Term 4 

In American Eagles this term, we have been very busy learning all about Easter and the importance of it. We had Neurodiversity Day where the children got to make colourful brains out of playdough and learn about the different pathways. Through our Juke Awards, we learnt about Paper Mache and made a bowl. In PE lessons we played basketball and dodgeball, and the children became proficient in dribbling and passing.

English:

In English this term, we started by writing a newspaper article about an enormous earthquake that took place. We have learnt all about newspaper articles and how to write them including how to write an attention-grabbing headline and a catchy subheading.  We researched articles and wrote about one that we chose. We had to think about who, what, where, when and why. We focused on speech marks and how to show direct speech and conjunctions.

After our news articles, we have moved on to writing a diary entry about living through a volcanic eruption and how one might feel, act and survive. Within this writing, we are focusing on fronted adverbials, personal pronouns and writing in the past tense. This will continue next term.

Maths

In Maths, we have been learning about the links between multiplication and division. The children are now able to multiply using the formal written method and looking at how we can do this for division. Once this was mastered, we looked at one-step word problems and two-step word problems that varied in difficulty and ensured that the children really had to think about what they needed to do to work out the answer. The children soon learnt the importance of applying these methods to help solve real-life problems linked to the wide world. More recently we have just started with measuring, using metres, centimetres and millimetres. We have started learning the equivalent amounts like 100cms = 1m.  We are making great progress on our multiplication tracker. We love getting a star on our track sheet, which keeps us motivated and then we can move on to the next times table.

Science:

For science this term, we have been learning more about forces and magnets. We have experimented with magnets to see which objects are magnetic. The children have enjoyed using the different types of magnets and knowing which sides attract and which repel.

Topic:

In our topic, Rocks, Relics and Rumbles, we have continued to build on our existing knowledge and moved on to looking at earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis and the rocks beneath our feet (including fossils). We studied a variety of earthquakes and why they occur and the consequences. We discussed the Ring of Fire and the features of a volcano.

Term 3 

English

In Grammar this term, American Eagles have been focusing on adverbials, the importance of adverbs, what are conjunctions and when to use them and subordinating conjunctions.  In writing, they have been writing a non-chronological report on the three types of rocks, linking in with the topic of Rocks, Fossils and Volcanoes. The children learnt lots of new information about the rocks, to help them understand the topic and write a report. The children were able to recall these facts using the Talk for Writing strategy.

Maths

In Maths this term, American Eagles have been working on multiplication and division.  They’ve been learning a range of different strategies to calculate problems including multiplying using the formal written method. The children have been seeing some of the relevance of learning these mathematical methods to solve real-life problems. We have also been super focused on our times tables and being practicing really hard in class and home to complete them in under a minute or two.

Topic/Science

In Science, American Eagles have been studying forces and magnets. The class discussed pulling and pushing and the force involved to complete these tasks.  We were also luckily enough that one of our classmates made a cool active volcano that we got to see erupt in class.  In Topic, American Eagles have been studying about Rocks and their properties, the layers of the Earth, soil testing, fascinating fossils and facts about Mary Anning. When we did Jubilee University, we learnt how to sing happy birthday in Makaton.

Term 2 

Term 2 has been very productive for American Eagles and we have expanded our understanding as we learn more in different subjects.

Maths

We have been learning more about addition and subtraction with two- and three-digit numbers with and without exchanges. We have used our knowledge of number bonds to work out calculations like 256 + 178 because we know what 6 + 8 is already from our learning in year 1. Sometimes, we use base 10 equipment to help us understand why we need to exchange and how to do it. Writing our calculations in columns is the way we calculate those big numbers!

English

In writing, we learnt a Cinquain model text called Warrior. We learnt that all Cinquain poems have 5 lines that they consist of the same types of word on each line like this:

After we learnt the poem, we wrote our own Cinquain poems. We finished off the term with some study on Chronological reports. We learnt that a chronological report is a written account of a particular topic, which follows the order of events in which things happened. We learnt the model text called “How did clothing develop in Pre-History”. Then we learnt the text with some actions with the words like this:

We have finished our class reader called ‘Stig of the Dump’ which is linked to our topic work about the Stone Age. In Grammar, we have been learning more about word classes, conjunctions, past tense and paragraphs.

Science

Our science learning this term has been focused on bones, joints, skeleton and muscles. To begin the unit, we looked at how humans need the skeleton and muscles for different reasons. Then we studied more about joints and did a simple experiment with straws to show the way that our joints can move.

Topic

As part of our topic work ‘Through the Ages’, we’ve looked at how Stone Age man lived and how he survived in those times. We have studied everyday life, the design of houses, clothes and tools to help us get an idea of how it could have been to live in the Stone Age. This term, we have learnt about the Bronze and Iron ages and made comparisons between those ages. As part of our Local History work, we made a database of local hillforts in our area.

Art

Art in Term 2 has been fun as we’ve had the opportunity to learn how to make clay pots and also how to use natural resources to create patterns on the clay, similar to how the Beaker folk in the Bronze age did. We have also been busy making our calendars to sell at the Christmas Fayre and designing a Christmas card.

RE

Our study this term in RE has been the Christmas story. Our enquiry question was “Has Christmas lost its true meaning?” We have looked at the events leading up to the birth of Christ and talked about the reasons why we celebrate Christmas.

PE

We have had two focuses this term: Football outside on the field and Problem-solving games in the hall.   

Assembly

In our class assemblies we have been looking at how to have respect, the importance of permission and personal space.

Homework

Some of the children have made some wonderful Christmas decorations this year!

Term 1

Term 1 has been a busy term for American Eagles adjusting to classroom life in Key stage 2 and all the differences that comes with being in year 3.

Maths

We have been learning more about place value and building on our knowledge from year 1 and 2. We’ve been learning to work with three-digit numbers and how to represent them using hundreds, tens and ones place value mats, base 10 equipment and number lines. More work has included comparing a range of three-digit numbers, counting in 50’s and ordering. Now we are working on addition and subtraction using hundreds numbers. We are learning how to exchange 10 tens for a hundred and writing our calculations in columns.

English

In our writing work, we have been learning a model text called ‘Trapped’ which is an historical narrative.  We then planned and wrote an historical narrative based on the same pattern we had seen in the story. We learnt how to include a setting, characters and form the beginning, middle and end of our narrative. Later on in the term, we studied a set of instructions ‘How to make a Stone Age axe’ and we had a lot of enjoyment learning the model text for this. Our class reader is a book called ‘Stig in the Dump’ which is linked to our topic work about the Stone Age. In Grammar, we have learnt more about sentence punctuation, speech marks and using prefixes and adverbs in writing.

Science

Our Science learning this term has focused around living things and animal and human diets. To begin the unit, we looked at what defines a living thing.  We then looked at the different types of animals which defined their different diets, carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. On our learning journey, we then looked at the food groups and which group of foods helped us with different aspects of living. We learnt that carbohydrates can give us energy, for example.

Topic

As part of our topic work ‘Through the Ages’, we’ve looked at how Stone Age man lived and how he survived in those times. We have studied everyday life, the design of houses, clothes and tools to help us get an idea of how it could have been to live in the Stone Age. We’ve investigated the five time periods between the Stone Age and the Iron age and how life changed during the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic times.

Art

In Art, our focus has been on Contrast and Complement using watercolours.

We experimented with the colours on the wheel to learn how to create complimentary colours, tertiary colours and analogous colours.

R E

In R.E. we have been looking at the meaning of Diwali for Hindu people and how it brings a sense of belonging to them. We have studied about the ways that Hindu people celebrate including Menhdi which the children especially enjoyed drawing their own designs.

PE

We have had two focuses this term: Dance and tag rugby. In the hall, we have practised and performed animal dances with special animal movements which we put into a sequence to make a whole dance in groups. On the field, we have learnt some skills for tag rugby including passing the ball correctly and interceding the opponent.

Jubilee University

It’s been an interesting end to the term with our Jubilee University afternoons. The Duke awards started this term and our focus in Year 3 has been teamwork, cooperation and compassion.  We had a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities which was fun and now we look forward to completing some more of these tasks at home. 

Assembly

In our class assemblies we have been looking at families and how they can love, protect and take care of us.

Homework

Some of the children have made some wonderful models of their dream playgrounds!

Term 6 - 2023/24

Maths:

In maths this term we have looked at length and height learning that we measure in centimetres and metres. We found out there is 100cm in 1m which helped us to compare and order a range of lengths. Italian Ibex have also learnt this term about time, learning how to read an analogue clock when it is ‘o’clock’, ‘half past’, ‘quarter past’ and ‘quarter to’. We learnt that the big hand on the clock shows the minutes and the small hand shows the hour. We had lots of practice with telling the time and even tested our partners on telling the time we made on our own clocks.

Science

Italian Ibex studied living things and their habitats this term. They described how habitats were suited to different animals, discussed how these provided basic needs and how they depend on each other. During Science Week, our focus was on ‘Time’ we learnt about the concept of day and night and why this happens. As well as investigating day length, thinking about why certain times of the year we have a different amount of sunlight. The children produced excellent answers to these enquiry questions. We also explored the concept of gravity and the amount of time an object can take to fall. The children made their own helicopters out of paper and tested how long it could take them to reach the ground. We thoroughly enjoyed making these!

English:

This term in English, we have learnt how to create Kennings Poems. We started by learning a poem about Alfred the Great and creating actions to help us remember it. We learnt that in Kennings Poems there are only two words on a line and that these are called compound nouns. We began to make our own Kennings, starting with describing different objects and animals. We then even created Kennings Poems about teachers in our school considering their roles and how to describe them

Topic

This term, we have concluded our learning about ‘Magnificent Monarchs’, the children have all really enjoyed this topic and have learnt a lot about the different Kings and Queens of England over time. We focused on researching the impact that the monarchs had during their reign. For example, Queen Victoria is who we should give thanks for many of our traditions such as decorating a tree at Christmas, wearing a white wedding dress and even taking family photographs. We learnt about Henry the Eighth and how he fought many wars during his reign. We also learnt he owned over 60 castles and palaces including Maidstone’s very own Leeds Castle!

We ended our topic learning with a wonderful visit to Leeds Castle, learning all about the past owners of the castle and the children even had the opportunity to dress up as various Kings, Queens, Lords, Ladies and Knights to recreate the story of the ownership of the castle. We were then treated to a guided tour around the castle, walking through the cellars of the castle all the way through to the dining rooms and bedrooms. We were asked many questions about the monarchs that we had been learning about and all the children really showed a great understanding of what we had learnt!