Welcome to Year 3

Miss Bassnett - Class Teacher

Miss Hannaway - LSA

Contact email: willow@connectedlearningmat.co.uk

Our class is made up of enthusiastic and resilient children. We have discussed the Golden Rules and used these to create our own class Code of Conduct.  Our classroom is a welcoming, supportive and engaging space where every class member feels valued, safe and listened to. We thrive with a supportive team work ethic and we know the value of learning from our marvellous mistakes as we know mistakes help us to learn. We look forward to scaffolding the children as they develop their existing skills and learn new ones.

Things to remember:

Autumn Term 2023:

Homework: we will be setting the children arithmetic and/or writing homework each week. The children are expected to bring their completed homework books back by Friday where they will be given their new homework for the following week. Please continue to read with your child at home as this makes a significant difference across the year. Here are some other optional, more creative, homework activities for your child to complete this term.

English:

This term we will be focusing on 'Iron Man' by Ted Hughes and 'Stone Age Boy' by Satoshi Kitamura. With this we will be creating character description, setting description, diary entries and newspaper articles! In the past the children have produced some amazing pieces of writing that have linked to these books so we look forward to recreating them and showcasing this to the rest of the school. 'Stone Age Boy' also gives us a great link to our History topic where we will be chronologically exploring History from the Stone Age to the Roman era throughout the year. 

As we progress, please feel free to ask your child for book updates on the story so far! 

Writing:

At Cherry Tree, we use the Talk for Writing process, where we  follow three stages: imitation, innovation and invention.  We also have a strong focus on SPAG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar). We hope you have a clearer idea as to what this is from our writing workshop during the Spring 2 half term. 

Maths:

In Maths, we are following the structure White Rose scheme as well as introducing a variety of resources such as NRICH and Power Maths. White Rose is a UK curriculum mastery programme designed to spark curiosity and excitement and nurture confidence in maths, well linked to the developing of a positive growth mindset and strong reasoning and problem solving skills. ALL children have access to Times Tables Rock Stars (TTRS) so please download the app and begin (or continue) practicing at home- we cannot stress enough the importance of the children's arithmetic and times table skills, especially as they move further up KS2. 

Science:

This term we will be focusing on 'Animals Including Humans', 'Plant Nutrition and Reproduction' and we'll begin to look at 'Cook Well, Eat Well' in preparation for the Spring term. During these science units we will be taking a STEM focus whereby we problem solve, explore practically and explore the 'why'. This will provide great oppertunities for outdoor learning as well as working collaboratively to find answers. We look forward to keeping you updated so please keep an eye on our FaceBook for regular updates. 

Connected Curriculum:

As well as having regular English and Maths lessons, we have a brilliant and rich Connected Curriculum where we make links between all subjects, where possible.

This term our focus is Geography! We will be recapping and continuing with our "Rocks, Relics and Rumbles" where we will explore fossilisation, the movements of tectonic plates and the effects of this movement. It will link fantastically to both Science and History whereby we can look at fossils and learn how fossils and artefacts play a key role in helping us to build a picture of the past. 

Spellings:

We follow No Nonsense spellings. Please ensure your child knows the list of years 1 and 2 words and that they're practicing their weekly spellings.

A heartfelt thank you for your ongoing support and we look forward to updating you with all the things we're doing during a busy and fun first term here in Willow class! 

:)