Stokenham Area Primary School

AutumnTerm 2024

Year 3 Curriculum Outline Letter

 

Dear Parents and Carers,

Firstly, we’d like to welcome you back to school. We hope that you have all enjoyed a wonderful summer and are ready to get back to learning. Please find below the curriculum outline for this Autumn.

English

In English this term we will be looking at poetry, fiction and non-fiction texts, starting with A First Poetry Book. The children will write a poem in the form of a list, drawing on the form and style of one of the studied poems. We will be learning about verbs and choices that authors make as well as honing our creative writing skills, developing expanded noun phrases and exploring grammar. We will include direct speech in our texts and considering the devices used to make non-fiction text effective. We will also be looking at editing and improving our work and reviewing our ideas.

Reading

Our class novel for the first half term is The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. We will then read Fortunately, the Milk… by Neil Gaiman after half term. We shall use these texts each week to work on the comprehension skills of summarising and predicting.

In addition, each week we will use an extract to learn how to retrieve, explain and infer information from a text. We plan to use a variety of texts from different areas of the curriculum as well as poetry and classics. Together, this ensures the children have a reading comprehension lesson each day. There will also be opportunities for children pursue their enjoyment of reading independently. Please keep reading at home as much as you can.

Handwriting

The children practise handwriting each day. We have pen licenses at the ready for children who join consistently with correct letter size and formation. This means that they will progress from writing in pencil to pen. 

Spelling

Monday to Thursday we practise spellings using a variety of techniques for a spelling test on Friday. We give out new spellings on Fridays.

Maths

In Maths we are recapping adding and subtracting through tens boundaries before moving on to numbers to 1000. We will be looking at using three addends and representing this with resources, images and equations. The next unit will involve us adding, subtracting and using multiples within 1000 as well as investigating volume and mass.

Science

This term our two science topics will be rocks and fossils and animals including humans.

We will start our term learning about nutrition needed by animals, including humans and how we get our nutrition from what we eat. We will learn about diet, skeletons and muscles and why they are important.

After half term we will consider how rocks can be grouped together on the basis of their appearance and simple physical processes, how fossils are formed and how soils are made from rocks and organic matter

Geography

We will be learning about climate and weather in Geography this term. The children will discover the difference between weather and climate and will be able to identify the world’s hottest, coldest, wettest and driest locations. We will also be able to describe and give examples of a variety of climates and biomes and know these might affect people’s lives.

History

Our History topic this term is the Stone Age. We will learn about the changes in Britain throughout the three periods of the Stone Age will discover, through a range of sources, what life was like during this time.

Art, Craft and Design

In Art our learning will focus on gestural drawings with charcoal and we will be studying the artwork of Edgar Degas. We will be learning how artists create dramatic drawings through the use of chiaroscuro and will be making our own atmospheric and suspenseful artwork.

Design and Technology

After half term, we will be designing and making healthy snacks based on the principles of the Eatwell Plate. We will study the different food groups to decide what to include as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

Computing

This term we will develop our understanding of digital devices, with an initial focus on inputs, processes, and outputs. We will also compare digital and non-digital devices and the children will be introduced to computer networks, including devices that make up a network’s infrastructure, such as wireless access points and switches.

French

Our unit J’apprends le français will teach the children very basic phrases and nouns in French with the aim of providing them with a solid foundation before progressing to more challenging and ambitious units.

P.E.

This term our two P.E topics will be tag rugby and gymnastics. In tag rugby we will explore how to apply the principles of attack vs defence, with a particular focus on passing and moving to score a try. The children will develop their understanding of when, where and why they need to create space when they are attacking. After half term, our gymnastics focus will be exploring movements and balances in symmetrical and asymmetrical ways.

P.S.H.E.

This term will be learning all about different families and relationships. We will think about how families all look different and how families care for each other.

R.E.

For the first half of term we will be looking at Christianity and incarnation. We will find out about the Trinity and Christian Baptism.

After half term we will be looking at Hinduism and how Hindus worship and celebrate.

Music

We music we will be exploring a range of musical genres and thinking about how music brings people together. We will learning three different songs over the next six weeks as well as practicing our harvest song and then moving onto our Christmas production!

Autumn’s curriculum is bursting with variety to enthuse the children and help them develop the range of knowledge and skills they need. We always encourage children to extend their learning beyond the classroom and we welcome them to share this in class, as this is always inspiring for everyone. 

Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss your child or have any questions.

Kind regards,

Mrs Clare Parsons and Mrs Susannah Taylor.

This Year’s Curriculum

Stokenham Area Primary School Curriculum Map

If you would like further information in relation to the curriculum please feel free to contact the school office.