Year 3

Welcome to Caterpillar Class - Miss Waterhouse

Keep checking this page to find out about the exciting activities we take part in to help us with our learning. Scroll down to read the latest.

St. Matthew’s Trip – 21. 06. 2017

Last Monday, year three and four took a short coach journey to spend the day at a very different school in the middle of Ipswich. Throughout the day, the children took part in various fun activities whilst making numerous new friends. The children from St. Matthew’s come from a very diverse range of cultures and religions, and speak numerous languages! It was an invaluable experience for the children to meet others who have a very different culture to their own. Thank you to all the wonderful teachers at St. Matthew’s who made us feel so welcome, and organised such creative activities for all the children to participate in.

African Children’s Choir – 05. 05. 2017

Last Friday, year 3 and 4 spent the afternoon watching an amazing performance by the African Children’s Choir. The performance was full of energy and colour, with some our children even being asked to go on stage and join in. One of the highlights of the afternoon was watching Mrs Bowman and Mr Hurley get stuck in with some of their own impressive dance moves!

Science – 04. 05. 2017

In Science this half term we are studying different materials. Last week, we learnt the terms ‘porous’ and ‘non-porous’, before being challenged to make our very own boats. Each group was then given a range of materials, from paper, foil, plastic, straws and clay to use. Together they had to decide what materials to choose, and what shape they wanted their boat to be to give it the best chance of floating.

After 20 minutes of designing and engineering, we tested the boats on the water. Some designs were so successful that they could hold over 15 marbles! A great afternoon was had by all. 

Ancient Greece Day – 20. 04. 2017

What an exciting way to start the new term! Today the children had many different experiences linked to our last topic, Ancient Greece. We started the day by following a recipe to make our very own pitta breads. After this, we tasted a range of foods that were eaten by the Ancient Greeks, including olives, grapes and feta cheese. In the afternoon, Mr Hurley brought in some replica Greek armour for the children to see and try out for themselves. The class also created their very own ancient Greek coin out of clay and wrote the names of various Gods and Goddesses using the Greek alphabet. Finally they were able to try their pitta breads. Yum!

River Waveney – 30. 03. 2017

Old Hall – 24. 03. 2017

Last Friday we were invited to see the animals at Old Hall in the village. It was a glorious morning, where all the children prepared food for and fed the calves, fed the pigs and held a lamb! Thank you to Maddy’s Mum for inviting us down and giving the children such a hands on experience.

Fraction Museum – 03. 02. 2017

Today we turned our humble classroom into a fraction museum! The children had a range of objects available to use to create different exhibits. The exhibits could represent any fraction they wanted, and had to be labelled. After the children created their exhibits, they had to show their partner what they had created and why they had labelled it with a particular fraction. Some children even made a ‘mystery fraction’, where they used objects to create a representation of a fraction, with a question mark on their label. Their partner then had to try and guess the fraction their mystery exhibit represented. Take a look at the photos below to see our active learning.

Hand Gym – 25. 01. 17

Over the next few weeks, Miss Street is running daily five-minute sessions with the whole class to strengthen the muscles in their hands. This will improve the children's fine motor skills, which should in turn help them to improve their handwriting. Watch the video below to see hand gym in action.

Science Experiment – 24. 01. 17

Today we were using chocolate in the classroom! We designed an experiment to help us understand how temperature affects the melting rate of chocolate. First of all we split our chocolate evenly between three foil trays. After this, we put each foil tray into a bigger tray. Mr Hurley filled each of the bigger trays with water of varying temperatures: 19°, 28 ° and 37 °. We discovered that the tray of chocolate in the warm water melted first, because of the energy the particles had from the heat to move around out of their rigid structure. A fun afternoon learning about states of matter.

Water Worlds – 23. 01. 17

Yesterday we had our first Topic lesson with Miss Street. At the start of the lesson we watched a short video showing us the eight processes water goes through at a sewage works to make it safe to drink. After a short discussion about why it is important to filter water, we worked in small groups using range of materials to filter our dirty water. Have a look at the photos below to see our results!

Stone Age Necklaces – 15. 12. 16

In Design and Technology we have been inspired by our topic to create Stone Age necklaces. Firstly, we looked at a range of photographs which showed jewellery found at Skara Brae (the Stone Age village discovered on the Orkney Islands). As a class we discussed what materials they had used, and made our own suggestions as to why people in the Stone Age wore jewellery. After this, we designed our own beads, using the shape of teeth, bones and fossils in our final drawings. Over the last week, we have finally been able to make the beads from clay, paint them with earthy colours and string them up to make an attractive final piece. Take a look at the photos below to see some of our necklaces. 

Homework – 09. 12. 16

This week I would like the class to practice reading the time on an analogue clock face. Recording in their homework books isn’t necessary, however practicing reading the time little and often will really help your child when we return back to school after Christmas. Below are a selection of links to various games and activities online that may help. 

Stone Age Artefacts – 22. 11. 16

This afternoon the class had the opportunity to observe and hold a range of different artefacts from the Stone Age. After holding each one, the children discussed what materials they were made from, what they were and what each piece told us about life in the past. Finally, each child sketched an artefact at their tables, answering questions on what they had been given.

A big thank you to Freddie’s Mum for telling the school about the school loan boxes provided by Colchester and Ipswich Museums. 

Stone Age Day – 17. 11. 16

Today we had a visit from two peculiar guests living on the school field: cave men from the Stone Age! The children were transported to a different time when life for human beings was very different compared to the modern day. Throughout the morning the children saw how our ancestors made fire, created their own clay pots, made their own string, witnessed how flint was knapped and they even watched Miss Waterhouse gut a fish! This was a fantastic day for everybody involved, bringing prehistory to life for each child. An amazing experience they will never forget!

Class Reward Information

At the end of last half term, the class worked hard to earn a whole class reward. After a class discussion today, the children have voted to have a teddy bear picnic and watch a film tomorrow afternoon (Friday 4^th November).

Each child is allowed to bring in one teddy (this can be a cuddly toy). I have said that they should be able to comfortably carry it themselves, along with their school bag. I will bring in a Disney Pixar DVD with a U rating for the children to watch. I will also supply a small snack or each child, so no extra food needs to be brought in, teddies only! Thank you 

Right Angle Monster – 01. 11. 16

Yesterday the children were introduced to the right angle monster, a monster who only eats two things: right angles and children aged 7 and 8! The class were challenged to find as many right angles as they could to keep the monster from eating them. This proved to be a great way to help the children see lots of right angles all around them, rather than just in their maths books. Take a look at the photos below to see them using the monsters. 

Spellings – 31. 10. 16

The children will still be quizzed on five spellings this Friday. Each child was sent home with these spellings today. They are also listed below in case they don’t make it home! Everyone has the same five words, and they have come from the year 3/4 word list. They are:

Different

Difficult

Disappear

Early

Earth

Please practise these at home ready for the quiz Friday morning. Thank you J

Pizza Making – 20. 10. 16

This morning year 3 and 4 have had a fun-filled morning designing and making their own mini pizzas. We started by watching a video that showed us how they make pizza in Italy. Afterwards, we followed a recipe to make our very own bread base, kneading our dough and leaving it to prove. Whilst proving, we drew our own designs, choosing up to four different ingredients for our toppings. Finally, each child got to top and bake their very own mini pizza! Take a look at the photos below to see us cooking!

Diva Lamps – 17. 10. 16

Today the children have been making Diva Lamps in R.E. These are a special type of lamp Hindus make and use when celebrating Diwali, often called ‘The Festival of Light’. In our previous R.E lessons, we learnt how the oil lamps and candles are lit by Hindus inside and outside the home to attract the goddess Lakshmi. The children made their thumb pots out of clay, and had access to range of different tools to score in various lines and dots to decorate their diva lamp. The lamps have been made so they can each fit a small tea light inside. Take a look at the photos below to see how they turned out.

Adverbs – 14. 10. 16

Today the children were identifying and using adverbs in their own sentences to help make their writing more interesting. First they sorted a range of different adverbs, then they chose four of them to use in their own sentences and finally each child created their own ‘Adverb Sun’ (see photos below). The children should be very proud of what they have created today, as they all look fantastic on display in the classroom. A big well done to Caterpillar Class!

Girls’ Football Week – 11.10.16

Today Rosie Webb (from the FA) visited our school to run a football session to celebrate ‘Girls’ Football Week’. Year 3 and 4 girls enjoyed playing mini matches against one another, practising core skills such as passing, shooting and defending. A great afternoon was had by all, as you can tell by the photos below.

Planting Bulbs – 10. 10. 16

Yesterday Year 3 planted tulip and daffodil bulbs around the school as part of their Science topic: Living Things. After learning about how bulbs begin to grow when planted in autumn, we went outside and begun planting them in various flower beds around the school. Have a look for the first green shots in the Spring.

Inverted Commas - 21. 09. 16

Last week, we were focusing on using inverted commas (speech marks) around the spoken word. To reinforce this, we were sticking dried macaroni pasta to punctuate sentences with no inverted commas. This was a great kinaesthetic for the children to practise using punctuation correctly.