Southborough Church of England Primary School
Southborough Church of England Primary School
Buckinghamshire
The Year 3 Team
A week in Buckinghamshire
Term 3 – Week 4 (WB 26/1/26)
Please continue to log your child’s reading at home on Boom Reader. We have noticed that a small number of children have not had any reading logged for over three months, and regular updates really help us to support their progress.
We also kindly ask that reading quizzes are completed once your child has finished a book. These quizzes help us to check their understanding of the text and ensure they are reading books at the correct level. Thank you for your continued support in helping to develop the children’s confidence and enjoyment of reading.
In English, the class are continuing to really enjoy listening to our class text, The Ice Palace. We have been using the story as a stimulus to recall and discuss the key events so far, which we have recorded in a storyboard. This has helped the children to develop a clear understanding of the plot, characters and setting, and has supported them in planning and creating their own imaginative narratives inspired by the story.
In Maths, we have now completed our unit on multiplication and division. The children have been learning about fact families and how multiplication and division are linked. Continuing to practise these at home will really help to reinforce their understanding, particularly noticing patterns such as: 2 × 5 = 10, 5 × 2 = 10, 10 ÷ 2 = 5 and 10 ÷ 5 = 2.
We have now moved on to our new topic of length and perimeter. To begin with, the children have been learning how to use a ruler correctly, including where to start a measurement. We have focused on starting at the numbered markings rather than the very end of the ruler, to ensure accurate measurements. This foundation will support them as they begin measuring objects and calculating perimeter with confidence.
In Science, we have continued our learning about forces, with a particular focus on friction and how it affects the movement of objects. We have been using the balls and rolling them over different surfaces, to help us understand contact and frictional force. This helped the children to see how friction can change depending on the surface or object, and they really enjoyed investigating and comparing their results through hands-on exploration.
In Geography, we visited the forest school area to investigate different types of soil. We began by discussing the question “What is soil?” — which sounds simple, but proved to be quite tricky to explain! Through discussion and exploration, the children learned that there are three main types of soil: sandy, silty and clay.
To identify each type, the children carried out a hands-on investigation by squishing the soil and mud between their hands and observing whether it crumbled or stuck together. This practical approach helped them understand the characteristics of each soil type — although it did mean we got a little muddy along the way… apologies, parents! The children had a wonderful afternoon exploring outdoors and learning through experience, so it was definitely worth it.
Please see below for the new home learning tasks for this term. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. We hope you enjoy sharing and exploring these learning activities with your child at home.
Finally, please continue to support your child with regular reading at home and by updating their Boom Reader account whenever possible. Your support makes a real difference to their confidence and progress. Please also ensure your child brings their reading book into school every day.
Finally, we are continuing to learn our times tables with some fun songs! Practising for just 15 minutes a week on the recommended website will make a huge difference in building strong multiplication and division skills, which are essential throughout Key Stage 2 and beyond. Here is a new one for our 9 timetable - we have also learnt the hand trick with this so ask you child to show you our 'cheat' -
3 Times Tables - Have Fun Learning!
4 Times table song (A Whole New World from Disney's Aladdin)
4 Times Table Song (APT be Rosé and Bruno Mars)
7 Times Table Song | Skip Counting by 7 Song with Multiplication
Seven Times Table Song (Cups by Anna Kendrick Cover) with Classroom Instruments
Eight Times Table Song (Cover of All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor)
The 12 Times Table Song | Skip Counting by 12 for Kids
Spellings
Our next spelling test of the term will be on Wednesday 4th February for Mrs Hughes/Mr Grimes/Mrs Strudwick and Mrs Lamberts groups and Wednesday 11th February for Mrs Smith and Mrs Georgiades' group. The words listed below will not change until after that test.
Mrs Hughes' /Mr Grimes'/ Mrs Strudwick's groups
stop
stopping
shop
shopping
chat
chatting
run
running
begin
beginning
Mrs Smith's group -
Adding the suffix -ion.
action
celebration
education
subtraction
invention
collection
location
injection
invention
Mrs Georgiades' Group
Adding the suffix -ion.
action
celebration
education
subtraction
invention
collection
location
injection
invention
Mrs Lambert's group
Our sound this week is ow
blow
snow
flow
mow
throw
arrow
bow
own
Subject | English/Geography
| Geography
| Science
|
Investigative Topic Tasks:
| Think about our text ‘The Ice Palace’. Think about some survival skills you might need in the ice and snow, or on an adventure like Ivan. Present these however you like: a story, a poster or a factfile, you decide! |
Research a volcano of your choice somewhere in the world e.g. Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, Mount Fuji. Are they dormant, active or extinct? Where are they in the world? Maybe mark them on a map and create a poster.
| Explore some different ways that sliders and levers are used. Try creating something yourself using a lever, such as a greeting card or page for a pop-up book. Or create a poster explaining how sliders and levers can be used. |
Children assigned to each home learning
| Group 1 Nayel Aqsa Edward Harriet Arabella Jennifer Hafsa Paarvi Vinuthi Nellie | Group 2 Isla Maisie Leo Beau Marley Auraeh Daniel Lachlan William Willow | Group 3 Viola Arthur Benjamin Amiyah Albie Toby Marnie Reggie Ethan Sofiia
|
Children assigned to each home learning
| Group 3 Viola Arthur Benjamin Amiyah Albie Toby Marnie Reggie Ethan Sofiia |
Group 1 Nayel Aqsa Edward Harriet Arabella Jennifer Hafsa Paarvi Vinuthi Nellie
| Group 2 Isla Maisie Leo Beau Marley Auraeh Daniel Lachlan William Willow |
Children assigned to each home learning
| Group 2 Isla Maisie Leo Beau Marley Auraeh Daniel Lachlan William Willow | Group 3 Viola Arthur Benjamin Amiyah Albie Toby Marnie Reggie Ethan Sofiia |
Group 1 Nayel Aqsa Edward Harriet Arabella Jennifer Hafsa Paarvi Vinuthi Nellie
|
Home Learning
Times Tables Rockstars!
To keep practising the multiplication taught in class, and challenging yourself to keep the ones you already know fresh, don’t forget to log into your Times Tables Rockstars account.
Challenge yourself to beat your score and build your knowledge as you become a Rockstar!
Please ask your class teacher if you need replacement log in details.
Reading
Children should bring their Accelerated Reading Book to and from school each day. When they have finished reading, children are asked to complete a quiz before changing their book.
https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/6704864
Parents please log your child's reading on the BOOM reader Parent Portal or by using the BOOM reader parent app on your tablet/mobile no more than once a week.
Below is a list of the 100 most common words that your child is expected to know how to spell by the end of Year 4 (please see attachment).
The spelling strategies document below shows what strategies are used in class, and can be used at home to aid learning new words: