Piccolos
Welcome to our fantastic class which consists of 29 happy, ambitious and resilient learners, who are not afraid to make mistakes and rise to every challenge. We never stop smiling! Mrs Parkinson teaches Tuesday to Friday and Mrs Higson teaches on a Monday. We are very lucky to be supported, at various times of the week, by Mrs Moores, Mrs Barrow, Mrs Nelson and Mrs Cookson.
Teaching and learning is approached in a way that many different areas of the curriculum are connected using a common theme. We will experience five main theme blocks this year with lots of other special curriculum days built in.
We are very much looking forward to a fun, successful and exciting year....
Racket Festival - June 2023
Here are a few photos of year 3 enjoying their workshop with Andy from South Ribble who delivered a Racket Festival for our pupils today. They soon picked up the tennis skills!
RHS Bridgewater Visit - Plants Focus - Summer 2
Year 3 have had an amazing day out at RHS Bridgewater today! We certainly didn’t let the rain stop our fun. We’ve been getting hands on with plants as we’ve learnt about their lifecycle from seed, to shoot, to flower, to fruit! We investigated the fascinating ways that plants make and disperse seeds to reproduce - having lots of fun with sycamore helicopter seeds and hiding acorns! We planted our own Nasturtium seeds to take home too. And of course we didn’t miss the opportunity to explore the woodland play area!
Block 5 - The Greenhouse Effect
In our final block this year, our legend is the inspirational Greta Thunberg. In Science we will be exploring plants and the lifecycle of flowering plants. In Dt, we will be designing, making and evaluating mini greenhouses. In Art, we will be looking at the shape of different flowers and then will use our observations to make a flower shaped bird bath from clay. The local area is the focus for our Geography work.
Have a look at the Knowledge Organiser below for more detail about the learning in this block:
No Outsiders - Spring 2
We have read 'The Hueys in the New Jumper' by Oliver Jeffers as a stimulus to explore why it can sometimes be hard to be different. We thought about the desire of the main character, Rupert, to be different from all the other Hueys and the challenges he faced. Fortunately, Rupert had the support of his friend Gillespie and we discussed how we could help our friends to be strong if they decided to stand out from the crowd.
French
During our 'Friends and Family' unit of work, we have been learning the sounds of the French alphabet. We have used these to spell out our names when introducing ourselves.
More Yoga....
No Outsiders - Spring 2
For No Outsiders week, Year 3 read “Mixed” by Aree Chung a story which allowed us to explore racial discrimination and how we should respond to it. The story is about three colours . . .the Reds, the Yellows and the Blues. All special in their own ways, all living in harmony - until one day, a Red says "Reds are the best!" and starts a colour kerfuffle. We discussed how we felt about Red and decided he was being racist because he was judging a group of people by their skin colour. Year 3 then designed posters to show that together is better and that the colours could work in a united way successfully. We are all different - different skin, different religions, different families...., but we all get on and it works!
Block 4 - The Iron Man
Our focus text this half term is 'The Iron Man' by Ted Hughes. We will be using this story to inspire writing in different genres and as a stimulus for learning in other subjects. In Science we will be exploring magnetic materials and the forces exerted by magnets. We will be setting up investigations to test the strength of different magnets. The children will also explore how different surfaces affect movement and we will be making careful observations and measurements. In addition, in DT, we will be creating a pop up book version of the Iron Man story. The children will first evaluate and investigate examples of pop-up mechanisms which use systems of levers and linkages to: change direction, make a movement larger, make two movements interact etc, before making their own.
Have a look at the Knowledge Organiser below for more detail about the learning in this block:
National British Science Week - March
During National British Science Week work, we invited Dr Steve Rossington, a lecturer in organic chemistry from The University of Salford, to come in and work with us. He hosted an assembly which wowed us with the amazing things that liquid nitrogen and dry ice can do! We worked with him too, in class, to find out all about the merits of plants and have used chamomile to make a special gift for a lucky someone at home! Through the theme of 'connections', we researched early theories about the measurement of time, made pendulums like Galileo in the 1580s - finding out that the mass of the pendulum doesn't affect how fast or slow it swings but it is the length of the string that makes all the difference! We then reflected on how the most modern measurements of time connect to the ideas of scientists of the past.
We made our own connections to another Year 3 class at Southborough Primary School in Bromley. We have undertaken common scientific activities to discuss and share results from via Zoom! We had the most fun comparing who had which type of fingerprints and which type was the most common in each class. We've had a great week!
Roman Solider Drills
Poor weather didn't stop us working in role as Roman Soldiers! We discovered what it was like to be a soldier stationed at Hadrian's Wall and wrote postcards home. We practised a range of drills, learnt some Latin commands and got our war cry 'Nex' meaning 'slaughter' off to a tee!
RE/PSHE Day
Piccolos have had a fabulous time on PSHE/RE day today. We’ve learned about Christianity, Islam, Respect and Tolerance from our special visitors. We even managed to squeeze in some yoga and mindfulness colouring.
World Book Day
Piccolos had a wonderful time on World Book Day! Using the story 'The Word Collector' by Peter H. Reynolds as a stimulus, we undertook a word hunt and identified and defined some really powerful words. Check out our favourite words from the day in the photographs...
Thank you to all the parents who came at the end of the day to share bedtime stories and hot chocolate - it was lovely to see you all!
Pancake Flipping Challenge
We had a great time seeing how many pancakes we could flip in 30 seconds!! Thanks to the Friends of TCP who organised this. We raised lots of money! Our top pancake flipper managed 17 flips!!! Wow!!
Yoga
We enjoyed a session of Yoga and loved it! We're very bendy!! We learnt some great relaxation techniques!
No Outsiders - Spring 1
In our ‘No Outsiders’ lesson, Year 3 explored the concept of discrimination. We read ‘This is Our House’ and discussed how one of the characters showed discrimination towards other children. We thought about one thing that made us ourselves and wrote this on a label. Then, through role play, we reflected on how it would feel if someone wouldn’t let us into their home because of this label. We then designed posters to show how our school welcomes everyone...there are no outsiders here!
Outdoor & Adventurous Activities - Spring 1
Year 3 have had an exciting time undertaking outdoor and adventurous activities. Amongst lots of other fun activities, their highlights were building dens, which they even got to test out when we had a hailstorm, and a brilliant orienteering activities too! They worked cooperatively and with resilience to solve problems. They should be very proud of themselves!
Block 3 - The Roman Legacy
During our third learning block, we will be learning about how Britain changed after the invasion and conquest by the Roman
army in AD 43 and about the impact on daily life. We will be exploring the Roman legacy and we will learn key historical terms
such as 'empire', 'invasion' and 'conquest'. We will be finding out out the Celtic Iceni tribe and their leader Queen Boudicca who led a revolt against the Romans in Britain in 60AD. In Geography we will be developing our understanding of the geographical location of the Lake District National Park and its physical and human features. We will be finding out about Roman settlements in the Lake District and locating these on a map. In Art we will be appraising Roman fresco paintings and designing and painting our own designs.
Have a look at the Knowledge Organiser below for more detail about the learning in this block.
Paralympic Games Festival
We took part in a Paralympic Games Festival led by South Ribble. We played a range of games including Curling, Goalball and Boccia. We found these sports challenging...for example, blindfolds were worn when trying to save goals and we sat down when playing Boccia. We had lots of fun whilst reflecting on the meaningful message of these important games.
No Outsiders - Autumn 2
In our No Outsiders work this half term, we read the story 'We are all Wonders' and explored why it was important to challenge unkind behaviour by using our pupil voice.
Gymnastics - Autumn 2
We have been working hard to incorporate different ways of travelling, balancing, jumping and rolling in our gymnastic sequences this half term. We have evaluated our work and improved it. Please enjoy watching a snapshot of our hard work...
Enterprise Week
We had a very informative visit from Mr Baybutt, owner of 'The Veg Box' business, to launch our Enterprise project week. He gave us lots of tips for starting up our own company, making and distributing goods and ways to maximise profit. We decided to make some rice crispy based Christmas pudding treats. We designed, measured and made our own packaging and created over 500 Christmas Pudding treats to sell at our Christmas Fayre. We sold out!
Anti-Bullying 2022
Anti-Bullying 2022 focused on 'Reach Out'. This theme of 'Reach Out' aims to encourage children to speak out about bullying. Whether this is speaking out to a trusted adult or reaching out to another person who is being bullied; if we can challenge bullying we can change it. We feel empowered to do something positive to counter the harm and hurt that bullying causes.
Remembrance Week
Our learning this week was focused around the book 'The Little Ships' which tells the story of the heroic rescue in May 1940 of over 300,000 men from the shores of Dunkirk in France during World War 2. Half a million British and French soldiers were trapped on three sides in northern France by German troops and tanks. The only escape for the Allied army was the sea. An incredible armada of over 800 craft, including Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of small river and coastal boats, thereafter known as "the little ships", was assembled on the south-eastern coast of England. They sailed across the English Channel to Dunkirk in France to rescue the besieged troops. The wide Dunkirk beach was covered with men who were hungry and thirsty, with horses running loose from their French riders, with dozens of barking dogs, with trucks and equipment - the disarray of an army on the run.
Our story tells of one small fishing craft from Deal that was part of the armada. It is told from the point of view of a young girl who donned her brother's old clothes and sailed with her father on the family boat, the Lucy. The story of that incredible venture is part truth, part fiction. It could have happened.
We reflected on what it must have been like at the time for those men trapped on the beaches and we wrote diary entries from the point of view of those trapped, thank you cards to the rescuers and we made origami boats.
Block 2 - Healthy Humans
During our second learning block, we will be learning all about the purpose and functions of the skeleton. We will be developing our working scientifically skills by identifying and grouping animals with and without skeletons and by observing and comparing their movement.
We will also be learning about nutrition and that an adequate, varied and balanced diet is vital for health. We will be developing simple cooking techniques in order to design and make a nutritional soup.
In art we will be studying the human form and creating collages using the work of John Stezacker as a stimulus.
In History, we will be developing our chronological knowledge beyond 1066, through exploring crime and punishment. We will find out about the legacy of the Roman justice system and comparing crime and punishment through the Anglo-Saxon, Tudor and Victorian periods.
Have a look at the Knowledge Organiser below for more detail about the learning in this block.
Hello Yellow - 21st October 2022
Piccolos celebrated #HelloYellow 2022 which aims to support young people’s mental health on World Mental Health Day. We all wore yellow and paid a donation to Young Minds. We thought about how we could promote good mental health and we discussed the power of positive thinking. We devised our own, personal positive affirmations and thought about how we can show kindness to ourselves and others. We identified all the wonderful people we have in our lives that love us and who are there to support us - no matter what. We also got those endorphins surging by joining in with some ‘Go Noodle’ dances to make us feel good and we experienced ‘photo booth fun’.
No Outsiders/Black History Project Day 7th October 2022
As part of our 'No Outsiders' work and to mark Black History Month, Year 3 celebrated the achievements and contribution of Martin Luther King in his quest to make America an equal and fair society for all. He was one of the most prominent leaders in the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. At the time Martin Luther King lived, much of America did not allow the same rights to all its citizens - for example, a black person might not be allowed to go to the same places or do the same things as a white person. Dr King devoted his life to finding peaceful ways to struggle against that injustice and became a figurehead for what is known as the Civil Rights Movement.
He is particularly famous for a speech he gave - one of the most famous speeches of all time - in which he outlined his vision for a fairer, more just society for everyone.
Watch the Horrible Histories song (link below) in which Martin Luther King Jr. sings about the struggle to earn racial equality and the many names that helped along the way, alongside film and photos from the America civil rights movement
https://horriblehistoriestv.wixsite.com/horriblehistoriestv/song-they-were-the-heroes
Block 1 - Rock and Roll
Within our first learning block this year, we will be working scientifically to make observations and comparisons of rocks and soils. We will be learning about how life in Britain changed from the Stone Age to the Iron Age and we will be developing our printing skills to create Stone Age cave art. In addition, we will also be investigating earthquakes and volcanoes: what they are; why they happen; and how they affect the landscape and human activity. In Music we will be listening to and appraising rock and roll music and learning about the legend that is Freddie Mercury. We began our block by busting some marvellous moves to 'We will rock you' by Queen!
Have a look at the Knowledge Organiser below for more detail about the learning in this block.
