Introductory Letter From the Year Leader

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the Year 3 team, I would like to extend you and your family a warm
welcome to BIS for the new 2007/2008 academic year. Whether you are returning
after the long break or are new to BIS, this new school booklet will provide you with
an outline of the Year 3 curriculum and the topics we will teach this year. It should
prove a valuable document that you will hopefully refer back to over the course
of this academic year. It must also be stated that this is not a fixed framework. A
good curriculum will allow for flexibility in its delivery and outcomes to support or
extend individual children during inquiry-based learning. Our aim is to provide the
children with an exciting, challenging and varied curriculum that will stimulate them
to produce work of which they will be proud.

At BIS we place great importance on establishing strong and effective links

between home and school. Your child will have already received a Home / School
Communication Book. This is the first and most effective way to contact your
child’s classroom teacher. We ask that you check and send it into school every
day. At the back of your child’s Home / School Communication Book is a termly
overview for PE as well as their weekly class timetable.

I would request that if for medical reasons you wish your child to be excused from
PE then please communicate this in writing on the day to your class teacher. Please
also keep you child’s class teacher and the Bus Office informed of any changes to
your child’s normal travel arrangements.

In Year 3 we continual encourage the children to take greater responsibility for

organising themselves now that they have entered the Junior School. Each day
please involve them in packing and unpacking their bag at home to ensure they
bring in the appropriate kit required for PE lessons, or complete and return their
homework on time. Many of the children in Year 3 are capable of these levels
of responsibility but are not given opportunities to do so whilst growing up in
Indonesia. Your support and assistance with these issues is greatly appreciated
so that the children are given proper opportunities to individually develop their
existing levels of independence.

During your child’s time in Year 3 they will be involved in putting on a performance.
This will form a significant part of their Performing Art curriculum as outlined in
greater detailed later on in this booklet. During the second half of the academic
year we plan to take the children on an overnight residential trip. The trip enhances
our academic curriculum as well as provides excellent opportunities to develop the
children’s co-operation and team building skills. The exact date for the trip will be
confirmed later on during the academic year.

After reading this booklet, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate
to contact me, or any member of the Year 3 staff. Otherwise I look forward to
meeting you throughout the course of the year.

Ben Mullens
Year 3 Leader
 Numeracy
Using and applying
mathematics
Solve one-step and two-step problems involving numbers,
money or measures, including time, choosing and carrying
out appropriate calculations
Represent the information in a puzzle or problem using
numbers, images or diagrams; use these to find a solution
and present it in context, where appropriate using £.p
notation or units of measure
Follow a line of enquiry by deciding what information is
important; make and use lists, tables and graphs to organise
and interpret the information
Identify patterns and relationships involving numbers or
shapes, and use these to solve problems
Describe and explain methods, choices and solutions to
puzzles and problems, orally and in writing, using pictures
and diagrams
Counting and understanding
number
Read, write and order whole numbers to at least 1000 and
position them on a number line; count on from and back
to zero in single-digit steps or multiples of 10
Partition three-digit numbers into multiples of 100, 10 and
1 in different ways
Round two-digit or three-digit numbers to the nearest 10
or 100 and give estimates for their sums and differences
Read and write proper fractions (e.g. 3/7, 9/10), interpreting
the denominator as the parts of a whole and the numerator
as the number of parts; identify and estimate fractions of
shapes; use diagrams to compare fractions and establish
equivalents
Calculating
Add or subtract mentally combinations of one-digit and
two-digit numbers
Develop and use written methods to record, support or
explain addition and subtraction of two-digit and three-
digit numbers
Multiply one-digit and two-digit numbers by 10 or 100, and
describe the effect
Use practical and informal written methods to multiply
and divide two-digit numbers (e.g. 13 x 3, 50 ÷ 4); round
remainders up or down, depending on the context
Understand that division is the inverse of multiplication
and vice versa; use this to derive and record related
multiplication and division number sentences
Find unit fractions of numbers and quantities (e.g. 1/2, 1/3,
1/4 and 1/6 of 12 litres)
Year Three
Mathem
Understanding shape
Relate 2-D shapes and 3-D solids to drawings of them;
describe, visualise, classify, draw and make the shapes
Draw and complete shapes with reflective symmetry; draw
the reflection of a shape in a mirror line along one side
Read and record the vocabulary of position, direction and
movement, using the four compass directions to describe
movement about a grid
Use a set-square to draw right angles and to identify right
angles in 2-D shapes; compare angles with a right angle;
recognise that a straight line is equivalent to two right
angles
 Knowing and using number
facts
Derive and recall all addition and subtraction
facts for each number to 20, sums and differences of
multiples of 10 and number pairs that total 100
Derive and recall multiplication facts for the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
and 10 times-tables and the corresponding division facts;
recognise multiples of 2, 5 or 10 up to 1000
Use knowledge of number operations and corresponding
inverses, including doubling and halving, to estimate and
check calculations
Use knowledge of number facts and operations to estimate
and check answers to calculations
matics
Objectives
Handling data
Answer a question by collecting, organising and interpreting
data; use tally charts, frequency tables, pictograms and bar
charts to represent results and illustrate observations; use
ICT to create a simple bar chart
Use Venn diagrams or Carroll diagrams to sort data and
objects using more than one criterion
Measuring
Know the relationships between kilometres and metres,
metres and centimetres, kilograms and grams, litres and
millilitres; choose and use appropriate units to estimate,
measure and record measurements
Read, to the nearest division and half-division, scales that
are numbered or partially numbered; use the information
to measure and draw to a suitable degree of accuracy
Read the time on a 12-hour digital clock and to the nearest
5 minutes on an analogue clock; calculate time intervals
and find start or end times for a given time interval
YEAR THREE OVERVIEW
Please note that the children will be set into ability groups for Mathematics
and that each set will cover various topics in a different order and at a
level appropriate to those children. These ability groups are based on
formal methods of assessment as well as teacher assessment. Groups
are not fixed and movement can take place between these groups
during the academic year.
 Science
Term One
In the unit called ‘Helping Plants Grow Well’,
children learn about what factors plants require
to grow successfully and why it is important that
they do. This unit also allows children to relate
their knowledge about the growth of plants to
everyday contexts. The children look at plants
for food and find out about leaves, stems and
roots.
The work in the unit ‘Teeth and Healthy
Eating’ should reinforce and develop children’s
knowledge of their personal health and how this
relates to diet. They should learn about how
teeth are related to diet and the importance
of dental care. Throughout the unit they look
at different types of teeth and investigate what
their pets eat!
Term Two
During work on ‘Characteristics of Materials’ the
children should extend their knowledge of the
range of materials we use and of the properties
that characterise them. This knowledge should
help them recognise what needs to be considered
when a material is chosen for a particular use.
They look at testing materials to clarify their
properties.
In the unit ‘Rocks and Soils’ the children
should come to recognise that rocks are
found underneath all surfaces, that rocks get
broken down into pebbles and soils and that
there are different sorts of rock have different
characteristics. Pebbles and soils from different
rocks consequently have different characteristics
too. The children look at grouping rocks and
different types of soil.
Term Three
‘Magnets and Springs’: In this unit children
experience forces, including attraction and
repulsion between magnets, compression and
stretching of springs and stretching of elastic
bands. They look at the uses of magnets and they
compare springs by compressing and stretching
them.
The ‘Light and Shadow’ unit offers children
opportunities to explain shadows using scientific
knowledge and to recognise the hazards and
risks in looking at the sun. Additionally they
observe where the sun is in the sky and look at
sundials.
 ICT

ICT continues to be taught as a stand alone subject that looks to embrace cross-curricular links. Skills for each
unit are listed below and taught across different contexts. As an example, children will be given opportunities to
use and apply skills taught in the unit ‘Combining Text and Graphics’ to support writing in Literacy, Science or
Humanities.

Combining Text & Graphics • Can enter information into a record card of
an established database
• Can choose a font for emphasis and effect • Can use a database to produce bar charts
• Can amend text and save changes and answer simple questions
• Can search a file of clip art for appropriate
pictures Email
• Can change from upper to lower case and
vice versa • Can prepare a message for sending
• Can use the shift key to type characters, • Can send questions via e-mail with
such as question marks appropriate beginnings and endings
• Can work with pictures and text to create a • Can open an incoming message in the ‘Inbox’
poster and report window
• Understands how to alter the lay out of a • Can amend a message and return it to the
page to make it more interesting sender
• Can create an address book and use it to
Manipulating Sound send email
• Can send pictures and text via e-mail as an
• Can match sounds of instruments to attachment
pictures
• Understands that sounds can be stored on Programs Used
the hard disk/CD-ROM/Flash drive
• Can use the basic features of a music software Microsoft Word
programme to produce a composition in a Microsoft Publisher

YEAR THREE OVERVIEW

certain style Music Factory / Black Cat Compose
• Can put together a simple composition Granada Database
using music software programs Microsoft Outlook
• Can re-draft a piece of music, based on
comments received
• Can use a computer to record sounds Please visit www.cicakbis.blogspot.com for up to
date online educational fun
Introduction to Databases

• Understands that information on record

cards is divided into fields and that a set of
record cards is called a file
 L iteracy
Jolly Grammar and VCOP
Throughout the year, the children will consolidate and extend the spelling and grammar work taught in KS1 by using the Jolly
Grammar scheme. They will also continue to learn how to use VCOP - vocabulary (V), connectives (C), openers (C) and
punctuation (P) - effectively in their writing.
Term One
The children will compare, evaluate and write a range
of story settings. They will learn how dialogue is used in
stories and how to use paragraphs to set it out correctly
in their own writing. They will learn the key features of
playscripts and will write simple playscripts based on
familiar stories.
The children will study poetry from a variety of popular
children’s poets, comparing rhyming and non-rhyming
poems. They will learn how poets use words and phrases
effectively to describe and create impact. They will collect
suitable words and phrases and use them to write their
own shape poems.
The children will study a range of information books. They
will learn the difference between fact and fiction, comparing
the two different styles of writing. They will learn how to
locate information in non- fiction books using contents,
index, headings, sub-heading and page numbers. They will
learn how to gather information together to write their
own information reports.
Term Two
The children will study a range of traditional tales,
investigating the style of traditional story language. They
will learn the typical themes of traditional stories, including
the behaviour of the characters, and will learn how to
write character portraits using evidence from the story.
They will make story maps and storyboards to plan and
sequence the main events of stories and to write their own
versions of traditional tales.
The children will study performance poetry from a variety
of cultures, learning how to read and prepare the poems
for performance. They will use these poems as a model for
writing their own.
The children will investigate the different purposes of
instructional texts. They will compare the key features and
layouts and use this knowledge to write their own sets of
instructions.
Term Three
The children will study adventure and mystery stories by
popular children’s authors, learning to identify important
aspects of a story such as: opening, build-up and atmosphere.
They will learn how to recognise and present the feelings,
behaviour and relationships of characters within a story.
They will compare and evaluate stories, and learn to
distinguish between first and third person accounts. The
children will learn how to write book reviews based on
evaluations of plot, characters and language.
Through studying a range of humorous poetry, the
children will learn how to use word play, pattern, rhyme
and alliteration in writing their own poems.
The children will study a range of purposes for letter
writing. They will compare the layout and form of different
letters and identify when to use formal and informal styles.
They will write letters, notes and messages linked to their
work in other subject areas, learning how to organise them
into paragraphs.
The children will begin to learn how to extract information
from non-fiction sources by making notes and how to write
these notes into summaries. They how information can be
presented in alphabetically ordered texts.
 Design Technology
Term One
The first project children undertake in Key Stage
2 is an investigation into structure and stability,
using free standing picture frames as a focus.
Children begin by exploring ways of making a
piece of paper stand up without support and
move on to making a stable, rigid structure using
paper tubes. They then progress to designing and
manufacturing a picture frame. In previous years
cross curricular links have been made with Year
3’s study of Ancient Egypt, and the children have
produced some fantastic frames using pyramids
as inspiration. These have then been beautifully
decorated using authentic hieroglyphs.
Term Two
Children in Year 3 investigate healthy eating
habits as a Science focus and our second
Design and Technology project makes strong
links with this. Children design, plan, make,
taste and evaluate a sandwich. They then use
a range of Assessment for Learning strategies
to increase their awareness of how to improve
their sandwiches before make a ‘picnic’ lunch
for another class to enjoy!
Term Three
In term 3 children investigate simple pneumatic
systems to produce a moving model. They
begin by researching pneumatics using balloons,
syringes and bicycle pumps. Children then use
their findings to design and make a model with
remotely operated moving parts. Recent models
have included Aztec temples with moving priests
and also snapping sharks.
In addition to the above projects children
also use Design and Technology to explore
other curriculum areas. In previous year’s
children have produced Egyptian Scarab
Beetle carvings, 3D Australian Aborigine
masks and boomerangs. They have also
learned how to weave an Aztec blankets
using a loom.
Children in Year 3 experience using a variety
of techniques to make paper and card more
rigid and thereby increase its stability. They
also work towards increasing the accuracy
and precision of their productions through
YEAR THREE OVERVIEW
careful measuring, cutting and joining.
Throughout the year children will also
broaden their knowledge of other cultures
and periods in history by cooking dishes
appropriate to their topic focus.
 A r t
Term One
The unit Portraying Relationships will encourage the
children to investigate how paintings, photographs and
other images that include figures communicate ideas
about relationships. The children will be developing
their figure drawing skills paying particular attention
to scale, proportion and composition to create a
double portrait that conveys ideas about themselves
and their relationships with others. They will be
encouraged to use different painting techniques and
applications, mix colours and explore effects of light,
darkness and texture. In addition, children will use
digital photography to compose portraits depicting
different relationships between people.
Term Two
In the unit Journeys the children will be exploring
how signs, symbols and metaphors can be used to
communicate ideas and meanings about a journey.
The children will produce mixed media work,
combining drawings, painting, collage and print-
making techniques. They will learn about various
artists and designers who communicate their
ideas through signs and symbols. The children will
experiment with pen journeys and represent their
journey to school using a mixture of colours, lines,
patterns, signs and symbols. There will also be an
opportunity for children to create land art from
natural materials found around school, such as sand,
rock, soil and wood and record their work through
digital photography.
Term Three
The children will be exploring sculpture in public
buildings and spaces in the unit Can We Change
Places? The children will compare the ideas, methods
and approaches used in the work of different
sculptors and use the work of others to inspire
their own. They will work collaboratively to explore
and use shape, form, colour and pattern to make a
Marquette or model of a sculpture for a site in the
school. They will plan, design, develop and evaluate
their ideas whilst using the chosen site to inspire
their 3D work. Children will be encouraged to use
the colour and textures of the site when applying
their finishing techniques.
 P S H E
Term One
At the beginning of term the children and teacher
will get to know each other through a range of
activities. Together they will set out and agree on
appropriate rules for the class. Afterwards they will
explore the need for different rules at home and at
school and what happens when you break these. The
children will examine different feelings and emotions,
looking more closely at ‘Pride’ and things that they
have done to feel this. Subsequently the children will
look at ‘Anger’, what makes people feel this way and
how to deal with this emotion. They will also analyse
what makes a good friend and the importance of
sportsmanship. Through Science, the children will
learn about the importance of dental care, keeping
clean and healthy eating. Idul Fitri and Christmas will
also be examined and celebrated during the course
of the term.
Term Two
This term particularly focuses on personal organisation.
The children will analyse how they spend their free
time after school; how organised they are at home
and in class and identify what they are good and not
so good at. At the end, children will create their own
personal action plan. After appropriate time periods
during the remainder of the term, children will self
assess and peer evaluate their targets. During the
term the children will also examine what it is like
to be disabled and the problems they encounter and
how we can cut down on waste as well as increase
the need for recycling. Chinese New Year and Easter
will also be explored as each event appears on the
calendar.
Term Three
Safety will become an important part of our focus
and the children will learn about keeping themselves
safe when at home. They will be looking the dangers
that exist at home, how to keep safe and rules
they should follow. The children will look at what
to do in different types of situations and be made
aware of first aid. Children will analyse their local
environment; discussing what they don’t like about
it; the effects of litter and pollution, and look at ways
of making these areas more attractive. Towards the
end of the academic year, time in class will be spent
on reflecting upon the school year gone by, how to
cope with change and facing the unknown.
At some stage in the year the children will discuss
how to manage an event. They will be given an
YEAR THREE OVERVIEW
opportunity to put together a mini-enterprise
and examine the aspects needed to successfully
run it. Later they will use these skills to set up
and run the annual Year 3 Charity ‘Cake and Toy
Sale’ event.
 P E

Specialist staff from the Physical Education and swimming departments teach the children during P.E.
lessons. At the beginning of the year, lessons are taught in class groups. The content is guided by British
National Curriculum requirements and is vertically linked through Key Stage 2 with the Key Stage 3
curriculum in the secondary school. All children in Key Stage 2 receive 2 lessons per week throughout
all 3 terms.

Term One Term Three

P.E. lessons teach invasion games (Football),
Educational Gymnastics and Athletics to all
children. Swimming is taught in 2 differentiated
ability groups and aims to build basic water
stamina, focusing primarily on basic technique
in freestyle. The children also learn water entry
and diving.
During P.E. lessons all children participate in
outdoor and adventurous activities (Climbing),
net games (Short Tennis) and dance. Swimming
lessons concentrate on improving breaststroke
technique, as well as relay races in preparation
for the Key Stage 2 Swimming Gala.

Term Two
In P.E. lessons children are taught indoor games
skills (Basketball), striking and fielding games (T
Ball) and running and evasion games (Touch).
Swimming lessons focus on backstroke as the
major stroke, as well as teaching water retrieval
and the precursors of basic water safety.
 Performing Arts

Term One simple compositional writing. Students also

This year, students are able to choose to learn
to play a musical instrument. Qualified music
tutors provide music lessons and children can
select from a large range of instruments. Music
classes are divided between one specialist lesson
each week and a one hour Performing Arts
class. During the Performing Arts class students
participate in a choral session and can also
participate in other music or drama associated
classes. During the specialist lesson this term,
students explore the formation of the musical
stave through pitching on xylophones. They
participate in activities to develop their sense
of pitching. Students are also introduced to the
standard notation of music.
begin work for the Year 3 Production during
Performing Arts class.
Term Three
This term is dedicated to the Year 3 production.
Productions at this level include a culmination of
singing, acting, dancing, sets, lighting, costumes
and orchestral accompaniment. The students
work during the specialist music lesson and
performing arts time to rehearse the singing
and acting. The production is staged in the BIS
World Theatre and performances are for the
primary school, parents and friends community.

Term Two
The specialist lessons continue to familiarise

YEAR THREE OVERVIEW

students with standard notation, including notes
and rests. In a culminating project they compose
a very simple and short melody to their own
names. They must use their knowledge of
rhythm and stave to complete the project. The
students are introduced to other elements of
music such as texture and timbre. In the study of
each of these they participate in guided listening
activities using music from various styles and
cultures. They then apply their knowledge to
 Humanities

Term One Term Three

The children will be exploring the ancient
civilization of the Egyptians. The children will
find out about the way of life of people living
in Ancient Egypt. They will develop their
understanding by examining different monuments
and objects left behind that were discovered
by archaeologists. The children will go on to
learn about the importance of the River Nile to
the ancient Egyptians. They will use a range of
sources to identify the different ways the past
is represented and use different approaches to
present their own knowledge including making
links to work in other subjects such as Art and
Design Technology.
During this term the children will study the unit
Life for children in the Second World War.
They will examine the impact of the war on
Indonesia and Australia. The children will use
a range of sources, including the recollections
of people alive at the time, in order to develop
an understanding of the impact of the Second
World War on these two countries. The children
will be asked to identify different ways in which
the Second World War has been represented.
During their work they will ask and answer the
questions using a range of sources and record
their finding in a variety of ways.

During each of these units the children will

Term Two examine different maps of each country to develop
their existing understanding of keys and symbols.
In this term the children will study Australia
The children will use the school environment and
as part of a geographical study focusing on a
it’s locality to find out about land uses and types
contrasting locality. They will examine different
of settlement. The residential trip will provide
aspects of life that will be familiar to them; such
further opportunities to examine and draw maps
as art, cooking and leisure activities. The major
for different purposes.
focus of the unit is on developing a greater
knowledge and understanding for place. During
the topic many links will be made to Art and
Design, PSHE and citizenship, History and
Literacy. The children will find out about the
historical reasons for settling in Australia, how
this has impacted on the country and investigate
different aspects of Aboriginal art and culture as
well as modern urban life.
 S ite Map

YEAR THREE OVERVIEW

 Homework and Reading

At the beginning of term, once the children have settled into their new surroundings in Year
3 and class routines have been established, children will receive one piece of homework in
Literacy and Numeracy every week.

The content for each piece of homework will relate to current work being taught in class
for each of these curriculum areas and will often serve to consolidate what the children
have recently learnt in school. Please encourage your child to take responsibility for finishing
their homework and returning it on time. Days for returning their homework will be clearly
labelled on the front of their books.

At BIS we also encourage children to read at home for around 15 minutes every day. Please
can you support this policy and assist your child in keeping their Reading Diary up to date.
At different stages of the academic year we will send home ideas for discussion when you
listen to your child read or when they fill out their reading diary – we hope they will prove
useful!