Weekly Class Updates
Friday 23rd July 2021
Well, Summer is finally here! It's been a very hot week with the sun welcoming our holidays with sky high temperatures and even that didn't stop the children bouncing on Thursday's 'Raise Money and BOUNCE!' day!
Well done Year 3! You completed yet another year of school, and a year with lots of unexpected challenges! We are all extremely proud of you!
Have an amazing summer break! Spend time with your friends and family and just HAVE FUN!
I look forward to seeing you all in September! Get ready for Year 4!
Friday 16th July 2021
It’s drawing near to the end of term but learning hasn’t stopped in Year 3.
In Maths this week the children have been learning all about Mass. First, they explored scales and calculated missing increments. Then the challenge got harder as they had to add and subtract using units of measures but they all did incredible and explained their learning brilliantly.
In English, the children were revising GPV skills ready for year 4. They are now experts on prepositional language, inverted commas, subordinating clauses and recognising different sentence types.
The children have also completed a spelling assessment on the statutory spelling lists from Year 1 and 2. Each child had been given individual spelling lists for next week and over the holidays of words they need to consolidate as these should be secure for Year 4.
One week left, and what an exciting week it will be! I can’t wait!
Reminder: School starts at 8:30am. Please make sure your child is in the classroom at this time as Maths Fluency starts then and the register is taken.
Friday 9th July 2021
Year 3 this week have been brilliant! They have really shown me they are ready for Year 4.
This week in English we have been writing up a secret project celebrating positive outcomes and things the children enjoyed whilst at home learning. Some of their work really made me smile! The children are so lovely.
In Maths, we have explore mass. We have learnt to read lots of different scales, find missing digits and solve problems involving the weight of all different kinds of objects.
The children have been overjoyed with the return of 'pom pom' to play our times table games and have all round fun with numbers.
In RE we explored how music makes us feel and how some religions use their scriptures to help them celebrate and praise their God.
Overall, it has been a fabulous week and I'm looking forward to next week.
Friday 2nd July 2021
Hello, hello! It's nice to be back! 
It's been lovely to see the children in Year 3 again and catch up with how things have changed for them, new siblings, house moves and lots of interesting new things.
On Thursday, the class and I spent some time getting ready for Year 4, expectations, team work and even a catwalk of characters from around school. A disco ball even got brought out along with some super dance moves!!!
On Friday, we challenged our presentation in Maths and built puzzles using roman numerals. In PE, we completed a circuit of athletic events and then explored some Andy Goldsworthy sculptures in Art. Beautiful!
I am looking forward to next week.
Please can I remind all parents that our learning starts at 8:30am prompt. Thank you for all your hard work reading at home with your children, a confident reader unlocks so much potential for further learning so please keep this up.
As I am now with the children until the holidays (and after) please feel free to contact me with any questions or information on sophie.taylor@stf.barwick-in-elmet.leeds.sch.uk
I will always try to respond as quickly as possible. See you next week - Miss Taylor 
Friday 25th June
In Maths this week, we worked with 3D shapes. We were able to construct 3D shapes by creating/completing nets (we thought about the number and shape of the faces) and by using straws and playdough (we thought about the number of edges and vertices).
In English, we finished writing our warning tales and then we read #Goldilocks - a cautionary tale that helped us to think about staying safe online. We made fabulous posters to help everyone remember how they can help to use the internet safely. If you would like to share the story again at home, you can use the link below.
In Geography, we learned learned about the different layers of the rainforest. We compared the different layers and played an action game to help us remember the distinctive features of each layer.
In Art, we studied the work of Andy Goldsworthy and created our own fact files about his life and work.
Have a great weekend - see you on Monday!
Friday 18th June
In Maths this week, we have focused on lines, identifying horizontal, vertical, parallel and perpendicular lines in isolation and within 2D shapes.
In English, we have innovated the model text and begun writing warning tales based on rules that are familiar in our everyday lives.
In Geography, we learned about the difference between weather and climate and studied the climates of tropical rainforests around the world.
In Art, we created more sculptures, this time using the contents of the scrap shed! Scroll through the photographs below and see whether you can spot our Super Ship, Miniature World, The Queen's Throne, Big Ben 2.0 and the Fallen House!
Sports Day had to be postponed on Thursday… check back next week for an update!
Enjoy the weekend - see you on Monday!
Friday 11th June
It has been fabulous to take so much of our learning outdoors this week!
In Maths, we have begun a block of work on shape. We have learned to recognise right angles, acute angles and obtuse angles in isolation and in shapes. We sorted angles using Venn diagrams and Carroll diagrams and created angles of our own using the metre sticks.
In English, we have been learning our new model text, The Lake. We used drama to explore the text and presented our work on the stage to re-tell the entire story, one paragraph at a time.
Our Geography topic this term is Rainforests and this week we used maps to find out where in the world tropical rainforests can be found. We worked together to use the internet for research into Ecuador.
In Science, we will be thinking about nutrition and we started this by recalling our previous work on plants and the nutrients that help them to grow. We linked this to our Geography topic by drawing diagrams of the nutrient cycle of a tropical rainforest.
In Art, the children worked in teams to create some amazing sculptures using spaghetti and marshmallows! Some were more free-standing than others, but everyone agreed that it had been great fun, even when it went a little bit wrong...
Hope everyone has a super, sunny weekend - see you next week!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 28th May
In Maths this week, we finished our block of work on time by measuring and comparing the times it took teams of children (and staff!) to run laps of the school playground.
In English, we completed our persuasive writing. Year 3 are now experts at persuading readers to buy all manner of desirable items from supercars to castles!
We really enjoyed this half-term's History and had a fabulous end to the topic with everyone designing their own museum exhibit to help others learn about Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age. Some of the children even designed their own museum buildings and special activity plans for visiting families!
Art has also been fabulous this half-term and I am sure everyone will be really impressed with the children's textiles work.
Wishing everyone a very happy half-term,
Mrs Jameson 
Friday 21st May
In Maths this week, we have begun our block of work on time. We have solved problems involving the number of days in each months and the number of hours in a day. We have read and represented times on analogue clocks, including those with Roman numerals.
In English, we have been working on a persuasive text, "Fantastic Fish For Sale" and have planned our own texts to persuade our readers to buy other types of pet.
In R.E., we created artwork to demonstrate understanding of the God of Christianity. Mrs Nicholson was delighted to read some of the children's thoughtful explanations of their designs.
In Art, we have been creating stitched designs and studying different types of textile art, including batik.
In History, we continued to explore the different reasons that hill forts were build by tribes living in Iron Age Britain.
Throughout the week, we have continued to celebrate kindness and consideration to others by collecting mini page markers along the top of the whiteboard. We are hoping to see them reach right across the board before we break up for half-term.
Have a good weekend, everyone - see you on Monday!
God beside, God behind, God ahead
Friday 14th May
In Maths this week, we have compared fractions with different denominators and used actions to help us remember that, "The bigger the denominator, the smaller the slice!" We have also ordered and added fractions with the same denominator.
In English, we have completed our independent wish stories and written up best drafts for the class writing file. We have also practised spelling words with prefixes and suffixes and explored the changes these make to the root words.
In P.E., we have played rounders, even though the weather has been less than summery!
In R.E., we listened to the song "God Beside" and then wrote verses of our own. You can click the link below to listen to the original song. Check back next week for videos of some of our children reading their verses aloud.
Have a great weekend, everyone. See you on Monday!
Friday 7th May
In Maths this week, we began to explore equivalent fractions. We compared diagrams of fractions with different denominators and observed patterns in written equivalent fractions.
In English, we completed our innovated stories and began to prepare for our independent writing based on The King of the Fishes. We also focused on using inverted commas (speech marks) to punctuate direct speech.
In R.E., we continued to explore the Trinity as it is understood by Christians and we learned about the differences between infant and adult baptisms.
In History, we discussed the changes that occured between the Stone Age and the Bronze Age and the impact these had on the people living in Britain. We also studied a non-fiction text about Stonehenge in our Vipers session.
We've packed a lot into a short week! Have a good weekend, everyone, and we'll see you on Monday.
Friday 30th April
In Maths this week, we have continued working on fractions. We have used objects (and people) to create groups that help us to identify fractions of amounts.
In English, we have worked very hard on innovated stories based on The King of the Fishes. The children are becoming increasingly confident in adapting the model text to suit their own ideas.
In History, we took a virtual field trip to Skara Brae and considered how archaeology helps us to learn about the past.
In R.E., we considered the nature of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, linking our ideas to stories we have studied from the Bible. We are really enjoying taking our learning outside more as the weather improves.
It's been a busy week! Have a great weekend, everyone and don't come to school until Tuesday! Happy Bank Holiday 
Friday 23rd April
Mulberry Class have had a fantastic start to the Summer Term! It was great to see everyone in their history-inspired costumes on Monday and we enjoyed learning about some of the key characters the children had chosen to represent. Thank you to everyone for your superb efforts.
In Maths, we have been doing fabulous fractions. We are loving this block of work! So far, we have matched fractions and diagrams, talked about unit and non-unit fractions, combined fractions to make a whole and worked with tenths written as fractions and decimals. Some of the children asked for extra home learning tasks, because they are having so much fun with fractions.
In English, we have been learning our new model text. Scroll through the photos below to see one of the freeze frames we created during drama work based on the story, "The King of the Fishes."
In Art, the children painted apples using unusual tools. This work was inspired by "Still life with apples" by Paul Cezanne.
In History, we began a new topic: "Changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age." We discussed what people needed to do to survive in the Stone Age and focused on the importance of hunting to provide food, clothes and shelter.
We ended the week with an amazing achievement assembly in the glorious sunshine. Well done to everyone recognised for their efforts today. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and gets plenty of rest ready to start again on Monday!
Thursday 1st April
We've had a really busy week finishing our units of work for the Spring Term!
In Maths, we finished our unit on Length and Perimeter and journalled about our learning.
In English, we finished our independent 'meet' stories inspired by Wanda and the Toad.
In Science, we created a tree of knowledge in the classroom to share some of the many, many facts we have learned during our study of plants.
Here are some of Mulberry with their prizes from the Easter Egg raffle, wishing everyone a very Happy Easter. See you soon!
Friday 26th March
This week, we have undertaken assessments to track our progress in learning since we started Year 3. Everyone worked hard and should be very proud of their achievements!
In Maths this week, we have learned about perimeters and we have a really fun activity for consolidation - head over to our home learning page to find out more.
In English, we worked on innovated stories inspired by Wanda and the Toad. We really enjoyed reading and listening to each other's stories.
We have been updating some of our displays in the classroom, using them to celebrate what it means to belong to Marvellous Mulberry class. We also have some Year 3 work featured on the school History board in the school library area.
Thank you to everyone who brought in contributions for the Easter Egg raffle next week - we are all looking forward to getting our raffle tickets next week.
Have a great weekend, everyone - see you on Monday!
Friday 19th March
In Maths this week, we have worked relentlessly to master the addition of measures when the information we have is all in different units. We have multiplied and divided by 10 and 100 to convert measurements in metres, centimetres and millimetres and have used addition to answer reasoning and problem-solving questions.
In English, we have learned a new model text, Wanda and the Toad. We launched the new unit by spending a morning in 'Witch School': we didn't manage to make the beanstalks grow all the way up to the ceiling, but we did write lots of spells.
In Science, we used our new understanding of what plants need to thrive to plan some improvements to our provision for the beanstalks. We also began an investigation into how plants transport water. We are looking forward to observing the results of this investigation on Monday and finding out whether the outcome matches any of our predictions.
Our History topic this half-term is the Ancient Greeks and this week we asked, 'Who were the Ancient Greeks?' and, 'Why was Alexander Great?'
It's been a very busy week and we have achieved so much by working together. Well done, Team Mulberry - have a great weekend and we'll see you next week.
Friday 12th March
Welcome back!
We've had a great week with everyone back together again in school.
Here are some of the ways in which we are building on all the fabulous remote learning the children have done earlier this term:
In Maths, we are working on measures of length. We revised the need for standard units of measure by using different strategies to measure the length of the top playground. Later in the week, the children recognised that converting metres and centimetres is very similar to converting pounds and pence, which was a great help.
In English, we have complete independent discussion texts, with everyone choosing their own theme. Questions considered included "Should children have mobile phones?" and "Should people ride motorbikes?"
In Art, the children created their own mythical creatures after studying our Big Picture for this half term: Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian. We also read about creatures of myth and legend in our VIPERS text, "Unheard of Beasts".
The best part of the whole week was reading the messages children wrote to their mums on Friday. We'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day. Have a wonderful weekend and we'll see you all again on Monday.
Friday 18th December
MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!
Have a wonderful Christmas and stay safe.
See you in 2021!
From all of Year 3
Friday 11th December
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Year 3!
In Spanish, we learned the song, 'Feliz Navidad' - I will put a link at the bottom of this update in case anyone would like to practice more at home. We also enjoyed our 'Festive Friday' with everyone wearing their Christmas jumpers, t-shirts, dresses or sportswear!
In Maths, we have answered multiplication and division questions based on the 3x table and learned a special trick that helps us to identify whether big numbers are multiples of 3.
In English, we secured our knowledge of the model text, Amisi and the Fig and drew some fabulous individual text maps.
In Science, we investigated ways in which we could move a paperclip without touching it. We found that we could use gravity and magnetic force. Further investigations into magnetism revealed that only some metal objects are attracted to magnets.
See you all next week for more festive fun (and lots of learning)!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 4th December
In Maths, we have been working with equal groups as an introduction to a block of work on multiplication and division. We are also becoming increasingly fluent with our four times table facts - thank you for all the extra support with this at home.
In English, we have worked with the story, Amisi and the fig. We explored the story through drama and wrote postcards in the role of different animal characters.
The highlight of our week was our Christmas crafts day on Thursday... we can't say too much about this now, because we don't want to spoil any surprises! But we saw so many of our children at their best as they created cards and gifts to share with loved ones at Christmas. We especially enjoyed making our Christingles during the live-streamed 'Messy Church' event and it was lovely to hear the children talk the next day about lighting their candles at home as they watched the service online.
Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Mrs Jameson
Friday 27th November
This week saw Year 3 talking a lot about Egypt! We have been learning about Moses in RE and how Pesach is celebrated by Jewish famililes today. We have also written three-sentence stories set in Egypt as a 'cold task' in preparation for our new Talk for Writing text. I was very impressed by the children's knowledge of Egyptian animals and delighted to discover the existence of the Egyptian sand cat!
In Maths, we used near numbers to estimate answers to additions and subtractions involving three digits and we investigated inverse operations using Duplo bricks, bar models and fact families.
Some children from our class helped Mrs Sanderson open a very special delivery on Thursday - check out the 'Latest News' section of the website to see some great photographs.
Hope everyone is enjoying their extra day this weekend. Stay safe!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 20th November
This week, we have been writing independent instruction texts. Mrs Jameson has a very busy weekend ahead, using the children's work to help her make all manner of exciting things including banana splits, a treehouse and a bicycle!
In Maths, we have consolidated work on addition with three digits and used column addition to help us calculate the answers to word problems. We have also begun to learn the four times table, with the help of a new song from Todd and Ziggy.
In Drama, we worked with the Alive and Kicking 'Windrush' resource, which prompted us to think about how people were treated when they moved to Britain from the West Indies. We reflected on our commitment to equality and treating everyone fairly. This also linked into Anti-Bullying Week and the choices we make in our daily interactions.
Have a happy and safe weekend, everyone.
Mrs Jameson
Friday 13th November
This week, we have worked exceptionally hard to master subtracting two-digit numbers from three-digit numbers, using Base 10, place value charts and formal written methods (column subtraction). I have been so impressed with the children's determination and was delighted to hear some of them identify Maths as being one of the highlights of their week. Everyone deserves to feel very proud of their resiliance and progress.
In Talk for Writing, the children have completed their innovated instruction texts. Many of the children edited and improved their work, checking that they had used all the key features of an instruction text and then adding additional features inspired by the model text, such as alliteration and rhyme. I can't wait for next week as we begin to work on independent instruction texts!
The children are really enjoying our new block of work in Music. We have been clapping rhythms and learning to play the glockenspiels!
Thank you to everyone who sent in donations for Children in Need. We had a 'Pudsey picnic' this afternoon and the children who were still from lunch opted to bring their cupcake/cookie home to enjoy later.
We celebrated the end of a great week by recreating Miss Wood's Skittle experiment from the launch of 'Let's be curious!' last week.
Have a wonderful weekend filled with alliterative adjectives!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 6th November
Year 3 have had a great week back after half-term. We have seen such enthusiasm for learning and genuine kindness shown to children and adults within the class.
In Maths, we have been adding three-digit numbers and two-digit numbers, sometimes needing to exchange ten ones for one ten, or ten tens for one hundred. We have worked with place value charts and digits to begin exploring formal written methods (column addition).
We took part in the launch event for "Let's be curious!" by making a video of our class Science experiment. We used water, tonic water, some highlighter pens and a blacklight torch. The results were amazing! The children used their knowledge from our last Science topic to recognise that we needed to use transparent bottles for this experiment, or we wouldn't be able to see what was in the bottles.
In English, we have used our knowledge of the Talk for Writing text, "How to make a running potion" to identify imperative (or 'bossy' verbs). We have used imperative verbs to write instructions for our Science experiment - "How to make water glow in the dark."
As Remembrance Day approaches, we have reflected on the symbolism of the poppy and what it means to people in our community. We created different shades of red and green and used them to create poppy paintings and a classroom display.
It's been a fantastic week, Year 3 - keep up the good work!
See you next week,
Mrs Jameson
Friday 23rd October
In Maths this week, we continued working on addition and subtraction with three digit numbers and we focused on learning to recognise when we can use known facts to help us. We are also working on developing confidence in reasoning and problem-solving, including testing out multiple solutions to a problem.
In English, we have been learning a new model text, "How to make a running potion." We have also been reading about Usain Bolt in VIPERS and we watched a video of him running the fastest 150m in history in 2009. Many of the children were really inspired by this and spent several break times running laps outside.
We have enjoyed exploring the work of shadow puppeteer, Richard Bradshaw, within our Science focus on light and shadow. I will include a link to one of our favourite video clips below this update.
In Art, we have experimented with creating a colour palette to match a photograph of an autumn woodland scene and we have talked about the colour choices made by David Hockney in his paintings of Yorkshire.
Congratulations to everyone in Year 3 for a great start to the year.
I hope you all have a fabulous half-term, filled with fun, family, fresh air and friendship.
See you soon!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 16th October
We have written some fabulous three-sentence stories this week, which some of the children may be keen to retell at home, using their Talk for Writing actions. Perhaps you will hear about the shy spider, the old man who saw a wolf, or the girl who played football. I am looking forward to reading more of the children's stories when they bring in their home learning next week.
In Maths, we are continuing to work on addition and subtraction with three-digits. This week, we have added and subtracted multiples of ten from three-digit numbers. Being able to count on and back in tens from a given number is a great help as we develop our strategies.
In History, we reflected on all our knowledge of Sir Titus Salt and the impact he had on people's lives. We asked ourselves whether he was a hero or a villain.
We have explored shadows in Science, and through the texts and pictures we've used in VIPERS this week. We had fun using the projector as a light source to create different shadows on the whiteboard, and explored the different shadows created by transparent and opaque objects.
Wishing everyone a very happy weekend,
Mrs Jameson
Friday 9th October
This week, we have been writing in different roles. We wrote postcards from the traveller in Nail Soup and wrote diary entries as children who had moved to Saltaire in 1871.
In Maths, we used different strategies to subtract single digit numbers from three digit numbers. We used the strategies we had learned to solve the problems faced by Mick the maintenance man as he repaired fences and planted trees at the conservation park.
In RE, we wondered whether all people should take care of the natural world, regardless of their religious faith, and we continued our journey along the timeline of the Bible by reading the story of the The Fall.
We have also revised primary colours and mastered the delicate art of mixing powder paint to just the right consistency!
Enjoy the weekend, everyone, and I will see you all on Monday.
Mrs Jameson
Friday 2nd October
This week, we have moved from Place Value onto Addition and Subtraction and we have been adding single-digits to three-digit numbers. Many of the children have realised that their fluency with simple addition bonds is really useful when they work with bigger numbers. We have also been learning the three times tables with the help of our new favourite song!
In English, we finished the innovation stage of our Talk for Writing unit and have planned indendent writes inspired by Nail Soup. We took our learning outside to practise spellings in the the outdoor area and continued to enjoy our class novel, Ottoline and the Yellow Cat.
In History this week, we boarded the Drama Express and 'visited' Victorian Bradford and Saltaire. Everyone was very excited to discover that their new homes in Saltaire had a separate toilet for each family!
In Science, we investigated the pupil's ideas for using reflective surfaces to see around corners. We found that the best surface to use was a mirror and we improved on this by using two mirrors to make a periscope.
We ended the week by applauding all the children who had earned privilege cards and celebrating some fabulous work in the Home Learning books.
Have a great weekend!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 25th September
This week in Maths, we compared and ordered three-digit numbers. We used a variety of resouces, including Base 10, place value charts and number lines. We used the symbols =, < and > to record our work.
In English, we continued the innovation phase of our Talk for Writing work on Nail Soup. There have been some fabulous innovations in the children's stories about builders, dancers, doctors and police officers. We used inverted commas to mark the speech of the main characters and their 'helpers'.
We thoroughly enjoyed watching a video tour of Saltaire and looking at photographs taken by our very own roving reporter! We learned about the public buildings that Sir Titus built (and banned!) in his village.
The children have had some incredible questions in RE, based on our study of the Christian story of creation and how it influences the way Christians live their lives. You might like to consider some of these questions at home:
Did God invent Himself?
Who are God's mum and dad?
How long did God need to rest after he created the world?
See you next week for another Marvellous Monday!
Mrs Jameson
Friday 18th September
This week in Maths, we began to work with three-digit numbers up to 1000. We used Base 10 materials and other resources to represent numbers with hundreds, tens and ones. Then we thought about using number lines. We quickly realised that using ten 0-100 number lines was going to be unmanageable, so we made human number lines in the outdoor area, placing multiples of 100 and 10 between 0-1000. Next week, we will look at placing three digit numbers on number lines with and without marked intervals.
We are continuing to enjoy our Talk for Writing work on the story Nail Soup. This week, we have been choosing alternative characters, special objects and settings and beginning to write our first variations of the story. The children have responded particularly well to our new strategy of 'having a go' at spellings as they write and underlining the part of the word they are unsure of.
In Science, we have learned more about light: we know that light travels in straight lines and have wondered whether we can manipulate light so that we can see around a corner. Several children had ideas for using reflective surfaces and we will try these out next week.
Children, please tell your adults how proud of you I was this morning when you all worked so hard to help me improve my running. I felt very encouraged and you gave me lots of great tips. I'm looking forward to running together again next week!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs Jameson
Human number lines
Friday 11th September 2020
We have had a fantastic week back! Every day has been packed with learning and fun. I have lost count of the times children have told me how happy they are to be back. It has been a great week for adults and children alike.
In Maths, we recapped work on tens and ones and then moved on to counting in hundreds.
In English, we began using Talk for Writing to learn the story Nail Soup. You will be amazed by your child's ability to retell the story opening!
We have started learning about the philanthropist Sir Titus Salt in History and we have thought about our wonderful world in RE.
Our Science work this half-term will focus on light and shadows and we began this week by considering different light sources and why we need light.
Have a great weekend, everyone and I will see you bright and early again next Monday!
Mrs Jameson