Mr Illsley is the class teacher in Toucans.  He enjoys all sport (especially football) and likes to read. His favourite thing in the whole wide world is cheese! For the Autumn Term, Mr Illsley is really looking forward to doing experiments in Science related to light and shadows. Toucans' spellings and homework are all due in on Fridays. Our PE days will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please remember to come to school in your PE kit.

Mrs Senior is the teaching assistant in Toucans. Mrs Senior enjoys reading great stories and creating things with paper and material. For the Autumn term, Mrs Senior is looking forward to creating William Morris prints in art.  Mrs Swinscoe is a teaching assistant in Toucans.  She is really looking forward to working in years 3/4. Outside of school, she enjoys spending time with her family, shopping and taking her dog Rascal for a walk. She is looking forward to all the new topics we will be learning and spending time in Toucans. It is going to be a fun year!

 

Geography

In our geography lessons, we will explore "My World - Where Am I?" by delving into the fascinating aspects of locational knowledge. We will discover how the UK is divided into countries and regions, further segmented into counties. We'll investigate evolving land-use patterns, examining how they have changed over time. In terms of place knowledge, we’ll talk about the various ways in which people utilise land. Physically, we’ll understand topography, focusing on the height of land and identifying mountains, hills, and rivers on maps.  To enhance our geographical skills, we’ll learn to navigate an atlas, understand its keys, and use compass points, grid references, and symbols. Finally, students will create their own sketch maps of our local area, bringing their learning to life.

Writing

Our writing this term will be inspired by the books 'Coming to England' by Floella Benjamin and 'Nen and the Lonely Fisherman'. 'Coming to England' will be the focus of a recount where the children will write a letter in role.  In the second unit, 'Nen' the children will write a fantasy story based on this classic tale. Throughout our writing, we will continue to develop our grammar, punctuation and spelling through our Gateway, Mastery and Feature keys.

Reading

In each unit, children will develop their reading skills and fluency through fun activities like echo reads, timed reads, and fluency grids. They’ll encounter lots of high-frequency and common exception words, helping them to read aloud and understand new vocabulary through practice. By discussing and connecting new words to what they already know, kids will boost their understanding. We’ll focus on retrieval skills so they can spot and explain important parts of different texts, whether it’s stories, facts, or poems. They’ll summarise main ideas, practise putting events in order, and learn how different bits of information relate to one another. Children will also make simple inferences about characters’ feelings and motives, using evidence from the text to support their thoughts. To boost their comprehension, we’ll use a range of vocabulary and inference questions throughout these engaging activities.

Maths

Our year 3 mathematicians will begin by mastering their place value. They will learn to read, write, order and compare numbers to 1,000 count in 50s and find 1, 10 or 1,000 more or less than. Addition and subtraction will be our next unit. Here children will add and subtract 1s and 10s across 1 and 100. They will learn to add and subtract 2 and 3-digit numbers beginning with no exchange and then across 10 and 100. The children will begin multiplication by looking at equal groups and arrays. They will become experts in their 3,4 and 8 times tables moving on to dividing by these numbers too!

Art and Design and Technology

Year 3 will begin their art by exploring the work of William Morris. They will learn about the arts and craft movement and observe and sketch natural objects. This will lead on to designing a William Morris inspired printing block which will be used to print with. Eating seasonally is the title of our Autumn term DT unit. Here the children will learn all about British seasonal food and the food rainbow. The children will practise their cooking skills by making tarts.

Science

Light and shadows is the first unit of Year 3. The children will recognise that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light.  They will notice that light is reflected from surfaces. Additionally, they will learn about how shadows are formed and find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change. Following on from this, the children will explore the topic of Movement and Nutrition. Children will learn about what nutrition we get from food and which nutrients are in our school dinners. We will also discover what is in a human skeleton and how muscles help us move!

RSHE - Relationships, Sex and Health Education

Our 'No Outsiders' work will lead us to think about what is meant by discrimination and about what a bystander is. We will consider what makes a good friend, focusing on personal space, resilience, valuing and considering feelings and understanding that we are different but equal. Our remaining session will teach us more about our shared responsibility for protecting the environment.