Earlsmead Primary School

What is my child learning?

Autumn Term 2025

Welcome back

 Welcome to Year 3, the first year in Key Stage 2! Our topics will follow two themes: Rivers in Autumn 1 and Dreams in Autumn 2. Please look at the different topics and skills we will be learning and ways you can assist your child. You can look at our class web pages for any updates. If you have any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to speak to the class teachers at the end of the day. You can also contact us via the office email. 

Earlsmead’s values for this term:

Please help us to help your child uphold the Earlsmead Primary School values of: Respect for September, Confidence in October, Tolerance in November and Kindness in December.

 The Staff Team includes:

Year 3 Aqua’s Teachers: Mr Curtis 

Year 3 Aqua’s Support Staff:    Ms Ezgi

Year 3 Violets Teacher: Ms Wood (Mon, Tues),  Ms Roberts (Wed, Thurs, Fri) 

Year 3 Violet’s Support Staff:  Ms Greta

English

• We will discover a new classic text that the whole school will read together! This year we will be reading and exploring the text, The Jungle Book’ by Rudyard Kipling. . 

• In the first half of the term, we will be studying and writing non-fiction reports linked to our History topic on Ancient Egypt and our Geography topic on Rivers. We will write in the style of traditional tales from around the world in the second half of the term. Our next  story ‘Zeraffa Giraffa’ is about the real-life journey of a giraffe from Egypt to Paris. 

• Throughout both terms we will have a strong focus on handwriting as well as grammar and punctuation. We will use the teachhandwriting scheme. https://www.teachhandwriting.co.uk/route-c-letter-choice-3-ks1.html. Feel free to use the videos and worksheets on their website to help your child. Each week children will be given a set of spellings on their homework, they will be tested on these spellings weekly, with the results attached to the homework. The grammar skills include naming types of words in a sentence such as nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs as well as parts of a sentence – main clauses and subordinate clauses. Please also support your child to remember basics from Key Stage 1 such as full stops and when we use capital letters!

• Emerging readers will continue to have guided reading groups with their class teacher. It is essential that children continue to read at home daily.

Maths

• The children will continue following White Rose Maths Scheme. This term we will be focusing on:  Place value – how we write numbers and the meaning of units, tens and hundreds. Next we will look at Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division 

• The children will continue learning their timetables. Your child will receive their password for Times Table Rockstars. Please ensure that they regularly login so that they can improve their scores. (https://ttrockstars.com/)  We will test the children on the times tables they have learned. Our aim for all Year 3 pupils is to learn the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10  and 8 times tables by the end of the year and the corresponding division facts. (eg 3x4=12 so 12 divided by 3=4)

• The children will continue to solve a series of arithmetic and reasoning problems every week. 

The Arts

• Art: We will be linking Art with our topic on Ancient Egypt; exploring different methods of drawing and painting, creating replica jewellery and using plaster to create model mummies. Children will also get to try out our new sketch books. 

In November will be studying the artist Salvador Dali, creating their own surreal art works!

• Music: The year 3s will be learning new songs with our specialist music teacher. We will also be using a range of musical instruments and continuing to explore musical notation, appreciation and rhythm, pace and pitch.

PSHE 

• We begin Personal, Social and Health Education & Citizenship with setting our own goals and targets. In Autumn 1 we also look at themes of personal choices and responsibility. There is a focus on friendships and bullying in November for Anti-Bullying week. We also look at families, compliments and how to avoid hurting people’s feelings in Autumn 2.

Science, Technology & ICT

 Science:

Our first Science topic is Forces and Magnets where the children will experience and learn about the invisible force of magnetism. Children will learn about the 2 poles of magnets and observe how magnets attract or repel. They will investigate which materials are magnetic. During the second half of the term we will look at ‘Light’ where children will learn about shadows and observe light reflections. Within both of these topics children will have the opportunity to carry out investigations and record their observations.

 Design and Technology.

• We will be linking DT with our topic on Ancient Egypt; we will be making Nubian Pyramid structures. 

 Computing:

• Pupils and students will learn about how to stay safe online. 

• They will continue to practise their typing and logging in skills. 

• They will also be exploring computer systems and networks as well as beginning Programming using Sams Labs. 

Humanities (History, Geography & RE)

• RE: This term we learn about What Is Important To Me? This unit explores ideas of what it is to be human and relates them to religious and other beliefs.

• History: The children will be learning about ‘Ancient Egypt’, followed by Ancient Iraq (Mesopotamia) in the second half term.

• Geography:  We begin with our topic Rivers and then, in Autumn 2,  move upstream to learn about mountains! We will also focus on developing Map Skills. 

PE

Please ensure your child comes to school in their PE kit with trainers/plimsolls.   Long hair must be tied up and earrings removed before school on the day of PE. PE is on a Friday.

We will be playing invasion games in Autumn 1. We will also be exploring Gymnastics in order to develop our flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance. We will also be doing the Daily Mile each day to raise our level of fitness! For more information, check here, https://thedailymile.co.uk/

Home Learning

Please support your child with their home learning by asking what they have been learning and reading through work sent home with them. They may need your help with some tasks. Provide a quiet and calm place where they can concentrate on homework and please ensure that it is handed in on time. Listen to your child read regularly and read to them too. If your child is having problems, please speak to the class teacher as soon as possible so that we can work together to support your child and their learning.  Home Learning is set on a Friday and needs to be handed in by  Wednesday.  

Reading: 20 minutes daily - please tick the reading card when you have read with your child. Home readers are given out on a Friday and need to be brought back on Wednesday. Children can also access their ebooks via their Collins ebook website. Please ask your teacher for the logins if necessary.  They will also be given a library book. 

Spelling:  Weekly spellings handed out and to be practised daily. These are tested weekly and your child marks and corrects their own spellings. Please ask your child their latest result.  

Maths:  Please practise times tables and mental maths (doubles/ halves/ number bonds) regularly with your child as this will improve their maths fluency. Allow your child to  login to Times Table Rockstars and Mymaths to practise these skills.