Living and Learning; I know that rules and laws are there to help us
This week in class, we explored the British Value of the Rule of Law and discussed why laws and rules are so important. We talked about how laws help to keep people safe, ensure things are fair and help the world work smoothly.
We linked this to our school rules and thought carefully about what might happen if we didn’t have them. The children shared great ideas about how school could become unsafe or unfair without rules in place, helping them understand why rules matter in everyday life.
The class then had lots of fun creating their own laws. Alexa suggested that children must go to bed before 10pm on Christmas Eve, otherwise Father Christmas won’t come! Arthur decided that children should not be allowed to stay up late to watch football matches because they need their sleep, but they can watch the replays in the morning instead.
We also talked about real-life laws. Miss Gilliland shared how Australia has recently passed a law about social media, meaning children under the age of 16 are not allowed to have social media accounts. This helped us understand how laws change to protect people, especially children.
The children showed fantastic thinking and engagement throughout the discussion and demonstrated a growing understanding of how the Rule of Law helps everyone in our community.
Help at Home:
Discuss with your child:
Have we got any rules at home?
Why have we got rules?
If we could have another rule, what would it be and why?
Living and Learning: I know why British Values are important
In our Living and Learning lessons this term, Year 3 have been exploring British Values with a special focus on individual liberty, respect, and tolerance.
The children have learned that individual liberty means being able to make choices, share opinions and be themselves, while also understanding that these choices come with responsibility.
We have also focused on respect and tolerance, learning how to be kind, fair and accepting of people who may have different beliefs, backgrounds or ideas. The children shared thoughtful examples of how they can show respect in school, at home and in the wider community.
Year 3 showed excellent maturity during discussions and demonstrated a strong understanding of how these values help us live and learn happily together. We are very proud of their positive attitudes and thoughtful contributions.
Help at home:
Discuss British Values:
- Why are they important?
- What would our country be like if people didn’t show this?
What is Spirituality?
In RE this week, we have been learning about what spirituality is and how it can mean different things to different people. We discussed how spirituality helps us appreciate life’s deeper meanings and does not have to be linked to a religion.
We explored how symbols can help represent ideas and feelings that are sometimes hard to explain. We also learned that the arts (theatre, dance, music, literature, painting, sculpture, and photography) can all be powerful ways to express spirituality. We also looked at religious symbols and discussed the spiritual meanings they may represent, such as peace, hope, love, belonging, or guidance. This helped us understand how symbols can communicate deep ideas without using lots of words.
The children shared thoughtful ideas about what makes them feel spiritual. Some talked about colours that remind them of a loved pet, special places they have visited, or songs that give them comfort, purpose, or a sense of connection.
Miss Gilliland shared how Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen is a song she always carries with her. Not only does she love the musical talent of ‘The Boss’, but the song reminds her of being a child, singing in the car with her two sisters. It makes her think of home, a place she feels deeply connected to.
It was lovely to hear such personal reflections and to see how respectfully the children listened to one another.
Help at home:
What could you find at home that makes you feel spiritual? It might be a song, a photo, a place, a colour, or a symbol. Talk together about why it is special to you.
Reading like Historians!
This week in class we have been reading like historians using the book A Street Through Time. The book shows how one street changes over time, helping us to think carefully about the past and how life has changed.
Although the book has limited written text, the detailed illustrations gave us lots of information to retrieve and interpret. We looked closely at the pictures, asked questions and made predictions.
This linked perfectly to our history topic as we are beginning to learn about the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons. The children loved spotting clues in the illustrations and discussing what life might have been like in different time periods. It has given us lots of excitement and curiosity as we start our history learning journey.
We also talked about how picture books are still an important part of reading at all ages. They help children develop vocabulary, inference skills and deeper understanding by encouraging them to think carefully about images as well as text.
Help at home:
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Share picture books together and talk about what you can see in the illustrations
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Ask questions such as “What do you notice?”, “What might be happening here?” or “How is this different from today?”
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Encourage your child to explain their ideas using evidence from the pictures
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Link reading to real-life experiences, museums or history topics you are learning about
Year 3 and 3- Digit Numbers!
This week in Year 3 Maths, we have been learning about the composition of 3-digit numbers. We explored why numbers are grouped into hundreds, tens and ones and how this helps us understand their value.
Using practical resources, the children investigated how a number is built, for example how 342 is made from 3 hundreds, 4 tens and 2 ones. We discussed how regrouping numbers in this way makes it easier to read, compare and work with larger numbers.
The children showed great curiosity and understanding as they explained their thinking and represented numbers in different ways. This strong foundation will support them as we move on to more complex maths work.
To support our learning, we used the MathsBot Base Ten Blocks website to build numbers and explore their composition. This allowed the children to clearly see how 3-digit numbers are made up of hundreds, tens and ones.
Help at Home:
Use MathsBot to build different 3-digit numbers with your child. Ask them to explain their thinking using this sentence frame:
“There are ___ hundreds, ___ tens and ___ ones.
The number is ___.”
This will help reinforce place value understanding and mathematical language at home.
Sculptures
This week, Year 3 were excited to finally finish our Art topic for this half term. We have been creating sculptures inspired by the artist Wassily Kandinsky.
We began by learning about Art History and exploring who Kandinsky was and how he created his artwork. Before starting our final pieces, we practised using different materials and mediums, learning how they can be combined to create interesting effects.
The children sketched several sculpture ideas, carefully thinking about colour theory and how to use form and space in their designs. They then used these plans to create their final sculptures, showing creativity, problem-solving and imagination.
We are incredibly proud of the finished pieces — check them out below!
Help at home: Use the Art Vocabulary sheet and ask your child to talk about their sculpture. Encourage them to use the vocabulary when describing how their work was inspired by Kandinsky. E.g. I used warm colours inside the shapes I chose. I made sure to create space within the sculpture by leaving gaps between the shapes so each part could be seen clearly.
Dictation helps the children develop their spelling, handwriting, grammar and listening skills
Every week in Year 3, we have been working on dictation sentences as part of our daily handwriting practice. After practising how to form the letter ‘m’ correctly, we built on this by looking at words that contain the letter m. One of our favourites was mammals.
Dictation helps the children develop their spelling, handwriting, grammar and listening skills all at once. Here are the steps we follow:
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Say the sentence (more than once if needed)”All mammals have spines and fur.”
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Count the words together”All mammals have spines and fur. Six!”
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Read with expression (prosody)”All mammals have spines and fur.”
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I model the sentence – using sound buttons or highlighting grammar/punctuation features
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Say the sentence again”All mammals have spines and fur.”
- Cover it (still showing sound buttons and other grammar/ punctuation features) and the children write it
The children have been working brilliantly and are becoming much more confident at listening carefully and writing accurately.
Help at home: Write your own dictation sentences.
Living and Learning: I can give and receive compliments
This week in Year 3, our Living and Learning focus is I can give and receive compliments. We talked about what compliments are and why they are important. We discussed how a kind word can make someone feel happy, valued and confident.
As a class activity, each child wrote a compliment to themselves: something they are good at or something they like about themselves. Then, we did a fun activity: each child picked someone else’s name out of a hat and wrote a compliment about that person.
It was lovely to see how thoughtful and kind the children were when writing compliments for each other. They clearly understood how good it feels to receive positive words and how powerful kindness can be.
Help at home: Before bed, say one thing they did well that day.
Narratives That Sparkle Like Diamonds
This week in Year 3, we have been working hard on our narratives inspired by The Dream Giver (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k1gUaJvK-4 ). To make our stories more exciting and interesting for our Year 5 readers, we learned how to use similes in our writing.
We discussed how similes help the reader picture what is happening, such as describing someone moving ‘as quietly as a shadow’ or dreams floating ‘like bubbles in the air.’ The children then practised creating their own similes to add detail, mood and fun to their writing.
Everyone enjoyed experimenting with imaginative comparisons and we were very impressed with how confidently the class used similes to bring their ideas to life. Our writing is already sounding more vivid, engaging and entertaining.
Well done, Year 3! Your Year 5 reading buddies are going to love your stories!
New visitors
We’ve been very excited in Year 3 this week as our new bird feeders have started to attract some wonderful visitors! We spotted a blue tit and a coal tit taking turns flying from our apple tree to the classroom window to say hello before enjoying some bird food.
The children were delighted to watch them up close and are enjoying having this special connection with nature right outside our window. Sometimes, we even pause our learning for a quiet moment of spirituality and reflection, appreciating the beauty and calmness these little visitors bring to our classroom.
We love our new addition to the Year 3 environment and can’t wait to see who visits next!
Help at home: What birds can you identify in your garden?