Topic – The Golden Age of Ancient Greece!
Year 3 are well into their Topic for this half term – Ancient Greece.
Ancient Greece’s Golden Age (the time where it was at its best) lasted from around 800BC to 300BC. During this time, they were a very innovative civilisation. They’ve influenced our lives in so many ways and we made some posters to display this!
Sport
They founded the Olympics with many of the sports we still play today e.g. javelin, discus and horse racing.
The story of Marathon who ran the distance (42 km) which we still run now.
Language
Some of our language originates from Ancient Greek.
Art
The Ancient Greeks loved art and performance. From amphitheaters and amazing architecture to spending time making and decorating pottery, the Greeks did it all.
Philosophy and Writing
We have learnt a great deal from philosophers like Socrates and Plato. So much so, that we still think deeply about the world around us every Friday morning in Year 3.
But every good thing must come to an end! The Golden Age of Greece ended around 300BC due to a few reasons:
- City states like Athens and Sparta were warring over land, resources and power.
- The Romans were attacking and trying to invade to expand their empire.
- Greek oligarchies were being over thrown by the poorer communities as they felt they weren’t being listened to!
We created some freeze frames to match these scenarios in our lesson this week.
Help at home by exploring other ways that Ancient Greece has influenced our lives today! What else can you find?
Scooter Training!
Today, Year 3 have been scooter training! Using a scooter to travel, rather than driving in a car or on a bus, is much more active and clean. It’s good for us and the environment.
First, we reminded ourselves of the Green Cross Code:
- THINK
- STOP
- LOOK
- LISTEN
We then practised using this code outside while scootering around. We had some fun practising our stopping using our break.
Then we stopped and walked while crossing a ‘road’ and looked behind us while crossing a ‘driveway’.
Help at home by choosing an active way to travel. When crossing a road or driveway can you use the Green Cross Code to keep you safe?
Living and Learning: 8Rs
This week, Y6 discussed each of the 8Rs and how they help us to learn.
We also had an honest reflection about our strengths and areas of improvement.
“I think I need to be more resilient at times,” share one person.
“I’m great at being ready at the start of lessons but sometimes I forget towards the end,” explained another.
I really appreciated this mature honesty. It was nice to celebrate the strengths, too.
“I have a great memory so I’m good at remembering things,” beamed a different Y6.
Another shared, “I am nervous about risks but really good with taking safe ones.”
Help at home by having a look at the picture above and spotting which two Rs need to swap places!
Summer 2: Week 6 Safety Week
This week has been learning all about safety.
The children have been learning all about staying safe online, people who help us and staying safe around animals.
We have been lucky enough to have lots of visitors this week too.
During the week, we had a visit from two of our local police officers. They we able to help us identify who we need to speak to if an adult asks us for help. They also showed us some of the special equipment they use in order to keep themselves safe.
A person from our local dog’s trust came to talk to us about being safe around dogs. They taught us the five rules to stay safe around them.
We were also lucky enough to be taught some martial arts this week too.
Maths
During maths this week, we have been looking at time. We have been identifying why we need to tell the time and what different things we can use to tell it. The children have enjoyed timing eachother to do different activities.
Reminder
Please can all children bring a bag in on Thursday 18th July so that they can take their school books home.
Safety Week!
This week is a themed week all about staying safe in lots of different areas of life. We’ve had learning based around safety at home and visitors in talking about safety around water, online, animals and on the road.
Have a look at what we’ve been up to in Year 3:
Water Safety
Rivers and Canals Trust and RNLI spoke to us about safety around different types of water. We must if we or someone else is in trouble:
- Call for help
- Do not climb in the water
- Stay calm
- Float like a starfish
Offline and Online Safety
The police discussed hate crime – any crime committed against someone because of race, gender, relationships, disability and/or religion. This includes the words we use! We must treat others how we wish to be treated.
This is the same while we’re online too. Our digital footprints are something we need to think about as these could affect us years later. Not everything that we see online is or true fact so we must be critical users and tell a trusted adult if you’re unsure or you feel unsafe!
Safety at Home
Home should be a safe and comfortable place to be but there are things that can be risky or unsafe. We identified things that could be unsafe and how we can make good choices around them! For example:
The kitchen has things that can be hot (ovens, kettles) or sharp (knives) but when we’re with a trusted adult, they can help us stay safe when we’re helping cook.
We then had visitors in to talk to us about different bacteria (the good and the bad). We saw how bacteria transfers from one thing to another and how to wash our hands thoroughly. Help at home: Sing happy birthday twice while washing your hands!
First Aid
First aid training is super important for the children as they can use this process if something were to happen to someone they are with.
1. Check if they are awake.
2. Call for help!
3. Check if they’re breathing.
4. Call 999.
5. Do CPR – 30 chest press and 2 breaths.
Road Safety
Road safety is essential whether you are walking, cycling or in a moving vehicle! There are many things we can do to keep us and others around us safe.
- Wear a helmet when cycling or scootering.
- Wear a seatbelt if there is one available.
- Stay seated if on the bus.
- Don’t distract someone who is driving.
Travelling somewhere by being active is a great option. Not only is it better for us, mentally and physically but it’s better for the environment too!
We also had a go at checking speed limits which was harder than it seems. We had to read the speedometer, remember the number plates and note it all down as well.
Animal Safety
Dogs Trust spoke to the children about how to approach and treat dogs because not all dogs can be friendly. They have emotions and feelings like us but they can’t express them like we can. If a dog approaches us we should:
1. Keep our arms crossed.
2. Don’t make eye contact with it.
3. Let it sniff you to get to know you.
4. Ask the owner if you can stroke or touch the dog.
Following these instructions will keep you and the dog safe!
Friday 05 July
This week’s spelling is practising writing numbers.
one
two
three
four
five
The spellings will be tested on Friday 12th July.
Reading – performance poetry!
Year 3 have been reading a poem recently called ‘Sky In The Pie’ by Roger McGough.
Waiter! There’s a sky in my pie,
Remove at once if you please,
You can keep your incredible sunsets
I ordered mincemeat and cheese.
I can’t stand nightingales singing
Or clouds all burnished with gold,
The whispering breeze is disturbing the peas
And making my chips go all cold.
I don’t care if the chef is an artist
Whose canvases hang in the Tate,
I want two veg and puff pastry
Not the universe heaped on my plate.
Ok I’ll try just a spoonful
I suppose I’ve got nothing to loose…
Mmm the colours quite tickle the pallet
With a blend of delicate hues.
The sun has a custardy flavour
And the clouds are as light as air,
The wind with a chewier texture,
With a hint of cinnamon there?
This sky is simply delicious
Why have I not tried it before?
I can chew my way through to eternity
And still have room left for more.
Having acquired a taste for the cosmos
I shall polish this sunset off soon,
I can’t wait to tuck into the night sky,
Waiter please bring me the moon.
We picked out the tricky vocabulary and discussed the meanings…
- delicate hues – soft colours
- Tate – art gallery in London
- heaped – piled on
- cosmos – the universe or outer space
We completed a RIC based on the poem too…
Retrieval: answer is in text
Interpret: use clues and knowledge to find the answer
Choice: author’s choice of vocabulary
Finally, we spent some time preparing and performing the poem! What makes a good performance?
- using expression
- adding actions
- intonation & pace
- eye contact and body language
Some of us even memorised the poem! Here’s just a couple of performances.
Help at home by performing this different poem by Roger McGough:
Design and Technology: sewing!
This week, we’re sewing together our two pieces of fabric to create our pouch.
One piece is longer than the other so that there is a closing flap for a button or piece of velcro.
We’ve been very resilient and great team players. Lots of us having been helping our friends to tie the knots in their thread and thread their needles.
Here’s some of our work in progress!
Summer 2: week4
PE
We have been practising our races for sports day again this week. The children are really enjoying using the different equipment and developing new skills!
English
This week’s book is called Clean Up. It is about a girl called Rocket who cleans up the beach whilst on holiday. It has inspired the children to clean up our school. They have been proud litter pickers picking up any rubbish that they find and using it to make creations in the classroom. They have been using the word of the week (pollution) whilst discussing what they have been doing and why.
Help at home: by using our word of the week with your child.
Maths
This week we have been discovering bonds to 5. The children have been making these and using the sentence stem:
5 is made from …. and …..
…. and …. combine to make 5
We have also been singing lots of songs including five little speckled frogs to consolidate this learning.
Reminders
Next week is a busy week. We have sports day, meet the teacher, our school trip and the summer fair.
Armley Mills Industrial Museum
Year 3 and 4 visited Armley Mills Industrial Museum today! The museum was full of amazing, old machines that get wool from a sheep, ready to weave into fabric.
Each class had a weaving workshop where they carded wool to make it smooth and straight. This was done by hand or in the later years, there were machines for this! Back in Victorian times, children as young as 7 were working on the machines… We decided that we’d much rather be in school learning than doing this!
We then saw a huge old spinning machine that helps to get the wool thin and looking like string or thread. It was very loud. The song, “wind the bobbin up” was explained as the wool is spun around one!
Finally, we had a go at weaving ourselves. There is a weft which goes left to right and a warp that goes top to bottom. The children weaved their fabric in and out to create some beautiful weaves!
We also spent some time outside in the garden getting some fresh air and exploring the other levels to the museum. We saw machines for sewing, projecting and banking. Very impressive!
Help at home by watching this BBC Bitesize video about weaving. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015x4s/bitesize-daily-79-year-olds-art-89-year-olds-3-weaving
