East-the-Water Primary School
Curriculum Letter
Year 3 · Summer Term
Last updated: April 2025

Welcome Back!

We hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing Easter break. We are looking forward to another exciting term. This Summer term, we have lots of new and engaging topics such as textiles in design & technology and composing soundtracks to animated videos!

Music — Soundtracks

This term, we will be creating a soundscape using percussion instruments. We will be composing our sound effects based off of an animation called 'Musical Mountains', using our instruments and movement to help tell the story.

  • Key Vocabulary: percussion, composition, sound effects, soundscape, movement

History — Vikings

During the Summer term, we will continue learning about the Vikings' fascinating history. Children will learn about Viking society and make comparisons with their knowledge about Anglo-Saxons. To finalise the unit, children will decide whether they think the Vikings settled in Britain because of need or greed!

  • How did Viking farms compare with Anglo-Saxon farms?
  • How did societies live?
  • How did Vikings make a living?
  • Where did they travel and what did they trade when they were there?
  • Key Vocabulary: axe, long boat, shield, trade, farming, agriculture, thatched roof

D&T — Textiles

This term in D&T, we will be developing our sewing skills in order to create a bag or purse. We will explore different products and fastenings before designing and creating our final piece to hold a personal item.

  • Key Vocabulary: sew, structure, stitch, compartment, fabric

Art — Animated Drawings

Pupils will explore the work of other artists before designing and creating their own paper puppets with moving parts. The children will also be designing a background so they can tell a short story using their puppet's actions.

  • Key Vocabulary: animation, character, movement

Geography — Settlements

This term, pupils will be looking at maps (physically and digitally) and analysing keys and symbols used. We will be reviewing our knowledge of human and physical features and then conducting geographical fieldwork in Bideford to try and answer the question, 'Why do people settle in Bideford?'.

  • Key Vocabulary: sketch map, compass, atlas, Digimaps, key, settlement, physical, human, fieldwork

PE

This term in PE, we will be learning the following sports:

  • Tennis — to practise our aim and hand-eye co-ordination
  • Dance — we will be improvising movements linked to the weather
  • Cycling — to improve our balance and stamina
  • Gymnastics — to improve our confidence when performing

RE — Multi-Religion

This term in RE, we will thinking about how people care for the world. We will be comparing Christian, Jewish, Muslim and non-religious beliefs; considering each group's worldview.

  • Key Vocabulary: Tikkun Olam, Tzedek, humanist, non-religious

Science — Light and Plants

This term in Science, we will start by learning about plants. After identifying different plant parts and their functions and learning about the lifecycle of a plant, we will conduct observations to see how plants grow and change in different conditions. After this, we will be comparing between artificial and natural light sources. We will classify materials based on whether they are matte or reflective and learn all about shadows!

  • Key Vocabulary: light, light source, transparent, translucent, opaque, reflective, matte, photosynthesis, pollen, pollination, seed formation, seed dispersal

Computing

We know how important it is for our children to be IT literate. This term in computing we will be:

  • researching using secondary sources
  • understanding basic code so we can debug a program
  • Coding a program to move a vehicle
  • Key Vocabulary: input, output, process, search engine, algorithm

Homework

Each week, your child will have one sheet of handwriting of their focus spellings and a sheet of maths with an activity relevant to what they have been learning in class that week.

Each child will still have access to TTRS should they want to practise their times tables facts.

We would also love for your child to read or listen to someone reading to them each day.

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