From Silent Seeds to Space Stations: September in Year 3
What a busy first month we have had in Year 3! September is always about finding our feet, getting used to new routines and taking those first steps towards becoming more independent learners. The children have settled brilliantly into life in Y3 and we have packed a lot into our first few weeks together.
One of our big focuses in PDMU has been learning the routines that help our classroom run smoothly. Through The Good Morning Club, we have been thinking about everything from lining up to choosing the right noise level for different activities. We now know all about our silent seeds, hushed hedgehogs, buzzing bees and loud and proud owls — and, most importantly, when each one should make an appearance!
In Literacy, we have been learning more about the sounds sh, ch and th, as well as working on capital letters and building well-constructed sentences. We also completed our first written comprehension of Year 3.
September brought another big change with the introduction of our new Try/Learn spelling routine. The children completed their first weekly test and then learned how to self-assess their work. Rather than simply counting how many answers are correct, we are encouraging the children to think about what they really know, what they are nearly confident with and what still needs a little more practice. It is all part of helping Y3 begin to take more ownership of their own learning.
There has been plenty happening in Numeracy too. We have revised our number facts to 10 before moving on to facts of 11, even creating our very own Wall of 11. We have explored the properties of 3D shapes and learned how Carroll diagrams can be used to sort objects according to different criteria.
Our new World Around Us topic has taken us much further afield — into Space! We started by sharing everything we already know about Space and, perhaps more importantly, everything we would like to find out. We have explored non-fiction books to help answer some of our questions and even brought our Numeracy learning into the topic by sorting space objects in a Carroll diagram.
Of course, some of our best Space exploration has happened through Activity-Based Learning. Our classroom has featured a Space Station, a moon landing small world and even some asteroid threading! We created colourful planets using filter paper and water, watching the colours run and blend together to create some fantastic effects. We also brought a little technology into our Space adventures by adding our own faces to astronaut sprites in ScratchJr — suddenly Y3 had a whole crew of new astronauts ready for launch!
We also managed to leave the classroom behind for a morning with our visit to Larne Port. We met members of the RNLI team and learned some very important lessons about staying safe near water. Sitting in the dinghy and climbing into the rescue truck — complete with flashing lights — were definite highlights! We then made our way through port security before boarding the passenger bus for a tour of the harbour.
Finally, September saw our first High Five Friday of the year. Following our Take 5 framework, we found lots of ways to Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. We connected as a school by contributing to a whole-school paper chain before joining P5 to climb the Snake, raising money for Combat Stress along the way. At the top, we took a moment to notice and enjoy the view before returning to school and reflecting on our week in our Learning Journals.
It has certainly been a full first month! From new routines and first comprehensions to astronauts, rescue trucks and a trip up the Snake, our P3s have thrown themselves into Year 3 life. We can't wait to see what October brings!
