Shipton Bellinger Primary School

 Year 3 Archive

2022-2023 (Including Autumn 2023)

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Week 6 Summer 2 in Bumblebee class

Money, money, money makes the world go round... or so they say! We have been working on amounts of money and change in our maths learning. In english, we were able to have a wonderful poetry reading to the whole class. Mrs. Cheshire then chose some children that particularly impressed her and were able to perform to Mrs. Holloway!

To finish off our geography unit, the children made their own board games all about the rainforest. We then spent most of the afternoon learning to play each others games and had a fantastic time playing together.

Summer 2 week 5 in Bumblebee class

A very exciting week as our very own published fables finally arrived! We spent the morning reading aloud each piece and the children absolutely loved it. They could not wait to show their parents and read it to their families at home. Well done Bumblebees!

Summer 2 Week 4 in Bumblebee class

A jam packed week indeed! In Maths, we worked on finding fractions of an amount and made our own fractions to put on our fraction wall display. Tuesday was a very exciting day as we moved to our new classrooms to get a taste of what it will be like in year 4. We spent the morning doing fox and woodland craft as Mrs. Cheshire, Mrs. Pope and Mrs. Crofts have loads of exciting ideas for our new classroom! 

Later in the week, we had a very exciting sports day and the children behaved beautifully. The fun didn't stop in the morning as we continued our FOS competitive sports events which included the parents. Much fun was had all round!

Summer 2 Week 3 Bumblebee class

Continuing our work on the rainforests, we set to work creating our own persuasive texts about the affects of deforestation. We gathered research by jotting down information we had found on the internet using 'Kiddle', a child friendly search engine, books and work that we had already gathered in Geography. In addition, we also sketched a rainforest animal, a toucan, to add to our persuasive posters.

We have been getting ourselves ready for our upcoming sports day with athletic skills in our PE lessons with Mr. Murphy. In science, we carefully dissected our own flowers in order to be able to make our own display and identified the different parts of the flower e.g. the ovary, carpel, and stamen. We then added to our Indian music compositions by using a drum (Tabla) and composing our own 'Tal'. So now we have a Rag, Drone and a Tal! 

Summer 2 week 2 in Bumblebee class

Phew! Another boiling hot week in year 3. We dabbled in a bit of outdoor learning at the start of the week on the look out for the 'perimeter' of any shapes we could find in the playground. We were surprised to learn just how many we could find if you were to look in the right places!

In PE, we made sure to have regular breaks in the shade as the temperature continued to rise. The next skill we were learning for cricket was pass and receive whilst aiming for the wickets. The children are already excited for next week as they will be moving on to the holding a bat and hitting the ball.

In science, the children have started to look closely at identifying different parts of a plant and their function. The first one being the roots where we looked at lots of pictures and illustrations of plants and what they look like underneath the soil. As an observational study, we were able to go out to the wild area and look for roots and have a go at sketching them. 

Finally, towards the end of the week, the children worked hard on making Father's Day cards with Mrs. Pope. No children were harmed during the making of these hand prints! 

Summer 2 Week 1 in Bumblebee class

A sizzling start to the Summer term as we began our first lesson of our Science unit, plants. We have been learning how to identify different parts and functions of a plant and are currently conducting an investigation on the growth rate of a sunflower seed depending on the amount of water they receive.

We also celebrated World Ocean Day and discussed the importance of the sea and what it provides for the thousands of species living within. With the current problem of pollution and littering we also researched what is currently being done by inventors who are currently using their ideas to help clean our oceans. We then had a go at drawing a rainbow trout which is a fish native to the UK.

This has gone hand in hand with our new text driver, The Great Kapok Tree, and we have already discovered the ever growing numbers of deforestation across the globe. Using our persuasive writing skills, we have written a letter to the men chopping down the trees in the story to encourage to think otherwise and what rainforests in fact provide for all living things. 

Summer 1 Week 6 in Bumblebee class

Summer 1 Week 5 in Bumblebee class

Bumblebee class have progressed with telling the time down to the minute! We even started to look at the difference between analogue and digital time which was a real challenge for some of us to overcome but we got there.

In English, we had a wonderful time creating our own dragons inspired by the book ''Tell me a Dragon'. We particularly loved the gorgeous illustrations and tried to mimic the technique for our own. We then wrote a poem describing our dragon, I was very impressed with the vocabulary that they used with both verb and adjective phrases.

For Art, we moved on to pointillism and learned about the famous French artists behind this intriguing style. We were then given a challenge to add some colour using pointillism to the Eiffel tower. 

Summer 1 Week 4 in Bumblebee class

Time, time and more time is what we have been doing in Bumblebee class. We have been working tirelessly in our Maths lessons to enable us to read an analogue clock. We have shown the time using our own clocks and even played some time bingo which caused an uproar in the classroom!

We also spent the week finishing off our Fables which are now typed up and ready to make their way to the publishing house. Please make sure you have sent a reply slip to the office to ensure you receive a copy of our class collection. 

In PE, we have been able to take advantage of the incoming summer weather for our athletics unit. This week we were able to practice our underarm throwing which progressed to the best position for overarm throwing. Finally we were able to get out the javelin poles and had a mini competition as to who could throw it the furthest. 

Summer 1 Week 3 in Bumblebee class

We have had a wonderful week celebrating the King's Coronation. All our work this week has been linked to this historic event. It started with finding out about the official invitation of the Coronation which was designed by Andrew Jamieson. We used similar techniques to create our own invitation to our Coronation picnic at school using watercolour paints. 

We were able to recap instructional writing by making a Coronation Trifle and write the instructions to go with it. Afterwards, we were able to gobble them all up which the children thoroughly enjoyed.

In maths, we used a tea party theme to work out different possibilities of placing objects in a particular order. This  links to a 200-year-old maths puzzle and also to Latin Squares or Euler Squares which form the basis of popular Sudoku puzzles. Our aim was to position different coloured items into a square grid so that each row and column contains one of each.

Another task was a cupcake challenge, which helped us to consolidate our 3x, 4x and 8x table knowledge. Our task was to decorate cakes using the following rules.

• Every third cake will have white icing
• Every fourth cake will have sprinkles
• Every eighth cake will have smarties

 and predict what would happen. The best part was we got to eat them afterwards... yummy!

Summer 1 Week 2 in Bumblebee class

Yet another jam packed week in Bumblebee class! 

In English, we worked very hard throughout the week to complete our Fables which will be typed up, ready for publishing in the coming weeks. We hosted daily writing workshops whilst listening to a bit of Mozart, some tasty treats included to keep those creative juices flowing!

For science, we had a good look at the 'eat well' wheel and had to categorise different items of food in to their correct food groups, meanwhile Mrs. Cheshire made her own one for the wall which every child able to place their own item of food. Another glorious day allowed us to host our PE session out on the field as we worked on what we need to do in order to make the quickest time when running. 

My favourite part of the week has to be when we started our first music session using Kapow which starts us on a learning journey all about Indian music. Our first task was to listen to a song and move around the classroom depending on how it made us feel. The smiles on their faces as they relished the opportunity to move around to the inevitable "bopping and tapping" that arises when listening to the drums, there is something very instinctual about it all!

Summer 1 Week 1 in Bumblebee class

How are we in the Summer term already?

We kickstarted our week with our new topic of Fables, Fairytales and Francais by learning about the country of France and had a go at sketching the Eiffel tower in our Art books. We also participated in the The Big Royal Portrait event and followed a very helpful tutorial on how to draw our new King Charles in celebration of the upcoming coronation. 

In PE we have started our new athletics units and were able to enjoy the sunny weather on the field to practice jumping. We started off by measuring ourselves laying down and attempted to jump over our own height!

We have also embarked on learning how to multiply 2 digits by 1 digit in maths which the children worked so hard on achieving. However, I think the class have been keen to continue on their new English topic as we have spent the week exploring Fables and beginning to plan our own in preparation for publishing our very own book! 

Watch our Roman song to the tune of our favourite musical hit 'Naughty' from Matilda! 

Week 6 Spring 2 in Bumblebee class

I honestly can't believe we have arrived at the Easter holidays, time really does buzz by when we are working as hard as we are in year 3! 

We finished off our Roman chariots and gave our quiet critters a little ride around the classroom to prove its use. In music, we completed our last lesson of the song 'Lesley the Dragon' and brought out the glockenspiels (gulp) to play alongside the tune of which I was pleasantly surprised to see how keen we were to get it right. Their focus in the session was key and they sounded fantastic as a result.

In Mathematics we did a one off session of telling time and looked specifically at o'clock and half past whilst refreshing ourselves on the function of each hand. We also attended the church for our Easter service. Our selected readers read aloud beautifully and clearly whilst our paschal candles were held up high with pride. To finish off our History unit on the romans, the children learnt about what the Romans did for entertainment and even got to play their own versions of knucklebones, the children absolutely LOVED this game and I wouldn't be surprised if they went straight home to ask their parents for a set!

We managed to squeeze in a mini Easter egg hunt set up by Mrs. Pope. The rain moved the hunt indoors but that did not stop the children from having all the fun. Finally of course, we had our famous Bumblebee bookworm brunch where all the successful children were invited back to the classroom at lunch time to join the Year 3 team with some sweet treats and all sorts of prizes. 

Well done Bumblebees, another term has been and gone and you have all worked so hard!

Week 5 Spring 2 in Bumblebee class

In preparation for our upcoming Easter service, we made our very own paschal candles and learnt about the symbolism of the candle and what it represents. The children worked very hard on their candles and they turned out beautifully.

In PE, they continued with their African dance routines with their partners which they then performed to the whole class. With Mr. Murphy, they worked in pairs and focused on achieving a small rally by controlling the ball and pass it back to their partner. 

For DT, the children constructed their chassis' for their Roman chariots and then moved on to designing the platform. Some attempted mosaics whilst others made sure to insert the initials for the Emperor that it was intended for, 'Emperor Claudius'.

To finish off the week, our brave and wonderful contestants went forward to perform their talents to the rest of the school. A very well done to Elodie and Betty who made Bumblebee class very proud as Elodie performed her very own written poetry and Betty sang with her beautiful voice! 

Week 4 Spring 2 Bumblebee class

We danced our way in to the week as we continued our new found love of African Dance, the children are so focused during the sessions and have come up with some very creative routines! In DT, we have started constructing our chariots after having a wood workshop last week. The chassis' have come together really well and our next step will be to think about applying the wheels and the main body of the chariot. In PE, we have continued our outdoor unit of tennis, more specifically how to successfully pass the ball to a partner. 

With Mothering Sunday on the way, we found some time to create our own Bumblebee cards. The children worked so hard and the results were the most adorable card covers with a handwritten message inside. In English, we have started to to delve deeper in to what an explanation text is. After the pupils had put together a mixed up text, which was all about the immune system, in the right order they were able to act it out.

Now on to the main event... Paultons Park! The class were an absolute delight and I was so proud of how they took care of each other and followed instructions to ensure they were all happy and safe. It was all the more wonderful when the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds which meant we were able to have our first picnic of the year! If you want to see the photos of the trip, make sure to look on the science page of the website.

Week 3 Spring 2 in Bumblebee class

What a fantastic week we have had in Year 3. We started off in our History lesson by presenting what we have learnt about different aspects of Julius Caesar's life to the rest of class. In PE, we have been absolutely thrilled to learn the ways of African dance. The children have been working in partners to make a routine using the "clock face" technique and then performing it to the class. 

Wednesday took us back to winter and unfortunately kept a few members of staff and children from making it to school. However, that did not stop those that made it to school from making the most of the late snowy weather. The children were able to spend the morning with the rest of the school as they went out to use the WHOLE field to make snowmen/women and snow angels! What a wonderful day. 

In English, Year 3 were successfully able to host their debate to the Emperor and senate on whether or not it would be a good idea to invade Britain. The pupils argued this tremendously and were incredibly professional with one another as they took it in turns to say their piece and use 'tricks of the trade' to persuade. In the end, we took a class vote and the decision to invade Britain and the benefits it would provide won the majority! 

Finally in science, our forces unit is well under way which meant getting the magnets out. We spent time discovering other magnetic materials and what the scientific words 'attract' and 'repel' meant and what it looks like using a magnet. 

Week 2 Spring 2 in Bumblebee class

What a lovely week we have had in Bumblebee class! We celebrated my birthday at the start of the week and they had arranged many surprises. My favourite was walking in on them all singing 'Happy Birthday' and giving me a great, big bumblebee style hug. 

In celebration of St. David's day, Mrs. Pope brought in a fresh bunch of daffodils in to the classroom which really made us all feel a sprinkle of spring to come. Each child who wanted to was able to take a flower home in honor of the Welsh tradition of giving it to someone that you care about. Mrs. Pope also graced us once again with her baking skills as she had stayed up late the night before to make us all a Welsh cake to try. You can see by the pictures just how much we enjoyed it! Needless to say we had to deal with a few more hyper children due to the extra dose of sugar. 

In science, we conducted an experiment to see how friction caused by a type of surface area can greatly impact the speed of a toy car moving down a ramp. 

Later in the week we celebrated World Book Day by starting off the morning by showing off our costumes in the book day parade. We joined in on the BBC teach live lesson which was all about how to decipher what your favourite genre is and how to become a better writer. In the afternoon, Miss. House set out on her reading challenge which meant we had to drop everything and read when she came around and rang the bell. 

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Week 1 Spring 2 in Bumblebee class

To kick start our new history topic of 'Romans on the rampage', we were lucky enough to have Openbox theatre company pay us a visit. Discovering all about a day in the life of a soldier, we were even able to form our own regiment and salute 'Hail Claudius!'. Now, as their class teacher, I questioned whether or not we would be able to walk in coordination around the room in silence but I was pleasantly surprised... Bumblebee class did so well and listened so intently to our visitors with huge smiles on their faces throughout. We had a wonderful time and can not wait for another Drama workshop to take place. 

In PE, we began learning about our next sport which is tennis. We tested our hand-eye coordination with a tennis ball and then we went straight to how to hold a tennis racket to see if we could safely pass our tennis balls to a partner. 

Week 6 Spring in Bumblebee class

Wow, how is it that we are halfway through the academic year already?! 

We ended the week with a bang as we went outside to erupt our mini Mount Vesuvius' which was successful all round, the children absolutely loved it and were screeching as the "lava" bubbled to the top. In writing, we worked on our diary entries from the perspective of someone who survived the horrific event of Pompeii's destruction. In PE, we finished off our skipping unit as we each performed our partner routines. 

I think my most proud moment this week was during outdoor PE, we were able to play our first round of competitive sports in hockey! They worked so well as a team and even shook each others hands at the end of each game. What fantastic sportsmanship year 3, I am so proud of you. 

To top off the last week of term, we hosted our very first 'Bumblebee bookworm brunch'. Children who had read and logged in their reading diaries at least 3x each week came in to find an invitation on their desks inviting them to the exciting event. The pupils were allowed to bring their lunch in to the classroom and eat with the year 3 team with some added sweet treats. They received a special certificate and a reading badge to wear proudly, we were even paid a special visit by Mrs. Holloway and Miss. House to congratulate the children. Well done buzzing readers!

Week 5 Spring in Bumblebee class

Week 4 Spring in Bumblebee class

Wow, what an eruption of activity in year 3 this week! Finishing off our angles unit, we went on an angle hunt around the playground using our angle makers. We even made our own board games to show how we can use words such as 'right angle turn, 90 degree turn or clockwise and anticlockwise' to move around the board. There was a bit of a rapping session as we learned the moves and lyrics to the angle rap, see pictures below as it was quite good fun and maybe ask your bumblebee to show it to you at home!

We got our hands on the clay and got very mucky as we got to making our very own Mount Vesuvius. It was an absolutely wonderful session as the bumblebees were completely engrossed throughout the entire afternoon, there was even a bit of 'Unchained melody' playing in the background to which the children didn't quite get the reference! 

Week 3 Spring in Bumblebee class

Every time I think we will have a quieter week, it ends up being the complete opposite! There were many wonderful learning activities taking place this week at Shipton. We embraced the cold and windy weather to complete our splat painting for our volcanoes, of course I did not make it out without a big, orange splodge on my dress...

We have been working on our rope skipping skills and even challenged ourselves to try group skipping. Our historical adventure stories are under way and we had a lovely session reading our stories to one another and giving helpful tips to edit. To help inspire the pupils to use our tier 3 vocabulary, Mr. Hudson hosted a game of 'Pompeii bingo' and then put our words in to context on the working wall.  In PE, our hockey skills have improved to much that we were able to host our first game which was so much fun to watch and cheer on.

Finally, to finish off the week, we were able to make it our way to the wild area and go on a bug hunt to find invertebrates. It is not often in year 3 we like to get dirty but we thoroughly enjoyed it as the sun was shining and we were able to find quite a few creepy crawlies! 

Week 2 Spring in Bumblebee class

Yet another busy week, full to the brim of lots of fantastic learning activities! In Maths, we experimented with mass and capacity using weights and jugs to compare with other objects around the room. We also had a little bit of drama in our English lessons as we tried to capture a snapshot moment of what it would have been like when Mount Vesuvius erupted. There was also a memory game to help improve our knowledge of important historical facts during the tragic event. A lot of fun has been had as the interventions have been up and running for Maths and Reading with some interactive games included which the children have loved. 

In other news, our very own 'buzzing readers' beehive will be arriving in our classroom as of next week so we will be on the lookout for some keen and enthusiastic bookworms. Start logging your reading in your diaries as much as you can! 

Week 1 Spring in Bumblebee class

We started our first week back from the Christmas holidays with an explosion of hard work as we began our new unit of 'Earth Shattering Events'. We read our new class text 'Escape from Pompeii' which the children were eager to learn more about what happened to the long lost city of Pompeii and the shocking events of Mount Vesuvius. We worked as text seekers to find clues hidden within a range of short stories that were written with a historical setting in mind. This is to help support the children for when they come to write their own adventure story later in the term. 

This went hand in hand with our new geography unit, volcanoes and earthquakes, where the children have started to learn about the structure of the Earth and how volcanoes came to be part of our varying and rich landscape. In art, we have already drawn our volcanoes ready to splat-paint our magma on the top for next week! We already can't wait to make our own clay volcanoes with an exploding top. 

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Class News Archives

Autumn Term '22