Beaver (Year 3) 2023 - 2024
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the class page for Beaver Class.
Here you will find all of the exciting and wonderful things that your child will be learning during their time in Year 3. If you have any questions, please use Class Dojo or speak to a member of our team at drop off/ pick up.
Thank you
Miss Jervis, Mrs Sumner and Mrs Harrison.
Spring 1
We have two English lessons a day; a reading lesson and a writing lesson.
Reading:
In reading this half term, we will are reading the book 'The Egyptian Cinderella' by Shirley Climo.
This Egyptian spin on the classic Cinderella tale was initially recorded in the first century by a Roman historian and is retold here by folklorist Shirley Climo.
Poor Rhodopis! She has nothing―no mother or father, and no friends. She is a slave, from the far-off country of Greece. Only the beautiful rose-red slippers her master gives her can make Rhodopis smile.
So when a falcon swoops down and snatches one of the slippers away, Rhodopis is heartbroken. For how is she to know that the slipper will land in the lap of the great Pharaoh himself And who would ever guess that the Pharaoh has promised to find the slipper’s owner and make her queen of all Egypt.
We will be using our different VIPERS skills: Vocabulary, Infer, Predict, Explain, Retrieve and Summarise to improve our understanding of what we read.'
Writing:
In writing this half term, we will be looking at the book 'by Emily Sands.
Discover the wonders of ancient Egypt through a fascinating journal from a lost expedition -- a treasure trove of fact and fantasy featuring a novelty element on every spread.
Who can resist the allure of ancient Egypt -- and the thrill of uncovering mysteries that have lain hidden for thousands of years? Not the feisty Miss Emily Sands, who in 1926, four years after the discovery of King Tut's tomb, led an expedition up the Nile in search of the tomb of the god Osiris. Alas, Miss Sands and crew soon vanished into the desert, never to be seen again. But luckily, her keen observations live on in the form of a lovingly kept journal, full of drawings, photographs, booklets, foldout maps, postcards, and many other intriguing samples.
In our writing lessons, your child will have the opportunity to show off their creative flare and write for different purposes across the year. Writing in different styles will enable your child to become a better communicator and reader.
 |
 |
 |
'Reading for Pleasure' has great amounts of benefits for your child. In Year 3, we ensure your child has time to read for pleasure and each day, we set time aside to read our class book for pleasure. In class, we are reading
We also enjoy reading our 'A Poem A Day' book every morning!
Benefits of 'reading for pleasure':
Inspires imagination and creativity.
Enrinches cultural awareness and understanding.
Increases empathy and improves relationships with others.
Lifts well-being levels and improves mood.
Improves progress in vocabulary, spelllings and even maths.
Encourages children to take a screen break.
Read with your child every day even if it is just 2 minutes- this can make all the difference.
Record in their reading diaries to ensure that your child is receiving their stamp for their book from the vending machine, or reading buddy.
You could ask your child about what they think might happen next in the story, how do they think the character is feeling, who is the author and what do they do.
In maths this half term, we will be looking at Fractions, Money and Time.
We will also be doing some work on our timestables every day! It is really important for the children to build their timestable knowledge as they will be required to apply it to their mathematics learning. We will also be completing weekly timestable tests.
Children will have ongoing access to their TT Rockstars logins at home. I will set your child specific times tables for them to practice. Please ensure that your child is practising them at home as it is very beneficial for their learning.
If you have misplaced your child's login, please drop me a message on Dojo and I will resend for you.
This half term in science we are going to be looking at light! The children will be completing multiple science investigations looking into reflective materials as well as shadows. The children will also be learning about the importance of sun protection, get your sunglasses ready!
In History this half term, we are learning all about the Ancient Egyptians. The children will be looking at writing in hieroglyphics as well as learning about the Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, Gods and Godesses.
Your child will have a music lesson each week where they will learn to play and explore their musical abilities. This half term we will be looking at the Human Body. They will look at skeleton dances and songs about the human body. Percussion instruments will be used to improvise, create word rhythms, and to build a final skeleton dance.
They will also look at French Singing. Un, Deux, Trois and away they go to enhance language learning through songs. The children will be introduced to French greetings, vocabulary and numbers as they play lively singing games.
Your child will have one PE lesson each week. Their day this half term is Thursday. Please ensure they come into school in their PE kit on this days. This half term we will be looking at our running techniques for sprinting and long distance running.
Mondays- Each Monday morning, your child will be given 10 spellings to learn over the course of the week. They will then complete a spelling test each Friday, and, if they receive a mark of 10/10, they will get a Dojo. They will have opportunities to learn their spellings some mornings in class so extra practice at home is essential.
Thursdays - Each Thursday, your child will be given either maths or English homework (alternating weeks). Homework is expected to be in the following Tuesday via the portfolio section of our class Dojo page or handed into me. Children who have completed their homework on time will be given a Dojo point. If you would like to have the homework printed each week, please drop me a message.
Every day -Your child should read as often as possible when not in school and this should be logged in their reading diaries. Please ensure your child is also practising their timetables whenever they can as well.
Please note: I will often upload additional activities and links for your child to support their learning at home, however this is not specific homework, this is just a little extra for them. For example, I may upload interactive links to games that I know they will like.
Other useful links:
Please see below links to useful websites for your child to use when they are at home. I will be adding to the list throughout the course of the year so please make sure you check for updated links.
Oxford Owl - Linked to our phonics Read, Write Inc programme https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/free-ebooks/
Story Nory - A range of stories by classic authors as well as poems musicals and fairytales. https://www.storynory.com/archives/classic-authors
Story Berries- Read along with audio clips. https://www.storyberries.com
Monkey Pen- Free downloadable children’s books in PDF format. https://monkeypen.com/pages/free-childrens-books
Free Children’s Stories- https://www.freechildrenstories.com
Keeping Safe Online- www.esafety.gov.au/kids
Topmarks- A great way for children to practise many of their maths skills https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=3
Newsround is a very good outlet for your child to watch each day to gain a wider understanding of what is happening not only in our country, but the rest of the world. We will be watching newsround every afternoon in class.
