Meet our wonderful Year 3 Team
Year 3 Teachers
Mr Eccles
Year 3 Class Teacher
Mrs Wood
Teaching Assistant
Mr Eccles
Year 3 Class Teacher
Mrs Wood
Teaching Assistant
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to an exciting new year of learning! Year 3 is a pivotal year as the children transition into Key Stage 2, and we have a jam-packed curriculum designed to spark their curiosity and develop their critical thinking skills.
Below is an overview of the key topics we will be exploring together this year.
Science: Exploring the Natural World
In Science, our focus is on hands-on investigation and understanding the physical and biological world around us.
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Light: We will explore how light travels, the formation of shadows, and the importance of light for seeing things.
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Forces and Magnets: Students will learn about "push" and "pull" forces and investigate the mysterious properties of magnetic poles.
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Plants: We’ll look at the functions of different parts of a plant, the requirements for growth, and the fascinating life cycle of flowering plants.
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Animals including Humans: This unit focuses on nutrition, the role of skeletons, and how muscles help us move.
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Rocks: A journey into geology! We will compare and group different types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) and learn how fossils are formed.
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History: From Stone Tools to Great Empires
Our History curriculum takes us on a journey through time, comparing how early humans lived and how the first great civilisations rose to power.
Prehistoric Britain
We begin by looking at our own shores, tracking the changes from the Stone Age through to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. We will look at how technology, homes, and daily life evolved over thousands of years.
Ancient Civilisations
We will then broaden our horizons to look at four foundational societies of the ancient world:
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Ancient Sumer: The cradle of civilisation and early writing.
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Ancient Egyptians: Pyramids, pharaohs, and the importance of the Nile.
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Shang Dynasty: Early Chinese culture and bronze-working.
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Indus Valley: Famous for its incredibly advanced urban planning and drainage.
Religious Education (RE): Big Questions
In RE, we use an inquiry-based approach to look at faith and ethics. Our key units of study include:
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Faith Leaders: What is the role of a leader "called by God"?
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The Nature of Jesus: Why do Christians believe Jesus was ‘God With Us’?
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Transformation: How did (and does) Jesus change lives?
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Symbolism: Is the Cross a symbol of sadness or joy?
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Ethics: Is the ‘Golden Rule’ (treating others as you wish to be treated) agreed upon by everyone?
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Tradition: The significance of Harvest celebrations.
Art: Developing Mastery
This year, our Art curriculum focuses on two core disciplines to help children express their creativity:
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Drawing: Developing control with pencils, charcoal, and pastels. We will focus on shading, line work, and perspective.
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Painting: Exploring colour mixing, textures, and the techniques of famous artists to create vibrant compositions.
Guided Reading: The "VIPERS" Approach
To ensure our students become confident, analytical readers, we use the VIPERS framework during our Guided Reading sessions. This helps children target specific comprehension skills:
| Skill | What it means |
| Vocabulary | Defining and understanding new words in context. |
| Inference | Reading "between the lines" to understand hidden meanings. |
| Prediction | Using clues to guess what might happen next. |
| Explanation | Explaining why an author chose a specific word or layout. |
| Retrieval | Finding and recording facts directly from the text. |
| Summarise | Identifying the main ideas of a passage in a few sentences. |
Our Goal: We aim to foster a love for learning where children feel brave enough to ask "Why?" and "How?". We encourage you to talk to your children about these topics at home—you might be surprised by how much they can teach you!
Homework
Spellings will be sent home every other Friday to be learnt ready for the spelling test the following week. Times tables should also be practised at home. Your child is expected to read at home. Each time you read with your child please sign their reading record. Reading book bags must be in school every day.
PE
This term we have PE every Thursday. Please ensure children have PE kits in school and any earrings are removed or plasters need to be provided for the children to cover them with.
Uniform
All children should wear full uniform including their ALWAYS badges.
We do allow pupils to wear all black trainers - no coloured swooshes/stripes etc. with all black soles.
Black shoes are also still acceptable and preferred for school.
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Autumn 1 - Knowledge maps
This week in Science Year 3 have started to look at Rocks. we have looked at the different categories of rocks, Sedimentary, Igneous and Metamorphic.
This week we have spent time at church as part of the week of prayer.
We have also had a fantastic time in PE with Jake the new PE coach.
Today we have had an English experience day with our story of The Stone Age Boy. We have had a look at cave painting and had a little go ourselves using the medium of charcoal.
We have also had a little look at religious symbols and what they mean. We have also had a go at drawing these symbols.
CHOCOLATE ROCKS! Year 3 have spent their science lesson this week creating different types of rocks (Sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic) but made of chocolate. It was a very good afternoon and the rocks tasted fantastic.
JJ was last week's speller of the week. Keep it up JJ.
What a morning with Mrs Hargreaves. We had been using LbQ to test our sticky knowledge in grammar and have learnt how to add 10s across 100.
Seasonal Veg Tart Fun! The children got hands-on creating colourful seasonal vegetable tarts today! They showed great teamwork and learned about where food comes from and the benefits of seasonal eating. Fantastic cooking skills everyone!
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Autumn 2 - Knowledge maps
Year 3 have had such a fun time baking traditional Challah bread. We have spent the afternoon role playing a traditional Langar kitchen from Sikhism. We have had such good fun.
Year 3 have been working on Arrays today in Maths. And yes we found out that an array of 42 is 6x7 "67".
We wanted to send a very big thank you to Cath, Jane, and Debbie for all their hard work in making yesterday's Christmas Dinner such a success. It was truly delicious, and the children certainly appreciated the wonderful festive treat!
Have a great Christmas Break!
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Spring 1 - Knowledge maps
Year 3 news reports are in progress. We are currently writing the scripts for our very important news reports.
Texas has been chosen by Jake in her PE lesson for working super hard. Well Done Texas.
Today we are learning where to place inverted commas.
We are also learning how to correctly form a sentence.
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Spring 2 - Knowledge maps
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Summer 1 - Knowledge maps
Have a look at our knowledge maps to see what we are learning this term
Year 3 Summer 2 - Knowledge maps
What a lovely morning we've had in Year 3! The children have been working on activities that reflect their unique traits and our connections to one another. Their behaviour has been excellent!
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In Maths, we have been representing and partitioning numbers to 100. We have used various resources to help us and all our knowledge from Year 2.
In Science, we have started our new topic of Rocks. We have been exploring various types and looking at them through magnifying glasses. We have learnt that rock is always beneath us, as it is earth's crust
Year 3 had a fantastic PE lesson today with Sam! They were all super active and had a blast participating in different activities that got their hearts racing.
Year 3 are this week's Attendance Champions!
This term we have Blackburn Rovers in to teach us Gymnastics. Today we have warmed up by stretching and playing games. Then we used various equipment to balance and jump in different shapes. Well done Year 3!
Today in RE, we're learning about the harvest!
Yesterday we were learning that the Stone Age lasted for approximately 3.4 billion years! We went outside with our base 10 to help us understand how long ago this actually was. The children were amazed! They had a great time exploring the concept of time.
Year 3 have done it again and are the Attendance Champions this week! Well done Year 3. Keep up the great work of coming to school and arriving on time. Same again next week!
In English, we have been preparing for our big write, taking ourselves to different locations and describing what we can see, hear, smell, feel, and taste. Yesterday we went to space. Today we have been deep in the sea. This has been super fun and has given us some great ideas ready for our own stories!
In Computing with Junior Jam, we've been diving deep into the world of songs! We learned about all the different parts that make up a melody, rhythm, and harmony. Then, we teamed up with our partners to create our very own musical masterpieces on the iPad
Using Chromebooks in maths now we are in the juniors.
This afternoon we have been scientists. We have been observing sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous rocks in water to see if they are impermeable or permeable. We have enjoyed experimenting and adding new words to our vocabulary.
In PSHE, we have been learning to co-operate and collaborate. We had the challenge of working with our partners to cut out shapes and use them to create different images. We had to use our oracy to communicate and work as a team.
This week in PE we have warmed up by stretching and playing games. Then we used various equipment to support us with a forward roll. Well done, Year 3!
To celebrate Poetry Week, Yr 2 and Yr 3 pupils have been mixed into groups to participate in various poetic activities. My group activity gave the children the opportunity to watch different types of performance poems and discuss what made them special.
A wonderful morning as part of our poetry week. Mrs Hargreaves has had a great time reading a range of different poetry books in our school library.
This week it has been poetry week! In Years 2 and 3, we have done a variety of workshops. In this session, we learnt all about acrostic poems and had a go at writing our own Autumn one.
We have finished our first class novel this week! We have really enjoyed reading An Alien in the jam factory and we are ready to start our next one.
This week in PE we have warmed up by stretching and playing games. Then we used various equipment to support us with a hand stand. Well done, Year 3!
In Music with Junior Jam, we've been exploring the differences between major and minor keys.
On Friday, Years 1 and 3 went to The Billy Project to deliver the food we collected for harvest. We felt proud that as a school, we were using our school value of love to support people less fortunate than us.
Our Year 3 art project has been a prehistoric adventure! We've mastered new drawing skills, experimented with natural pigments, and recreated the feel of cave walls. Plus, we've worked together to create stunning hand paintings. It has been so much fun!
Yesterday we were archaeologists! We investigated Stone Age poo. We measured it, described it, and took it apart to work out what foods were eaten in the past! We had a lot of fun, even though some of us found it disgusting.
In DT this week we are making seasonal vegetable tarts!
Thank you to all the parents/carers who have already sent their child in with £1 to pay for all the resources used across the week.
Our first focus in DT week is investigating –
We have researched on chrome books, explored recipe books, tried various seasonal vegetables and carried out questionnaires around the school
Year 3 DT Week - Investigating
Our next focus in DT week is skills -
We have practised cutting using the bridge and claw methods; we have premade pesto for the base of our tarts with the help of Miss Sprot and finally, we have designed our tarts.
Year 3 DT Week - Skills
Our end product! We worked super hard on our seasonal vegetable tarts to ensure they met our design criteria. They tasted and looked delicious! We are so proud of our end result. Well done Year 3!
Today we have had a visit from a famous poet, Paul Cookson. We enjoyed a whole school assembly, and then we had our session in Year, where he helped us to write a poem all about the Stone Age. We had so much fun!
Today was our final session doing gymnastics with Blackburn Rovers. We practised all the skills we have learnt over the past few weeks. We had two special visitors, Poppy and Tia, who are football players for the women's Blackburn Rovers team! They supported us during the session, and we had the opportunity to ask them questions at the end. What a fabulous way to end our first half term!
On Monday, we were adding and subtracting multiples of 100 in Maths.
In science our new topic is Forces and Magnets. We started our topic by learning all about contact force. Ask your child to tell you what this is.
In PE, Sam has been teaching us about team sports.
Yesterday, Year 3 started the GULP program with Blackburn Rovers!
This program aims to help children reduce their intake of sugary drinks. Coaches will be using fun activities and games to educate children about the negative impacts of sugary drinks on their health.
In these fantastic sessions, your child will:
Learn about the importance of drinking water and low-fat milk.
Receive a free reusable water bottle.
Be encouraged to give up sugary drinks for 21 days.
By participating in GULP, your child is taking a step towards a healthier future, reducing their risk of dental problems, obesity, and other health issues.
We have begun our non-fiction text in English. We're creating a holiday brochure!
To start we have been looking over a variety of holiday brochures, both on paper and on Chromebooks, in order to plan. We have been identifying the characteristics of this kind of writing and rebuilding the structure of a scattered text
Our new topic is off to fantastic start! At home, ask your children what we know so far!
We have begun our non-fiction text in English. We're creating a holiday brochure!
We are learning to play the samba drums in Music with Junior Jam.
In our GULP session yesterday we discussed how fizzy drinks may impact our teeth. We have done an experiment as we have put eggs in water, orange juice and coca cola. We are going to observe them over the next few weeks to see what effect the drinks have on the shell just like they would our teeth.
GULP session 2
We have finished our second class novel this week! We have really enjoyed reading Planet Omar accidental trouble magnet and we are ready to start our next one.
Today in Year 3, we have been very lucky to have the opportunity to use a smoothie bike. We made 3 smoothies and all had a turn riding the bike. We tasted them all and they were delicious! This helped us to remember that we should be eating 5 a day and staying healthy.
Today in Year 3, we have been very lucky to have the opportunity to use a smoothie bike!
In Science, we have been learning all about forces and resistance. This week we did an experiment to find out which material had the most resistance and slowed the car down. We had some interesting results and we enjoyed experimenting.
In Geography, we have started our new topic of Volcanoes and Earthquakes. In today's lesson, we have recapped continents and oceans, as this will link closely with what we are going to be learning. The children did a great job of recalling them.
Continuing to work on our dodgeball skills in PE with Sam.
Pantomime time! The children can't wait for it to start.
Sebastian busy making Christmas crafts whilst singing Christmas songs, with a very happy Mrs Jones.
Friday's snowball disco. All the children enjoyed themselves that much that we forgot to take pictures as we were too busy dancing!
What a great day we have had! It’s starting to feel very festive
Thank you to all the parents and carers who joined us in Year 3 for our Christmas Craft! It was wonderful to see everyone having fun and getting creative. We had the best time!
This afternoon, we have had our Christmas party! We played games and listened to music, it was so much fun!
For the 4th time… Year 3 have done it AGAIN and are the Attendance Champions this week! Well done Year 3. Keep up the great work of coming to school and arriving on time!
It’s a wrap! What an amazing term we have had in Year 3! It has been a pleasure. Thank you so much for all the support, love and gifts. I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and just a reminder that I am only across the corridor… Love Miss Kay.
Year 3 had a fantastic PE lesson with Sam today! They engaged in an exciting game of handball with a unique twist. The class collaboratively crafted their own set of rules, incorporating both positive and negative outcomes linked to dice rolls. This innovative approach not only added an element of surprise and fun but also served as a valuable exercise in emotional regulation. By experiencing both favourable and unfavourable rule changes based on chance, the children learned to manage their feelings, fostering sportsmanship and resilience in the face of unexpected outcomes in team sports.
Year 3 had a fantastic PE lesson with Sam today! They engaged in an exciting game of handball with a unique twist.
In Georgraphy, we had fun learning about earthquakes using biscuits to represent the Earth's tectonic plates. By pushing and sliding the biscuits, we saw how the movement of the plates causes earthquakes, making it an engaging and tasty lesson!
Fun in PE - 28.1.25
Year 3 has absolutely loved our 'Volcanoes and Earthquakes' topic in Geography! We've learnt so much about the powerful forces that shape our planet.
This Friday, we finished our topic with a bang (or should we say, a rumble?)! We witnessed a spectacular eruption in the playground—well, a homemade one, of course! We got to build our own volcanoes and then cut them open to see all the fascinating layers inside, including the magma chamber and the magma itself. We've also filmed some of the facts we've learnt to share with you. We hope you like it!
Year 3's keyboard skills
Archery in PE this afternoon.
In Maths, we are currently learning about equivalent lengths.
Today in Year 3, we had our first exciting lesson on iStop Motion in Computing with Junior Jam! We've all done a fantastic job so far, learning about stop motion animation and even starting to create our own short films.
Today in History, Year 3 explored the significance of Egyptian pharaohs, learning about famous rulers and the symbols they used. We had a go at "mummifying" Lexi-Grace, designing our own tombs, and writing our names in hieroglyphics.
Last Friday, our Junior Jam Computing session focused on advancing our stop motion animation skills. We introduced a technique called 'onion skinning', which allows animators to see a transparent layer of the previous frame for smoother animation. Here are a few videos of the children's incredible work.
In yesterday's art lesson, we discovered how to create different marks using a range of media, and we used shapes as a starting point for our drawings. The children loved the messy process!
Today in Science, Year 3 continued their exploration of light by investigating shadows. We asked the question, "Do shadows stay the same all day?" and went outside to find out. By measuring the length and angle of a metre ruler's shadow at different times, the children observed that shadows change throughout the day. Ask your child/ren what they found out.
Year 3's Reader of the Week! A huge congratulations to Ava, who has consistently shown her love of reading by always bringing her book in on time and reading every week. Well done, Ava! We're so proud of you!
Luella has earned the title of Speller of the Week, with her impressive activity on Spelling Shed. Well done, Luella!
Year 3 had a fantastic PE lesson in the sunshine. They invented fun team games, built obstacle courses, and practised their catching and throwing. Everyone enjoyed playing and learning together.
Year 3 have finished reading "How to Train Your Dragon"! The class thoroughly enjoyed Hiccup's adventures and the exciting world of dragons. There were many laughs and gasps as they journeyed through the story. It was a fantastic novel to explore together
Huge congratulations to Chimamanda for being Year 3's Reader of the Week!
Year 3 had a fantastic local walk today, exploring different bridges as part of our DT topic!
Year 3 have had a brilliant DT week! They've been busy designing and building their own bridges, making sure the structures are just right so they are really strong. It's been great seeing their creative ideas come to life!
We had a fantastic time diving into our new Science topic - Plants. We started by remembering what plants need to grow strong, and then each child planted their very own seed. We're so curious to see what delicious "salad" creations will sprout.
Music fun in Year 3 today! We've begun our Songwriting with Glockenspiels topic with Junior Jam.
What a fantastic morning for Year 3 at Blackburn Museum! Gayle brought the ancient Egyptians to life for us! We even got to see some incredible artefacts!
Year 3 are developing skills for competitive games in PE.
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Church exploration this morning! We visited St Aidan’s and Rev. Alice helped us compare its features to other churches.
Watercolour colour mixing in Art. We then used these techniques to create paintings based on what we could see.
Today in Science, we're diving into the essential needs of plants! We're conducting a fascinating experiment where we'll be removing one crucial element that plants require to survive.
We have been practising our latest art skill this afternoon. Ask us about Sgraffito.
This morning in maths we have been looking at fractions. We have learnt what a fraction is and how to add and subtract fractions from each other and from a whole.
This afternoon in art we have been using viewfinders to pinpoint different brush strokes we can use.
Enjoying our extra playtime from winning the attendance race again!
This morning in maths we have been finding fractions of numbers using place value counters.
Year 3 had a wonderful time today experiencing our outdoor prayer day with Revd Alice. It was a lovely opportunity for them to connect with their faith in the fresh air.
We are attendance heroes!
Year 3 is working hard and letting their creativity shine today as they continue to make their 10 Commandments books in RE using Purple Mash's 2Create.
Art outside in the shade this afternoon.
In maths this morning we have been finding fractions of amounts.
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What an amazing turn out we had for our year 3 parents and carers Geography Show it. We all had a brilliant time sharing our sticky knowledge about Spain.
We have all really enjoyed our bounce day today. A huge well done to everyone for earning their ALWAYS treat.
Our Year 3 adventure with 'The Wild Robot' came to a close today! We thoroughly enjoyed the story and can't wait to dive into the novels Year 4 has in store for us.
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Today in Science, Year 3 were investigating 'Do people with the longest legs jump the furthest?' Ask your child what they discovered as you may be surprised!
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