Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter
Term 2
Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter KEY DATES Children have now settled into a routine of work and have adapted well to the introduction
Every Thursday 9am of specialist teachers for specialist subjects. Parent grammar We began our term with an exciting trip to Mudchute Farm on the Isle of Dogs. The children were very surprised to see how large some of the workshop animals were, and the whole experience has provided an excellent foun- Please attend. dation for our readings in English, as well as our understanding of science.
English Wednesday 6th This term, Year 3 will be continuing reading Charlotte’s Web. Children are developing their November 9am skills in essay-writing and analysis of the characters through the author’s choice of language. Mathletics parent Key words: workshop merely, approximately, anxious, conscience, appalled, briskly, vaguely, decent, errand, deli-
cate, hesitate, curiosity, wondrous, destiny, crisis, miracle, determined, sociable, fidget, in- Friday 15th Novem- vent, inconvenient, immediately, modest, distinguish, befriend, duty, ascend and listless. ber 9.15 am Home activities:
Year 3 assembly to Please continue to encourage children to use the language they have learned and ask them parents to explain the characters and their actions. This enables children to remember the book, consider the plot, and develop empathy and understanding of the characters.
Grammar
We will start Term 2 by revising different sentence types, focusing on commands and impera- tive verbs. We will move on to studying nouns, adjectives and adverbs within sentences. Later in the term, we will learn about the subject and object of a sentence and practice using
key punctuation correctly.
Key words:
command, imperative verb, noun, adjective, noun phrase, subject, object, comma.
Spelling
The goal is for children to broaden their knowledge of difficult-to-spell words. We learn ten new words each week. However, we also undertake spaced practice of words that children
should already have learned. Spaced practice helps children consolidate knowledge in their long-term memory, otherwise evidence shows, they will forget the words they have recently learned.
Activities at home: please test your children not only on the words they are learning this week, but on all the words in the Year 3 curriculum so far. You will find these in the Learn Its booklet. Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter
Term 2 Mathematics
KEY DATES Year Three will start the term with a topic on graphs, where they will be given the knowledge to interpret Wednesday 20th No- and create their own pictograms and bar charts. They will then continue to develop their ever-increasing vember 9am number understanding with a unit on addition and How to support your subtraction. During this unit, they will learn both men- child if they are new tal and formal written strategies for solving addition to English and subtraction equations before applying these skills to problem solving. Finally, they will study a topic on length and perimeter, allowing them to observe alternative uses for maths in real world scenarios.
Children are also expected to have already mastered their three times table. This term, Thursday 5th and children will be expected to learn their four times tables at home. Tuesday 10th De- Key words and concepts: cember 3.40 - pictogram, bar chart, tallies, tables, estimation, rounding, addition, subtraction,. 6.30pm English Parent Pro- Ancient History gress meetings This term in Ancient History, Year Three will move on from prehistoric times to learning about ancient Mesopotamia. They will learn about the Mesopotamian cities and different Friday 6th December civilisations that resided there, and Mesopotamian religious 2.30pm beliefs. We will consider the importance of farming in both modern and ancient times, and how the invention of irrigation was a turning point in civilisations. We will discuss, Winter Fair in more depth, how the invention of writing impacts civilisations. We will then write an essay on this topic which will develop the children’s analytical thinking and writing skills.
Key words and concepts: irrigation, civilisation, Sumer/Sumerians, Ur, Babylonians, Babylon, Assyrians, Nineveh, cuneiform, Ziggurats, Epic of Gilgamesh
British History
Last term, students studied the story of Saint Augustine, visiting Canterbury Cathedral. This term, they will learn about King Alfred, who made a brilliant comeback after fleeing the Viking Guthrum. In AD 878, at the Battle of Eding- ton, Alfred fought and defeated the Vikings. Thereafter, England was divided into two: the northern and eastern part of England was ruled by the Vikings and became known as the Danelaw, and the southern and western part of England was ruled by Alfred . Although England was divided, Alfred laid the foundations for a unified kingdom of England, and made many other improve- ments to infrastructure and education during his reign.
Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter
Term 2 Key words: Anglo-Saxons, Wessex, Vikings, Royal court, Edington, Danelaw, burghs, raid, grim, refuge, regroup, scolded, patrol, scholar, succumbed, founded, groundwork. REMINDERS Activities at home: Discussing the historical narrative and practicing the spelling of key vocabulary. Children should be encouraged to visit the British Museum to see their excellent collection of Anglo- Homework Saxon and Viking hoards.
There is Grammar Latin homework to do EVERY evening and Year 3 have been very excited to start learning Latin, the language of the Romans. The study EVERY weekend. of Latin reinforces pupils’ learning of English grammar and vocabulary, as well as providing insight into important and influential cultures. This term, they have learnt over twenty Latin There is also maths verbs (including saltare (‘to dance’) and cantare (‘to sing’)) as well as how to conjugate them. homework to do
EVERY week. Music
In music, this term, the class will be developing their understanding of beat and rhythm. Learn Its Key words: Please test your chil- beat, rhythm, allegretto (fast), largo (slow), piano (soft), forte (loud) Activities at home: dren on their Gram- Listen to music of all genres and describe what you can here. Try using the Italian perfor- mar and Maths mance directions to do this. Learn Its every weekend! Geography
This term, the class will be studying various topics with a focus on an ‘introduction into ge- P.E. Kit ography’. Topics covered this term will be the following: oceans and seas, coasts, the water cycle and rivers. Throughout the term, the class will be consolidating their understanding On Mondays and supported via a range of map working tasks. The class will also be learning to use a range of new geographical vocabulary. Any testing of keywords/concepts, the location/capital cites of Wednesdays, chil- countries in the UK, and map skills will greatly benefit the children. dren must come to Key words: school in their P.E. Ocean, sea, tide, coral, ocean floor, ocean trench, kit with their school beach, cliff, coast, dune, river, spring, water cycle, uniform in their source, estuary, flood, transportation.
bags.
Exeter Class Curriculum Newsletter
Term 2 Science
REMINDERS This term, the class will be studying the biology topics: healthy diet, the skeleton and move- ment. Throughout the term, the class will be using a range of explorative techniques, aided by scientific experiments, to understand how life processes and plants appear in everyday life. The class will also be learning to use a range of new scientific Homework vocabulary. Any testing of key words/concepts and examples/ applications of plants and life processes used in everyday life, by There is Grammar adults at home, will greatly benefit the children. homework to do Key Words: EVERY evening and stomach, intestines, digest, flexible, organs, blood, heart, lungs, EVERY weekend. skeleton, carbohydrates, fats, protein, nutrients, vitamins, calcium, muscles, invertebrates, vertebrates.
Learn Its Art Please test your chil- In Year 3 the children will continue to look at the work of Hundertwasser and will be learning dren on their Gram- about him as both an architect and an artist. They will be designing and making their own mar and Maths Hundertwasser style building using boxes and card. Learn Its every weekend! Key Words: Collage, Skyline, Architect, landmarks, abstract
P.E. Kit On Mondays and PE Wednesdays, chil- This term in PE, the children will be doing gymnastics. dren must come to Key Words: school in their P.E. Gymnastics– Locomotion, Jump, roll, balance, body tension, routine. kit with their school Activities at home: uniform in their Go for a bike ride or take a trip to the local swimming pool.
bags.