Category Archives: Year 3

Story planning in Year 3

This week Year 3 have been working to plan their own narratives. After reading The Wolves in the Wall by Neil Gaiman and innovating on his story, Year 3 each now have a story plan for their own Tale of Fear.

By working collaboratively to discuss and share ideas around what the main character could be afraid of, Year 3 were able to plan effectively to include their own characters, setting and plot.

After completing their plans, Year 3 worked with a partner to retell their story  by following the plan. Everyone’s partner listened carefully and then shared what they really liked about the retell and also offered ideas for improvements.

I can not wait to read the final Tales of Fear!

Still life charcoal sketches in Year 3

This week in art, Year 3 have been looking at different still life paintings. Year 3 observed and discussed:  Still Life with Cheese (1615) by Pieter Claesz,  Still Life: The Table (1928) by Georges Braque and Still Life with a Pilgrim Flask, Candlestick, Porcelain Vase and Fruit by Willem Kalf .

 

Year 3’s used these questions to explore the paintings

What can you see in the picture?

Which colours are used?

When was it made?

What material is used to create this picture?

Why do you think the artist made it?

How does the image make you feel?

Afterwards Year 3 used charcoal to create their own still life sketches.

 

Year 3: How do muscles work?

Year 3 have been busy in their science lesson this week in working collaboratively to make models to  identify that humans and some other animals have muscles for movement by examining how muscles work. With a partner , they have made models to explain how muscles allow movement.

Year 3 looked closely at their upper arm as they curled their arms towards their chest from their side and notices the muscle bulges! As the arm is raised the biceps (on the front of the arm) contracts, at the same time a muscle on the back of the arm, the triceps, relaxes! The muscles work together to control the lifting arm. As the arm is lowered the opposite happens, the biceps relax and the triceps contract.

Year 3 have found out that our bodies has over 650 muscles and many different types of joints to allow our bodies to move in different ways.

Also, ligaments and tendons at the ends of the muscles hold the bones together at the joints, while cartilage between the bones stops them from rubbing against each other.

Y3 visit to Beacon Park

It’s been a busy week half term and Year 3 have been out to visit Leomonsley Brook in Beacon Park in Lichfield.

As part of this term’s topic ‘Flow’, Year 3 visited Beacon Park, Lichfield. We had a great day with Ruth the Ranger observing, sampling and measuring Lemonsley Brook. After meeting Ruth, we split into three groups and started our activities. Those of us with wellies on were allowed into the brook to help Miss Groom measure the width and depth of the brook. We then had to measure the temperature of the water and the last part was the most fun. To measure how fast the brook was flowing we played the traditional game of Pooh Sticks with dog biscuits because they float and are also kind to the environment. Those without wellies timed them to see how fast the dog biscuits took to travel down river. We also measured how clean the water was, as this would tell us how well the plant would grow. The more circles we could see at the bottom of the container, the cleaner the water was.

Next, we went pond dipping with Ruth to take samples of the different creatures living in the brook. We managed to catch and observe a few creatures. This proves how clean the water is in Lemonsley Brook. We dragged a net in the water and then emptied our nets into a tray. We then used an identification chart to help us identify the things we had caught. It was great fun and Year 3 were really interested to see what lives below the surface of the water.

Mrs Akhtar and her group looked at the trees along the river bank and identified them from our key. There were eight different trees alongside the river. Why not ask Year 3 to see if they can name them?

A big thank you to Ranger Ruth 🙂

Pizza Express visit for Year 3

This week Year 3 have been out to visit Pizza Express in the Bull Ring,  Birmingham. The purpose of this visit was to gain first hand experience in making a popular food and also start the learning for our topic after half term.

It was a  rainy start to the day as Year 3 walked to the train station but that did not stop our enthusiasm! Members of the public on the train commented about the wonderful behaviour and manners of the children during the short trip into the city centre.

The restaurant was not yet open to the public so Year 3 were able to work alongside Chef, Sally and Dani to all make their own pizza. After stretching the dough, forming the crust, spreading the tomato base and sprinkling cheese all over, the pizzas went into the huge ovens to cook. Everyone was very excited to take home their own creation in a huge box!

Chef was very impressed with the standard of pizzas produced and gave out a special award for the best pizza.

A big thank you to Chef, Sally and Dani at Pizza Express who were also impressed with the behaviour of Year 3.

 

Cherry Blossom Art in Year 3

This week Year 3 have been taking inspiration from the beautiful cherry blossom trees in Japan.

Year 3 have created their interpretations of these unique blossoms using paint and different techniques to apply. Everyone worked hard to stay focused and concentrate on making their images unique – just like the real things!

These beautiful images were then used on our Mother’s Day cards

 

Skeleton fun in Year 3

Our topic this half term is all about animals including humans with a focus on nutrition and also movement. This week Year 3 have created their own human skeletons  to identify that humans and some other animals have skeletons and muscles for support, protection and movement.

Year 3 found out more t about the different types of skeletons and sorted animals into either endoskeleton, exoskeleton  or hydrostatic  skeleton groups.  Ask Year 3 for further examples of animals that belong in each category

Year 3 created a collage of their interpretation of a human skeleton.

Did you know…

  • The smallest bones are in the ear.
  • Although your bones stop growing when you are around 20, they do constantly rebuild new bone cells.
  • The spine is made up of 33 bones.
  • If your body doesn’t have enough calcium, it will take it from your bones making your bones weaker. A good reason to drink your milk!

Y3 School Nurse visit

Maria our school nurse came into class this week to talk to us more about keeping our bodies healthy from our heads to our toes. Year 3 worked collaboratively to identify how we can keep our bodies healthy.

Maria told us that headaches can be caused by not drinking enough water in class so we must make sure we drink enough water to stay hydrated. Another possible reason for a headache is that we may need to visit the optician, especially if we are finding it difficult to see the board or our reading books.

Head Lice can spread very quickly in a classroom. Head Lice often called nits. Nits are the empty egg sacs that often look like dandruff in our hair. Egg sacs can look like brown dots on each strand of hair. Maria advised that each week we should check our hair. Head Lice are small wingless insects and are spread by close contact between our heads. Sign of Head Lice are if an itchy scalp which stop us learning or keep us awake, white flakes in hair or brothers or sisters with . Get an adult check by  combing  through hair with a comb and conditioner.

Coughs and colds spread germs so it is vital to catch the cough or sneeze in a tissue , throw it away and wash our hands properly.

Ask Year 3 for further details 🙂

Poetry in Year 3

This week our writing focus has been on poetry. The week started off by immersing ourselves in different poems all around the same theme – rivers. Year 3 spent time reading, discussing and also preparing their favourite poems for performance.  Performances were improved and  enhanced after watching different poets in action-Benjamin Zephaniah, John Agard and Michael Rosen . Year 3 were able to identify what made a great performance and used this in their own performance of Valerie Bloom’s  poem The River.