Year 3

Welcome to Year 3

Goldfinches & Puffins

2024-25

The Year Three Team

Goldfinches

Teachers: Mrs Luckhurst (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Mrs Element (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

Teaching Assistant: Mrs Elsworth

SEN Teaching Assistants: Mrs Wight, Ms Dillon & Mrs Hayton

Puffins

Teacher: Miss Hassell

Teaching Assistant: Miss Cooper

SEN Teaching Assistants: Miss Muirhead, Miss Jakonkaari & Mrs Bromilow

PE 

Puffins - Monday

Goldfinches - Thursday

Please ensure your child comes to school dressed in their PE kit on the above days every week. Thank you.

Reading Books

Books are changed once a week, with each child allocated a set day. Please see your child's reading diary for their book changing day. 

WB 17.3.25

It has been another busy fortnight in Year 3! In English we began a new unit of work based on The Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks.  It is a beautiful narrative based on the friendship between a dog and an injured magpie who are betrayed by a fox. This week we have been writing descriptions of foxes using similes and thinking about using expanded noun phrases to describe the Australian forest setting of the story.

In Maths, we began our new unit of work on fractions. It is a 5-week long unit, which lays the foundations for Key Stage 2.  Key concepts can be found below:

In our topic lessons we enjoyed finding out about Howard Carter and the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. We role played the discovery (tables had to make do for tombs!) and wrote newspaper reports to recount key details. Our science work this week also relates to our Egyptian topic. We have been designing an experiment to preserve apples, making links to techniques that the Ancient Egyptians used to mummify bodies.

We have continued to improve our cricket skills in PE, working with Oscar from WCCC. We have learned how to bowl and bat accurately and participated in small sided games.

WB 3.3.24

We were thrilled to receive a visit from the author Tom Percival, he shared chapters from his book ‘Squirrel and Duck: Mission Impossible’. He also talked about how importance practice and perseverance is when developing writing and drawing skills. He entertained us with games, quizzes and even a song. Many pupils purchased copies of the book and we also have copies in our school and class libraries to read.

In English, we concluded our non-fiction work on The Iron Man; we wrote explanation texts on how to trap the Iron Man, organising our ingenious plans into paragraphs, using technical language and linking our ideas with subordinating conjunctions. We also finished reading the Iron Man and we pleased to see that no harm came to him in the end – we have grown very fond of the rusty old giant over the last half term.

For our topic work we were visited by the amazing time travelling detective - Professor McGinty!  We certainly all looked the part as he took us on an exciting adventure back to the Ancient Egyptian times. We had lots of fun there, hearing stories and looking at lots of artefacts. Some of the artefacts we could touch were papyrus, scarab beetles, baskets for collecting grain and Egyptian bread. We even got to look at a mummified child and cat! During the day, we also made our own papyrus, artefacts made out of clay and a replica of Tutankhamun’s death mask.

In maths, we began our unit of work on length and perimeter. Choosing the correct units of measure and measuring accurately are important skills we have been practising. We completed lots of practical activities measuring objects to the nearest cm and mm and are beginning to convert our units of measure e.g 3 cm and 5 mm = 35mm, 1m and 20cm = 120cm. We also started our new KIRF – recalling multiplication and division facts in the 8x table.

On Thursday, we celebrated World Book Day by dressing up as our favourite book characters. It was a great day filled with lots of reading and inspiring learning. We also had a visit from the Royal Shakespeare Company who ran a Tempest workshop for us. It was great fun creating different islands and acting out being at sea, just like they did in the Tempest!

WB 10.2.25

We have ended this term with another exciting week in Year 3. We concluded our additional SDH sport sessions with some basketball games, where Goldfinches and Puffins were able to put together all the skills they have learned over the past 6 weeks. We saw some impressive chest passes, accurate dribbling, dodging, awareness of space, super catching and of course baskets scored. We are very lucky that Mrs Thijssen-Jones and Mrs Pearson have organised some extra cricket sessions after half term until Easter so please ensure your child continues to wear their PE kit to school on Tuesdays.

In our music lessons we enjoyed beginning to learn ‘Two Little Birds’ by Bob Marley. We discussed Reggae music and its origins and also began to practise a glockenspiel accompaniment. We are also beginning to read music and noticed how ‘e’ and ‘f’ are positioned on a stave.

All of Year Three were thoroughly engaged with the activities planned for Online Safety Day on Tuesday. They took part in a nationwide live lesson which focused on what scams are and how scammers try to tempt people with phishing emails, texts, messages and pop ups. Each class learnt the acronym SCAM to help them remember what to do if they are unsure if communications are real or fake.

Seems to good to be true

Contact you didn’t expect

Asks for personal information

Money or trade is asked for

Pupils then put that knowledge into practise by looking at lots of different screen shots and sorted them into categories. Please ask your child to tell you more about this at home.

Year 3 also took part in some drama during English. They created freeze frames to show them trapping an Iron Man, in addition to some children sharing their trap ideas with the 'council'. They had to answer questions about their traps to ensure it was going to be effective and successful in trapping the Iron Man!

In science this term we have been exploring our skeletons and muscles. We  learned about the different types of skeletons and know that we are vertebrates (because we have a vertebral column - or spine). We can now name some the main bones in our body including femur, humerus, clavicle and scapula. We also tried some exercises to discover muscles we never knew we had (!), such as our obliques, abdominals, biceps, triceps, gluteals, and calves.

WB 27.1.25

Goldfinches and Puffins have been enjoying the newly revamped library ‘The Reading Nest’. Pupils are able to borrow a book for up to two weeks and our library days are Mondays for Goldfinches and Tuesdays for Puffins. Continuing the reading theme, Year 3 have been working hard in their English lessons to write an ‘impending threat narrative’ based on the Iron Man by Ted Hughes. Pupils have carefully created atmosphere to slowly build up suspense, using similes and the ‘show don’t tell’ technique.

In Maths, we have continued to develop our multiplication skills, first deriving related facts from known facts e.g. 6 x 3 = 18 so 6 x30 = 180 or 60 x 3 = 180. We build on this to develop our method for short division e.g. 46 x 5 by first multiplying the ones (6x 5 = 30) and then the tens (40 x 5= 200).

It has been a messy week in art this week! Year 3 used tea bags to create an aged effect with their paper so that it closer resembled papyrus (the material Ancient Egyptians used to scribe on). They have begun to draw different patterns and drawings, closely looking at the details from Egyptian wall art, to create their own. 

We have been thrilled at the enthusiasm pupils have shown for our topic this term: Ancient Egypt. Last week we learned about the importance of the River Nile for transport, trade and agriculture. We learned that River Nile flows from the bottom of Egypt, where the ground is higher, to the top of Egypt where it flows into the Mediterranean Sea. Ask your child if they can show you the River Nile on a map. There are links below you might like to look at with your child.

WB 13.1.25

Happy New Year! We start 2025 with an exciting and in-depth topic: The Ancient Egyptians. To begin our  topic, we spent the day completing activities, challenges and puzzles related to daily life in Ancient Egypt. In maths we used our problem solving skills to make pyramids and tried to spot patterns and predict how many cubes there would be in each pyramid, depending on the number of layers. We learned that Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphs and had a go at writing our own names. We also used our art and observation skills to make collars in the style of those worn by wealthy Ancient Egyptians. We also had lots of fun  making mummies—no one was harmed in the process!

Our learning overviews and key vocabulary can be found below.

English

This week we began our new English unit of work, based on the Iron Man by Ted Hughes. We read the first 3 chapters of the version illustrated by Chris Mould. If you would like to share the story with your child, versions can be found on the links below.

Maths

We are continuing our work on multiplication and division, developing a written method for short multiplication. Times tables fluency really helps as pupils can concentrate on practising the method, rather than having to derive their timetable facts.  With this in mind, our KIRF for this half term is instant recall of multiplication and division facts.  

WB 16.12.24

Carol Service

Year 3 staff were very proud of Goldfinches and Puffins as they attended their first Key Stage 2 carol service at Holy Trinity Church on Monday 16^th December. Earlier in the day, they walked very sensibly to church to practise. A big thank you to the volunteers who accompanied us.  In the evening, they sang their class song “Off We Go” with huge enthusiasm and impressed us by using Makaton for the chorus of Feliz Navidad. A special well done to the pupils who learned words / readings / prayers, it isn’t easy speaking in front of a large crowds and we were very impressed by their clear and confident delivery.

Biscuit Sale

We were thrilled with the creative efforts of Year Three when they decorated a huge number of biscuits with a Christmas theme. There was icing, marshmallows, chocolate chips, sprinkles, smarties and sweets aplenty as Goldfinches and Puffins got to work to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. This was a fitting end to our Rainforest topics and we raised just over £100, enough for both classes to adopt and animal. Goldfinches have both chosen to adopt a jaguar.

Thank you to Mrs Butler, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Green and Miss Crane who helped us set up and sell the biscuits.

KIRFS

This week we carried out our KIRF (Key Instant Recall Fact) assessments and were very pleased by the number of pupils who successfully achieved their KIRF – a far higher number than in previous years. We know that many pupils are practising TT Rock Stars at home and this having a considerable impact on speed and recall. We have also been trialling a new, more systematic approach to learning the 3X table and corresponding division facts. Each week pupils are taught 4 fact families and complete a booklet which focuses on these. The teaching approach is visual, using arrays to show patterns and also aural as pupils chant each fact to build it into the long-term memory. An example of one of the booklets and a teaching PowerPoint can be found below.

WB 2.12.25

In English, we started our new unit of work based around the The Tunnel by Anthony Browne. In our lessons we will be looking at how to build suspense and writing our own portal stories. Should you wish to discuss the story with your child, there is a link below.

Biscuit Sale

Year 3 are raising money for the WWF to adopt an endangered animal. To raise the money for this, we will be holding a biscuit sale on Tuesday 17th December straight after school on the KS2 playground. 

The biscuits will be 50p each.

We can't wait to raise money for such an amazing cause!

There was team work, perseverance and creativity in abundance in Year 3 during our Design and Technology Day. We planned our 3D rainforest animals in groups then we carefully selected the  materials needed and worked as a team to construct our amazing creations. Our models each had a part which moved thanks to a pneumatic system; this made  mouths open, wings flap and tongues stick out.  We are very proud of  our models.

WB 18.11.24

Assessment Fortnight

This week sees the start of the Key Stage 1 & 2 assessment fortnight. Next week in Year 3, pupils will complete 2 maths papers, 1 focussing on fluency and 1 on problem solving and reasoning. In English, pupils will complete 1 reading paper, which will be spread across 2 lessons. We try and keep the assessments very low key in order that pupils do not become anxious. Once assessments have been completed, we will put a copy of the maths paper on our class page. Unfortunately for copyright reasons we are not able to do this for the reading paper.

In maths this week we have continued to develop our understanding of written methods of addition and subtraction. This is a key skill and we are pleased with how secure many of year 3 now are exchanging hundreds, tens and ones. This can be practised further at home, roll a dice 6  times to create 2  3 digit numbers e.g 452, 339, ask you child to add the 2 numbers using a written method. Does it matter which number goes first? Then ask pupils to subtract, why is it important that 452 goes first? Can your child exchange 1 ten for ten ones? ​​​​​​

This week is the final week of our English topic – persuasive letter writing. We wrote to the woodcutter to try and persuade him not to chop down the kapok tree. We have been really pleased by many of the persuasive techniques pupils included in their writing; rhetorical questions, emotive adjectives and verbs , persuasive language. Ask your child to tell you more about the letter they wrote.

We began our D&T topic – pneumatic animals by investigating a range of objects to try and find out what they had in common. We discovered that they used air to make them work. We investigated simple pneumatic systems by trying to make an egg box open using a balloon, and using a larger syringe to push open a small syringe. We compressed air through a tube which made a balloon inflate and deflate. We investigated how pumps can be used to inflate objects; it is very important to have the right sized pump for the job.

WB 5.11.24

In Maths this week we are continued to practise a standard written method for addition and began to introduce a written method for subtraction. Please see the information below, form our school calculation policy.

In English, we started our new unit of work based around the The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. Here is a link below, should you wish to discuss the story with your child.

As part of our work on The Great Kapok Tree,  we focussed on the reasons why the creatures of the rainforest did not want the woodcutter to cut down the Kapok tree. We thought about the language we would use to persuade him not to cut the tree down and wrote this on leaves. Then, disguised as rainforest creatures, we made an alley towards the tree. As the woodcutter walked through we whispered our reasons to him. At first, he didn’t seem to care—he even said the animals could just find another tree to live in! However, we explained that the animals could become endangered, or even extinct, there be no oxygen for him to breathe, his children would suffer as they would never see the beautiful nature and how all nature is linked together. Finally, all our persuasive ideas worked—he put his axe down. We saved the Kapok Tree!

Harvest Festival Contributions

A huge thank you to everyone who supported the foodbank by bringing in donations. We received this message and certificate in appreciation of everyone's efforts.

To all the Children and Staff at Bridgetown Primary school,

We would like to thank you so much for hosting and donating your Harvest Festival collection to Stratford upon Avon Foodbank. 

We are incredibly grateful for your support and donations this Harvest. Your donation weighed in at 108kg which equates to £299.16 in monetary value to us.

WB 14.10.24

This week, we have been busy practising our harvest assembly and are impressed by how many children have learnt their words. All pupils, except narrators, need to know their lines off by heart by Monday 21st October. Thank you for your support with this.

In our English work we started a new unit on poetry, using 'The Lost Words' by Robert McFarlane and Jackie Morris as our starting point. Some extracts from the book can be found on the link below. As part of our spelling work we have been looking at how to use apostrophes correctly to show possession e.g Sarah's book.

In maths we continue to focus on addition and subtraction specifically mentally adding and subtracting across 10 / 100  e.g 147+8,  284 +50. This is quite a challenging concept for the start of Year 3 and one we will continue to practise throughout the year. 

In our topic lessons we have been learning about the layers of the rainforest: the emergent layer, canopy layer, understory and forest floor. Ask your child if they can tell you about the animals which live in each layer.

We have been having lots of fun with magnets in our science lessons, learning about magnetic and non-magnetic materials.

Year 3 Assembly

Everyone is welcome to the Year 3 Harvest Assembly on Friday 25th October at 9:15. We would be very grateful if you could bring in contribution for our foodbank collection. The current most needed items are: 

• Tinned tomatoes
• Instant soup
• Tinned chicken meals
• Instant mash
• UHT fruit juice
• Squash
• Large nappies
• Tinned veg meals
• Bleach

Please encourage your child to practise the words to our songs. They can be found on the links below.

Art

This half term we are developing our drawing skills. In our art lessons we have: experimented with different types of mark making, observed shapes we can see within objects, worked on our shading and learned how to add texture, using a technique called frottage. In our future art lessons we will combine these skills to create observational botanical drawings.

Street Dance Workshop - 25.9.24

Goldfinches and Puffins had a wonderful time 'busting some moves' in their street dance workshops. During their workshops they: learned the origins of street dance, worked on 'finding the beat', developed a sequence of moves and put them together to perform a wonderful routine to 'I Like to Move it.' There were sweaty faces and smiles all round as pupils threw themselves into the routine. Ask them to show you some of their moves...

TT Rock Stars Launch Day - 16.9.24

What a busy and fun packed day we had to launch this year’s Times Table Rock Stars.  We dressed the part and looked very cool in our fabulous outfits. Instead of our usual maths lesson  we played times table games and used the ipads to earn coins in our rock battle. An extra special well done to Tom B who was inducted into the TTRS Hall of Fame in a special assembly - earning the 3rd highest total of coins out of the whole of Key Stage 2!

Rainforest Hunt - 9.9.24

Today we used the Forest School as a starting point for our rainforest topic. We searched high and low, for pictures of animals and fact cards. When we found them all, we decided if the animals were rainforest animals or creatures which would be found in woodland. We discussed the fact cards and asked some excellent, thoughtful questions of our own. Rainforests are amazing places and we can’t wait to find out more about them!
 

Topic

We have a wonderful topic to start the year - rainforests. Here is an overview of the key things we will be learning.

KIRFs

Our KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts)  this half term is to recall number bonds within 20. We practise our KIRFs every week in school and we will set homework based on it each Friday. Please support your child to learn and rapidly recall these key facts. There are lots of activities on the KIRFs sheet below (a copy can also be found in your child's homework book) to try at home.

Helpful websites to practise our KIRF:

Welcome to Year 3

Goldfinches & Puffins

2023-24

60th Birthday Celebrations

What a 'groovy' day we have had celebrating Bridgetown's 60th birthday. We enjoyed a whole school assembly attended by four previous head teachers, learnt all about toys from different decades, enjoyed a lovely picnic and created art work for a whole school birthday project.

Egyptian Assembly

We are looking forward to welcoming families to our Egyptian sharing assembly at 9:15 on Wednesday 24th April.

Please use the links below to practise songs we will be performing.

A Visit from Professor McGinty

10.4.24

Today, Professor McGinty visited our class and took us on an exciting adventure back to the Ancient Egyptian times. We had lots of fun there, hearing stories and looking at lots of artefacts. Some of the artefacts we could touch were papyrus, scarab beetles, baskets for collecting grain and Egyptian bread. We even got to look at a mummified child and cat! During the day, we also made our own papyrus and artefacts made out of clay.

We are looking forward to starting our exciting topic this term - The Ancient Egyptians. Here is an overview of the key things we will be learning. 

Rainforest Animals

As part of our Design and Technology work, we planned and made 3D rainforest animals with a pneumatic mechanism. Working as part of a team, we carefully selected the materials needed, then made our animals, including a part which moved via a pneumatic system. Finally we carefully painted our models—we are very proud of them.

Year 3 Assembly

Everyone is welcome to the Year 3 Harvest Assembly on Friday 27th October at 9:15.

Please encourage your child to practise the words to our songs. They can be found on the links below.

The Year 3 team are:

Mrs Pinner,     Mrs Luckhurst    &  Mrs Elwell  - Goldfinches Class

Teacher            Teacher                     TA

Monday &        Wednesday -

Tuesday            Friday

Mr Lether,  Mrs Cooper   &   Ms Acutt - Puffins Class

Teacher         TA                       SEN TA

We have had a very busy two weeks getting to know the Year 3 routines, developing our maths skills, creating some beautiful art work and hunting for dragons!