Welcome to Year 3!

Each week we'll be keeping you up to date with our weekly blog. In addition to this, please read our half-termly curriculum map to find out what will be happening in Year 3. 

Important information

PE - Monday and Friday. Please come to school in your PE kit on these days and these days only. 

Books - Change books on Wednesday. Your child will come home with 2 new reading books and a library book every Wednesday. Please make sure you have been reading at home at least three times a week. Please record any reading you have done in your reading diary. Your reading diary must always be in your bookbag so that we can read with you in school. 

Spellings - New spellings will be sent home every Friday. Please make sure your child's spelling book is in their bookbag on Friday so that the new ones can be stuck in.  Please also see our spelling page where you can easily access this every week. Please use your spelling book to practice them in. If there is evidence of practising, your child will receive a green point. They will also receive a green point if they have achieved full marks or improved their score from the previous week. Please also check which spellings have been marked as incorrect as these will still need to be practised.

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Year Three End of Year Expectations

This table provides information for parents and carers on the end of year expectations for children in our school. All the objectives will be worked on throughout the year and will be the focus of teaching. Any extra support you can provide in helping your children to achieve these is greatly valued. If you have any queries regarding the content of this booklet, please talk to your child’s teacher.

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Autumn 1

Week 8

As we wrap up this half term, we’re still buzzing with excitement from our brilliant class trip to Stump Cross Caverns! It was, without a doubt, a day to remember.

From the moment we stepped into the mysterious underground world, the children were wide-eyed with wonder. We learnt so much about fossils and the Stone Age, building on everything we’ve been exploring in class. The highlight for many was sifting through the sand to find their own fossils, what a great archaeological experience! It was wonderful to see the children applying their learning in such a meaningful way.

Miss Martin and Mr Popple were absolutely blown away by the children’s subject knowledge. Their understanding of rocks, fossils, and prehistoric life really shone through, a true testament to their hard work and curiosity this term. That said, we’re not sure Mr Popple has recovered from the moment we heard that scientists in America are working to bring back woolly mammoths... Jurassic Park, anyone?

The children's behaviour throughout the day was impeccable. They represented Farsley Westroyd beautifully, showing enthusiasm, respect, and teamwork at every turn. We’re so proud of them and already looking forward to our next adventure.

Wishing everyone a lovely half term break, you’ve earned it!

Week 7

In Science, we worked together to explore how water contributes to the weathering of rocks. We carried out investigations to understand how rain and water can gradually break down different types of rock, changing the landscape over time. It helped us think like real geologists and appreciate how natural processes shape our world

In History, we had great fun playing a trading game based on Iron Age survival. We worked in teams of three to play a game called Would You Survive?, using survival checklists and shuffled resource cards. Each of us started with seven random cards and had to trade and barter with our group to collect everything we’d need to survive in Iron Age Britain. It was a brilliant way to understand how Iron Age people would have relied on each other for trade, resources and survival!

This week in Design and Technology, Year 3 had a fantastic time designing and making our very own seasonal tarts! We learned and practised safe food preparation skills, including how to chop using the claw and bridge techniques and how to peel safely by working away from ourselves with a peeler. As part of our project, we researched and selected seasonal ingredients to make sure our tarts met the design brief. Everyone carefully planned their tart, thinking about taste, presentation, and nutritional value. The whole process was great fun, but the best part? Tasting our delicious creations! Some of us managed to save a slice to share at home, but most of us couldn’t resist eating it all because they were just that tasty! This hands-on project helped us build confidence in the kitchen and learn how to work safely and responsibly. Check out the recipe below if you'd like to make one at home! They're really quick and easy to make.

Week 6

This week has been full of exciting adventures in Year 3!

We had some special visitors from the diving scouts who came to see our skills in action. Everyone tried their best, and we were incredibly proud of how confidently the children participated. Some were even lucky enough to receive a letter inviting them to join the diving team, what an achievement!

In English, we’ve been learning how to use the present perfect tense. Ask your child to tell you the difference between “I ate lunch” and “I have eaten lunch” They’ve worked hard to understand it!

Our trip to church for the Harvest Festival was a truly special moment. The children sang beautifully and showed great respect throughout the service. It was lovely to come together as a school community and reflect on the importance of thankfulness.

We played a really fun game in maths this week! We had to count forwards and backwards and try to trick out friends so that we ended up saying 100. We played against Miss Martin and Logan was the only person that could beat her! We asked Miss Martin to put the game on the website so we can challenge you to a counting battle at home!  

And finally, the cherry on top, our chocolate pizza party! It was sticky, sweet, and full of smiles. We’re still counting how many chocolate beards appeared by the end, can you spot them all?

Week 5

This week in Year 3, we've been diving into numbers and developing our understanding of place value. We've focused on representing 3-digit multiples of 10 in different ways, using a variety of practical resources. Working with our partners has helped us to talk through our thinking and explore new strategies together.

In PSHE, we began our important work on understanding bullying. Through discussion and reflection, we explored what bullying is and began to understand the impact it can have on individuals. The children responded with maturity and empathy, showing great awareness of how we can support each other.

Our new writing unit has kicked off with the book The First Drawing by Mordicai Gerstein. Inspired by the story, we had a go at creating our own cave drawings. Alongside this, we've started learning how to use inverted commas to punctuate direct speech. While it’s been a bit tricky remembering all the rules, we’ve made brilliant progress and are becoming more confident writers.

Week 4

This week in Year 3 has been all about friendship, what it means to be a good friend and how we can build positive relationships with others.

We began by exploring what makes a healthy friendship. Through discussion and role play, we thought about kindness, listening, honesty, and respect. We then introduced our problem scale, a tool to help us reflect on how big or small our friendship problems really are. We learned that a Level 5 problem is a true emergency, while a Level 1 is just a small "glitch" that we can solve ourselves. We were brilliant at recognising how to keep our problems small and think calmly about solutions.

To celebrate our friendships and strengthen new ones, we had a very special activity: friendship bracelet making! But with a twist, we picked names out of a hat so we could make a bracelet for someone who wasn’t already a close friend. First, we had to interview our new partner, asking about their favourite colours, interests, and dislikes. Then we got creative, designing a personalised bracelet just for them.

The results were fantastic! We shared how it felt to give something handmade and thoughtful, and how it felt to receive something made with care and kindness. There were lots of smiles and proud moments all around.

To round off our lovely week, we enjoyed a calming session of Flamingo Yoga during PE. We enjoyed the chance to unwind, stretch and centre ourselves, a perfect way to end our week focused on friendship and wellbeing.

If you’d like to try Flamingo Yoga at home, check out the video below!

Week 3

This week, Year 3 had a fantastic time learning outdoors during our visit to Westroyd Park for a special Seed Workshop. We explored how to identify different trees by examining their leaves and learned all about how trees disperse their seeds—through berries, pods, and even the famous "helicopter" seeds! It was a brilliant opportunity to see science in action in our local environment.

To round off our workshop, we played some exciting games that helped us showcase everything we had learned about trees and seeds. It was a fun and memorable way to deepen our understanding of nature and the world around us.

We also had a special visitor in school this week who worked with us on drawing the front of our school. These amazing pieces of artwork will be proudly displayed at our Heritage Day celebration on Saturday. We’re incredibly proud of the children’s creative efforts and can’t wait to see you there!

Week 2

Miss Martin was extremely impressed with how many children achieved 10 out of 10 on their spellings this week—well done to everyone who worked so hard! Let’s keep up this amazing effort and aim for even more perfect scores next week. 

In History, we’ve had a really fun and unforgettable lesson to kick off our new topic on The Stone Age. Miss Martin brought in a toilet roll to help us visualise just how long ago the Stone Age began. Each square on the roll represented 1,000 years. As we carefully unrolled it, we estimated when the Stone Age might have started. By the time we reached the end, we were amazed to learn that we still hadn’t gone back far enough, we would need two more rolls to represent the full 900,000 years ago that the Stone Age began! Our minds were truly blown! It was a brilliant way to make history come alive. 

In Reading, we’ve started exploring our new class text, "Stig of the Dump". Before we even opened the first page, we practised our reading skill of predicting and asking questions, using just the front cover and the blurb. It really got us thinking and wondering what the story might hold.

We've also started reading "The Stone Age Boy", which we’ll be using as inspiration in our Writing lessons. We’ve been learning about prepositions and conjunctions, which will help us write brilliant sentences. Everyone has shown great teamwork during group discussions and activities.

Let’s keep working hard, helping each other, and having fun as we continue our journey through the Stone Age!

Week 1

What a fantastic first week we’ve had in Year 3! The classroom has been buzzing with excitement as we’ve been getting everything set up for an amazing year ahead.

We began by working together to create our Class Contract. Everyone contributed their ideas about how we can make our classroom a safe, happy, and respectful place to learn. 

Our classroom roles were launched too, with everyone given the chance to become a classroom monitor and take responsibility for helping our learning space run smoothly. We discussed our expectations and agreed that working together is the best way to achieve success.

We loved  listening to Miss Martin’s favourite stories. One book in particular, The Book With No Pictures, had us all in stitches, we enjoyed it so much we made her read it twice!

We’ve also spent time learning about our Zones of Regulation. We explored how we can recognise our feelings, what our triggers and sparks are, and how it’s perfectly okay to be in different zones at different times of the day. We’re already getting better at recognising our emotions and thinking about helpful ways to respond.

We’ve made a super start and can’t wait to keep building on this strong foundation. Here’s to a year of Enjoying, Believing, Achieving and doing it all Together!