Year 3 have made the most of the recent rare and few glimpses of the sun, by carrying out a series of science investigations outdoors. Much of our science work has been about how shadows are formed, and also how they might change over the course of the day.

We asked our pupil to devise an experiment that would help us answer why it appears that shadows can change shape during the day. Using a metre stick, we drew the length of a shadow at a certain time, and then logged this measurement. We then returned to our drawing later on in the school day, to see if the shadow had moved.

You can find out more about our work in the video above, as well as hearing a thorough, scientific explanation as to why shadows might change shape throughout the course of the day.

Year 3 have made the most of the recent rare and few glimpses of the sun, by carrying out a series of science investigations outdoors. Much of our science work has been about how shadows are formed, and also how they might change over the course of the day.

We asked our pupils to devise an experiment that would help us answer why it appears that shadows can change shape during the day. Using a metre stick, we drew the length of a shadow at a certain time, and then logged this measurement. We then returned to our drawing later on in the school day, to see if the shadow had moved.

You can find out more about our work in the video above, as well as hearing a thorough, scientific explanation as to why shadows might change shape throughout the course of the day.

Year 3 have produced a Viking book explaining all about our current topic and the findings from our extensive research. Working in pairs, each small group decided which particular part of Viking life they wanted to explore. We then used a mixture of books and online resources to research our chosen area.

We encouraged the pupils to have a focus to their work. We wanted to think about how this would be presented in the book, and what would make for an interesting read. Year 3 came up with the idea of breaking different parts of the research down into headings, as well as grouping together similar information into a single paragraph.

Topics that we have looked at include clothing and jewelry, food and drink, and Viking Gods and religion. You can hear a little more about how we went about Viking research in the podcast below.

Year 3 have been working incredibly hard on some complex mathematical operations. We have introduced to the pupils the idea of fractions of amounts. We already know about fractions such as a half, quarter and a tenth etc. We now wanted to use this knowledge and apply it to varying amounts. We set the children the challenge to try and test each other, as well as some of the adults in Year 3! We wanted to know what half of 20 is, or a fifth of 30.

To help Year 3 with these challenges, we have been using a number of different techniques. The fraction sheet has been a great resource. We placed the correct number of counting cubes in each space. If we wanted to find out what a quarter of 20 is, we would use 20 cubes, and then place them evenly in each quarter on the sheet. Counting the amount of cubes in one quarter will tell us the answer.

Year 3 have been working incredibly hard on some complex mathematical operations. We have introduced to the pupils the idea of fractions of amounts. We already know about fractions such as a half, a quarter and a tenth etc. We wanted to use this knowledge and apply it to varying amounts. We set the children the challenge to try and test each other, as well as some of the adults in Year 3! We wanted to know what half of 20 is, or a fifth of 30.

To help Year 3 with these challenges, we have been using a number of different techniques. The fraction sheet has been a great resource. We placed the correct number of counting cubes in each space. If we wanted to find out what a quarter of 20 is, we would use 20 cubes, and then place them evenly in each quarter on the sheet. Counting the amount of cubes in one quarter will tell us the answer.

We have been using our imagination in Year 3 to try and think about a film before we have even seen it! We screened the trailer only for the film The fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore. Quite a mouthful! The short trailer introduced the children to the main characters and the main setting.

We then wanted to try and think about how the plot might develop, what might happen to the characters and how the film might end. We wrote down these ideas in the form of a report that we could then come back to at a later stage.

The next part of our work involved viewing the film! This is a short fifteen-minute production that contains plenty of drama. The children were incredibly excited in finding out if their predictions for the plot would actually happen. We finished off this exercise by then comparing our original notes with the actual outcome of the film. Some of our predictions were incredibly close!

Year 3 have started their Viking topic this term, learning all about the traders that came to our shores over one thousand years ago. We have been finding out exactly where the Vikings came from, and why they visited Britain. As well learning about some of the Viking raids that took place, Year 3 have been understanding more about trade and bartering, and why the Viking had to come to Britain to carry this out.

To help us out with our new topic, both Year 3 classes visited the Maritime Museum at nearby Greenwich. We enjoyed a wonderful workshop where we shown some of the original items that the Vikings traded. A number of our children also had the chance to dress up in Viking costumes! You can find out more about our visit in the podcast below.