Year 3

WELCOME TO YEAR 3

We are thrilled to welcome you to Year 3 — the beginning of your journey into the juniors. This is a special year filled with new responsibilities, exciting adventures and plenty of opportunities to grow in confidence and independence. As you take this exciting step from the infants into Key Stage 2, you will discover just how much you can achieve. Throughout the year, we will explore fascinating periods of history, meet inspiring figures and learn about the world in creative and memorable ways.

To start our adventure, we explore the wonders of Ancient Greece. From brave heroes and mythical creatures to the very first Olympic Games, this topic is packed with excitement. You will learn how traditional Greek ideas and inventions still influence our lives today. As part of our geography learning in Year 3, we also explore the incredible world of mountains and The Peak District. The children learn how mountains are formed, what life is like high above sea level and why these towering landscapes are so important. One of the inspiring figures we meet along the way is Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two people ever to reach the top of Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. His bravery, determination and teamwork help us think about what it means to face challenges with courage. Through stories, maps and hands‑on activities, the children develop a real sense of wonder for these mighty natural landmarks and the people who explore them.

Later in the year, we will explore coasts from around the world, discovering how waves shape the land, why beaches look different and how people and animals live by the sea. From rocky cliffs to sandy shores, you will investigate the wonders of our planet’s coastlines and learn how to protect these special places. When learning about the Stone Age, we discover what life was like for the very first humans. You’ll learn how they hunted for food, made tools from stone and wood, created cave art and built shelters to survive in a world very different from our own. This is your chance to step into the shoes of early humans and imagine how they lived each day.

One of the highlights of Year 3 is taking part in our Christmas Nativity at the local church. The children retell the Christmas story through acting, singing and teamwork. It is a truly special moment in the school year and a wonderful way for the children to shine.

With all these exciting learning experiences — along with trips, themed days and opportunities to grow as independent learners — we know Year 3 will be a memorable and inspiring year.  We really look forward to experiencing learning with you every day and we know that you will bring determination, enthusiasm and hard work. We cannot wait to learn with you every day and to see the enthusiasm, curiosity and kindness you bring to our classroom.

The Year Three Team

AUTUMN

This term in Year Three, we travel back to the world of Ancient Greece, discovering when and where this remarkable civilisation began and how the city-states of Athens, Sparta and Corinth each developed their own unique ways of life. We learn about Pericles and explore what made him such an influential leader during Athens’ Golden Age. As we uncover the origins of the Olympic Games, we compare ancient events with those we see today before taking part in our own thrilling Year 3 Olympics to find out which class-city-state will triumph.

Later in the term, we turn our attention to exploring Formidable Mountains, asking key questions such as: What are mountains? How are they formed? And what is life like in these challenging environments? We learn about the incredible achievements of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, whose bravery helped shape the history of mountain exploration. Finally, we investigate the impact of mountain tourism, explore whether people really live on Mount Everest, and step into the shoes of a Sherpa to write a postcard home.

SPRING

This term in Year Three, we set off on a geographical adventure into The Peak District, exploring one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in the UK. We begin by developing our map skills, asking whether we have the attitude for latitude and longitude as we learn to locate places using coordinates. Our journey continues with an investigation into contours, discovering how they show height on a map before creating our very own contour map of the Heyes Lane mound. We then explore ordinal and cardinal compass points, using these to navigate and identify different locations across the Peak District. Finally, we explore what makes this national park so attractive to both settlers and tourists, creating an informative booklet featuring Chatsworth House, Matlock Castle, and the incredible wildlife that makes the Peak District such a special place to visit.

We then move onto your next theme, coasts. We start by finding out what a coast is and discovering that it’s the special place where the land meets the sea. Next, we look at the different kinds of beaches, and we learn how each one can look and feel different. Then, we learn about erosion, which is when waves and wind slowly wear away the coastline and change its shape over time. Finally, we think about the best use of a beach, deciding how people can enjoy beaches for fun while also keeping them safe, clean and protected for animals and plants that live there.

SUMMER

This term in Year Three, we explore the inspiring history of the Suffragists and Suffragettes, discovering why Manchester became the birthplace of their movement. We learn about Emmeline Pankhurst and how she led the fight for women’s right to vote. Through activities such as interviewing Emmeline, writing diary entries and creating bold “Votes for Women” posters, children gain a vivid sense of what life was like for campaigners over one hundred years ago. Together, we explore questions such as: Who were the Suffragettes? Why did the fight for equality begin in Manchester? And how did these courageous women help to change our country forever?

We journey back thousands of years to discover what life was like in the Stone Age. We learn why early humans created cave paintings and what these artworks tell us about their lives. As we move through time, we uncover how the Bronze Age and Iron Age brought new ways of living, working and building communities. Along the way, we investigate fascinating historical sites such as Stonehenge and the ancient village of Skara Brae, piecing together clues about how people survived and thrived long ago. Together, we ask questions such as: What was the Stone Age? How did life change over time? And what can these remarkable discoveries teach us today?

Values

A Connected Environment

We believe that Year 3 is a connected environment where every member of the Year Group Team is valued. We love to work together as a whole year group and take opportunities to hold events that encourage team building and collaboration. As we uncover the origins of the Olympic Games, we compare ancient events with those we see today—before taking part in our own thrilling Year 3 Olympics to find out which class-city-state will triumph. The Year 3 curriculum is connected through our exciting and immersive themes. Throughout the year, you will have opportunities to connect with different learners and build new relationships.  

In the Summer Term, we enjoy competing in the Year 3 sports day, whereby the children can cheer for their friends, show good sportsmanship and encourage everyone to try their best. From running relays to obstacle races, each activity gives us the chance to be active, work as a team and have lots of fun. At the end of the day, we celebrate everyone’s efforts, whether we win or simply enjoy taking part — making it one of the highlights of our school year!

Special moments throughout the year bring our school community even closer together. Our much‑loved school nativity, performed at St John’s, is a true highlight—made even more special as children from Years 4, 5 and 6 join us with their beautiful singing. In the summer, our Stone Age Showcase gives families the chance to step into our learning with us, celebrating the children’s hard work and creativity. These shared experiences help strengthen our sense of togetherness and make lasting memories for everyone involved.

A Creative Outlook

Throughout the year, you will meet interesting characters who help to guide our adventures and inspire our creative writing. They might set you special missions, tricky challenges or exciting story starters to spark your imagination. These include Tenzing Norgay or Emmeline Pankhurst.

We also enjoy solving problems together. In Maths, we tackle fun puzzles, reasoning challenges and problem-solving activities that really make us think. We learn that it is good to make mistakes when we are solving problems — they help us learn and improve! If we don’t get the answer straight away, we try again, think carefully about what went wrong and work through it step by step. Every time we do this, our brains grow stronger and we become better problem solvers.

As part of our learning, we research the explorer Tenzing Norgay and discover his amazing achievements. We also become young geographers, learning about latitude and longitude and exploring places such as the Peak District and the impact of tourism.

In Year 3, whether we are writing stories, solving maths puzzles or discovering new places around the world, we use our creativity and curiosity to help us become confident, independent learners.

A Positive Mindset

At the very start of our KS2 journey, we come together as a new Year 3 team and spend time familiarising ourselves with the Junior playground, central area, school field and Thrive playground area. The children are shown how to find key places around school, such as the office and dining room and this helps us begin the year feeling positive, confident and ready to learn.

We have opportunities to demonstrate and strengthen our team working skills. Supporting one another, this allows us to become a strong class community. We talk about how to stay safe, make sensible choices and look after our bodies and minds by living a healthy, active lifestyle. We also set ourselves simple goals to help us grow and improve as the year goes on.

A Caring Nature

In Year 3, we are one big team and a caring community. We look after one another and make everyone feel welcome. Each morning starts with a cheery hello at the classroom door, and we love hearing about sporting events, your achievements and family celebrations. We show gratitude, celebrate each other’s efforts and always try to be kind.

We care not only about our own class community, but also about the whole school community. Being part of a large school, we are fortunate to share our learning with other year groups and it is lovely to see the children working together and listening to each other.

In the Spring Term, we work closely with Timperley Girl Guiding to create comfort bags for local hospitals. These thoughtful bags offer dignity, reassurance, and a small touch of kindness at a difficult time. Some of the hospitals that receive our comfort bags include Salford Royal, Wythenshawe Hospital and Trafford General, helping us extend care and compassion into our wider community.

An Active Approach

Being active is important to us, not just in the classroom but in our everyday lives too. We know that exercise helps keep our bodies healthy and our minds ready to learn. We enjoy using the school track to keep fit and practising our skills during PE lessons.

There are also lots of chances to get involved in sports clubs such as dodgeball, hockey and table tennis. We often represent Heyes Lane in local competitions and local Friendship Festival events. Our goal is to give as many children as possible the chance to proudly represent Heyes Lane and feel part of our team.

In Year 3, we learn actively, play fairly and always try our best!

HOME LEARNING

In Year 3, we believe that practising little and often helps children to build good learning habits. Setting short homework tasks supports children in becoming more independent and organised, while keeping learning manageable and positive.

READING

In Year 3, we are passionate about reading! Each of our classrooms has a wide and exciting range of books for everyone to enjoy. From thrilling adventures and magical tales to fascinating non-fiction and laugh-out-loud stories, there is something for every reader. We love exploring new authors, discovering different genres, and sharing our favourite stories with one another. Recommending books to our friends is one of our favourite things to do — and we are always eager to hear about books you have enjoyed at home too!

Reading helps us to grow our imagination, build our vocabulary, and become confident learners. That’s why we encourage all children to read for around 5–10 minutes every day and record this in their reading journal.

SPELLINGS AND TIMES TABLES

Each week, children are set spelling assignments on Spelling Shed. These carefully chosen word lists are closely linked to our current writing topics, helping children apply their spelling knowledge directly into their work. The lists include words from the Year 3 and 4 statutory word list and focus on key spelling rules and patterns that we are learning in class.

By practising little and often, children build confidence, improve accuracy and develop a deeper understanding of how words work. We encourage everyone to log in regularly and challenge themselves — every practise really does make a difference!  Spellings are also taught in school and the children will be encouraged to apply the words to their writing. Spellings are tested each week and it is important that they are practised regularly at home. We encourage the daily use of TT rockstars to practise times tables. It is important to build speed and be confident with division as well as multiplication. Fluency with times tables will help in many areas of the Year 3 Maths curriculum.

LINKS TO WEBSITES

Spelling Shed
TT Rockstars
BBC Bitesize

Topmarks