Welcome to Year 3!
Our Community
In Year 3, we believe in the power of community. Our classroom is a space where everyone is respected, included, and valued. We work together as a team, supporting one another and celebrating our unique differences. Through group projects, classroom discussions, and fun activities, we build friendships and learn the importance of kindness, cooperation, and understanding.
A Love of Learning
We are passionate about learning and believe that every day is an opportunity to discover something new. Whether we’re diving into fascinating new topics in science, exploring our creativity in art, or building our reading and writing skills, we do it with enthusiasm. We foster a growth mindset, encouraging students to ask questions, embrace challenges, and find joy in learning. Our classroom is full of hands-on activities, interactive lessons, and opportunities to explore the world around us.
Building Confidence
Every student is encouraged to share their ideas, take on new challenges, and believe in their abilities. We know that mistakes are part of the learning process, and we celebrate perseverance and progress over perfection. Through positive feedback, encouragement, and a safe environment, our goal is to empower each student to become confident learners and leaders.
We can’t wait for all the exciting adventures this year will bring!
Reading
Writing
As a school, we place a strong emphasis on the importance of reading, both in school and at home. We encourage parents to read a variety of books with their children to help build a rich and diverse vocabulary. Exploring different genres, authors, and topics not only fosters a love of reading but also strengthens language skills. Each child has a reading record where they can write down their daily reading progress. The more they read, the more chances they have to earn certificates and celebrate their achievements! By making reading a daily habit, we help children develop essential skills that will benefit them for years to come.
Mathematics
We use White Rose as the basis for our maths curriculum at Lyminster. We use the CPA (concrete – resources, pictorial – pictures and abstract) approach to support children in their learning and resources are readily available in maths toolkits on each table. We also practise our times tables daily, revising 2x 5x and 10x in Autumn 1, then moving on to half a term each for the 3x 4x and 8x. Other kye skills are regularly revisited in our daily 10 and flashback 4 exercises. Fluency and recall are key, which is where our Mental Magicians scheme comes in. Pupils are encouraged to use Times Table Rockstars daily, with this also being part of their homework requirement along with revisiting of the week’s maths topic using the White Rose homework book. Here are some links you may find useful to support learning at home.
https://play.ttrockstars.com/
https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths
Wellbeing
Our writing journeys focus on helping students develop their unique authorial voice and explore new writing styles. Whether crafting imaginative stories, descriptive poems, or informative texts, we encourage children to experiment with their ideas and creativity. Along the way, we work on expanding their grammar skills, introducing features like expanded noun phrases, adverbs, and other important elements to add depth and detail to their writing. Through fun writing challenges and guided practice, students learn how to express themselves clearly and confidently, growing as young authors throughout the year.
We also use freewriting, which gives children the chance to apply the skills they’ve learned in English lessons to their own creative writing. This special time allows students to write freely, using their imagination while incorporating important skills like expanded noun phrases, adverbs, and the various writing styles we explore in class. It’s a wonderful opportunity for children to express themselves, build confidence in their writing, and have fun experimenting with language. Freewriting not only nurtures creativity but also helps reinforce the grammar and writing techniques they’ve been developing.
Class Country
In Year 3, we have the exciting opportunity to explore the country of the United States of America (USA). As part of our learning, we create brochures that highlight key landmarks, traditions, and cultural aspects of the USA, helping us develop research and presentation skills. We also have the privilege of welcoming special visitors from the USA, who share their personal experiences and stories about life in America. Our class has strong links with the country, allowing us to dive deeper into understanding its rich history and diverse culture, making our learning both engaging and meaningful.
As a school, supporting children’s mental health is a top priority. We aim to support this by creating a safe and supportive environment where students feel comfortable expressing their emotions, asking for help, and embracing challenges. If you or your child are ever concerned or feel there is something you need to talk about, please come and talk to an adult at school and we will do our best to support you. It is also good to discuss mental health with children as this will help them understand that what they are feeling. There is a lot of literature out there to support this which you can find using the links below.
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/childrens-mental-health/
https://www.barnardos.org.uk/get-support/support-for-parents-and-carers/mental-health
English