Darwin (Year 3)

Mrs Clair Chatwin

Class Teacher (Monday - Thursday)

Mrs Alison Kjaer

Class Teacher (Fridays)

Miss Griffin

Teaching Partner

Suggestions for helping at home.docx

OUR CURRICULUM FOR THIS TERM:

Welcome to Darwin class! We hope the information on our class page will help you support your child at home. We encourage regular practise of reading, spelling and times tables outside school as homework. Please see below for the objectives we will be learning in each lesson this term.

English
During this term, Darwin class will learn the following:

  • Reading Comprehension:  we will be focusing on finding literal information and deducing and inferring information from a text
  • Story Structures: we will be looking at the features that make a good story so you want to read more
  • Information Texts: we will be looking at the features in information texts and making an e-book about Stonehenge and Skara Brae
  • Recounts: we will be exploring the features of a recount and writing our own recount of our activity day 

Please listen to your child read aloud daily and sign their link book.

 

The children should try to read a variety of genres, little and often; to keep up their key skills and develop a love of reading. Warminster library will order books for free if your child is a member; a great way to keep up with the latest authors. They could also listen to audio books, read to younger members of the family, or be read to; in order to immerse themselves in literacy as much as possible. They could read to a Teddy or a pet!

Any type of writing they do will be beneficial. Writing their own weekly comments in their link book is a necessary part of their homework. Try to encourage accurate spelling and punctuation whenever they write, especially when writing their own comments in their link book.

Maths

Darwin class will practise their maths skills, by the following units this term:

  • Place Value: exploring numbers to 1000. 
  • Addition and Subtraction: adding and subtraction 1, 10, 100 and going across 10s, and 100s, adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers.

The children will continue to practise key maths skills through their early morning work- a 10 or 15 minute session each morning to practise speedy recall of number facts and maths skills learnt in previous terms. The children will continue do a weekly times tables test; moving through the times tables at their own individual pace; supported by work in school.

Science


Our Science topic for the term is 'Rocks'.  We will be working scientifically to:

  • compare and group rocks based on their appearance and simple physical properties
  • use equipment to closely observe and classify rocks: grains or crystals
  • explore the properties of rocks: crumbliness, absorbency
  • describe how soil is made from rocks and organic matter
  • explore different soils and identify similarities and differences
  • know that different rocks are formed in different ways to create sedimentary and igneous rock
  • describe how fossils are formed

History


In terms 1 and 2, the children will explore ‘The Stomping Stone Age’:

  •         How long ago was the stone age?
  •         The three eras of the stone age were the mesolithic, paleolithic and neolithic periods.
  •         How do we know about the Stone age? Cave paintings and archaeology
  •         How did lifestyle change during the time? People moved from hunting and gathering to farming.

 

 PE

Darwin Class will have two hours of PE each week.  This term, the children will participate in tri-golf on Thursday afternoons where they will develop their golf skills. They will learn how to hold a golf club, how to chip a ball and how to putt the ball. They will develop their coordination and aim and learn how to putt the ball into different zones. They will have PE outside as their enrichment on a Wednesday afternoon where they will develop different skills which they can apply in different sporting situations. 

Art

The children will be looking at various artist impressions of Stone Henge and sketching their own version.  They will be using their observation skills to sketch different fossils and rocks and creating different effects by adding chalks and pastel colours to their sketches.

Computing

This term the children will revise internet safety and how to use the laptops and iPads respectfully at school.  They will also develop their computing skills by making a power point, making e-books and using 2publish for their writing in English and History and taking photos to record their observations in science. 
 

RE

RE is taught weekly and worship is held daily.  This term the children will be exploring ‘Creation’. The children will wonder at nature, become familiar with events in the Christian Creation Story, wonder at human achievement, to think about what Christians learn from the Creation Story, to understand there are messages for Christians in the Bible, to consider what can be learnt about various areas from the creation story, to decide how to be a responsible caretaker, to decide what Christians and non Christians  think important when caring for the world.

 

 

PSHE (Personal, Social, and Health Education)

During terms 1 and 2, the children will be learning about healthy relationships during our weekly PSHE lessons.  They will be developing class rules and class climate following our school rules of safe, respect and learn.  They will explore how to be a good friend and good role model and how to be kind to each other.  They will develop the skills to form a good working relationship with anyone and understand the process of decision making.

 

Music

The children will be learning the recorder this term.  They will learn how to hold the recorder and how to play different notes and put the notes together to play a tune. Additionally, they will explore the lyrics of hymns during our weekly hymn practise.

If you would like to support your child's maths learning, here is a link to some free booklets which are similar to the work we do in the classroom: