The Form III year

In Form III the children will cover:

Maths

Using and applying mathamatics.

• Solve one- and two-step problems involving numbers, money or measures, including time, choosing and carrying out appropriate calculations.

• Represent the information in a puzzle or problem using numbers, images or diagrams; use these to find a solution and present it in context, where appropriate using £.p notation or units of measure.

• Follow a line of enquiry by deciding what information is important; make and use lists, tables and graphs to organise and interpret the information.

• Identify patterns and relationships involving numbers or shapes, and use these to solve problems.

• Describe and explain methods, choices and solutions to puzzles and problems, orally and in writing, using pictures and diagrams.

Counting and understanding number.

• Read, write and order whole numbers to at least 1000 and position them on a number line; count on from and back to zero in single-digit steps or multiples of 10.

• Partition three-digit numbers into multiples of one hundred, ten and one in different ways.

• Round two- or three-digit numbers to the nearest 10 or 100 and give estimates for their sums and differences.

• Read and write proper fractions, e.g. ³/₇, ⁹/₁₀, interpreting the denominator as the parts of a whole and the numerator as the number of parts; identify and estimate fractions of shapes; use diagrams to compare fractions and establish equivalents.

Knowing and using number facts.

• Derive and recall all addition and subtraction facts for each number to 20, sums and differences of multiples of 10 and number pairs that total 100.

• Derive and recall multiplication facts for the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 times-tables and the corresponding division facts; recognise multiples of 2, 5 or 10 up to 1000.

• Use knowledge of number operations and corresponding inverses, including doubling and halving, to estimate and check calculations.

Calculating.

• Add or subtract mentally combinations of one- and two-digit numbers.

• Develop and use written methods to record, support or explain addition and subtraction of two- and three-digit numbers.

• Multiply one- and two-digit numbers by 10 or 100, and describe the effect.

• Use practical and informal written methods to support multiplication and division of two-digit numbers (e.g. 13 × 3, 30 ÷ 4); round remainders up or down, depending on the context.

• Understand that division is the inverse of multiplication and vice versa and use to derive and record related multiplication and division number sentences.

• Find unit fractions of numbers and quantities, e.g. ½, ⅓, ¼ and ¹_/6 of 12 litres.

Understanding shape.

• Relate 2-D shapes and 3-D solids to drawings of them; describe, visualise, classify, draw and make the shapes.

• Draw and complete shapes with reflective symmetry and draw the reflection of a shape in a mirror line along one side.

• Read and record the vocabulary of position, direction and movement, using the four compass directions to describe movement about a grid.

• Use a set-square to draw right angles and to identify right angles in 2-D shapes; compare angles with a right angle; recognise that a straight line is equivalent to two right angles.

• Derive and recall multiplication facts for the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 times-tables and the corresponding division facts; recognise multiples of 2, 5 or 10 up to 1000.

• Use knowledge of number operations and corresponding inverses, including doubling and halving, to estimate and check calculations.

Measuring.

• Know the relationships between kilometres and metres, metres and centimetres, kilograms and grams, litres and millilitres; choose and use appropriate units to estimate, measure and record measurements.

• Read, to the nearest division and half-division, scales that are numbered or partially numbered; use the information to measure and draw to a suitable degree of accuracy.

• Read the time on a 12-hour digital clock and to the nearest five minutes on an analogue clock; calculate time intervals and find start or end times for a given time interval.

Handling data.

• Answer a question by collecting, organising and interpreting data; use tally charts, frequency tables, pictograms and bar charts to represent results and illustrate observations; use ICT to create a simple bar chart.

• Use Venn diagrams or Carroll diagrams to sort data and objects using more than one criterion.

Science -

Healthy eating & teeth, animals & their habitats, materials, plant and the earth and beyond. This will be taught by both practical and class based tasks.

English -

English in Year 3

Please note: the study of English is a constant exercise in revisiting and reinforcement. I do not expect the children to grasp new concepts in just one lesson; many of your children will need several sessions over a period of months and, in some cases, years before their understanding of a specific concept is secure; for this reason you will notice that several topics are visited on a regular basis each year.

Reading

At school your child will continue to read on a daily basis; I expect all children to read aloud to an adult at home each day. In addition to their school reading book, it will also benefit your child if you can share other reading material, e.g., bedtime stories, homework research tasks, newspaper articles, etc. All children in Year 3 will be given a Reading Diary, please use this to record all of your child's reading experiences; this must be signed by an adult in order that we can properly monitor each child's reading progress. As your child becomes a more able, independent reader, they will begin to write their own diary entries - an adult must still initial these.

Reading skills are constantly reinforced in all of my lessons with specific time being given to regular comprehension lessons - it is important that children can understand and comment upon the various texts that they read rather than just read them aloud.

Spelling

The children will continue to follow the spelling programme that they were working on last year. Their mini dictation will take place during the same lesson each week - spelling homework will always be set as part of this session. The spellings always follow a pattern, and although they may sometimes appear to be quite easy, it is still important that the children practise their spellings each day as the dictation gradually builds up, using previously learnt spellings. If your child is absent for a dictation session I will try to ensure that they are given their new spellings, however, if I do forget, please come in and ask for them.

Writing

The children will examine a variety of texts, which will support their own writing when experimenting with different genres and styles.

To support our reading and writing skills, we will look at a range of the following: -

Fiction and Poetry: stories with familiar settings; plays; myths, legends fables, parables; traditional tales; stories with related themes; adventure and mystery stories; stories by the same author; poems based on observations and the senses; shape poems; oral and performance poetry from different cultures; humorous poetry; poetry that plays with language, word puzzles, puns, riddles.

Non-fiction: information books on topics of interest; non-chronological reports; thesauruses, dictionaries - without illustrations; instructions; letters written for a range of purposes: to enquire, recount, explain, congratulate, explain, etc; alphabetic texts - directories, encyclopaedias, indexes etc



In addition to the above areas we will also cover the following topics when looking at sentence structure and grammatical rules:

• Use awareness of grammar to decipher new and unfamiliar words

• Consider the function of verbs in sentences (collect and classify, experiment with changing, notice that each sentence must have one, change them to experiment with impact)
• Use the term ‘verb' appropriately
• Use verb tenses with increasing accuracy
• Continue to secure knowledge of question marks, exclamation marks and speech marks in own writing
• Investigate a range of devices for presenting texts (speech bubbles, enlarged or italicised print, captions and headings etc)
• Use commas in lists and start to consider use in creating pauses
• Function of adjectives in sentences
• Collect and classify adjectives and experiment with creating effects
• Transform sentences from singular to plural, noting which words need to change and which do not
• Understand the term ‘collective noun'
• Which nouns can be pluralized and which can not
• Understand the differences between verbs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person relate to different types of text
• Experiment deleting words in a sentence in order to see which ones are essential to retain meaning
• Understand the need for grammatical agreement in speech and writing, e.g. I am, we are
• Identify and understand pronouns; substitute pronouns for common and proper nouns in writing
• Investigate more complex ways of connecting sentences
• Investigate how words and phrases can signal time sequences

History -

Ancient Rome, the Vikings, the Anglo Saxons and the Normans.

Geography -

Studies of the local area of Danbury and the surrounding towns, weather around the world and improving the environment.

ICT
Putting text and graphics together to make books and book covers; Using the computer to make musical sequences; an introduction to databases; exploring simulations; e-mail.

Art and Design -

Drama

We will be working on the 2 choral speaking/acting pieces and poems for our special assembly.



Other subjects covered are Art, Religious Education, Physical education, Drama and French which are all curriculum linked with the DFEE national strategy. Citizenship is taught as a holistic approach in all subject areas and the pupils have the chance to discuss various issues with their tutor at the end of the school day. Homework is set nightly in the core subject areas and a parent/teacher reading scheme is administered to boost the pupil's confidence in this vitally important area.

The pupils sit internal school assessments in November and June, and regular, course unit tests for the different subjects to assess how well the pupil is doing and how the school can improve the child's individual educational needs.

This Term

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