Year 3 - Parents Information

Literacy
In September we are working on stories with a familiar setting. The children will be thinking about what they can see, hear and smell in a setting that they are familiar with and how it makes them feel. You can help your child by asking them to describe everything around them either in your home or out and about in the local area. In October we will be moving on to writing reports about India and will finish this half term by performing poems. Performing poems needs a lot of confidence, so please encourage your child to stand up and read out loud to your family to boost their confidence. Visiting the local library is a very useful outing. Please encourage your child to read as widely as possible at home, including story books, non-fiction book and poetry books. http://ictgames.com/literacy.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/websites/4_11/site/literacy.shtml

Maths
We are starting this half term by working on counting, partitioning and calculating. We are thinking about splitting numbers into hundreds, tens and units and the easiest way to add 2 or 3-digit numbers in our heads. In October we will be moving on to making sure that the children know all their number facts and understanding 2D and 3D shapes. You can help your child by making sure they know all the pairs of numbers that add up to 10 and 20 and multiples of 10 that add up to 100. Learning their times tables is always a useful skill to help children with their maths work. Encourage your child to look for interesting shapes when they are out and about e.g. buildings, windows, signs etc. http://www.footee.com
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=PostSortingcalculationsv2
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Flash.aspx?f=PVChartv8

Science
Our topic for this half term is ‘Light and Shadow’. We will be investigating how light travels, how shadows are made, how shadows change during the day and why. The properties of different materials and how light travels through them will also be examined. We will be using this knowledge to make a shadow puppet show at the end of this half term. Hopefully, weather permitting, we will be making a sundial in the school garden and learn how to tell the time from it. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/science_7_8.shtml

ICT
The children will be combining pictures and text to make a Diwali card using Microsoft Publisher, and will also be making a leaflet about Chembakolli using the same program. If you have a computer at home, please encourage your child to experiment with PowerPoint. The Central Library in Halifax also has computers that anyone can use.

Creativity
Our new topic for this half term is ‘Diverse Places – Chembakolli’. This is a geography based theme that focuses on comparing our local area with a small village in India called Chembakolli. We are looking at maps to locate Chembakolli and investigating the natural and human features in the village. We will find out about the lifestyle of the Adivasi people who live there and compare it to our own. Climate and tourism play important roles in the lives of the Adivasi people and we will be seeing what influence this has on the way of life in the village. In Design Technology we will be making shadow puppets and at the end of this half term we will be having a ‘Year 3 Festival of India’ when we will perform our shadow puppet shows to the rest of the year group. We will also be sampling Indian food and listening to Indian music. We might also have time to watch a Bollywood film! http://www.actionaid.org.uk/index.asp?page_id=100006 http://www.chembakolli.com/blog/

RE
Hinduism is one of the main religions in India, so we will be finding out about the main principles of Hinduism and how they celebrate Diwali (the festival of light). We will be learning the story of Rama and Sita and how Hindus interpret this. We may be able to visit a Hindu Mandir as part of our studies. http://www.bradfordmandir.org/

PSHCE
‘New Beginnings’ is our theme for this half term. We are exploring our feelings about recognising our own worth as individuals by identifying our gifts and talents, seeing our mistakes and how to deal with them and setting personal targets.

PE
Year 3 will be improving their games skills with Mr Kendall on a Tuesday afternoon. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CHILD HAS A WHITE T-SHIRT, BLACK SHORTS AND BLACK PUMPS IN SCHOOL ALL THE TIME. PLEASE PUT YOUR CHILD’S NAME IN ALL THEIR CLOTHING. NO EARRINGS TO BE WORN ON P.E. DAYS.

Music
Year 3 children are lucky to have expert music tuition from Mr Thomas. He is teaching them how to play the ukulele on a Wednesday afternoon. This is not only great fun, but teaches the children the basic principles of reading music and elements of music.