​In History this week, we have been learning about the Ancient Sumerians and discovering how they used mosaics to decorate their homes and cities. We learned that Ancient Sumerian people created beautiful designs using clay tiles and special stones, carefully arranging each piece to form intricate patterns and pictures. Inspired by their creativity, we decided to make our own mosaics through the art of collage. The children have shown fantastic patience and attention to detail as they carefully selected and arranged their pieces. How do you think we are doing so far?

​This week marked our final cricket session with Dean. Over the past six weeks, the children have learned so much and have developed their skills in bowling, batting and fielding. They put all of these skills to excellent use during a series of mini-games, where teams competed against one another and demonstrated just how much progress they had made. They were brilliant throughout, showing great teamwork, determination and enthusiasm. To finish the session, we played a lively game of King/Queen of the Ring, which tested the children's coordination, reflexes and concentration. We have all thoroughly enjoyed our six weeks of cricket with Dean and are incredibly proud of everything the children have achieved.

​In Art this week, the children have been creating Ancient Egyptian landscapes. Before beginning their own artwork, they explored a range of examples, including drawings, paintings and sketches inspired by Ancient Egypt. The children discussed what they liked and disliked about each piece, using artistic vocabulary such as tone, colour, shadow, layout and size to explain their ideas. They gave thoughtful justifications for their opinions and considered which features they would include in their own work. This helped them to make informed decisions and develop their understanding of how artists use different techniques to create effective landscapes.

In Computing this week, the children have been learning how to create branching databases. They were given a collection of objects and had to sort them by asking a series of 'yes' and 'no' questions. Each question helped to divide the objects into smaller groups and they continued asking further questions until only one object remained in each group. To begin with, we worked together to sort ten different dinosaurs, thinking carefully about the questions we needed to ask. Once they had mastered this skill, the children chose their own themes and sets of objects to create and sort independently, demonstrating excellent problem-solving and logical thinking skills.

This half term, Year 3 are lucky enough to be having and EXTRA PE lesson with a cricket coach - Dean. These lessons will take place every Monday morning. Within these sessions, they children will be developing skills in throwing, catching, batting, bowling and fielding. This week, we made a start on catching. The children did brilliantly.

Year 3 have been exploring the fascinating topic of plants in science. Throughout this unit, they have learned about the different parts of a plant and their functions, as well as investigating what plants need in order to grow well.
In this lesson, the children focused on the important role of roots. They worked hard to identify, locate and describe the function of roots within a plant. To be successful, they needed to know where the roots are found, understand why they are such a vital part of the plant and carefully observe and sketch what they could see.
Using iPads, the children took close-up photographs of plant roots, allowing them to really zoom in and study the detail. They then used these observations to create detailed sketches.
We were so impressed with their curiosity and attention to detail—take a look at their fantastic work below!

Year 3 have been working incredibly hard in maths as they learn the method of column addition. They began by adding 2- and 3-digit numbers that required no exchange, and they were fantastic at it. The children carefully lined up their digits in the correct columns and showed great accuracy in reaching the correct answers.
Once they were confident with this, we moved their learning on to addition calculations that required one exchange from the ones to the tens column. To help them fully understand this concept, we used Base Ten blocks so they could physically exchange ten ones for one ten. This hands-on approach allowed them to clearly see how the numbers change and ensured a deeper understanding of the process.
After plenty of practice with the resources, the children successfully transitioned to using the written method independently. We were so impressed with their confidence and accuracy that we even progressed to calculations involving two exchanges!
We are very proud of the effort and determination Year 3 have shown throughout this topic.

All the children looked absolutely amazing for World Book Day.
This year, we celebrated Julia Donaldson as our theme and all classes rewrote and illustrated their own version of one of her stories. 
Year 3, focused on the book: The Smartest Giant in Town. The children wrote as authors by changing characters, twisting plots and creating and resolving problems. They illustrated their work beautifully.

Our new topic in science is Plants. To kick off the topic, we recapped on previous learning from KS1 and discussed what plants need to grow well and why plants are important. 
The children were given 9 factual statements about plants. In pairs, the children organised the facts in order of importance. 
1. Plants make the World a prettier place. 
2. Plants can be used as food. 
3. Plants can be used as medicines.
4. Plants can be used to flavour food.
5. Plants can be provide habitats.
6. Plants help us breathe by releasing oxygen.
7. Plants provide playing fields and parks for children.
8. Florists can sell plants to make money.
9. Plants can be used to make different fabrics.
As the children placed these facts, in order of importance, it was great to hear them decision making together and discussing their opinions with reasoning. 

In topic lessons, the children have been learning about different types of food and where in the World they come from. We talked about our favourite fruits and vegetables and found out in which climates they were grown, including - Mediterranean, tropical and temperate. 
Within lessons, we also looked at types of farmers and discussed Fair Trade. The children were very compassionate when learning about this and all could understand that it is better, where possible, to buy Fair Trade products to ensure that farmers are paid and treated fairly for the hard wok that they do to give us a taste of the World no matter where we live.