WELCOME TO CLASS 3

• PE afternoon is Wednesday – please ensure your child comes into school in their PE kit and it is clearly labelled.
• Please can water bottles be clearly labelled and brought to school every day.
• Please label all clothing clearly.

  
  

  Homework:

  Reading should be enjoyed daily. The children will have Accelerated Reader books pitched to their correct level but are also encouraged to read wider books for pleasure. Parents are encouraged to read aloud to their children at home, discussing books, and creating a positive reading environment. Reading independently, reading together and across a variety of genres are all beneficial as are audio books.

  Spellings: 

  These are practised daily, every morning, in school where children will learn about the morphology of words - roots , suffixes and prefixes.  There will not be a formal weekly spelling test, but spellings will be assessed periodically to monitor their progress.  Practising spellings and handwriting as part of your homework will be beneficial, but is not obligatory.

  Times Table Rock Stars:

  TTRS is used most days to practise our times tables in school. Learning times table facts are vital and children should be able to recite their table facts up to 12 x 12 by the end of Year 4. Please practise these regularly as part of the weekly homework. Practise the tables that are found most difficult. For our Year 4 pupils this will be highly beneficial in preparation for the Year 4 MTC (Multiplication Table Check), a short online test that they will complete in the Summer term.

Class 3 January 2026

English

This term we will look in depth at different text types, including poetry, explanation and persuasive writing. Along with focusing on weekly grammar, spelling, handwriting and reading skills. We will be incorporating our understanding of grammar and punctuation into these units as well as using spelling patterns that we have worked on throughout the term. Much of our writing will be cross curricular and we will be continuing to transfer skills learnt in English, to other curriculum areas. 

Spellings this year will focus on morphology—understanding the meaningful parts of words—which is essential for building confident, accurate spellers.  This approach aligns with current research and supports all learners, including those with literacy difficulties.  Spelling will be a daily focus and we will use our learning to practise and refine handwriting.  We will focus on correct letter formation, developing a legible and consistent handwriting style, that understands letter joins and spacing. Handwriting should become a functional tool that supports composition, with the goal of achieving automaticity so that cognitive resources can be freed up for the more complex aspects of writing.

Class Novel: The Bee Who Spoke By Al MacCuish.  In The Bee Who Spoke, eleven-year-old Belle travels from Paris to the Ardèche countryside, where a bicycle accident leaves her lost and alone. Her rescue comes in the form of a talking bee, who guides her home while teaching her about the intricate wonders of the natural world. This transformative encounter shifts Belle's perspective forever, turning a summer holiday into a lifelong journey of environmental discovery and curiosity

Maths

We will follow the White Rose Year 3/4 units for learning in this subject.  In the Spring term we will be continuing with Multiplication and Division, then moving onto Area, Length and Perimeter, Fractions and Mass and Capacity.

Geography

In this unit, children will learn how important bees are for humans and the natural world. Children will learn the dangers facing bees and how they can be conserved. Children will observe bees in their natural habitat and carry out improvement works on school grounds to help conserve and protect bees.

Science

During the first half term, children will build upon their previous knowledge of plants and trees where children find out what plants need in order to stay healthy once they have grown. Throughout this topic, children will be creating a booklet. They will identify and describe the functions of the different parts of plants. They will explore what plants need for life and growth. Children will then complete an investigation to see how water is transported through plants. Children will also look at seeds and explore the different ways that plants disperse their seeds.

In the second half of the term, we will be exploring simple pushes and pulls as an introduction to contact forces. They will investigate how the surface an object moves over aff­ects its movement due to friction. They will then explore pushes and pulls further by investigating di­fferent magnets and how they can pull (attract) and push (repel) at a distance without contact. They will learn about magnetic poles and be able to predict when magnets will attract or repel each other.

Art/DT

Our Art unit for this half term is Working with Shape and Colour. In this unit, we will explore the bright and bold world of Henri Matisse. Taking inspiration from his famous "cut-outs," we will learn to "draw with scissors" by cutting shapes directly from colourful paper. We will focus on two main techniques: Collage: Overlapping and arranging pieces to create a finished picture. Stencils: Using cut-out templates to repeat patterns and play with "empty" space. This project is all about having fun with vibrant colours and discovering how simple shapes—like leaves, stars, and circles—can come together to tell a story.

After half term, we will move onto DT where we will be working with wood to create our very own bug hotels.

PSHE 

We will follow a structured plan for both Year 3 and Year 4 from the SCARF units for PSHE.  In the Spring term we will cover the unit ‘Keeping Myself Safe’ and then move onto ‘Rights and Responsibilities’.  These themes will be revisited through our assemblies during the term also.

RE

This half term, we will study the question, ‘What do Christians learn from the creation story?’. After half term, we will then move onto study the question ‘How do festivals and worship show what matters to Muslims?’. 

MFL

In Class 3 we will be learning French. We will be starting with ‘Food Glorious Food’ and ‘On the Move’ units.

Music

This term, we will be following our sing up units: March, from the Nutcracker where we will  interpret the music through movement and art and then From a railway carriage where we will compose a piece using a poem and a painting as inspiration.

Computing

ICT will be used throughout all other subject areas to enhance the children's understanding and for research purposes.  Children will be encouraged to use ICT as a tool for furthering their understanding in other curriculum areas. Throughout the term there will be an emphasis on keeping ourselves safe online. In addition to this, we are following the ‘Digital Learning Cornwall’ units for Year 3/4. Our first units covered this term will be Data & Information: Branching Databases and then moving onto IT Around Us: The Internet. 

PE

The first half term will have a sport focus on Gym sequences, a fitness focus called Step to the beat, and a health focus called Healthy lifestyle: you are what you eat.  The second half term will have a sport focus of Striking and fielding, a fitness focus of gym fit circuits, and a health focus on ‘Healthy body’.  There will be opportunities for children to participate in extracurricular clubs and sporting events and festivals as part of our links with the Newquay Schools sports partnership.

This Year, PE will be on a Wednesday so children can come dressed appropriately in school PE kit on this day. There may of course, be additional days when the children may be required to wear a PE kit, which they will be clearly informed about. 

There will be opportunities for children to participate in extracurricular clubs and sporting events and festivals as part of our links with the Newquay Schools sports partnership.

 Open Door Policy We welcome your feedback on any aspect of your child’s time in Class 3. Please drop us an email via the office (hello@mawgan-in-pydar.org.uk) to raise any questions, queries or problems that you may have.

We are excited about the term ahead with Class 3 and thank you in advance for your support.

Mrs Ley and Mrs Christopher