Welcome to Year 3 Teacher:
Mrs Wakeman
Teaching Assistant:
Mrs Bates
The School Day 8.45-8.55am Registration 8.45 -10.10 morning lessons 10.10 – 10.30am Assembly 10.30 – 10.50 Break 10.50 - 12.10 morning lessons 12.10 Lunch time 1.00pm Afternoon lessons 3.15pm Home time If you are late please sign your child in at the office, or if absent please telephone the school office in the morning and follow up with a written letter or email.
Equipment PE: PE will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays. Children will need a white t shirt and blue shorts with trainers/plimsolls. Don’t forget some socks! Please ensure that your child’s PE kit is labelled and always in school in case of unexpected changes to the timetable. WATERPROOFS: A waterproof and warm coat is essential from now on. We try to get outside whenever possible and breaks are outside even if it is a light drizzle!
Classroom Equipment Pencil casesThese should be plain and easy to clean and will be kept in school and taken home each half term to be re-stocked. Please ensure that the cases are small in size and that all items are named. What your child needs: • some HB writing pencils • a long ruler
• glue stick • safety scissors
• A whiteboard pen
• a set of colouring pencils
A rubber and pencil sharpener may also be useful
Healthy Eating Children in Year 3 are no longer eligible for the Government’s fruit and milk scheme at break and they start lunch a little later. To avoid energy levels dropping, we recommend that a healthy snack, such as vegetables, fruit, or a dairy product (cheese yoghurt) is brought into school daily as a break time snack. No products should contain nuts. Please also ensure that your child has a named water bottle at school.
Uniform At Trinity St Stephen First School: We are always smart. We know that we tuck our shirts in. Long hair must be tied up or clipped back using brown, black or school colour hair accessories. Please label ALL clothing. Ties are now available as an optional item for Years 3 and 4
Year 3 Writing When we are writing:
We always use a pencil We always use a cursive script We draw a dotted line below words when we are unsure of the spelling Every sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with a full stop Every piece of work is dated The title or ‘WALT’ (we are learning to…) is written underneath We miss a line before starting a new piece of work We put a single line through work we have done wrong
Year 3 Maths When we are doing maths: We always use a pencil We write the date in the short, numeric way We write the ‘WALT’ underneath the date We miss a line before starting a new piece of work We draw pictures and diagrams using a pencil We use one square for each digit We put a single line through work we have done wrong
Our Learning- Maths We will be learning maths according to the National Curriculum. The weekly focus will be provided in the Class News. We will be working on improving accuracy and speed of key number facts (number bonds to 10, 20 and 100) and times tables (2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 8x, 10x). There is a new national times table test in Year 4 where speed, as well as accurate recall, is important. We will be thinking about how maths can relate to the world around us. We will work on problem solving strategies.
Our Learning- Maths This term’s units include number bonds to 100, place value, money, adding and subtracting mentally, multiplication and division, fractions, 2D shape properties, and statistics (bar charts). The Calculation Methods that we use are available on the school website.
Help with Maths There are several good websites with a multitude of free maths games e.g. hit the button. We will be setting homework every week using Timestables Rockstars, Abacus and other worksheets. Please help your child practise their timetables using TTRockstars. A few games a day is the much the best way to practise and commit the facts to the long term memory. Children need to be familiar with using the keyboard to enter the answers – not the mouse as it is too slow and they will find it harder to progress through the levels. I will provide additional suggestions for support via the Class News.
Our learning - writing We have started a unit on traditional tales writing and will continue with other text types including dictionaries, instructions, myths and legends and poetry. Within these genres, we will be covering ‘SPaG’ objectives; spelling, punctuation and grammar. We will be focusing on sentence construction, extending vocabulary choices and accurate punctuation. We will be working regularly on cursive handwriting (including pencil grip) and presentation. We will apply our writing skills in other subjects.
Our learning - Science This term we will start with Light. We will look at what we need to be able to see, how shadows are formed and how we can make it easier to be seen at night. We will also look at sun safety. Later in the term we will study Forces and Magnets. During the year we will also study Plants, Animals and Rocks and soils. We will be working on our ‘working scientifically’ skills and the children will be asking and investigating their own questions as we develop these skills through the year.
Our Learning - Reading We read in Guided groups. The focus is on understanding and interpreting the text as well as decoding using phonic sounds. Individual reading books can be changed whenever the children need to change them. Reading record books have now been sent home for your child to record their reading sessions. Please help them to record the session and sign it. Golden Points will be given to children reading every day.
Our Learning – topics RE – Sikhism, The meaning of Christmas for Christians PSHE – Being me in my world (Rules and responsibilities) and Celebrating Difference (families, feelings and difficult situations in the playground) History- Who were the Ancient Egyptians? Geography – Rainforests Music – We will be having brass lessons this year starting this week. The children will learn as a class and can take the instruments home in a few weeks. There is a small charge for this . P.E. – Swimming, Multiskills, Dance, Invasion games Art and Design Technology – Pencil sketches to reflect tone and texture and making a moving rainforest animal with a pneumatic system.
Assessment The government removed levels and put in place a new primary curriculum in 2014. We introduced the Key Objectives to assess children’s progress. There is a copy of the key objectives on the school website so that you can see what the Year 3 expectations are.
Homework
A spelling list will be sent home weekly and tested the following Friday. Times tables are also part of homework every week. Children should be practising for at least 20 minutes a week. TTRockstars is useful for this. A maths worksheet will sometimes be provided and will consolidate recent learning or revisit areas which need further practice. Reading is essential; please read every day and try to read a variety of genres including non-fiction, magazines or newspapers etc. A grammar or handwriting activity.
Homework will be handed out on Friday and should be returned by the following Tuesday.
Helping at home Handwriting – a cursive flowing script with the correct pencil grip and posture is essential. Encourage independence – this is one of the greatest gifts you can give your child! They can pack their own book bags (provide them with a check list to help them get started) and even make their own lunches. They will also know about homework and what they achieved in the spelling test so do ask if they don’t mention it! It is important that children complete their homework. In maths only support using the methods they have been taught in school. These can be found in the Calculation Policy on the school website. Do not try to teach them your own method as this will confuse them.
Helping at home Listen to your child read and ask them questions about what they have read. Try to read some different genres e.g. newspapers. We will send home reading help sheets when children move up a level. If you can find opportunities to use measures including money at home this will progress your child’s learning. Telling the time is another important area that is better covered gradually. Practice and regular questioning at home will help tremendously with this.
Handwriting and spelling There are spelling lists and activities to help learn spellings on this website: spellanywhere.co.uk Handwriting videos and practice sheets can be found at teachhandwriting.co.uk Using the correct pencil grip is very important.
The Class News Please check the class news page on the school website. It is published on Monday morning. http://www.tssfirst.co.uk. Find it under Children/Year 3/Class news You will find out what we are learning each week and how to help. There may also be messages about trips, swimming etc.
Communication with school There may be occasions when you need to talk to the class teacher. Please understand that this is not always possible before school, unless by prior arrangement. Messages may be emailed to the office Teachers can be more flexible at the end of the school day.
TSSSA (Trinity St Stephen School Association) The school has a thriving association. The association aims to provide a warm welcome to all members of the school community and to support the school in providing a safe and stimulating environment and excellent learning resources. This year our focus is on continuing to develop the reception year outside area. The association also helps by providing a generous budget to each year group to allow them to purchase additional resources and subsidise trips and visits for all the children. Each year group has two class representatives. The year group representatives are agreed at the Annual General Meeting. Their role is to disseminate TSSSA information and support events by organising volunteers or agreeing to lead.