Guiseley Primary School

Year 3 - Pink Class and Violet Class

Year 3 Welcome Booklets

Curriculum overview

Summer 2

After our trip to Magna last half term, we were ready to launch into our new topic about energy and where it comes from. We have learned about renewable and non-renewable forms of energy and the arguments for and against both. We looked at maps of Guiseley and worked out where it would be best to have a wind-farm. We also looked at Owl's Hatch Solar farm in Kent and why Kent is a good place for a solar farm but why some people objected to it. We wrote stories based on When Charlie McButton Lost Power. We discovered that we use electricity for so many of our everyday activities and jobs. The children all came up with some creative ways to spend a day with no power!

In science we have learned more about plants and what helps them to grow. We dissected some flowering plants and we know the names of their parts. We are proud of our DT project of making castles using 3D nets.

We have enjoyed learning how to use the new school orienteering class in PE alongside some traditional athletic activities.

In French, we have learned how to ask for ice-creams of all different flavours which may come in useful for some people's holidays!

Summer 1

The most exciting part of this half term was going on our school trip to Magna. The children discovered 4 different zones including wind, fire, air and water - most of them said the water was their favourite part because the sprinklers turned on unexpectedly! They loved seeing 'The Big Melt' show too, this involved some fire and explosions.

The children have learnt about the Romans, finding out about the good things they gave to Britain like roads, languages, food and libraries but also about the bad things they did such as invading the country. Finding all this information out helped them to write a balanced argument in English about if they were good or bad for Britain.

They have also been busy making colourful, intricate clay fruits in DT in the style of Kaori Kurihara. To start with, they spent time sketching their chosen fruit so they had a design in mind. After this, they sculpted the clay and then finished off with a detailed design and bright colours. They look fantastic!

The children have loved learning to play netball and tennis in PE. They have played some whole class games of netball which has been fun and the children have showed some excellent teamwork and good sportsmanship too.

Spring 2

This half term we have been busy doing sewing in DT. This was the first time that many of the children had tried threading a needle and we have worked hard to improve our resilience and perseverance during this project!

We had an exciting time making water clocks and doing other time related activities during National Science week.

We have learned a lot about how rivers form and change over their course and have learned all about the River Wharfe. We have had some outdoor learning students from Leeds Beckett University who have delivered some geography lessons in a fun way too.

We had a visit from the Mindmate team who helped us to learn strategies to protect our mental health and how to calm ourselves down when we feel anxious, sad or angry. We have continued with this during our assemblies and in PSHE lessons.

In PE we completed another unit on dance but have particularly enjoyed athletics sessions with Mrs Clarke, especially the competitive elements!

Both classes practised hard for their class assemblies and performed dances, songs and acting brilliantly! Lots of children auditioned for Guiseley’s Got Talent and it was lovely to see their talents and confidence during our audition afternoon!

Spring 1

This half term has been short but Year 3 have managed to cram in a lot of learning! The children have loved learning about Ancient Egypt. We learned about the importance of the River Nile, about mummification and about why pyramids were built. We also learned about some of the more famous pharaohs such as Cleopatra and the boy king, Tutankamun.

In science we learned about forces. We learned about pushes and pulls and about friction and how things move on different surfaces. We have tested the strength of magnets and learned about magnetic poles.

In DT, we have been tasting seasonal fruits and vegetables and learning about how eating seasonal food is good for our bodies and helps the planet. We thoroughly enjoyed making fruit crumble and vegetable tarts!

Autumn 2

The Autumn 2 half term is always a busy one but lots of fun! Year 3 loved learning lots of Christmas songs to sing along with Year 4 for our concert! We have enjoyed learning about mountains and how they are formed. We compared the Grampian Mountain range with the Andes. We wrote fantastic non-chronological reports about the Himalyas and especially enjoyed learning about Mount Everest. We learned about Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay and wrote a diary entry based on their record breaking climb. In science we have learnt about what ‘darkness’ is, light sources and why some objects are seen in light better than others, mirrors and how we can protect our eyes from the sun – all through a variety of experiments. Our PSHE topic has been about bullying - what is bullying, different types of bullying, how to prevent it and what a bystander is. We had lots of interesting comments in our discussions! We hope you have a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year!

Autumn 1

We have loved learning about the Stone Age through to the Iron Age. We learned about the types of houses the Stone Age people used to live in and the kinds of tools they used and the types of food they used to eat and how they cooked it. We are looking forward to learning how to make fire ourselves on Friday during our Stone Age workshop! In science we learned about how rocks are formed and how to identify different kinds of rocks. We have learned how to set out addition and subtraction in columns in maths. In English we wrote a recount of part of a story based on The Stone Age Boy. We also used lots of extended noun phrases in a description of the woolly mammoth in The First Drawing. We used our senses and used alliteration to write a Stone Age poem. We also looked at the description of the dump in Stig of the Dump and wrote our own descriptions. What a busy half term!