Year 3 Spring 2025-26

SPRING TERM January 2026

I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas break and is looking forward to the start of the Spring term in Year 3.  We want to make sure that you are fully informed so please come and ask if you have any questions or queries or jot something down in the Reading Record. Remember your child needs to bring it into school every day so that messages can be acted upon and reading checked.

  • This term our topic is 'Incredible India.'
  • If you would be interested in offering assistance with other aspects of the curriculum, please contact the school office for further information.

How to help your child in Year 3:

  • Support your child with daily reading and encourage them by ticking that you have heard/seen them read in their home school book. Don’t forget to add a comment yourself.
  • Home School books to come into school every day, please.
  • Spellings can be practised using the Spelling Shed website without the app.
  • It is also very helpful if you can practice the x3, x4, and x8 times tables. Your child will bring home a password for Times table Rockstars.

English: Rickshaw Girl

Our first unit this term is a narrative text called 'Rickshaw Girl' by Mitali Perkins. 

The moving and critically acclaimed story of a young, artistic Bangladeshi girl who bravely defies tradition in order to support her family through hard times

Naima is a talented painter of traditional alpana patterns, which Bangladeshi women and girls paint on their houses for special celebrations. But Naima is not satisfied just painting alpana. She wants to help earn money for her family, like her best friend, Saleem, does for his family.

When Naima's rash effort to help puts her family deeper in debt, she draws on her resourceful nature and her talents to bravely save the day.

In our first session we will look at the front cover and the blurb. We will use our own knowledge to write down:

 

What I know

What I think will happen

Questions about the story

 

Watch the author read the 1st chapter in the video below.

Guided Reading: Tiger Boy

In Guided Reading this half term we will be looking at the narrative text 'Tiger Boy'. The author Mitali Perkins also wrote our other class reader 'Rickshaw Girl.'
 

"One of the new tiger cubs has escaped from the reserve!"

When a tiger cub escapes from a nature reserve near Neel's island village, the rangers and villagers hurry to find her before the cub's anxious mother follows suit and endangers them all. Mr. Gupta, a rich newcomer to the island, is also searching - he wants to sell the cub's body parts on the black market. Neel and his sister, Rupa, resolve to find the cub first and bring her back to the reserve where she belongs.

The hunt for the cub interrupts Neel's preparations for an exam to win a prestigious scholarship at a boarding school far from home. Neel doesn't mind - he dreads the exam and would rather stay on his beloved island in the Sunderbans of West Bengal with his family and friends.

But through his encounter with the cub, Neil learns that sometimes you have to take risks to preserve what you love. And sometimes you have to sacrifice the present for the chance to improve the future. 

Watch the author Mitali Perkins read the first chapter of Tiger Boy.

Maths:

Following our White Rose Maths scheme, we will be continuing with multiplying and dividing for unit 4. We will be problem-solving using multiplication and division and understanding divisibility. After that, we will be looking at multiples of 10, reasoning, making links and exchanging. Before moving onto work on length and perimeter, fractions and capacity. 

You can watch a short 'how to' guide providing information on how you can help your child understand multiplication.

Times tables:

Year 3 will be learning about the x3, x4, and x8 times.  Your child should have learned the x2, x5, and x10 times tables in Key Stage 1. To help your child become more fluent with their times-tables they have a password for the Times table Rockstars app.
 

Videos to help your child learn their x3, x4, and x8 times table can be watched below. Try them out.

Science: Light and Shadow

In Science this term we will be learning about Light and Shadows. We will be recognising what sources of light are, finding out what reflection is, understanding where shadows come from, investigate and monitor shadows throughout the day. Before, using light and shadow to tell a shadow puppet story. 
 
Find out more about light and shadows by watching Dr Binocs below:

Music:

In Music, the children will  be introduced to traditional Indian music and instruments. We will learn to play a rag, add a drone to our composition. Finally, performing Anile vaa. 

Computing: Touch Typing

We will be using Purple Mash to improve our touch typing using 2Type. Typing, as with handwriting, needs regular practice, and although the unit will give the children a basic understanding regular and consistent practice is needed over the next 4 years to ensure typing skills develop. Watch the Purple Mash video below.

 

We will also continue to learn about how to stay safe online. Parents and carers play a key role in supporting children to learn about how to stay safe online.  

 

o   Have ongoing conversations with your children about staying safe online

o   Use safety tools on social networks and other online services,

o   Decide if you want to use parental controls on your home internet

o   Check out - http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/ for more advice

Religious Education: Hinduism 

In R.E. this half term we will be asking: Why do Hindus want to collect good Karma?' Year 3 will learn about the following:

1. Engage with the idea of ‘karma’ through a game.

2. Enquire why karma is important to Hindus.

3. Explore Hindu ideas of Karma and Samsara through Hindu stories and texts.

4. Explore why Hindus encourage good ‘karma’ through Hindu Community action.

5. Explore the Hindu belief in ‘karma’ through the Hindu daily life

6. Evaluate our RE learning about how karma impacts a Hindu’s life.

 



PSHE: Managing Safety and Risk

In the first half term, we will be managing safety and risk. Year 3 will look at the following:

1. Identify physical, social, and emotional risks.

2. Understand that pressure to act in a risky way might come from people they know.

3. State possible physical and mental reactions to different risks.

4. Develop a range of strategies to aid decision-making in risky situations.

5. To know some ways to reduce risk in a variety of situations.

6. To recognise some of the causes of accidents and ways to prevent them.

Watch the video of Rosie Reverie Engineer to see how she manages risk.