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Year 3

Welcome to Year 3

Topaz Class

Teachers: Mrs Franklin
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Barton

Opal Class

Teacher: Mrs Patterson
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Bohan

Welcome to Key Stage 2! Year 3 is an exciting year when pupils begin to develop greater independence, confidence and responsibility as learners. Children will continue to grow as readers, writers, mathematicians and curious thinkers, while also beginning Spanish, swimming and new Key Stage 2 learning opportunities.

An Interconnected World

Our Year 3 curriculum theme is An Interconnected World. Across the year, pupils explore how people, places and environments are connected through food, trade, natural disasters, ancient societies, movement and settlement.

Children will learn where food and chocolate come from, how natural disasters affect people and places, what life was like in the Stone Age, how the Romans changed the world, and how Anglo-Saxon communities became more connected.

Through this learning, pupils continue to develop as thoughtful and responsible Global Citizens, understanding that the choices people make can affect communities, environments and the wider world.

Term 1: Food Glorious Food

Where does food come from?

Children begin the year by exploring where food comes from and how the food we buy and eat connects us to people, places and environments around the world.

In Geography, pupils learn about food production, farming, transport and how food reaches us. In Science, children study animals including humans, with links to food, nutrition, bones, muscles and healthy choices. In DT, pupils design and make pizza, applying their understanding of healthy ingredients and food preparation.

Term 2: Stone Age

What was life like in the Stone Age?

In Term 2, pupils step back in time to learn about life in the Stone Age. They explore early humans, homes, tools, hunting, gathering and how people began to survive and settle.

In English, pupils use Stone Age Boy and The First Drawing to support narrative writing, setting description, character description and first-person retelling. In Science, pupils learn about rocks, which links well to understanding prehistoric tools, materials and evidence from the past. In Art, pupils create cave paintings using pastels.

Term 3: Natural Disasters

How do natural disasters affect people and places?

In Term 3, pupils learn about volcanoes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. They explore how these events happen, where they are more likely to occur, and how they affect communities and environments.

In English, pupils use Escape from Pompeii to write letters and diaries, and they write explanations about how volcanoes are formed. In Science, pupils study forces and magnets, helping them develop their understanding of how forces act in the world around them. In Art, pupils create 3D volcanoes using papier-mâché.

Term 4: Chocolate

Where does chocolate come from?

In Term 4, pupils explore the journey of chocolate from bean to bar. They learn where cocoa is grown, how it is traded, and how chocolate connects people and places across the world.

In English, pupils use Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to support narrative poetry, newspaper reports and fact files. In DT, pupils design and make chocolate boxes, developing their understanding of nets, structure and packaging for a purpose.

Term 5: Romans

How did the Romans change the world?

In Term 5, pupils learn about the impact of the Roman Empire and how Roman ideas, technology, roads, armies, buildings and ways of life influenced Britain and the wider world.

In English, pupils write Roman shape poems, adventure stories and information texts about Roman soldiers. In Art, pupils create mosaics using recycled materials, linking creative work to Roman design and legacy.

Term 6: Anglo-Saxons

How did King Alfred the Great help Anglo-Saxon communities become more connected?

In Term 6, pupils learn about the Anglo-Saxons and how communities developed after the Romans. They explore settlement, leadership, kingdoms and the role of King Alfred the Great in helping communities become more connected.

In English, pupils use The Journey, The Tunnel and Winter of Wolves to develop descriptive writing, diary writing and narrative skills. In DT, pupils design and use loading pulleys, helping them understand how mechanisms can help people solve practical problems.

Key ways to help your child

PE 

Year 3 PE lessons take place on Wednesday mornings. Year 3 begin the year with swimming lessons that take place every Thursday morning.

Please ensure that children come to school wearing the correct PE kit on their PE day. Long hair should be tied back and earrings should be removed before school, as staff are not able to remove or replace earrings.

For swimming, children will need an appropriate swimming costume, towel and optional goggles in a named bag.

Across the year, pupils will take part in OAA, swimming, dance, gymnastics/parkour, tennis, tag rugby, athletics, cricket, football and golf

Educational Trips and Visits 2026/7

Across Year 3, pupils take part in trips, visitors and enrichment experiences that help bring their curriculum learning to life. These may include a Food Glorious Food tasting hook day, a Stone Age workshop, a VR experience linked to volcanoes and earthquakes, a chocolate workshop, a Romans hook day or workshop, and an Anglo-Saxon enrichment experience. These opportunities help pupils deepen their knowledge, make meaningful links across subjects and develop as thoughtful, responsible Global Citizens.

Reading

Reading is one of the most important ways children can build vocabulary, knowledge, confidence and imagination. In Year 3, we encourage children to read widely and regularly, both at home and in school.

At Thames View, we are part of the Accelerated Reader programme. Children choose an appropriate AR book, read it carefully, and then complete the associated quiz to check their understanding. This helps pupils develop fluency, comprehension and independence as readers.

We celebrate reading success every week, including the number of words read and the number of successfully completed quizzes. Children are encouraged to challenge themselves, make thoughtful book choices and develop a lifelong love of reading.

Children should read most nights at home for at least 20 minutes and bring their reading book and Reading Record to school every day. Parents and carers can support by listening to their child read, asking questions about what they have read, and encouraging them to complete their AR quiz once they have finished their book.

This year, key class texts include:

  • The Enchanted Wood
  • Stone Age Boy
  • Escape from Pompeii
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • Romans on the Rampage
  • Winter of Wolves

These texts support pupils’ understanding of adventure, history, community, courage, change and how people and places are connected.

 

Writing

In Year 3, pupils develop their writing by learning to write for different purposes, including to entertain, inform, persuade and explain.

Across the year, writing will include:

  • list poems and poetry linked to Midnight Feasts;
  • posters and adverts about healthy eating;
  • narrative writing linked to Stone Age Boy;
  • setting and character description linked to The First Drawing;
  • first-person retelling;
  • comical instructions on how to wash a woolly mammoth;
  • letters and diaries linked to Escape from Pompeii;
  • explanation writing about how volcanoes are formed;
  • narrative poems;
  • newspaper reports linked to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory;
  • Roman shape poems;
  • Roman adventure stories;
  • information texts about Roman soldiers;
  • descriptive settings and story writing;
  • narrative diary writing.

Spelling

In Year 3, pupils continue to build accuracy and confidence with spelling. They revisit spelling patterns from Key Stage 1 and begin to learn the Year 3 and Year 4 statutory spelling words.

Children are encouraged to practise spellings regularly at home and apply them carefully in their writing.

Times Tables and Maths

Year 3 is an important year for building confidence with multiplication and division facts. Children should continue to practise the 2, 5 and 10 times tables from Year 2, while becoming increasingly confident with the 3, 4 and 8 times tables.

In Maths, pupils will develop confidence with place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, length, perimeter, fractions, mass, capacity, money, time, shape and statistics.

Parents can help by encouraging short, regular practice of:

  • times tables and division facts;
  • number bonds;
  • telling the time;
  • using money;
  • measuring in real-life contexts;
  • explaining how they solved a problem.

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