It's half term at last!
After nearly eight weeks back at school, it's time for a well-earned break. I have been so impressed by how well the children have settled back into the daily routine at Swan Lane, their hard work and positive attitude to the new challenges they've tackled in Year 3 so far.
I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing half term holiday, and I will look forward to seeing the children back in school on Monday 2nd November.
Best wishes,
Mrs Vaqueiro
For our Big Writing after half term, we are going to be writing a character description of Mr Twit, from Roald Dahl’s ‘The Twits’. http://tinyurl.com/gm6vxvh
It would be useful
if you could discuss the following with your child in preparation for Big
Writing:
Anything that children bring in before Friday can be used to assist with Big Writing.
Thank you.
Mrs Vaqueiro
Good morning!
I hope you are feeling well enough to try some home learning today. Please send copies of any completed work in to the school office by email, so that I can see how you are getting on. The office email address is: office@swanlanefirstschool.worcs.sch.uk - please make sure you write your name and class details in the email so that your work can find its way to me!
Literacy
In literacy today, we will be looking at some poetry. Haiku is a form of Japanese poetry which is traditionally written over three lines, using 17 syllables. There are usually five syllables in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the third. We will be looking at a poem called 'Tree of Life' and exploring the language of the poetry. I have put a copy of the poem, and supporting resources, in the 3V Home Learning Folder for you to have a look at.
Please also try to spend 30 minutes today reading a book of your choice. If you feel up to it, please complete a review of your book - the template is in the folder.
Maths
Once again, we will be consolidating our work on column subtraction with exchanges. You can watch a video from White Rose to help you understand the method. Here is the link to yesterday's video, which you might want to watch again. Once you are feeling confident, have a look at the next video here, which will build on your understanding. I have put some questions in the 3V Home Learning folder for you to work through.
Humanities
Following our discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun last week, we are going to be looking at the so-called 'Curse of Tutankhamun' to see whether might be any truth in the rumour that all those who were involved in disturbing the tomb were put under some sort of curse... Have a look through the slides in the Home Learning folder to find out more!
I hope you are soon able to come back to school - take care of yourselves and keep safe.
Mrs Vaqueiro
During half term, I would like the children to practise their mental arithmetic skills - adding and subtracting numbers within 20, as this will support their class work enormously!
You can practise using free online games, such as Hit the Button (try the 'Number Bonds' section for addition and subtraction up to 20) or just using a pencil and paper - maybe you could challenge your parents and siblings to a Maths Battle!
Mrs Vaqueiro
Good morning!
I hope you are keeping safe at home and feeling well enough to complete some home learning. If you do manage to complete some work, please send copies of your completed activities via email to the school office: office@swanlanefirstschool.worcs.sch.uk - don't forget to include your name and class, so that the office staff can pass things on to me.
Maths
In maths we have been learning how to solve subtraction questions using the column method, exchanging tens and hundreds where needed. There is a video from White Rose for you to watch here, which explains the method. Further resources and activities for you to complete are in the 3V Home Learning Folder.
Literacy
In literacy, we are writing autumn poems, focusing on using descriptive language including similes, metaphor and onomatopoeia. I have put a copy of my lesson slides and resources in the Home Learning Folder: when you have completed the activities set, begin to make a draft of your autumn poem.
PSHE
In PSHE, we have been reflecting on the effects of lockdown and our return to school. We will be designing a t-shirt to show some of the positive aspects of our time in lockdown, and also some of the things that we are looking forward to doing in the year ahead - both at home and at school.
For example, my t-shirt design might show that I enjoyed spending more time with my family during lockdown. I might design my t-shirt to reflect some of the fun activities that we enjoyed together. Looking forwards, I am glad to be back at school, and my t-shirt design would reflect that, but I am also hoping to read some more books this year, I'm looking forward to celebrating Christmas and birthdays with my own children. Think about what it is that you have enjoyed - or what you hope to get up to later in the year - and get creative!
The t-shirt design template is in the 3V folder for you to use - remember to make it as bright and colourful as you can!
That's all for today: I hope you are soon able to rejoin us in school!
Mrs Vaqueiro
Today in RE, we have been looking at an extract from the Upanishads: an ancient Sanskrit text which forms part of the basis of Hindu teachings. We looked carefully at the text to try and interpret its meaning, prompting some interesting class discussions.
You are a woman. You are a man.
You are the dark blue bee
And the green parrot with red eyes.
The lightening is your child.
You are the seasons of the year
And the sea.
You are a part of everything.
You are everywhere.
Everywhere that is, is born of you.
Svetsvatara Upanishad Ch4
Then we had a go at drafting our own versions, trying to imagine how a Hindu might write about Brahman. Here is a small selection of our work...
For this week’s Big Writing, we are going to be writing our own autumn poem.
It would be helpful if you could discuss the following with your child in preparation for Big Writing...
1) This week’s word of the week is rustling
2) Talk about the things we see and hear in autumn
3) Discuss rhyming words and why words rhyme
4) Talk about autumnal words or phrases that they might want
to use.
Any work brought from home can be used in Big Writing on Thursday.
Many thanks,
Mrs Vaqueiro
In Year 3 we are very lucky to have some visiting artists from Art Base to assist us with our art lessons. Beth and George have been working with us to create some fantastic new artwork for the corridor outside our classroom.
The theme for this term's corridor art was 'Printing' so we decided to link our work with our recent history topic of Ancient Egypt.
We used computers and reference books to research popular imagery in historical Egyptian art, focusing on the use of stone carvings and hieroglyphs. We wanted to emulate these designs in our own paintings, incorporating press printed hieroglyphs into our designs.
To make these Egyptian scenes, we needed to use a number of different artistic skills.
· We learnt about hot and cold colours, choosing warm colours for our paintings to represent the heat of the Egyptian desert.
· We learnt to blend colours, developing our brushwork skills.
· We made observational studies of the Pyramids using photographs, paintings and online resources.
· We looked at different artists’ interpretations of the Pyramids, discussing the techniques they had used, and seeking inspiration for our own work.
· We introduced tone to our artwork to create the 3D form of the Pyramids and suggest light and shadow.
· We experimented with mixed media by overlaying our dried, painted backgrounds with oil pastel, and using a press-printing technique to further enhance the scene.
· We learnt about the press printing technique, and used polystyrene strips to create our own print designs.
· We practised the press printing process to refine our technique before committing our skills to the final piece.
Here are some photos of our finished display - we hope you like them!
This afternoon, class 3V continued their studies of Ancient Egypt by taking a trip back in time to 1922, and the discovery of the lost tomb of the boy king, Tutankhamun. The children role-played the discovery of the tomb, making field sketches of the artefacts that they found in the burial chamber (which had mysteriously appeared in the corner of the classroom). The children were asked to observe details of the artefacts and try to work out what they were made of, how they might be used, and to whom they might have belonged.
Piecing together the evidence the children decided that the artefacts - which were made of gold and other precious metals, and encrusted with jewels - must have belonged to someone very important... perhaps someone like like a Pharaoh.
They were puzzled, however, that there didn't seem to be evidence of a royal coffin in the tomb. We looked closely at some photographs taken by Howard Carter's team in 1922, and the children spotted that a patch of plaster on the wall of the chamber looked rather different to the rest of the wall. When we scraped back the patchy plaster, we discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in all its glory!
This afternoon, 3V enjoyed the first of their three Forest School sessions for this academic year. Although it was a bit chilly, thankfully the weather was dry, so the children were able to make the most of the great outdoors with Robbie, the Forest School teacher, and Mrs O'Brien supervising the fun.
Here are some of the photos from their afternoon...
