Welcome to Year 3!

The class teacher is Mrs De La Bertauche (Mrs D) and the teaching assistant is Ms Lloyd 

Please could I ask all children to bring in an apron or old shirt for art lesson to protect their clothes. 

English

In English this week, we prepared the first drafts of our thank-you letters to the Verulamium Museum in St Albans following our recent school trip. We explored the correct structure of a thank-you letter and began by thanking the museum staff for providing us with such an enjoyable and memorable visit. We then explained something we particularly enjoyed about the trip before describing our favourite part of the day.

Next, we shared something new we had learnt about the Romans during our visit and finished our letters by asking a question that we would still like to know the answer to. Finally, we signed off our letters appropriately using “Yours sincerely” before adding our names.

We are looking forward to editing and publishing our letters next week so that they are ready to be sent to the museum.

Maths

In Maths this week, we have continued our learning on addition and subtraction, developing our understanding of how numbers change as we add to and subtract from them. We began by practising counting across 50, carefully identifying number patterns and using our knowledge of place value to count forwards and backwards accurately when crossing multiples of 50.

We then focused on adding 10 to three-digit numbers across 100, exploring what happens when the tens digit changes and understanding how crossing a hundred boundary affects the number. Once we were confident with this, we moved on to subtracting 10 across 100, using place value knowledge to help us work out the new number and explain our reasoning.

Later in the week, we extended our learning by adding and subtracting hundreds from three-digit numbers. We noticed patterns in the numbers and discovered that when adding or subtracting 100, only the hundreds digit changes while the tens and ones digits remain the same. Throughout our lessons, we used practical resources, number lines, partner discussions and problem-solving activities to deepen our understanding and build confidence.

We are becoming much more fluent in using place value to support our calculations and are looking forward to continuing to develop our addition and subtraction skills next week.

Design & Technology (DT)

This week, we started our exciting new Design and Technology topic, where we will be designing and preparing our own healthy pasta salads using Mediterranean ingredients.

To begin our learning, we explored foods that are commonly found in Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain and Greece. We learned about a variety of ingredients and discussed why the Mediterranean diet is considered to be healthy and balanced. We then developed our food knowledge further by learning the difference between foods that are grown, caught and reared, helping us understand where different ingredients come from.

As part of our research, we tasted a selection of ready-made pasta salads to gather ideas and inspiration for our own designs. We carefully evaluated each salad, discussing what we liked, what we did not like and how the recipes could be improved. This helped us to think like real food designers and consider the preferences of others.

We also spent time developing our food preparation skills by learning and practising a range of techniques, including grating, chopping, peeling and cutting. We enjoyed having the opportunity to try each skill ourselves and learnt how to use different kitchen tools safely and effectively in preparation for making our salads.

The tasting activities were a particular highlight of the week, and we are all looking forward to designing, creating and evaluating our own delicious pasta salads next week! 

Science

In Science this week, we continued our learning about rocks and soils, focusing on the different types of soil and investigating whether they are permeable or impermeable. We learnt that permeable soils allow water to pass through them, while impermeable soils prevent water from flowing through easily.

To deepen our understanding, we carried out some exciting hands-on investigations to test how much water could pass through different soil samples. We carefully observed and compared the results, making predictions and recording our findings like real scientists.

We also enjoyed exploring the soils using our senses, looking closely at their colour and texture, as well as carefully touching and smelling them to identify how they differed from one another. These practical activities helped us to understand that soils can have very different properties depending on what they are made from.

We have really enjoyed getting hands-on with our learning this week and are looking forward to continuing our investigations into rocks and soils next week.

 

Our PE days are Monday and Wednesday. 

Our value this term is Generosity.