Overview
From Year 3 to Year 6 pupils follow a topic based curriculum which incorporates all National Curriculum subjects. Core texts and topic books (e.g. books related to the Romans) are used in reading and writing lessons. Generally maths is taught discretely.
Maths is taught through 'Power Maths’, a programme which supports a teaching for mastery approach. Lessons and activities are designed to be taught using problem-solving approaches to encourage pupils’ higher-level thinking. The focus is on working with pupils’ core competencies, building on what they know to develop their relational understanding.
Writing is taught through a range of exciting stimuli which includes books, film clips, artefacts, and real life experiences. We strive to equip children to develop a rich vocabulary which can help them bring their writing to life. Basic skills and non - negotiables underpin writing in all areas of the curriculum. Teachers model the writing process and demonstrate the ambitious high standards expected of all children.
Useful Resources
Below are some information sheets for parents and carers outlining English and maths expectations for each year group.
Home Learning Apps
Downloads
Year 3 Blog Posts
Year 3 – Self-esteem
In RSE today, Year 3 looked at what it means to be proud of ourselves and they shared some of the things that they are proud of. Then, they identified what others are good at and gave compliments to one another. They discussed how it made them feel to receive a compliment. Common feelings were happy, calm, valued. As a class, they discussed what self esteem means and thought about what high and low self esteem looks like. As part of the lesson, Year 3 read some positive affirmations that could help boost their self esteem: “I am a good friend.”, “I am smart and capable”, “I am proud of who I am”, “I am unique and special”. They discussed the power of the word ‘yet’ when thinking about what we can and can’t do e.g. I can’t ride a bike YET! To end the lesson, they each wrote 3 goals of things they would like to achieve that would make them feel proud. They made these into a paperchain.
Y3 RE – Rites of Passage
This half term, Year 3 have been learning all about rites of passage in different religions. They have learnt about infant and believers' baptism in Christianity, Bar/Bat Mitzvah in Judaism and the Amrit ceremony in Sikhism. Today, they recapped all their learning by comparing the similarities and differences between the 3 religious ceremonies.
Year 3 Times Table Cafe
Thank you to all of the parents and carers who turned up for this morning’s year three breakfast café. We enjoyed fruit juice, croissants and pain au chocolat whilst learning more about the Times Table Rock Stars app. There were also lots of paper games, activities and things to make to support children with learning their times tables. We would love to see them continuing to practice their times tables at home.
Year 3 – Cyanotypes
Today, Year 3 have been learning about botanist and photographer Anna Atkins. She is considered the first person to publish a book of photographs. Inspired by her work, Year 3 collected natural materials to create their own cyanotypes. They layered their gathered materials onto the special paper and laid them in the sun for around 15 minutes. After rinsing their paper in water, their final cyanotypes were revealed.
Year 3 sculpture
Year 3 enjoyed using clay to complete their 3D tiger sculptures, inspired by Quentin Blake, this afternoon. They had to think about shape and line. They are excited to paint them later this week!
Music Trip
Some children went to Norwich Cathedral with Miss Peek and Mrs Forrest today for a musical art experience. They were able to listen to a range of instruments and watch as artwork was created alongside each piece. Thank you to Norwich School for hosting us!
A Day of Welcome
Last Friday, the whole school took part in the Schools of Sanctuary: Day of Welcome. During the day, they learnt about the lives of refugees and how we can make our community in Queen's Hill welcoming. This years theme was 'Community is our Superpower'. Children in Year 1 learnt about different playground games that children play from around the world. They played 'Chinlone' and 'Oon' from Myanmar and 'Cossak' from Ukraine. They shared these games with their buddies in Year 4 too. Children in Year 3 & 4 took part in a live lesson with schools across the country to hear stories from Dina Nayeri about her own personal experiences of being a refugee as a child and fleeing to the United States of America. As part of the lesson, children had the opportunity to try some Taekwondo moves, as taking up this sport was something that helped Dina feel part of her new community when she moved to America. ???????? In Year 5, children designed and wrote postcards to refugee children, welcoming them to Queen's Hill. They explained how they would be welcomed into the community. Collaboratively, Year 5, along with their buddies in Year 2, designed houses for Moomins after reading about the displacement of the Moomins in 'The Moomins and the Great Flood' by Tove Jansson.
Year 3 Cave Art
Year 3 enjoyed creating their own cave art today. They were able to use continuous lines and pastels to create different effects. They also enjoyed creating and using stencils as part of their work. Have a look at their work in action!
Year 3 Art
Year 3 have explored Vincent Van Gogh, Alice Kettle and Hannah Rae in art. They thought about different shades and brush strokes, as well as texture. They were able to add stitches to their artist inspired work today and we’re all proud of their finished products!
Year 3 Fossils
Today, Year 3 designed their very own fossils using clay and outdoor materials. They also learnt about the stages of fossilisation and created their own zig zag book.