Topic Summary
How are festivals celebrated in different religions?
In this topic, children build on their own experiences of beliefs, celebrations, and festivals as they explore the rich diversity of our community. They learn to embrace and appreciate differences, celebrating the uniqueness of every individual. The children discover how Hindus and Christians celebrate various festivals, using special objects and artefacts that are meaningful to each tradition. They are immersed in the story of Rama and Sita, which helps them make connections to Hindu beliefs and practices. A visit to a Hindu temple provides valuable first-hand experiences, enabling children to reflect on what they’ve seen and compare it with their own thoughts, beliefs, and traditions.
In the topic we will be teaching the children the following key concepts:
- Belief - What do Hindus believe about light and dark?
- Celebrations - How do Hindus celebrate religious festivals?
- Traditions - What traditions do they have in Spain?
- Comparison - Where in Europe would you like to live?
Trips/Experiences
- Monday 10th November - Theatre Production of Sleeping Beauty
- Wednesday 12th November - Children’s Photographer in School
- Friday November 28th - Author visit from Philip Kavvadias
- Tuesday 2nd December - Visit to Hindu Temple
- Monday 15th December - Year 3 carols at 2:45pm
- Tuesday 16th December - Christmas Jumper Day and Decorations Day
Subject Information
English
Using our topic as inspiration, we will be improving our writing skills by focusing on the use of descriptive phrases to lengthen our sentences. We will also learn to add commas after fronted adverbials and will be developing our use of paragraphs around a theme.
The children will be taught skills to proof read their work looking for common errors and think about how it could be improve. They will learn to make suggestions about their own work and other peoples. We will then use these writing skills to write a narrative, focusing on the story of Rama and Sita. Our narrative will focus on creating setting, characters and plots.
During Guided Reading we will focus on the text ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark’, further developing our love for reading through shared storytelling and comprehension questions.
Our Christmas whole school text this year is Kid Christmas Of the Claus Brothers Toy Shop. Nicky Claus works with his three uncles in a magic toyshop. When he notices a child who can't afford a toy, he has an amazing idea and - with the help of his uncles and some flying reindeer - the legend of Father Christmas is born.
Key Texts
- Rama and Sita, The story of Diwali.
- The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson
- Kid Christmas
Maths
This half term we will be building upon our knowledge of place value and will learn how to:
- Add and subtract numbers mentally, including three digit numbers.
- Add and subtract numbers with up to three digits, using formal written methods of column addition and subtraction
- Estimate the answer to a calculation and use inverse operations to check answers.
- Solve problems, including missing number problems, using number facts, place value, and more complex addition and subtraction.
- We will also be recognising the values of different coins and converting between pounds and pence. We will use our addition and subtraction knowledge to work out how much we spend, and how much change we should get.
Science
In Science, we will be studying the topic of light. We will:
- Recognise that we need light to see things, and that dark is the absence of light.
- Notice that light is reflected from surfaces.
- Recognise that light from the sun can be dangerous and that there are ways to protect our eyes.
- Recognise that shadows are formed when the light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object.
- Find patterns in the way that the size of shadows change.
Geography
In Geography we will be comparing Spain with the UK. We will be exploring the impact of location on vegetation, food, culture and tourism. We will look at the relationship between physical and human Geography through a case study on Madrid, whilst practising our map skills and investigate the changes in tourism.
PSHE and RE
In PSHE this half term we will be exploring the enquiry question ‘What keeps us safe?’
We will discuss the impact of bullying, including offline and online, and the consequences of hurtful behaviour for the people involved. We will talk about privacy and personal boundaries. We will also be reading the No Outsiders book ‘Introducing Teddy’ by Jessica Walton and Dougal Macpherson.
In RE we will learn about Hindism, beliefs and practices. We will visit a Hindu temple to learn about Hinduism, beliefs and practises. After listening to the Rama and Sita story, the children will discuss the different messages in it, which ones they agree with and why. The children will explore the enquiry question ‘What are the most important similarities and differences between Christmas and Diwali?’
Art
We will be focusing on the art by Mark Hearld, an English artist whose work is inspired by the Flora and Fauna of the British Countryside. We will be focusing on collage, developing techniques such as coiling, over-lapping and tessellation. We will learn how to mix contrasting textures and layer materials with different media.
We will then apply these techniques to create an effective collage.
Computing
In Computing we will be learning the fundamental skills to use Microsoft Word in order to create a tourism leaflet for Madrid. The children will be learning basic text formatting (changing the font, size and colour) and how to insert pictures into their work. They will also be developing further confidence with their typing skills.
PE
On a Monday we will be focusing on tennis. The children will be learning how to control and move the ball with a stick/racket. They will learn about the importance of communication and identify key elements to protect the ball during sports.
On Friday we have Dance. The children will practise and put together a performance to Roald Dahl’s Matilda. The children will perform using facial expressions and a prop.
If you would like any further details about this half term's curriculum in Year 3, please speak to your child's teacher.
Credits:
Created with images by Sergii Figurnyi - "Cibeles fountain at Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid" • WINGGOD - "A desktop workspace with a large computer monitor showing a document in a word processing program" • Sergey Nivens - "Music background"