Learning in Year 3
Autumn Term
Maths
At Midfield we follow maths mastery:
(https://www.ncetm.org.uk/public/files/19990433/Developing_mastery_in_mathematics_october_2014.pdf. )
All aspects of maths will first be taught using concrete materials, progressing onto pictorials and finally using abstract methods. This has been shown to be a fantastic method of building solid and secure mathematical understanding. Once this understanding is secure, children learn how to problem solve and reason. We aim to ground mathematical concepts in the real world to provide context and familiarisation.
During the autumn Term the children will learn about the topics of place value, addition and subtraction and start on multiplication and division.
During the topic of place value the children will learn to:
- Count from 0 in multiples of 4, 8, 50 and 100; find 10 or 100 more or less than a given number
- Recognise the place value of each digit in a 3-digit number (100s, 10s, 1s)
- Compare and order numbers up to 1,000
- Identify, represent and estimate numbers using different representations
- Read and write numbers up to 1,000 in numerals and in words
- Solve number problems and practical problems involving these ideas
During the topic of addition/subtraction the children will be taught to:
- add and subtract numbers mentally, including:
- a three-digit number and 1s
- a three-digit number and 10s
- a three-digit number and 100s
- add and subtract numbers with up to 3 digits, using formal written methods of columnar addition and subtraction
- estimate the answer to a calculation and use inverse operations to check answers
- solve problems, including missing number problems, using number facts, place value, and more complex addition and subtraction
During the topic of multiplication/division the children will be taught to:
- recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables
- write and calculate mathematical statements for multiplication and division using the multiplication tables that they know, including for two-digit numbers times one-digit numbers, using mental and progressing to formal written methods
- solve problems, including missing number problems, involving multiplication and division, including positive integer scaling problems and correspondence problems in which n objects are connected to m objects
By the end of Year 3 children are expected to be fluent in their 2s, 3s, 5s, 4s, 8's and 10s times tables and to help with that, we have subscribed to Times table Rockstars (with weekly certificates awarded for success and endeavour!).
English
During Autumn Term 1 our focus text will be The BFG by Roald Dahl.
This is a story about ten-year-old Sophie who is in for the adventure of a lifetime when she meets the Big Friendly Giant. Naturally scared at first, the young girl soon realizes that the giant is actually quite gentle and charming. As their friendship grows, Sophie's presence attracts the unwanted attention of Bloodbottler, Fleshlumpeater and other giants. After traveling to London, Sophie and the BFG must convince Queen Victoria to help them get rid of all the bad giants once and for all.
The children will use this stimulus to engage in activities such as:
- Retelling the story
- Descriptions
- Dream poetry
- Writing in the character role.
- Instructions for bringing on the rains
- Newspaper Reports
During Autumn Term 2 our focus text will be The morning I meet a whale by Michael Morpurgo.
A fictional account of the day a whale swam up the Thames, in which the whale makes an environmental plea to the boy who first sees him. At sunrise, young Michael spots a whale on the shores of the Thames and thinks he must be dreaming. But the creature is real and it has a message for him -one that only an open-minded child can deliver to the rest of the world. The whale warns that the earth’s days are numbered and that humans must put right the damage they are doing, but how can Michael fulfil his promise to tell others when neither his teacher nor his classmates will believe his story? Within hours, the city and the wider world have learned of London’s remarkable visitor, and all eyes are on the whale’s struggle against the receding tide. Michael must now join his new friend in a race against time to reach the ocean, and hold fast to his promise in the race to save the world itself.
The children will use this stimulus to engage in activities such as:
- Setting description
- Narrative recount
- Information text about plastic pollution
- Persuasive text to Tesco to persuade them to stop selling plastic bags
We teach the children how to use a range of features within their writing including;
Capital letters / Finger spaces / Full stops / Expanded noun phrases / Similes / Adverbs / Conjunctions / Adverbials of time / Prefix and suffix words / Apostrophes / Joined handwriting / show not tell sentences / Quotation marks.
Reading
In Year 3 reading is taught daily. Most of the children will read with the class teacher during guided reading sessions in which children are taught a range of reading skills. Some children will be continuing to do the Read, Write, Inc. scheme.
Each child is issued with a home reading journal and book, which should be read, signed off, and returned to school each week. Home reading is a hugely beneficial way of supporting your child's learning across the curriculum. The children are encouraged to explore a wide range of reading material and are given access to the school library books once a week and where possible we arrange trips to the local library and have themed weeks such as Book Week.
Science
In Autumn Term 1 we will be looking at Animals including Humans.
In Autumn Term 2 we will be investigating forces and magnets.
Humanities
In Autumn 1 our focus will be on Geography: Locational Knowledge - The UK.
In Autumn 2 we will then move onto History: The Stone Age and The Bronze Age.
Art & DT
Our first topic for Autumn 1 is Art: Drawing. In Autumn 2 our next topic will be Art: Colour Mixing.
RE
In Autumn 1 we will be looking at Divali and in Autumn 2 we will focus on Christmas.