Dear Year 3 and parents,

Welcome back. We hope you all had a lovely Christmas break.

English

Our core text for the Spring is the exciting novel, Varjak Paw by S.F. Said. Varjak Paw tells the story of a young Mesopotamian Blue cat who leaves his home to explore the outside world and learn the “Way” to survive in an unfamiliar and dangerous city. It is full of adventure, mystery, and courage, which will inspire the children in their own writing.

Some children will revisit previous phonics learning, and all children will receive direct teaching of spelling and regular handwriting practice.

The children will continue to choose a library book each week and to take part in lessons to develop key comprehension skills and promote a love of reading for pleasure, supporting their learning across the curriculum.

Maths / Times Tables

Please continue to support your child with the rapid recall of multiplication and division facts. We will practise times tables regularly in school this year.

All children have access to Times Tables Rock Stars, with login details available in their Reading Record. Please encourage regular practice at home. One of our Maths topics this term is Multiplication and Division, so there will be lots of practice in lessons. Following this, we will move on to Length and Perimeter, fractions, Mass and Capacity. Children will also receive paper-based Maths homework each Friday.

Spelling

Weekly spelling homework will be set on the Spelling Shed website. Login details can be found in your child’s Reading Record. Please encourage your child to practise regularly and complete their weekly spelling homework. There is also the option to complete the paper spelling homework instead or as well.

There will be a half-termly spelling test of 20 words, taken at random from the previous six weeks’ lists. Children will also be encouraged to revise previous spellings and focus on high-frequency words that they commonly misspell.

Other Subjects

This term, we will begin our exciting history topic on the Anglo-Saxons. The children will learn who the Anglo-Saxons were, where they came from, and why they came to Britain. We will explore invasion and settlement, as well as the ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors that influenced their arrival.

Children will immerse themselves in life in an Anglo-Saxon settlement, studying art and culture and discovering the treasures of Sutton Hoo. We will also learn about the Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England, up to the reign of Edward the Confessor. Art and DT lessons will be influenced by Anglo-Saxon and Viking themes.

In Science, we will be studying Animals including humans. This includes consideration of the different types of skeleton, key organs and bones in the body and research into nutritious diets. The children will be learning key scientific skills such as observation, fair tests and classification.

In Spring 2, we will learn about Plants, the parts of a plant and what they need to grow.

In RE, we will be considering how and why people worship starting with the idea of The Trinity and moving on to learn more about different denominations of Christianity and their similarities and differences.

Reading at Home

Children may change their reading books as needed. We will ensure that books chosen are suitably challenging and include a range of genres. Please continue to read with your child as often as possible and record this in their Reading Record.

Reading records are checked every Thursday, and house points will be awarded to children who read at least three times per week. Re-reading passages, discussing texts, exploring vocabulary, and talking about the subject matter are all highly beneficial.

Homework

Homework will be set weekly, usually on a Friday. This will include maths and spelling homework, as well as two Learning Log activities each term. Please ask your child to explain their homework to you. It is important that all homework is completed. Please email us if your child experiences any difficulties.

PE

PE lessons will take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays (subject to change due to weather). Please ensure PE kit is brought to school on Monday and taken home on Friday.

Children will have both indoor and outdoor PE, so please ensure they have the appropriate kit: t-shirt, shorts, joggers, jumper, socks, trainers, gloves, and skins. Girls wearing tights should also bring spare socks.

Please also ensure your child brings a coat and water bottle to school every day, particularly during the colder months.

Thank you for your continued support.

Kind regards, Mrs Brogan and Mrs Chaplin