Spring A has been a very exciting term for Year 3, packed with creativity, hands-on learning, and plenty of fun! Here’s a look at some of the fantastic activities we have been up to.
Hooked into our new Theme
To immerse ourselves into our new theme ‘Magic, mystery and mayhem!’, in literacy, we began by exploring the book ‘Leon and the Place Between’. This enchanting story transported us into a world of wonder as we stepped into the circus and examined its magical possibilities. Inspired by Leon’s journey, we explored the concept of magic and even innovated the story to create our own ‘Place Between’, imagining extraordinary realms beyond our wildest dreams.
To kick off the ‘mayhem’ part of our theme, we delved into the science behind our extreme Earth, discovering what causes earthquakes, tsunamis, and, most excitingly, volcanoes!
Erupting Volcanoes!
One of the highlights of this was making our very own volcanoes! Using papier-mâché, we carefully constructed realistic volcano models before bringing them to life with a spectacular eruption. With a simple but effective combination of vinegar and baking soda, we created a bubbling, fizzing reaction that mimicked real lava flows—what an explosive experience!
Artistic Inspiration from Margaret Godfrey
In art, we took inspiration from the artist Margaret Godfrey to create stunning volcano-themed artwork. Using tissue paper to represent the dramatic explosions and fiery lava, we crafted vibrant and expressive pieces that truly captured the energy of a volcanic eruption.
Layers of the Earth – A Tasty Experiment
Understanding the layers of the Earth has never been so delicious! We created edible models using custard, biscuits, and marshmallows to represent the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. This fun and interactive activity helped us visualize the Earth’s structure while enjoying a tasty treat.
Poetry with Alex Wharton
We were also lucky enough to take part in a poetry workshop with the fantastic poet Alex Wharton. During the session, we explored different ways to express ourselves through poetry, learning how to write our own poems and raps. We even illustrated poetry to bring words to life—such an inspiring experience!
Making Music with the Penny Whistle
Music has also played a big part in our term. We began an exciting 10-week penny whistle workshop with Gwent Music, where we have been learning to play many familiar and wonderful songs. It has been great fun discovering new tunes and developing our musical skills!
Eisteddfod prep!
In addition to all our learning, we have also been busy entering competitions for the Eisteddfod on the first day back after half term. We are looking forward to seeing everyone’s amazing talents on display and finding out who the winners will be! Some of the exciting competitions include singing, dancing, poetry recitation, art, story writing, and handwriting. We can’t wait to celebrate the creativity and hard work of all our classmates!
Overall, this term has been a whirlwind of learning, creativity, and excitement. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for Year 3!
