Topic Summary
Why is light important in religion?
Our diverse and changing community is explored as our pupils build upon their experiences of beliefs, celebrations and festivals. The children learn to embrace differences and together we celebrate the uniqueness of each child. During this topic the children learn how Hindus and Christians celebrate different festivals using special objects and artefacts. The children are immersed in the story of Rama and Sita and they begin to make links to the Hindu beliefs and practises. Children can reflect on their first-hand experiences of a visit to a Hindu Temple and they are able to make links and comparisons to their own thoughts and beliefs. This topic provides lots of opportunities to work creatively and become wonderful story writers.
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 other religions celebrate light and darkness?
- Creativity - How is creativity a part of religious celebrations?
- Comparison - Where in Europe would you like to live?
Trips/Experiences
- Friday 17th November - Children in Need Children
- November 28th - Visit from Author Vashti Hardy
- Friday 15th December - Year 3 carols at 2:45pm
- Tuesday 19th December - Christmas Jumper Day and Decorations Morning
- We are also hoping to organise a visit to a Hindu Temple.
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.
In our reading, we will be learning how to retrieve information from a text, and how to tell if something is factual. We will link this to our work on Hindus.
In the run up to Christmas we will meet the author who wrote Santa's Marvellous Mechanical Workshop, and complete a range of tasks linked to her story.
Key Texts
- Rama and Sita, The story of Diwali.
- Santa's Marvellous Mechanical Workshop by Vashti Hardy
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 Greece 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 Kefalonia, whilst practising our map skills and investigate the changes in tourism.
PSHE and RE
In PSHE this half term we will be discussing relationships and looking at what makes a family and the features of family life. The children will recognise and respect that there are different types of family structure (including single parents, same-sex parents, step-parents, blended families and foster parents). We will talk about people can give family members love, security and stability.
In RE we will learn about Hindism, beliefs and practices. We will compare the events of Christmas and Diwali. We will build on our curiosity and expand our knowledge of India and other countries where Hinduism is primarily celebrated
Art
This half term, we will be focusing on the technique of collage. We will look at some different examples of collage art work before learning the techniques of coiling, over-lapping and tessellation. We will mix contrasting textures: rough/smooth and plain/patterned. The children will be taught to layer and overwork materials with different media.
They will then apply these techniques to create an effective collage.
Computing
In computing we will be continuing the topic of e-safety, linking this to anti-bullying week and how to respect one another on line and in person.
If you would like any further details about this half term's curriculum in Year 3, please speak to your child's teacher.