2022-23

Summer term in Year 3

This term our values are 'Friendship' and 'Trust.' We are on the look out for people showing the characteristics of friendship in Year 3! We are continuing with our theme 'Conflict' - all about the Roman invasion of Britain in AD 42. We will learn about the British resistance, particularly by the Iceni tribe in East Anglia. We are exploring multiplying by 11 this term and extending our knowledge of calculations up into the hundreds. 

Look at the photos below to see what we have been up to in Year 3:

Kamkwamba class took part in Cricket festival with other schools from Thetford. Children had a great opportunity to take part in new sport and to learn skills. 

Storytelling workshop

Year 3 listened to Shane tell an imaginative story about the river Thet being polluted with litter. They took part in a drama workshop about what it is like for animals in the river when litter gets into the water. We thought about the impact on fish, otters, birds and the impact on water quality. Year 3 then discussed why people litter and what allows governments and water authorities to pollute the rivers. Year 3 wrote a letter, stating the issues with litter in the river and what we (and bigger companies) can do about it. The children decided that we need to raise awareness of litter and pollution in the rivers. We can talk about it to raise awareness, take part in litter picking and motivate people to care for their local environment. 

Colchester Castle

Year 3 visited Colchester Castle where they learnt about what life was like at the end of the Iron Age and how the Romans invaded Britain in AD 43. They learnt about the Boudican revolt in AD 60, where the Celtic Queen Boudica and the Iceni tribe led a revolt against the Romans. Year 3 found out what the Roman army looked like and how they had the power to build an empire. They explored the museum's Roman artefacts, handled Roman pottery and created mosaics. Year 3 worked in teams to build a model of a Roman Villa and Iron Age Roundhouse and enjoyed trying on Iron Age clothes and testing out a Roman shield. The day finished with a guided tour of the Roman temple vaults - the children had an amazing underground experience!

Forest School

Year 3 enjoyed their forest school sessions in our new outdoor area! They worked as a team to plant a tree, explored the new forest school area and enjoyed sketching pictures of nature.

Science experiment on plants, painting and coronation activities 

Year 3 children had a great opportunity to explore The Colosseum - the large amphitheatre in Rome by using VRs. They were able to see the building from inside and outside. The children had a chance view the ancient Roman world. 

Spring 2 in Year 3

This half term, we are focusing on the values of 'Love' and 'Courage.' We wrote in hearts all of the things, people and pets that we love, and used oil pastels to create art work on the theme of love. We are continuing with our Geography theme of 'Movement,' where we will explore the world's major rivers, investigate flooding and drought and explore Fairtrade. We will continue reading 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' and learn our information style text on unicorns. 

Look at the photos below to what we have been up to in Year 3!

Little Prince Theatre performance and arts workshops

Our Year 3 children had an amazing opportunity to attend 'The Little Prince' performance. It welcomed us to the incredible story of the Little Prince, retold in this live show by a pilot stranded in the desert. The Little Prince leaves behind his home on Asteroid B-612 and journeys through the universe encouraging all sorts of unenlightened grown-ups along the way.

The performance was delivered by award winning Protein - a Resident Artistic Company (London). We were very pleased that the next day the Artistic Director Luca Silvestrini and actors arrived at our school and delivered drama and dance workshops. We also had a great time at Art workshops linked to The Little Prince, delivered by our Art leader Mrs Booth.

Spring 1 in Year 3 

We have started a new theme called ‘Movement’- all about rivers. We are excited to be reading ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ by C.S. Lewis in English and we will also learn our key text ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ off by heart. We have started looking at our new multiplication bond, finding out what comes in 11s and looking for patterns when counting in 11s. In science we will learn about forces and magnets and in art, we have an exciting sculpting project- creating Giacometti style figures. Look at the photos below to see what we have been up to in Year 3!

Library Trip

Year 3 visited Thetford Library, where we found out how many libraries there are in Norfolk, learnt that joining the library is free and that they can take out up to 15 books at a time. The children then spent some time exploring the library and reading books they were interested in!

River trip

Year 3 went on a walk to explore the confluence of the river Thet and the Little Ouse in Thetford town centre. We looked at Butten Island, the confluence of the river Thet and Little Ouse, the coffee mill and the sluice gates. We sketched the statue of Maharaja Duleep Singh. We thought about which parts of the river were man made and which were natural and tested the direction of flow by throwing an orange into the river. 

Geography 

We started our new theme  called Movement. In Geography we will be learning about rivers. So far we have been exploring atlases - locating countries, rives, seas and oceans. 

Autumn 2 in Year 3 

This term we are continuing with our theme ‘Origins.’ We will move forward in time, to look at the changes from the Stone Age, through the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. We are excited to be reading ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes in English and learning our meeting story called ‘Little Vixen Street.’ We will study fractions, multiplication and division in maths. In science we will study light and in art, we will create Michael Volpicelli style portraits. We are also looking forward to the events and celebrations in the lead up to Christmas. Look at the photos below to see what we have been up to in Year 3!

Attendance winners

We are so proud of our children who achieved their 100 % attendance rewards this Autumn term. Well done!

Norwich Castle- Mystery of Pre-history trip

Year 3 had a great trip to Norwich castle as a conclusion to our theme of Origins. The children had the opportunity to learn and compare the Stone Age, Iron Age and Bronze Age. We met a Neolithic person who taught us about life in the Stone Age, tried some Bronze Age weaving, looked at metal ores and met an archaeologist who showed us the tools she uses to excavate buried treasures.  

Autumn 1 in Year 3

We are proud of everyone in Year 3 for adapting to the Key Stage 2 routine and taking on new challenges in every lesson. This term our theme is 'Origins.' We have started to learn about chronology: the order of events in history. We created a timeline with major historic events and next we will investigate how long ago the Stone Age was and what life was like in this period. In Science we are exploring different types of rocks and learning about their formation. In English we are focusing on our portal story called 'Elf Road' by Pie Corbett. Look at the photos below to see what we have been up to in Year 3! 

Problem Solving

On Wednesday 5th October we had a problem-solving day. We took part in a workshop, led by the Problem-Solving Company, which required us to work as a team to complete a dominoes task, a polygon task and build a 3D cube.  We had to be determined, listen to each others ideas, willing to accept critiques and make improvements. In class, we completed additional problem-solving challenges where we needed to think logically and use our calculation skills. 
 

Transition Week

This week, Earhart and Tabei have become Kamkwamba and Hadid class! The children have settled into their new classrooms and are getting to know the Year 3 routines. During the week, they have talked about coping strategies for change and changing friendships. We recapped how to be an excellent talk partner and learnt about giving our talk partner constructive and specific feedback on their work, to improve it. We found out about the people our classes are named after: William Kamkwamba (a Malawian inventor and engineer) and Zaha Hadid (an Iraqi architect).