Year 3

"Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand."
Chinese proverb

Introduction

Year 3 is the start of an exciting spiritual journey that deepens the children's understanding of their relationship with God. Preparation begins for First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. The celebrations give the children lasting memories and help them along on their Faith Journey. This will be bolstered by retreats to the Marist Centre which will take place later in the year.

In Year 3, the curriculum is brought to life and children enjoy developing their learning through a variety of activities and topics. Children experience collaborative learning which develops their speaking, listening and social skills.

Curriculum Coverage

In Maths there is a big focus on learning multiplication and division facts for the times tables (2,3,4,5 and 10). The children will work on having instant recall of these number facts. Children will learn various ways of solving mental calculations and will be encouraged to explain their methods for calculations. They will be pushed to apply what they have learned in problem solving activities through our White Rose scheme of work. Children are always encouraged to explain how they have found the answer through ‘convince me’ statements.

In English the children will work to improve their writing skills so their work can appeal to a wider audience. We will focus on making our writing more structured, detailed and more interesting. Children will take part in guided reading sessions with their class teacher once a week. The children are also encouraged to take responsibilty for developing their own reading skills, selecting appropriate books from our newly opened school library. The children are encouraged to practise these skills at home with their home reading book.

In Science the children will engage in a range of practical activities across the year as they carry out investigations. They will analyse, compare and sort rocks in ‘Rocks, Soils and Fossils’ topic. In ‘Food and our Bodies’ they will learn about how their bodies function and what we need to survive. They will look at the workings of plants and flowers in 'How Does Our Garden Grow?'. They will look at the importance of forces and magnets in ‘Forces and Magnets’.

In Computing the children will gain experience in creating their own programmes, identifying and fixing bugs. They will look at the best ways of collecting and presenting information. With the use of ipads, the children will work on their skills as presenters and look at ways that they can communicate with other classes.

The children will learn about a range of topics over the course of the year, searching for answers to questions like 'Why do people go to the Mediterranean on Holiday?' and 'What makes Earth Angry?'. They will start to examine prehistory in 'Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.' They will look at the effect the Victorians had in shaping Altrincham as well as taking a trip back to Ancient Egypt.

Year 3 is an enriching year which fosters a sense of independence and confidence in children as they begin their time in the Junior Department.