Year 3 are excited to share with you some of the wonderful learning they have been doing this term. Click on the posts below to find out more...
Year 3 are making the most of the fabulous weather and our marvellous grounds by taking lessons outside. We have been pouring and measuring water in our maths lessons to ensure that we have a good understanding of capacity and volume. As you can imagine, this messy activity was best carried out outside. In science we have begun a new topic on plants so we have explored the grounds looking for variation between different stems, leaves and flowers.
Year 3 have had a fabulous half-term of learning which has included studying the River Nile. We are finishing the topic with a field trip to the River Thames at Mortlake. No pyramids or crocodiles but a chance for the children to use some of their new vocabulary and observe life on the UK's second longest river. Back at school, the children have produced some stunning abstract art work inspired by the work of Georgia O'Keefe.
We are enjoying the welcome sunshine and warmth at playtimes and in our PE sessions. In the classroom, we have been writing poetry and this week we have focused on metaphors. Here are some examples the children have written: "Rainbows are a river of colour in the sky,", "Grass is the earth's carpet," Stars are bonfires in the dark, dark sky,". Year 3 will be sharing some of their learning, including some of their poems, next Thursday (27th March) at our year group assembly; 9.10am in the hall.
Year three have celebrated coming to the end of their history topic of Ancient Egypt by making Canopic jars. These were used for storing the internal organs in the mummification process. Ask your child which jar they made and what organ would have been stored in them. Despite finishing the history topic, we will continue to study Egypt next term when we look at the River Nile in our geography lessons. We will also continue to perfect our dance inspired by Ancient Egypt ready for our year 3 assembly; make sure that 27th March in in your diaries!
Year 3 were transported 3000 years back in time this week to Ancient Egypt. They were put to work by the vizier and given many different tasks to help prepare for the Pharaoh's tomb. Amulets, Canopic jars, perfumes, cartouches and carved scarab beetles were amongst the crafts that the children could make. The children looked amazing in their costumes as they worked. Later in the day, there was a feast with performances and dances to celebrate the appointment of the new high priest. An awesome day of learning and fun!
Year 3 have had a busy start to the new year. We have started our new core text, George's Marvellous Medicine, and are using this to inspire us to design our own powerful potions. Ask your child what theirs is called and what persuasive writing they have put on their label. The children are very excited to have started learning about Ancient Egypt especially as we are using the topic to inspire other lessons such as dance, art and music. The photo shows us beginning to compose a piece using just 3 notes.
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Year 3 children enjoyed examining lots of amazing fossils this week - thanks to Brett Graham for sharing his collection. They took a trip back in time as they learnt about how fossils are formed. In English the children have been pretending to be newspaper reporters writing about the fabulous firework competition which is the finale of our class book. We are really looking forward to our carol concert next week and hope to see year 3 parents in the church at 2pm on Wednesday. Merry Christmas from the team.
In geography we have been looking at four different locations in the world which are all called Richmond: London, Yorkshire, Virginia USA and Melbourne Australia. Every day we have been recording the temperature in these locations and using a key we have stuck a different coloured leaf to our display to represent this temperature. The photo shows 3T's display this week. As part of the topic, the children have learnt about different climate zones, the northern and southern hemispheres and can describe locations as either rural or urban.
Year 3 have started reading The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman. We are using this text to inspire our writing this term. Last week we wrote instructions for making our own firework using magical ingredients just like Lila and her father do. This week we are considering how Lila feels when her father tells her that she cannot be a firework maker even though she feels that she knows everything she needs to know in order to be an excellent firework maker. The picture shows our own 'Lila' walking through 'conscience alley' as we try to understand her dilemma. We will all be writing letters of advice to her.
Year 3 have celebrated the end of a long half term by making and eating jelly. The heroes of our core text, Major Glad Major Dizzy, love jelly so it is an appropriate way to finish; our last piece of writing based on the book will be instructions on how to make jelly. The children have also been having science related fun by making shadow puppet theatres and putting on plays about the adventures of the two heroic soldiers. To do this successfully, they have needed to understand how shadows are formed and to choose materials which are translucent and materials which are opaque.
To celebrate black history month, we have looked at a timeline stretching back to pre-historic times which shows how key people of colour have been in British history for tens of thousands of years. We have also learnt a little about the amazing author Malarie Blackman. Have a lovely half term break!
Year 3 have gone back in time for the day to learn more about life in the Stone Age era. They have created tools using flint knapping, hunted for animals and pretended to use every part of their catch for either eating, making shelter and clothing or jewellery. They have created cave paintings in their cave. There has also been a fabulous visit from a theatre company where the children met an interacted with an archaeologist and a palaeolithic human. Altogether an amazing day of hands on learning!
Year 3 took advantage of the sunshine last week and carried out a scientific investigation. At 3 points during the day we drew around a child's shadow. We used the same child each time to ensure that our investigation was a fair test. As you can see in the photo, the shadow was in a different place at each time. The children were able to explain that the shadow had changed because the sun (the light source) was in different position in the sky. We then could discuss how the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours.
