Spring 2- Week 4

This week was British Science Week and the theme this year was ‘Time’. The week kick started with a whole school assembly explain this year’s theme. In class, we recapped our learning on rocks and fossils and the focus for Year 3 was a Geology Timeline. Children were interested to learn all the different eras and how Earth changed over time. 

In English we have story mapped out model text, a biography on Georgia O’ Keeffe. We have started innovating our model text by making small changes to the language used. We have focused on commas in a list and time adverbials.

In Maths we have been measuring mass in kilograms and grams. We have also looked at equivalent masses and various ways of making 1kg.

This week in RE children explained the importance of the Cross for Christians and its symbolic meaning. They created their own crosses with drawings of their choice.

We have been lucky with the weather this week on our PE days and headed out to the field as a year group to play rounder’s. Children took turns in batting and fielding and lovely to see them support each other and work well as a team. Fingers crossed the weather continues to improve so we can head out again. 

In Art we have been looking at botanical drawings and how to draw them. We closely observed flowers and dissected certain parts of them to draw in closer detail. We were inspired by Georgia O’ Keeffe’s method of looking closely at flowers.

We have continued to read our class book ‘The Wild Way Home’ in Guided Reading. The children are extremely engaged and look forward to reading each chapter. The skills we have used this week are summarising, retrieving information and predicting.

Please ensure if your child is going to Sayers Croft, that all relevant forms and pocket money are handed to the class teacher or office before the end of term.

We hope you have a restful weekend,

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid  

Spring 2- Week 3

On Thursday was World Book Day and we loved all the fantastic costumes children came dressed in. We did a catwalk with KS1 showing off our outfits. At 11am we joined a live assembly for World Book day and also sang MC Grammar songs in class. They were a huge hit! Children have now received their World Book Day token to be used in selected stores.

We have finished our English unit on Character Description by writing our own description on a character of our choice. We were impressed by the quality of writing in the final pieces and how engaged the children were with their learning. We have now moved on to our next unit of how to write a Biography.

In Maths we completed our unit on Fractions. Children looked at finding fraction on a number line as well as a bar model. We ended the topic with a unit quiz. Next week we will be moving on to our next topic Mass and Capacity.

In Science this week we have introduced children to magnets and identifying their different poles. We tested objects to see if they were magnetic or not. Children used key scientific vocabulary such as attract, repel and magnetic force. Diagrams were drawn in books to showcase their understanding.

In History this week we looked at how toys have changed since 1066. Children showcased their learning by writing a persuasive poster on the different toys in their chosen era.

The focus in Art this week was texture. We learnt a new technique called Frottage which means using a rubbing technique on different surfaces to get an effect. We had great fun exploring the classroom and playground to identify lots of different textures.

This week in Music we have focused on pitch. Children have learnt how to identify whether it is a high or low pitch. We learn about the different instruments in some musical families such as wind, percussion and strings.

Have a lovely weekend,

 Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid.  

Spring 2 - Week 1

What a busy first week back we have had. The book fair has been at Chennestone this week and children have been eager to share their new books. 

In Maths this week, we have started our new topic on fractions. We have learnt what unit fractions and non-unit fractions are using correct mathematical vocabulary like numerator and denominator. We have compared fractions and learnt some tricky concepts eg the greater the denominator the smaller the fraction. 

In English, we have started our new topic on looking at character descriptions. Our model text describes Mr Twit. We have storymapped the text and worked a lot of correctly using expanded noun phrases. Children have encouraged to use adventurous adjectives and we were very impressed with what they came up with. 

In Science, we have started our new topic on forces and magnets. Children were introduced to the concepts of push and pull and had to sort activities into these categories. 

This half term in History, we are looking at how leisure and entertainment has changed over time since 1066. We were very impressed with their previous knowledge of the Victorian era and different toys. 

Art is our focus topic this half term. We learnt that shapes can be found in everything we see and help us to see like an artist. They then used that knowledge to draw sketches of items around the classroom. 

Just a reminder for those children attending Sayers Croft, all forms must be completed along with the £3 pocket money and returned to class teacher ASAP please. Also, may any outstanding payments be made through Scopay. 

We hope you have a fantastic weekend, 

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid

Spring 1 - Week 4

This week in English we finished our learning on adventure stories by creating our own stories and publishing our work. We have started our new topic on an information text. Children learnt the different features of an information text. Today we checked to see how much they already know about information texts by completing a cold write.

In Maths this week, we have started our new topic on length and perimeter. We have learnt how to measure in mm and cm. Children recapped from their previous knowledge that you start measuring from the zero not the beginning of the ruler. 

In Science we have started an investigation looking at what condition is the best for a plant to grow in. Using their previous knowledge from Year 2, they were able to identify the different conditions needed for a plant to survive. Each group chose a condition to test, where they only change that variable, and have been observing any changes to the plant and recording them in a table. 

In Geography, we have looked at the various uses of rivers and how they have changed over time. They created posters to showcase their learning. 

In RSHE, we have continued to design our gardens for someone facing a challenge. We will be presenting them to each other on the last week of term. This project has built their team work, budgeting, organising and listening skills.

On Monday we were very lucky to have Jess from Rebound Fitness leading a trampoline workshop where the children learnt how to get on and off a trampoline safely and learnt energetic routines. We all thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and you may hear the cuckoo dance a lot at home!

Please remember to give your completed Sayers Croft forms to the class teacher along with the £3 pocket money in a named small envelope.

We hope you have a lovely weekend,

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid

Spring 1- Week 3

In English this week we have been innovating our model text on an adventure story. We have used fronted adverbials, direct speech and ambitious vocabulary to up level our writing.  Next week the children will begin to plan and write up their very own adventure stories.

In Maths this week we have divided 2 digit numbers by 1 digit numbers with and without remainders. We used the partitioning method to help as well as counters and place value charts. We have now finished our topic on multiplication and division and will be moving on to length and perimeter next week.

In Science we learnt the process of pollination and why it is important. We also looked at the functions of the parts of a plant in more detail.

In Geography this week we have looked at flooding and how the Thames barrier works to prevent flooding in London. Children were excited to see how they work and were shocked at how much the river level can increase by if we weren’t to have those barriers.

In RSHE we have started our project on designing a garden for someone facing a challenge. We are working in teams to design, budget and invent events in order to launch their garden. It has been very interesting to see their ideas and children taking their job roles seriously.

In DT we have designed our own castles thinking about the materials that would be suitable. We reminded ourselves of the features of castles and which ones we would like to include in our designs.  

Have a lovely weekend, 

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid

Spring 1, Week 2

In English we have story mapped our model text and practised retelling using actions and expression. Maybe ask your children to retell you the story this weekend. We have looked at fronted adverbials and inverted commas as part of our SPaG focus. We have innovated our opening to make it more exciting.

In Maths we have been multiplying a 2 digit number by a 1 digit number using the partitioning method. We have used our times tables knowledge to assist us in answering questions. We have started to look at dividing 2 digit numbers by 1 digit.

In our reading lessons we have been focusing on our class book ‘The Wild Way Home’. We have been captivated by the story so far and finding it hard to not read on too quickly.

In Science we have started our topic on Plants by recapping our existing knowledge on parts of plants and what plants need in order to survive. We were impressed by their knowledge and how much they have remembered from Year 2.

In Geography, we have looked at the journey of a river and how landscape changes along its course. They drew diagrams in their table groups with key vocabulary and highlighting the journey of the river from Source (where the river begins) to the Mouth (the sea).

This half term in DT we are looking at structures of castles. By the end of the half term they will be creating their own castle structures. This week, we looked at the features of a castle and discussed their importance.

We hope you have a restful weekend.

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid

Spring 1 - Week 1

Happy New Year! Welcome back to Spring 1. It has been a short week for the children but filled with lots of learning.

In Maths, we have continued with our topic on multiplication and division. We looked at the 10 times table and related calculations. Children were able to compare numbers using greater than (>), less than (<) and equal to (=).

In English we have started our new unit on narrative writing. By the end of the unit, we will write our own adventure stories. This week, the class have identified the features of an adventure story and begun to story map our model text.

In Geography, we discovered how physical features (homes) have changed over time, specifically looking at the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

We have completed our termly Accelerated Reader quiz, to identify their new reading levels. Any new reading levels will be communicated through their planners from next week.

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Miss Wallace and Mrs Farid