Term 4 Week 5

WB: 23.03.26

Please make sure you are reading AND LOGGING your reading with your child. We have seen a massive decline in the last couple of weeks. This is so important to help with growth in vocabulary and comprehension.

This week in English, we have been focusing on developing our descriptive writing skills. The children thoroughly enjoyed writing character descriptions about their favourite Rambling Isle character, Cliff. They particularly loved his quirky appearance, noting how he looked rather fetching with a snazzy narwhal perched on his head! While writing, we practised using expanded noun phrases to add extra detail and make our descriptions more vivid and engaging—for example, describing not just “Cliff,” but “the cheerful, adventurous Cliff with a magnificent narwhal hat.”

We also explored writing in role, stepping into the shoes of Iris the mermaid. The children wrote thoughtfully from her perspective after she was (rather unfairly!) asked to leave the mermaid choir because of her screechy voice. This activity helped the children to develop empathy and express emotions in their writing, as they considered how upset and disappointed Iris must have felt.

In Maths, we are coming to the end of our unit on mass and capacity. This week, we have been learning about the difference between capacity and volume. Ask your child if they can remember: capacity is the amount a container can hold, while volume is how much liquid is actually in the container.

Towards the end of the week, we will be focusing on reading measurements on a jug in millilitres. Im sure the children will enjoy being hands-on, exploring water jugs and practising their measuring skills—there may even have been a few splashes along the way! However this practical experience will really help to reinforce their understanding in a fun and memorable way.

In Science, we carried out a fun and engaging practical experiment to make our own compasses. Using needles, bowls of water, straws and bar magnets, the children carefully magnetised their needles before placing them on the water to see how they aligned themselves. It was wonderful to watch their excitement as their homemade compasses began to work!

This activity helped to reinforce our learning about magnetic forces, as the children explored how magnets can affect objects without touching them. We discussed how the Earth itself acts like a giant magnet, which is why compasses are able to point north.

The children were extremely sensible when handling the equipment and followed instructions carefully throughout—much to Mrs Smith’s relief, with no heart-stopping moments! Overall, it was a fantastic experiment that brought our science learning to life.

Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support with your child’s learning – it really does make a difference and is greatly appreciated.

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. Please also follow this link https://global-zone61.renaissance-go.com/welcomeportal/6704864

 to access quizzes when your child finishes a book. They will know their login details for this. 

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. We have been practising our 11 times table. This song is a bit fast and has some tricky, tongue-twisting parts, but the children are really enjoying it and having fun while learning - 

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)

Counting By Sixes Song

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)

Nine Times Table Song (90's Song Mashup)

9 Times Table Song (cover of Takedown by Huntrix from K Pop Demon Hunters) - YouTube

11 Times Table Song | Skip Counting the Multiples of 11

The 12 Times Table Song | Skip Counting by 12 for Kids

S3 Usual weekly timetable (please note that there may be changes to this at times).

The Year 3 Team