Welcome to the Summer Term in Year 3!

• May - Co-operation and being a good citizen within society

• June - Showing Gratitude, Care and Generosity

• July - Taking and managing risks

At the start of this term, we will introduce the book Leon and the Place Between by Angela McAllister. Throughout the sequence of learning, children will explore the author’s language and use it as the basis for their own descriptive writing.  They will explore the characters’ thoughts and emotions and take part in drama activities, leading to writing in role and the creation of dialogue. Using the structure of the original story, children will plan their version of the story where their character enters a magical world.  

The second half of the summer term will explore the book Our Tower by Joseph Coelho and Richard Johnson. The sequence of learning begins by exploring the interesting sounds children hear outdoors and around the local area. They will go on to analyse the language and word choices used in the text as well as discuss the illustrations. To create their descriptions and poems, children will use Joseph Coelho’s word choices and phrases to inspire their writing. They will go on to practise key narrative skills such as creating dialogue, using conjunctions, prepositions and adverbs to build cohesion in their writing. Finally, children use the narrative structure of this poem to create their fantasy narrative. 

In addition to literacy lessons, children will continue to participate in guided group reading sessions where they will be reading ‘Lost Spells’. Children will study three poems from the collection in particular: Jackdaw, Grey Seal and Woodpecker.  Children begin by exploring the notion of 'spells' and make predictions about what the 'Lost Spells' may be about.  They then move on to study each poem in turn, investigating the vocabulary and meanings within each and examining the authors' use of poetic devices.  Through studying three poems side by side, children are encouraged to make comparisons by summarising and identifying similarities between them.  There will also be opportunities for children to work in small groups to discuss and share thoughts about their reading. 

During guided reading, children will also have spelling and high-frequency word practice to build confidence with sound and word recognition. Each child will continue to choose a reading book from the library to read at home and at school. Please ensure that reading books are brought to school every day. 

During the Summer Term, Year 3 will be reinforcing previous Autumn and Spring Term Welsh language patterns as well as learning new vocabulary. Learning this term will focus on embedding vocabulary and sentence patterns from the topics of homes, weather, hobbies, leisure, body parts, and food. Pupils will begin to use the third person to share an opinion and consider other people's viewpoints. They will also use 'ddim' to speak about things that they and others dislike. 

This term, children will review their previous learning from the Autumn and Spring Terms. Pupils will work on reviewing their knowledge of time, using analogue clocks to find o'clock, half past, quarter past, and quarter to. They will develop their learning to read times up to 5-minute intervals, for example, 5 minutes past 4 and 20 minutes to 6. Pupils will then begin to find the difference between two given times, up to 60-minute difference. They will solve word problems involving time to incorporate real-life maths. 

During the second half of the term, children will explore money by using different combinations to pay for items up to £5 and calculating the change. They will order and compare items up to £10 and use decimal notation to record money. The children will also look at measurement, focusing on reading scales and measuring items using cm, m, l, ml, kg and g. Pupils will compare and order measurements and find the difference between amounts. 

During Career's Week, pupils will have the opportunity to explore how numeracy is embedded within a variety of jobs., explore budgeting and consider profit and loss. 

During health and wellbeing lessons, pupils will continue to develop their physical skills during team and individual sports. Pupils will take part in Sports Day events as part of a team. They will develop skills such as catching, throwing, sprinting, and jumping, as well as develop an awareness of game rules and tactics. 

Within theory lessons, pupils will continue to consider the impact of their diet on their physical well-being. They will explore how sleep affects their mood and motivation, and how important sleep is to their physical and mental health. Pupils will consider their relationships, including how to resolve conflict fairly and how to manage disappointments and change. 

Pupils will continue to take part in enrichment activities on Friday afternoons, including going off-site for activities.  Please provide sportswear on this day.

This term, children will explore the exciting topic “Investigating the Impact of Inventions.” The children will delve into the world of inventors and innovation, learning how everyday items were created to solve real-life problems. They will consider the motivations behind key inventions and explore both their positive and negative effects on society and the environment. 

As part of their learning, children will examine the role of electricity and sustainability, develop their research and writing skills through studying famous inventors, and take part in engaging debates and discussions. Towards the end of the term, pupils will become young inventors themselves and will experience being able to design and build their own inventions to present at a class invention fair. Throughout the topic, they will be encouraged to think critically, collaborate with others, and reflect on how creativity and curiosity can help shape a better world. 

Enrichment activities will take place on a Friday; please wear sportswear and suitable footwear for possible outdoor activities. Please avoid wearing jewellery on this day if possible and ensure long hair is tied back.

Children should bring a water bottle to school with them every day, this should be a sufficient amount to last them the whole day. Please apply sunscreen before school and provide a sunhat for children to wear outdoors. 

Children should bring their reading books to school with them every day. 

Please ensure that all school uniform is clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Don't forget to download our School App via the Play or App stores - The School App will provide you with up to date information about activities and events at Oldcastle Primary School.  Please look out for our weekly newsletter issued via The School App and available on our website on a Friday afternoon.  The newsletter contains all forthcoming diary dates for the school.