Year 3 Curriculum outline Summer 2022
Year 3 Curriculum Outline Summer 2022 Scavengers and Settlers ~ Amazing Authors
Humanities - Social Understanding We will begin our thematic learning in the Summer term thinking about prehistoric man in our Scavengers and Settlers topic. We will study developments from the Stone Age to the Bronze and Iron Ages, thinking about what prompted and encouraged the change from a hunting and scavenging life to a settled, farming society. We will develop a greater understanding of chronology and will begin to understand the concept of evidence and to consider its interpretation. After half term we will enter the world of ‘Amazing Authors’. Our humanities takes us South to Morocco, where we will explore the world depicted in ‘The Butterman’ by Moroccan author Ali Alalou. We will learn about the climate and physical geography of England and Morocco as we follow the migration of the painted lady butterfly, planning and mapping the journey that it takes. In RS we will study Sikhism as one of the six major world faiths. We will learn about the Sikh view of God as the Supreme Being, Guru Nanak, the main tenets of the Sikh faith, religious festivals and Sikh Gurdwaras (places of worship). Key skills will include describing religion, asking questions and responding sensitively, making comparisons and forming and expressing opinions.
Language and Communication In English we will explore the features of a fictional story, where there is a dilemma involved. Using descriptive language, powerful verbs, strong adverbs and a wide range of sentence starters, we will learn how to plan and write our own dilemma story. Alongside these skills we will write explanation reports and continue to refine our punctuation, grammar, vocabulary and spelling through regular practice. After half term we will read a range of fables from Rosen’s Aesop’s Fables, explore dialogue through drama, debate moral messages and write letters using extended sentences. Finally children will write their own fables. This will be followed by an exploration of poetry, looking specifically at calligrams and shape poems about animals. We will complete this unit by writing our own poetry. In Modern Languages there will be a variety of activities which will complement the thematic learning topics. The focus will be on speaking and listening with stories, songs, rhymes and language learning games. Pupils are encouraged to use Linguascope or Quizlet in order to consolidate their learning in their own time. In Spanish, the focus for this term will be based around the story of ‘Hoy es lunes’ by Eric Carle which will give pupils a chance to talk about food they like or don’t like and to consolidate vocabulary such as days of the week and adjectives of colour. Culturally, pupils will get to know a colourful and fun festivity “La feria de abril”. In French, pupils will be looking at all things to do with food and drink. Images of the Lascaux Caves will give them an opportunity to describe animals and use verbs of movement, as well as exploring this cultural aspect. Pupils will end the year consolidating and revising key personal information, numbers, days and months.
Mathematical Understanding In Maths Year 3 will start the term looking at fractions. They will learn to: recognise and show equivalent fractions with small denominators; compare and order unit fractions, and fractions with the same denominators; add and subtract fractions with the same denominator; and solve problems that involve all of the above. The next topic is time. This will include: how to tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals, and from 12-hour and 24-hour clocks, estimating and reading time with increasing accuracy, using vocabulary such as o’clock, a.m./p.m., morning, afternoon, noon and midnight and know the number of seconds in a minute and the number of days in each month, year and leap year. Finally, pupils will draw 2-D shapes and make 3-D shapes using modelling materials, recognise 3-D shapes in different orientations and describe them. We will then turn our attention to measurement, including lengths (m/cm/mm); mass (kg/g); volume/capacity (l/ml).
Physical Education and Well-being In PE this term the rotation of fencing and individual sports such as tennis and athletics will continue. At Dame Bradbury’s pupils will also swim in the second half of the term. In games the focus will be on cricket and athletics. Pupils will learn key skills and techniques required in these sports and begin to understand some of the rules and regulations within these activities. We aim to develop technique and allow the students to apply what they have learnt in a variety of practical situations. If your child has a sporting interest, encourage them to join a club outside school and any clubs within school time. Encourage your child to engage in a healthy lifestyle by eating the correct food and participating in sport. When you are outside try to play a mixture of team and individual sports with your child to help develop their basic skills including throwing and catching. In PSHEE we will be working on two units of work. In the ‘Friends and Family’ unit, pupils will understand the importance of relationships and friendships, value and empathise with others, manage conflict and recognise how we affect and are affected by others. They will learn about the importance of recognising and valuing both similarities and differences between themselves and others. After half term we will cover the ‘Relationships and Sex Education Unit’ developing familiarity with the names of the main external parts of the body and becoming more confident in describing them. The children will consider the amazing nature of their bodies, with a view to developing respect for their bodies and themselves. Children will also consider simple hygiene practices and their levels of responsibility for carrying these out. The main themes of this unit are ‘body knowledge’, ‘body functions’, ‘body image’, ‘personal hygiene’ and ‘prevention of illness and disease’.
Our digital lifestyles work will focus on recognising acceptable and unacceptable behaviour online, including cyber bullying: what to look out for and what to do if you think this is happening. We will also consolidate our learning about ways to ask for help if worried or unsure about anything online and how to take positive action with regard to reporting to a site or service.
Creative and Performing Arts In Music each week pupils will continue to expand their recorder repertoire and develop their instrumental technique, alongside having the opportunity to maintain their part against another part in an ensemble context. Throughout the term, pupils will develop their fluency when reading staff notation, be able to consider the balance between different instrumental parts and learn how to effectively evaluate performances. The process of identifying aspects of their performance that can be improved or refined and then honing in on these areas encourages active listening and increasingly mature musical awareness. Pupils will continue to develop their vocal performance skills through the exploration of topic based songs and pieces. The key areas of study will be Saint-Saens’ ‘Carnival of the Animals’ and Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’. During the course of this term, pupils will also experience an interesting range of acoustic possibilities by considering ‘instruments’ produced from recycled materials and the sounds these creative instruments make. We will draw on the science of sound throughout this exploration, and will listen to groups such as ‘Landfill Harmonic’, ‘The Junk Orchestra’ and STOMP. Hopefully these groups will provide pupils with some inspirational ideas to go out and continue to make music in any context! Most of all, pupils will enjoy putting together class and year group performances. Fitzwilliam Junior School pupils will showcase their musical endeavours in the West Road Summer Concert. In Create, Design and Engineer we will be looking at illustration and communication as one of the tools for retelling a story and creating our own illustrated story linking with scavengers and settlers. We will complete drawings of fish inspired by old illustrations to explore shape and pattern. Inspired by these artworks, we will create 3D clay fish, which will be decorated with coloured glazes and fired. We will use Stone Age cave drawings as inspiration for our own ‘cave paintings’ and build models of Stonehenge. After half term we will begin with observational drawing of a painted lady butterfly and other natural forms, exploring different media. This will lead to a close up drawing of an insect which will be coloured with pastels.
Scientific Understanding In our Science work we will begin by investigating rocks and soils using our close environment. We will consider building materials, soil composition and how the geological record provides a direct source of information about the history of life on Earth. After half term, we will focus on teeth and eating, learning that different animals have various kinds of teeth, depending on their diet, and looking at the types and number of human teeth. We will investigate the effects of different liquids on teeth and discuss what is required to keep teeth healthy. Key skills will include planning investigations, making predictions and taking measurements using standard units. How you can help - Visit local museums, such as the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, Saffron Walden Museum and Cambridge Science Centre. BBC Bitesize and science programmes on TV can also complement the children’s classroom experience.
Digital
The Inner Wheel With the Google apps at the heart of digital curation our pupils use Google Classroom to complete work digitally and hand in work that is produced in a variety of ways. We have identified 7 main apps, our EverGreen apps, that help to showcase our pupils’ learning. An animation, movie or annotated piece of work provides richer feedback for the teacher and ultimately helps to make greater progress. Explain Everything www.explaineverything.com Green Screen www.doink.com Stop Motion www.cateater.com Strip Design www.vividapps.com/Strip_Designer/ Notability www.gingerlabs.com Book Creator www.bookcreator.com Puppet Pals www.polishedplay.com
The Outer Wheel We have a number of apps that we use consistently throughout our curriculum that lend themselves to our creative approach. We avoid apps that are specific to a particular outcome, preferring content free apps that can help to enhance our pupils work and understanding. Some examples are: Minecraft, iMovie, KeyNote, Pages and Padlet.
Coding Another aspect of our digital curriculum is the coding/programming skills that are embedded in all subjects or taught discretely in Years 5 and 6. We have identified a progression of apps that help to develop our pupils ability to code. The apps provide variety and challenge and help to develop the computation skills that are crucial learning in our digital work. We combine the coding experiences with physical output. Using Spheros, BBC Micro:Bits and Ozobots provides visual outcomes that bring our code to life. As our pupils develop further they transition on to written code.
Thinking Toolkit Alongside and underpinning our curriculum we ensure that our pupils are developing as active learners and active thinkers. Throughout each subject area pupils are encouraged to use their range of thinking tools and reflect on when and how they are using them. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on how their thinking tools underpin all aspects of their learning and not just in the more obvious ways. How are they creative in maths? How do they enquire in English? How are they critical in Music? How do they think computationally in PE?
Inclusion This curriculum map outlines the core curriculum for each year group each term but at the heart of our wheel is the individual learner. Each subject area has a progression of skills which enables staff to stretch or support individuals as and when they need a little help, a bit of a push or a just a different way in. Within our classrooms through planning, teacher knowledge and interactions work is differentiated to suit the needs of each individual.