Learning

Autumn Learning: 

Download: Term 1 and 2 Banksy’s Bristol

We have been learning a lot about Bristol, looking at the infamous street artist Banksy, and a number of Bristolian landmarks such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge, SS Great Britain and the rivers that surround us. We should now be able to locate Bristol on a map and name some of the surrounding counties. The children should now be clued up on The International Bristol Balloon Fiesta, which has been our writing focus this term. Light has been our focus for this term in science and the children have been learning about light sources, the dangers of the sun, and how we can see. In RE, we have focused on Christianity and learnt about what it means to be a Christian in today’s society, which has linked nicely with our big focus on Black History Month and how people have been treated in the past. We have learnt about the lives of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Ella Fitzgerald and Princess Campbell – to name a few. Having covered a lot of place value in maths, we have ended the term moving on to calculation. We will continue to practise column addition and column subtraction next term too! In PE, we have been forming sequences of jumps, rolls and balances, and outside we have been developing our football skills – ending the term nicely with a house group tournament in our classes.

Year 3 have concluded their journey through Bristol’s Banksy in term 2. The children now know the difference between cities and counties and the links between local rivers and the school buildings. In English, they have gone to outer space with the story of Beegu and have learnt how to write a letter to an inquisitive alien. Science has moved from light to rocks and children have learnt about types of rocks and the properties they have. The children have completed a rock survey around the school and they are beginning to understand the rocks that shape Bristol. In DT, we have learnt about the designers Orla Kiely and Barry Smith. They have experimented with materials to print in the style of Orla Kiely – sewing and cutting to make a finger puppet. They finished the term by making their own animation in computing and have learnt the term ‘onion skinning’ to improve the quality of our creations. The children then completed their wonderful nativity performance and really did themselves, and the school, proud. 

Spring Learning: 

Download: Term 3 and 4 – Time Travellers

Year 3 have started their journey through history and have made it all the way back to the Stone Age. The children enjoyed a wonderful Stone Age day where they learnt how to make fire with flint, forage and whittle! They all looked amazing in their outfits. science saw year 3 continue their rock journey and they made edible soil, learnt how fossils were made and even made their own one although it didn’t take thousands of years! In art, children learnt about famous cave paintings in France and Argentina and used their sketching, pastel and charcoal skills to create their own cave painting. In PE, children have finished off their robot dances and have started their swimming lessons. In PSHE, children have learnt how to work together to create a garden for a range of disabilities along with many challenges along the way such as a budget to really test their team work. We have finished the term with making our own project on Scratch in computing and have worked creatively to make their sprites follow a range of commands.

In Science year 3 looked at animals and humans. Children learnt about the body and skeleton and completed an EGGcellent experiment about the effects of sugar. In DT, children learnt about linkages and leverages and have researched Matthew Rheinhart and Emily Nash to learn more about pop up cards and books. Year 3 have now completed their swimming lessons and all of the year group should be proud of the progress they have made! In PSHE, children have learnt about how to keep safe and the importance of our emergency services. We have finished the term with using branching databases in computing and began to create our own!

Summer Learning: 

Download:Term 5 – Hail Caesar!

This term Year 3 have been studying about Ancient Rome in our topic ‘Hail Caesar!” We took a brilliant trip to Caerleon to visit a museum, take part in a Roman workshop and visit the existing remains of the Roman amphitheatre and barracks. We have really enjoyed learning about life as a Roman and how the UK has changed because of this civilisation. Our topic for science has been plants and we have carried out many experiments looking at water transportation, germination and pollination. Poetry, persuasive writing and statistics have been our core focus this term. We also wrote some lovely figurative animal poems, and interpreted and created a range of different charts in maths. Rounders and athletics have been our skills in PE preparing us ready for our big Sports Day! In DT our focus has been on packaging and we have designed and begun to create a 3D net for a healthy snack, leading on from last term’s science. In RE, we have been exploring how different faiths pray and the significance of prayer in Islam, Christianity and Hinduism.

Year 3 had a fantastic term 6 topic – The Iron Man. This term in science has seen children learn about forces and magnetism with them creating their own magnet mazes! In art, all adults were invited in to showcase their fabulous creative skills and to look at their art gallery showing off their final self-portraits. In PSHE, they all showed a level of maturity to discuss changes that will happen in their lives and sensibly talk about how these changes will make them feel. When the glorious English summer allowed us, we managed to complete various outdoor challenges in geography and use our knowledge of maps and grid references to help us find flags around the school. In PE we have got on board with the Wimbledon theme and learnt new skills in tennis such as the serve. Year 3 children learnt how to rally over a net and know positions of where to stand and where to hit the ball to allow for the longest rally. Finally, in computing we have been learning about how to make our own maze on Scratch and have seen some incredible creations!