Each week, usually on a Friday, you will find an update about our weeks learning and adventures! Within this class blog I will summarise what we have been up to in our lessons, inform you of our superstar learner from the week and also remind you of any useful information, whether this be homework or dates. Keep your eyes peeled - our first blog will be on Friday 4th September!
Saturday 17th October:
Hi everyone,
Apologies for the weekly update on a Saturday. Time ran away with me on Friday but didn’t want to let the week pass without an update. I appreciate after talking to lots of children in school this week that is a tough time for all. Some children in school have said they’re upset they won’t be able to visit certain family members. If any of you need a chat or anything at all then please do send me a dojo or email at any time and we will do our best to support you!
Last week we had a very busy week! In English we were learning how to plan a story from a picture stimulus by using a boxing up plan. Yesterday we wrote detailed stories that included lots of the skills we’ve been recapping since September. I will post a few later on! In Maths we explored division through sharing, division on a number line and how our multiplication knowledge can actually help us solve a division. On Thursday we used one of these methods to solve word problems!
Afternoons were equally as busy. In PE we have been looking at what play really is and how we need to work as part of a team by listening and communicating with one another. We were faced with a problem which we had to overcome - moving mats from one side of the hall to another without our feet touching the floor. Such an interesting lesson that proved how talking, listening and compromising were the key parts to teamwork.
In PSHE we looked at emotions thermometers. We looked at different emotions and how some can be stronger and more intense and make us feel uncomfortable. We had some brilliant discussions around this and as a class looked at strategies to help overcome these emotions. In RE we compared our own life to that of a boy who follows the Christian religion. The children loved spotted the similarities between lifestyles as well as the differences.
Another successful week in terms of homework. Spelling scores are improving weekly and the amount of children engaging with the online tasks is increasing weekly too. Only 4/5 children are left to complete this which is incredible - thank you to all of you! Please can I remind you that merits are awarded for 3 weekly reads signed by a parent/carer. Whilst lots of children are able to read independently it is still vital that they read to an adult so they can be questioned about the text. Lots of children’s comprehension skills are weaker than their reading fluency so this is something we need to tackle together.
Next week we will be completing the same assessment papers we completed in week two of the term. I will update you all on Friday with how the children have performed. If their learning in lessons is anything to go by then I can see lots of progress!
Have a lovely weekend whatever you may be up to and take care!
Friday 9th October:
A busy week in Giraffe class as usual. This week in English we have looked at verbs in greater depth. We explored past and present tense verbs and even created a rule for changing these to future tense. Verbs are still managing to catch us out but we have progressed so much since the beginning of the week with this. In Maths we have been busy recapping strategies to help us multiply. We have explored repeated addition, making equal groups and drawing arrays. We applied this knowledge to word problems and assessment style questions and I have been thrilled by the results!
Afternoons have been just as busy. In PSHE we have looked at mindfulness techniques and looked at how these can help us when we are feeling a certain way. In RE this week we have looked at how harvest festival is a celebration which is important to Christians and explored how this is celebrated around the world. We even managed to tie in a little bit of Art by creating portraits in the style of Archimboldo - he uses fruit and vegetables to show the features on a face. In the afternoons we have also tried perfected our handwriting, I can see a huge improvement with this but our next step is to remember to apply this to our general writing whether this be in English, Science, RE or PSHE.
Spellings this week has been a huge success! I can tell lots of children are practising these at home and they are reaping in the rewards with their results. Homework is improving weekly too with so many more children engaging in their spag.com this week. I log on and check regularly to see how children are doing on these activities to ensure that I can plan in little sessions during the week to address any of the misconceptions.
This week our spellings focus on challenge words. This means they do not follow a particular rule as they are all different. Our words for this week are; again, boxes, bread, buy, funniest, hair, metal, mice scary and switch. Our online learning activity this week is on My Maths. The children are exploring adding on a number line.
I hope you all have a lovely weekend whatever you may be doing.
Friday 2nd October:
Despite the miserable weather we have managed to have the most wonderful week in school. In English we have been exploring the four word classes; nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Although we needed a little extra time focusing on this, by this afternoon we were able to write sentences independently which included each word type. In Maths we have been exploring subtracting, reminding ourselves of how to complete this on a number line and then recapping column subtraction. We have also had busy afternoons; learning how to look after one another in PSHE, comparing Christian and non-Christian households in RE and exploring magnets in science.
Spellings improved massively this week. I am noticing more and more children are practising these at home so a huge thank you for your support. Most children have completed this weeks homework so lots of merits all round! The spellings this week focus on the 'u' sound spelt o - other, mother, brother, nothing, cover, money, same, dozen, wander, done. Our online learning task this week is on spag.com.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
Friday 25th September:
We have had another wonderful week in class! In English we wrote the most wonderful recounts based on an animation clip ‘The cloudy lesson’. In maths we perfected column addition, with carrying! We have also continued our learning on emotions by thinking about what makes us feel certain ways - this was particularly useful from a teachers perspective because I learnt so much more about every single child! In RE we looked at sacred objects to Christians and the value this has in their lives - this raised some really thought provoking discussions and I couldn’t believe the children were only year 3! Yesterday afternoon we completed a science investigation, looking at which surfaces caused more or less friction and which surface the cars travelled the furthest on! I will post some photos on Monday morning to show you the quality of our work!
Our spellings this week were a success! Most children achieved 10/10. For those who didn’t, the spellings that tricked us most were ‘wrapped’ and ‘ripped’. Children confused themselves with which need a 'w' in front. Next week our spellings will be focusing on the 'or' sound spelt with an 'a' before an l or ll. Lists are set on spelling shed for the children to access. This week we have also set a My Maths activity around place value for our homework this week. I can see most of you are accessing this at home, if you are struggling to because of a technology barrier then please let me know and I can provide a paper alternative.
Just a polite reminder that children have the correct PE kit in school. Lots of children are still without jogging bottoms and hoodies and it’s getting much cooler now. Please can I ask that all children have jogging bottoms and a hoody in their PE kit from next week as I don’t want any of them getting poorly now the weather is turning again.
Today your child should have come home with a baseline report slip. Please see information below for guidance on this.
Friday 18th September:
Another lovely week in Giraffe class! We thoroughly enjoyed starting our formal teaching and lessons now that our assessments are complete. In Maths we recapped place value by partitioning 2-digit numbers and exploring how many tens and units a number is made up of. In English we have explored different sentence types. We looked at how using question marks, exclamation marks can change a sentence. We even tried looking at descriptive sentences by using two adjectives for every noun we used.
A highlight for our week has most definitely been our PE lessons. The children loved being active in indoor PE and were trying to create different balances with their bodies. In outdoor PE we started to look at how we pass the ball. At first we found this tricky but a few experts in the class were able to model this clearly!
This weeks homework is an online task on Spag.com. Children should have come home with a slip in their planner but if anyone is missing this then please let me know and I can sort it for you! Our spelling rule this week also focuses on adding 'ed' to words; A new list has been set on Spelling Shed for your child to use.
Enjoy the sunshine this weekend!
Friday 11th September:
And just like that the first full week of Year 3 is complete! The children have settled back into school life well and have adapted to the new safety measures with ease. I have been really impressed with their positive and mature attitude towards the rules and routines allowing all of the adults in Year 3 to feel excited about the year ahead.
This week the children have worked exceptionally hard on their assessments in English and Maths. The children tried hard to apply the skills and knowledge they had learnt in Year 2 and also showed they could persevere with those questions they were unsure of. Over the next few weeks, we will be planning lessons to recap and teach these gaps.
We have also had lots of fun this week, particularly with our Roald Dahl day. We began to read one of his famous stories, the BFG. We created our very own WANTED poster for the friendly giant using lots of adventurous vocabulary and we created our very own dream jars. In the afternoon we used paper plates, shapes, and wool to create a dream catcher!
A few reminders:
- Please can planners and reading books be in school every day.
- Spelling rule for next week focuses on ‘r’ spelt ‘wr’. Engage with spelling lists on Spelling Shed.
- A times tables battle has been set on TTRS. Your child’s login can be found in their school planner.
Have a lovely weekend!
Friday 4th September:
We have all had a lovely day getting to know one another today and beginning to learn the rules and routines of year 3. The children were so excited to become juniors and behaved extremely well. We are all really excited to that official start of our Year 3 adventure on Monday