Term 3 – Week 6 (WB 9/2/26)

Thank you for all your support this half term – it has certainly been a busy one!

There will be no homework set over the break. However, please continue to read regularly with your child at home and talk to them about what they have read. Asking questions and discussing the story will really help to support their understanding.

Below are some age-appropriate, practical questions parents can use while reading with their child.

Vocabulary Questions 

At this age, children should start using context clues and exploring word choices.

Understanding New Words

• What do you think the word “___” means in this sentence?

• Which words around it help you work it out?

• Can you replace “___” with another word that means the same?

• Is this word positive or negative? How do you know?

• Does this word describe a feeling, action, or appearance?

Exploring Word Choice

• Why do you think the author chose this word?

• How would the sentence change if we used a simpler word?

• Can you think of a stronger or more interesting word to use?

Using the Word

• Can you say a new sentence using that word?

• Can you act it out or draw what it means?

Inference Questions (Reading Between the Lines)

Year 3 children should start justifying answers with evidence.

About Characters

• How is the character feeling? What words tell you that?

• Why did the character behave that way?

• What might the character be thinking?

• What clues show that something is wrong?

About Events

• Why did that happen?

• What do you think will happen next? Why?

• What clues helped you make that prediction?

• What might happen if the character makes a different choice?

Using Evidence

Encourage answers like:
"I think this because the text says…"

• Where in the text did you find your answer?

• Can you prove that using the story?

Summarising Questions

Children at this stage should focus on main events rather than retelling everything.

Retelling

• What happened at the beginning, middle, and end?

• What was the main problem in this chapter?

• How was the problem solved?

• Who are the most important characters?

Finding the Main Idea

• What is this chapter mostly about?

• What is the most important event so far?

• If you had to tell this story in 3–5 sentences, what would you say?

• Can you summarise this page in one sentence?

Sequencing

• What happened first?

• What happened just before/after that?

Stretch Questions (For Confident Year 3 Readers)

• What lesson might the character learn?

• What is the theme of this story? (e.g., friendship, bravery)

• How would you describe the main character in three words?

• Why do you think the author wrote this story?

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In English, we have now finished reading The Ice Palace – what a fantastic ending! Please ask your child to tell you what happened in the story, as talking about the book really helps to develop their comprehension skills.

As part of our writing, we wrote letters to Starjik, asking him why he kidnapped the children and giving him advice about how to make and keep friendships. We also spent time reviewing the book, and it was almost unanimous that we thoroughly enjoyed it – many of the children even said it might be their favourite book so far!

In Maths, we have continued our work on length and have been taking a closer look at perimeter. The children now understand that the perimeter is the total distance all the way around the outside of a shape, and that only closed shapes have a perimeter. We have been finding the perimeter by adding together the lengths of all the sides. The children have also been practising measuring sides carefully and checking their calculations to make sure their totals are accurate.

Next, we will move on to a new challenge – working backwards! The children will be given the total perimeter and will need to use their reasoning skills to work out the missing side lengths. This will involve problem-solving and thinking carefully about different possible answers.

All of the children will have an investigative topic-linked learning task to complete, which is rotated over a three-week cycle. The children will focus on one of their three current foundation subjects each week.  
To support this, the children are split into 3 groups, which you can see below. 
This will be set on a Thursday and due by the following Tuesday. 
In class on a Tuesday or Wednesday, the children will then share the outcomes of their research, and the knowledge they have retrieved, within their own group. 

L3 Usual weekly timetable (please note that there may be changes to this at times).