Our Wonderful World

Year 3 Summer 1

As historians, we will use evidence to ask questions and find answers to questions about the past. We will study and investigate how the locality of the school has changed over time.

As musicians, we will listen to the song ‘What a wonderful World ’ by Louis Armstrong. We will discuss the lyrics and look at images. We will tell a story by drawing our own images of our wonderful world and compose music using percussion instruments and ICT.

In Year 3 this term, we will be looking at the amazing world around us. This will include looking at the location of the school and its surrounding areas. We will also be looking at the world beneath us to examine the soil and things that live in it and grow out of it. We will finally apply our learning and write about what we have learnt by creating a brochure all about Watford.

As computer programmers we will use some of the advanced features of applications and devices in order to communicate our ideas and opinions about our locality.

As geographers, we will ask and answer geographical questions about the characteristics of a location. We will use fieldwork to observe and record the human and physical features in the local area using a range of methods by s k e t c h i n g m a p s , p l a n s a n d d i g i t a l technologies. We will use the eight points of a compass, four-figure grid references, symbols and key to communicate knowledge of the United Kingdom and the wider world.

As artists, we will find out about local artists who once lived and worked in our local area. We will learn about the famous artist Lowry and sketch and record our observations of our playground using different brush techniques.

As athletes we will learn the rules of tennis and consolidate some of the techniques used. We will also learn different throwing techniques and improve our fitness in preparation for Sports day.

As scientists we will explore the world we live in and investigate soils and flowering plants. We will identify and describe the functions of different parts of flowering plants and explore the requirements of plants for life and growth. We will investigate the way in which water is transported within plants and explore the role of flowers in the life cycle of  flowering plants,  including pollination, seed  formation and seed dispersal.

As mathematicians we will recognise that tenths arise from dividing an object into 10 equal parts and in dividing one-digit numbers or quantities by 10. We will recognise and use fractions as numbers and write fractions of a discrete set of objects. We will also recognise and show, using diagrams, equivalent fractions with small denominators. We will compare and order unit fractions and fractions with the same denominators as well as add and subtract fractions with the same denominator within one whole. We will also start to look at time and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII and 12-hour and 24-hour clocks. We will estimate and read time with increasing accuracy to the nearest minute as well as record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes and hours.

As language specialists we will explore the features of Mystery stories and examine how the author creates suspense by leaving clues.

As citizens of the world we will nurture our sense of enjoyment and fascination when learning about the world around us. We will work together on scientific investigations and share results to improve reliability. We will take responsibility for our own and other people’s safety when undertaking practical work.

As theologians we will explore the meaning of sacred texts and faith stories from the Christian and Islamic traditions and respond to the impact of these on religious followers. We will examine beliefs about the origin of sacred texts (The Qur’an and The Bible) and how they should be treated. We will also learn about their impact on individual believers and explore questions such as ‘Who was Jesus?’, ‘What is the Trinity? and ‘What was the impact of Pentecost when Jesus left?’