“Dream beautiful dreams, then work hard to make those dreams come true”

Aims of Year 3

• To support children adapting to the Year 3 routine.
• To build on skills already acquired within PS1 & PS2 and encourage cross curricular use (Literacy, Numeracy, DCF)
• To continue to develop independence and maturity.
• To provide a balanced and stimulating curriculum differentiated to suit the needs of each child.
• To have a fun and enjoyable year!

Our Big Questions

Autumn Term – How can the past shape our present?
Trip – Egypt Centre

Spring Term – How does Light & Sound affect our everyday lives?
Trip – TBC

Summer Term – Why do Rainforests matter?
Trip – Plantasia

 

Working Together

Home and school are the two most powerful influences on children and only by working together can we ensure children get the best education. Please do help us by:

• Ensuring that any homework, spellings or tables sent home are completed/ learned.
• Helping your child to be responsible. E.g. By having the correct equipment ready at the start of every lesson, taking care not to lose uniform, water bottles etc.
• Helping your child to be independent. E.g. carrying their own book bag, handing in homework on time.
• Communicating any important information (e.g. medication), queries or concerns that arise throughout the year with us.

Homework

• The Year 3 children are set Mental Maths homework every Friday. Mental maths books will be sent home weekly. Children will need to complete one test per week.
• Please ensure mental maths books are brought back into school on a Friday so that they can be marked in class.
• Children will be given a list of spelling words to learn at the start of every half term. These will be differentiated. The children will then be tested at the end of each half term.

Reading

• Reading is key in Year 3 and there are plenty of ways you can help. It is still important to listen to your child read regularly. Ask questions about what they’re reading. This will encourage your child to think deeply about their reading, whether they are reading aloud or independently.
• Reading to your child is still important at this age too. Listening to your intonation helps children with their own expression, and also enhances their writing. A fun way to encourage expression is to use silly voices – and even to make the occasional deliberate mistake. Allowing your child to correct you helps them to see why certain punctuation changes the way we read aloud.
• You can extend this to their own writing: encourage them to read their writing back to themselves and make punctuation choices based on their expression.
• We aim to listen to the children read at least twice a week during guided/independent reading. 

Writing

• Please give your child access to as many different styles of writing as you can. This will assist with their reading fluency and expand their vocabulary and knowledge.
• Writing for a real purpose can be a great way to fit in some practice. Writing cards, shopping lists, or letters/emails to relatives can be motivating real life reasons for writing, and can show children how useful it is to be able to write well.
• Your child might enjoy keeping a diary or writing short stories based on books they have read or toys they enjoy playing with. Be sure to encourage your child to write about what most interests them, as this is the best way to keep them enthusiastic.

Mathematics

• Year 3 is a crucial year for times tables learning. Children are expected to learn multiplication facts for the 3, 4 and 6 times tables. Tables 2, 5 and 10 will also be consolidated throughout the year.
• Help your child to learn to tell the time (analogue and digital).
• Give your child the opportunity to use money in real life contexts. Asking them questions such as how much change you need when shopping will help them with their reasoning skills in and out of class.

Multilingualism

• Children are taught about Welsh heritage.
• Children are taught incidental Welsh.
• We have a 10-minute Welsh drilling slot every day.
• Emphasis on developing knowledge of the Welsh language.
• Children will be exposed to incidental French.

Other information

• PE – Tuesday afternoon (Indoor & Outdoor)
• PPA – Tuesday afternoon- Mrs Hills & Miss Price to cover.
• Parent Evenings – Autumn term and Spring term, reports in the Summer term.
• Keep up to date by following us on our school X account (formerly known as Twitter)
• Class Dojo – This year we will be using Class Dojo as a means to reward the children with positive points in class. A parent code will be given to you within the first couple of weeks that you can input in to the dojo app, should you wish, to view your child’s account and the points they have gained during the school day. Please note we only use the free version of Class Dojo.
• Please, if possible, can your child bring a pair of headphones to leave in their school tray, for their own personal use when using digital technology.

and finally…

Year 3 really is a fun and rewarding year! Children develop and mature greatly at this stage, becoming increasingly independent. Enjoy watching your child grow and I look forward to a happy, fun and productive year with you all. Should you have any queries or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your continued support,
Miss Jones