RE - The Story of Rama and Sita

We learnt a little about the basics of the Hindu faith with particular  reference to Diwali. 

First of all, we had a class discussion about celebrations, and thought about all the ways in which we celebrate important events in the year.  Most of the children in the class celebrate birthdays and Christmas, and shared their experiences of decorating their homes, getting together with friends and family, and enjoying special foods and gifts.

We then watched a BBC clip about a Hindu family celebrating Diwali.  The children spotted similarities between the Diwali celebrations and Christian celebrations.  The children knew that the Nativity story is central to Christmas, and we therefore read the story of Rama and Sita, which is  central to Diwali. 

The children then watched a traditional puppet show of the Rama and Sita story, before acting out the story for themselves in small groups using paper cut outs.

English Work - w/b Monday 14th November 2022

For our English work over the next few weeks, we will be studying 'The Firework Maker's Daughter' by Philip Pullman.

You can listen to an audiobook version of the first chapter here.

This week, we will be focusing on reading comprehension skills - using the context of an unknown word to try and glean its meaning.  We will also be practising using dictionaries again to check the meanings of unknown words.  We will also look at some of the ways authors like Philip Pullman use figurative language to make their writing more exciting and engaging for the reader, and we will practise using some of these devices in our own writing to describe a firework display.

To help your child at home, you could:

1. Discuss the word of the week, illuminating, and try to use it in a sentence;

2. Practise using a dictionary to look up words.  Focus on the first and second letters of the word to work out where to find it in the dictionary.

3. Think about the colours, shapes and sounds that fireworks make.  How could we describe them?

Any work that is completed at home can be used to support your child's work in school.

Many thanks,

Mrs Vaqueiro

English - Using a Thesaurus

For our English lessons this week, we have been focusing on 'The Day the Crayons Quit' by Drew Daywalt.  

On Friday, for Big Writing, we will be writing a letter from a disgruntled stationery item in the classroom.  We will be using lots of persuasive language, as well as including plenty of ambitious vocabulary.

Today we have been learning how to use a thesaurus to find synonyms for everyday words such as sad, angry and tired.  The children have been practising finding words in the thesaurus and then seeking more exciting alternatives to use in their writing.

English work - w/b Tuesday 1 November 2022

For our English work after half term, we will be exploring ‘The Day the Crayons Quit’ by Drew Daywalt.  You can watch a version of the story here:

The Day the Crayons Quit

In order to support your child at home, you could:

1. Practise using the word of the week, atrociously

2.  Encourage them to think about how each of the crayons is feeling in the story.  What were the clues in the story that helped you to know how each one feels?

Any work that your child completes at home can be used to support their work in class.

Thank you.

Mrs Vaqueiro 

 

Art - Henri Rousseau

This term in 3V we have been studying the works of Henri Rousseau. 

Henri Rousseau was a French impressionist painter who painted in the primitive style.  He is well-known for his paintings of jungle and rainforest scenes, depicting a variety of  exotic animals among flora. 

Rousseau was essentially a self-taught artist.  He claimed to have had ‘no other teacher but nature,’ taking inspiration from the  flora and fauna in the botanical gardens of Paris.  

‘When I go into the glass houses and see the strange plants of exotic lands, it seems to me that I enter a dream,’ he said.

Taking inspiration from Rousseau's jungle and rainforest paintings, we painted our own Toucan paintings, under the guidance of the lovely ladies from Artbase.  We used a variety of media and techniques to create a vibrant jungle scene with a colourful toucan taking centre stage.

We have used our artwork to decorate the corridor outside the Year 3 classrooms.  We hope you enjoy them!

 

History - Tutankhamun's Tomb

Today, 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 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!

Mummification Mayhem!

In our history lessons in 3V we have been learning all about the Ancient Egyptians.  Today, we looked at how the Ancient Egyptians looked after their dead.  

We learnt that the Ancient Egyptians believed that the body should be preserved as well possible, so that the soul could recognise the body when the two were reunited in the afterlife.  

We looked at all the grisly details of the mummification process and then acted out the mummification for ourselves.  We had brilliant fun mummifying a pupil and going through all the necessary steps to ensure that he was beautifully preserved!