Autumn 1 - Native Narratives

Autumn 1 Week 6- wb: 06.10.25

What a fantastic and busy week we've had in Year 3!

In Maths, we’ve been brave bananas, showing great determination as we tackled the challenge of crossing the hundred when adding and subtracting multiples of 10. We’ve also worked hard to make connections between number sentences, helping us to deepen our understanding and become more confident mathematicians.

In English, our focus has been the story Akimbo and the Elephant. We’ve enjoyed retelling the story orally and exploring the thoughts and feelings of the main character through discussion and drama. A highlight of the week was debating whether Akimbo and his father should adopt the orphaned elephant and bring it back to the compound. We gave thoughtful reasons for our ideas and used persuasive language to write a heartfelt note from Akimbo to his father. The emotive language we used was truly impressive!

In Geography, we’ve been learning about some of the hottest and driest places on Earth. We explored what life is like in a tropical desert climate and learned about the Bedouin people who live there.

RE and Outdoor Adventurous Learning (OAL) came together this week in a brilliant joint session with Year 1. We learned about the Jewish festival of Sukkot and even built our own Sukkahs in the woods—it was such a fun and meaningful experience!

In Computing, we explored how digital devices are connected and how they can work together.
In PSHE, our focus has been on problem-solving and finding peaceful resolutions.
In Art, we’ve been developing our ideas for 3D sculptures—we’re really looking forward to bringing them to life in the coming weeks.
In Gymnastics, we’ve been adding the final touches to our showcase routine, which is looking absolutely amazing!

We’ve also been working hard practising for our upcoming Harvest class worship, which takes place in church this Sunday. We can’t wait to share it with you.

Our World Faith focus this week has been Navaratri, the Hindu festival celebrating the triumph of good over evil.

To top it all off, we had an exciting Battle of the Bands on TT Rockstars against Year 2—and Year 3 were victorious! Well done, everyone!

On Friday, we proudly wore yellow to support the Hello Yellow campaign, raising awareness for mental health. A huge thank you to everyone who took part.

What a brilliant week!

Autumn 1 Week 5: Wb 29.09.25
In Maths we’ve been working really hard on adding and subtracting multiples of 10 and 100. We have also been spotting number patterns and practising adding 1s across a 10 and 100. Everyone has shown fantastic determination and accuracy – well done Year 3! Mrs Harrison’s socks have been well and truly blown off this week by our amazing information texts in English! After lots of careful planning and research, we have written beautiful non-chronological reports all about Africa. The children should be so proud of the detail and presentation in their work. In computing, we have been learning about computer networks and how they can be used to share information. The children were fascinated to discover how computers ‘talk’ to each other. In Geography we’ve loved exploring the polar regions and learning about the tundra biome. We investigated the polar climate zone and discovered how different animals adapt to survive in such extreme environments. In science, we have been finding out how fossils are formed. We explored the process step by step and used our new key vocabulary, including sedimentary rocks. Our gymnastics practice is going from strength to strength as we prepare for our upcoming showcase. We are so excited to perform for parents and family members soon! In art, we have been experimenting with joining different materials when working in 3D. The children enjoyed testing out new techniques and creating unique pieces. We had a wonderful spirituality afternoon this week, focusing on our school vision: As God’s family, together we achieve. We learned about how St Paul wrote letters to the Romans, reminding them that all parts of the body need to work together to be the best they can be. We reflected on the special gifts God has given each of us and how we can use these gifts to help others. We even created a news report to share our ideas – you can watch it here...Year 3 Spirituality afternoon | Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School We started our week with a flourish, we enjoyed a fantastic dance workshop with Dance Syndrome. The energy, creativity, and teamwork were amazing to see! What a wonderful week of learning, exploring, and celebrating together. Well done Year 3 – you have been shining stars!

Autumn 1 Week 4: wb-22.09.25

In English, we have been working hard on writing our own retells of The Fire Children – and what superb stories they were! We have now begun reading Akimbo and the Elephants and exploring The Elephant poem by the same author. We didn’t just read them – we performed them too, using tone, intonation and volume to bring the words to life.

In Maths, we have been counting in fifties and spotting patterns. We also began our new addition and subtraction unit, learning how to add and subtract 1-digit numbers from 3-digit numbers and applying our number bonds to help us solve problems.

In Geography, we travelled the world through our learning about different climates and biomes. It has been fascinating to see how people, animals, and plants adapt to their environments.

In RE, we looked at the Hindu festival of Pongal. We created a timeline to help us understand the traditions and order of events in this special celebration.

In Computing, we discussed how different devices can change the way we work – thinking carefully about the benefits and challenges of technology.

In PSHE, we had some brilliant discussions about white lies (very interesting debates and revelations!) and talked about how we can look after our special people.

In Art, we put our design skills to the test by joining 2D shapes to make 3D structures. It was tricky, but very rewarding to see our creations take shape.

In Science, we learnt the word porous and carried out a fun experiment to test which rocks were porous, whether they floated or sank, and if they could be scratched.

In Music, we explored vocabulary such as verse, accompanied and unaccompanied, round and canon. We also had fun copying back melodies and improving our listening skills.

In Gymnastics, we have been practising our routine ready for our showcase – which all parents have been emailed about. We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on!

On Friday was our brilliant MacMillan Coffee Morning and we were all treated to a delicious cake for a good cause.

Autumn 1 Week 3- wb : 15.09.25

What a brilliant week we’ve had in Year 3!

In English, we’ve been diving even deeper into our class text, using our inference skills to explore the thoughts and feelings of the characters Ako Yaa and Kwaku Ananse. The children have really impressed us with how carefully they’ve been thinking about what the characters might be experiencing, even when it’s not written directly in the text. We used everything we’d learned to write diary entries in role – full of emotion, reflection, and brilliant vocabulary choices. Later in the week, we took on a new challenge: writing a diary entry as one of the Fire Children. It was amazing to see how confidently the children applied their skills, imagining what it would feel like to be breathed life into like of the The Fire Children.

In maths, we’ve been exploring number lines up to 1,000. We’ve practised estimating where numbers would sit and explaining our reasoning using place value knowledge. It’s been fantastic to see the children growing more confident at spotting patterns and justifying their answers — we’ve even had a few lively maths debates in class!

Science has been particularly exciting this week as we carried out our rock hardness investigation. The children tested a range of rocks to find out which were hard and which were softer – lots of hands-on exploration and careful observations! We then discussed why certain rocks are better suited for specific everyday uses, like building materials or kitchen worktops.

In geography, we’ve been travelling (with our imaginations!) to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. We’ve learned where they are located on the globe and why they’re so important when it comes to climate and seasons. The children were fascinated to discover how the sun’s position affects the temperatures of different places around the world.

Music has been full of energy and creativity this week! We’ve been learning the traditional round London’s Burning and then innovating the lyrics to create our own verses. The children absolutely loved performing in rounds and listening carefully to stay in time – it was a real team effort and lots of fun. In RE, we have explored harvest festivals all around the world, such as the rice festival in Bali and Erntedankfest in Germany. We looked at the similarities and differences between the different festivals. 

In PE, we’ve been working on our passing accuracy, focusing on control, direction and teamwork. Everyone is really starting to think carefully about how to pass with precision. Over in gymnastics, we’ve been practising and refining our showcase routine, adding in balance, strength and control – it’s coming together beautifully, and we can’t wait to show it off!

We are so proud of how focused, enthusiastic and creative the children have been this week. Keep it up, Year 3 – you’re doing an amazing job!

Autumn 1 Week 2- wb: 08.09.25

Year 3 have had a busy and exciting week at St Paul’s Hoddlesden!

In English, we have continued exploring our new text The Fire Children, focusing on using adjectives to create expanded noun phrases and on uplevelling our vocabulary to make our writing more vivid. We experimented with different word classes to describe the setting and discussed how the main character’s feelings change as the story unfolds.

In Maths, we carried on with our place value unit. Everyone showed a fantastic understanding of hundreds, tens and ones by partitioning numbers to 1000 in a variety of ways- great job, Year 3!

Our new enquiry question in Geography is Why is climate important? This week we learned to identify the Equator as well as the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, setting the stage for deeper climate investigations.

In RE, we reflected on the Christian belief about harvest and worked together to create a beautiful Thankfulness Tree in our classroom, reminding us to appreciate the world around us.

In PE, we practised passing for possession and scoring goals. We also feel very lucky to have Mrs Winward, our gymnastics specialist, teaching us new skills this term.

Our musical focus was singing in unison and in rounds, helping us to listen carefully and keep in time. In Art, we have investigated the sculpture artist, Anthony Caro and sketched some of his work. 

In Computing, we explored how digital devices function, discovering the connections between inputs, processes and outputs.

Two special visitors made this week even more exciting. Life Education helped us learn fascinating facts about our bodies and brains, and a thrilling Science show about forces gave us an early peek at concepts we’ll revisit later in the year.

We have been working hard on our 2 and 5 times tables, with many children proudly earning their prestigious Times Table Badges. Keep practising at home, and don’t forget TT Rockstars is ready to help!

Well done Year 3, your hard work and enthusiasm shine through everything you do.

Autumn 1 Week 1- wb 01.09.25

What a brilliant first week we’ve had in Year 3 at Hoddlesden St Paul’s! We’ve hit the ground running and already learned so much.

In English, we began our brand new text The Fire Children. We looked closely at the front cover and the opening pages before making our own predictions about what might happen next. We also explored what a folk tale is and thought about the special features these stories often have.

In Maths, we have been busy recapping place value up to 100. We practised partitioning numbers in lots of different ways and challenged ourselves to explain our thinking clearly.

In Science, we launched our new topic all about rocks. We worked scientifically by carefully observing and categorising different rocks based on their appearance and physical characteristics.

In French, we enjoyed recapping some of our Year 2 learning through fun games. It was a great way to refresh our memories!

In PE, we started our “Passing for Possession” unit. Through football-linked games, we’ve been practising our passing skills and learning how to work together as a team.

In RE, we began exploring the theme of Harvest, looking at where harvest is mentioned in the Bible and why it is such an important time of year.

We also had some important discussions about Online Safety, thinking carefully about safe and unsafe scenarios we might come across online.

Another big achievement this week was creating our very own Year 3 Class Contract. Together, we agreed on rules to help us work happily and safely all year. Everyone has signed it to show their promise. Finally, we each set ourselves a personal goal for something we would like to achieve in Year 3.

It’s been a fantastic start to our journey, and we are excited to see what next week brings!