Summer 1 2023 - 2024
Y3 Sharks
Summer 1 2023/2024
English
This half term we will continue to focus on poetry by reading and responding to 'The Lost Spells' by Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris. We will also be reading 'Our Tower' by Joseph Coelho, drawing on the story to create our own descriptions and poems. To help build your child's fluency and confidence in reading, please read with them at least 4 times a week using their scheme book or library book and sign their reading record. We continue to reward good reading habits with books and bookmarks. Please also practise your 30 half termly spellings in your homework book.
Science
This half term we will be learning about nutrition. We will be looking at how animals, including humans, need the right types and amounts of nutrition, that they cannot make their own food and they get nutrition from what they eat. We will be researching the diet of different animals and how they obtain their food and learning the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. We will also be discussing the various ways that we can stay healthy and taking a closer look at our own diet by keeping a food diary. Finally, we will be learning what benefits key nutrients have for our health and which foods they can be found in.
Geography
This half term we will be travelling to Florida, USA and answering the question 'Beyond the Magic Kingdom - what is the sunshine state really like?' This enquiry is designed to enable pupils to gain an understanding of the physical and human geographical features of a region in North America with which they can begin to compare and contrast the characteristics of a region of the United Kingdom. It begins by focusing on aspects of leisure and tourism with which pupils may be familiar both in the United Kingdom and overseas. The objective of the investigation is to take the pupils beyond that with which they may be familiar and introduce them to different aspects of Florida’s physical and human geography.
Design and Technology
In Design and Technology this half term we will be building on our sewing skills and our knowledge of how to join materials to design and make our own cushions. We will learn to sew a cross stitch and how to use applique to add embellishments.
P.E.
In P.E. this half term we will be developing our skills in Games through playing handball and hockey. We will be learning skills including passing, receiving and keeping possession of a ball and dribbling to keep control. P.E. will continue to be on a Friday afternoon and Swimming on a Wednesday afternoon.
French
Our French unit this half term will focus on speaking, listening, reading and writing French words linked to the topic of 'Shapes'.
P.S.H.E.
Our Jigsaw unit 'Relationships' explores ideas with the children such as roles and responsibilities within families, identifying friendship skills and putting them into practice and staying safe online.
History
This half term we will investigate the question 'How do artefacts help us to understand the lives of people in Iron age Britain?' We will identify the common features of hill forts and then investigate their likely function, not only as a defensive structure but also as a trading, meeting and ceremonial place. Another important focus of this enquiry is to support pupils to reflect on why the Iron age was the most violent period of prehistory in Britain.
Maths
This half term we will be concentrating on mastering our 5 times table; saying it by rote and answering spot questions as well as knowing related division facts. We will be further developing our understanding of fractions which will involve calculating fractions of an amount, comparing, ordering, adding and subtracting fractions You can keep your skills sharp by accessing Doodle Maths for 10 minutes daily. Please also practise your 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times tables as these should be mastered ready for starting Y4 in September.
Art
This half term we will explore drawing to show texture. We will learn how to use hatching and cross hatching to show tone and texture and compare this with shading/ varying pressure to show tone. We will apply the skills we have learnt to create a pencil drawing of a garden.
Music
We will be continuing with our weekly singing lessons with Miss Midgeley. We will continue to learn the various musical elements through enjoying playing our ocarinas.
R.E.
This half term we will be focusing on Sikhism. We will be discovering where and when the religion was founded and learning about it's main beliefs, holy book, festivals and places of worship.
Computing
Online Safety: Online Communication - The children will be learning to identify any online communities that they are a part of. Identify different types of online communiucation and consider the differences (some of which are very subtle) between communication in real life and online. Through drama we will specifically consider the use of expression and how things can be misinterpreted easily when we communicate online.
Desktop Publishing: We will be learning how to combine text and images to communicate messages and carefully considering the uses of different fonts, font sizes and colours. We will learn to use age appropriate punctuation in our work and consider how different layouts can match different purposes.