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 began immersing ourselves in our recent school trip to the Verulamium Museum in St Albans. We spent time recalling all the fun and exciting things we saw during our visit and discussing everything that we learned. We also thought carefully about how our trip linked to our current topic, Beneath the Surface, and our learning about Pompeii.

As a class, we reflected on the visit and considered any questions we still had. We recorded our ideas and questions in a mind map before sharing them with the class. This helped us to deepen our understanding and learn from each other's thoughts and experiences.

Using this information, we then started planning a thank you letter to the museum to express our gratitude for allowing us to visit. We analysed the features of a thank you letter and discussed how to structure it effectively, considering what information should be included in each paragraph.

We are looking forward to continuing this work next week and beginning to write our letters the following week.

Maths

In Maths this week, we started our new topic of addition and subtraction. To build strong foundations, we began by revising our number bonds to 10, 100 and 1,000, helping us to recall number facts quickly and confidently. We explored how these important number relationships can support us when solving more complex calculations.

We then moved on to adding and subtracting 10 and 100 from three-digit numbers, using our understanding of place value to identify which digits change and which remain the same. As our confidence grew, we progressed to written methods for addition and subtraction, learning how to exchange when adding and exchange (regroup) when subtracting. We carefully considered the value of each digit and practised these methods using a range of calculations and reasoning questions.

Throughout the week, we have been encouraged to explain our mathematical thinking, justify our answers and spot patterns in numbers. This has helped us to deepen our understanding and develop confidence in choosing the most efficient methods.

We are looking forward to continuing our addition and subtraction topic next week as we further develop our calculation skills and apply them to increasingly challenging problems.

We are looking forward to continuing our learning journey and discovering even more exciting things across all of our subjects next week.

Pompeii. We are looking forward to starting our next topic in DT.

 

Copilot said:

Geography

In Geography this week, we completed our fascinating topic on volcanoes and earthquakes. We learnt about the causes of earthquakes and discovered that they occur when tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface move. Sometimes the plates become stuck as they try to move past one another, causing pressure to build up over time. When this pressure is eventually released, the plates suddenly slip, creating powerful shock waves that cause the ground to shake. We also learnt that the strength of an earthquake can be measured using the Richter Scale.

Throughout this topic, we have developed a deeper understanding of the processes that shape our planet, including how volcanoes form, why earthquakes occur, and the impact these natural events can have on people and places around the world. We have particularly enjoyed making links between our Geography learning and our history topic on Pompeii, helping us to better understand how volcanic activity affected the lives of people living there.

We have thoroughly enjoyed learning about volcanoes and earthquakes and are proud of all the knowledge we have gained. We are now looking forward to beginning our new topic in Design and Technology (DT) and discovering what exciting learning lies ahead.

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.