed upward, it exerts a downward force on whatever is compressing or stretching it, and that when an elastic band is stretched downward, it exerts an upward force on whatever is stretching it
  • that forces act in particular directions

Rocks and Soils

The children will learn:

  • that rocks are used for a variety of purposes
  • that rocks can be grouped according to observable characteristics
  • that differences between rocks can be identified by testing
  • that rocks are chosen for particular purposes because of their characteristics
  • that beneath all surfaces of the Earth there is rock
  • that there are different kinds of soil depending on the rock from which they come
  • that particles of different sizes can be separated by sieving

History

We will be learning about Celts and Romans in our History topic.  We will be looking at:

  • who lived in Britaina long time ago
  • who the Romans were and why they came to Britain
  • who Boudicca was
  • differences between the Roman army and the Celtic warriors
  • how Romans and Celts differed
  • how the Romans changed Britain after they settled here

Geography

We will be looking at Weather around the world in Geography.  The children will:

  • learn what weather is
  • learn how to record weather
  • find out why people go on holiday
  • find out where hot and cold places are located on a world map
  • look at suitable holiday destinations
  • understand the effect of weather on human activity
  • learn how weather affects what we wear.

ICT

The children will be introduced to sound and manipulating databases.  They will:

  • learn to use ICT to record sounds
  • learn to use icons to arrange musical phrases
  • recognise that electronic and live sounds can be combined in a performance
  • use ICT to create, organise and reorganise sounds
  • recognise that collecting and storing information in an organised way helps them find    answers to questions
  • appreciate that information can be taken from pictures or text.
  • learn to add a record to a file in a computer database
  • Learn to use a database to produce bar charts

Art

The focus in Art this term is to develop skills of cutting, sticking, drawing, painting etc and study the style of different artists.

DT

In addition to Art, we also have a DT project this term which is designing and making moving monsters.  The children will look at:

  • how air pressure can be used to produce and control movement
  • how to make a pneumatic system
  • exploring ideas through 3D modelling
  • working safely in  a team
  • appraising and improving their work

PSHE

The PSHE topic for the term is “Building Healthy Bodies”.  The children will look at:

  • Are you eating a healthy diet?
  • Is this recipe good for you?
  • What’s in a snack?
  • Exercise – how much is enough?
  • Can exercise hurt you?
  • Can you invent your own games?

RE

In RE, the children will be looking at why Easter is important for Christians.  They will look at:

  • the meaning of Palm Sunday
  • the significance of the Last Supper
  • why Jesus was disappointed in the disciples
  • the Crucifixion
  • the Resurrection and why Christians believe in life after death.