Year 3

Autumn 2 2026

 Welcome to Year 3!

Our class is taught by Miss Nicholls on Monday and Tuesday each week, with the rest of the week being taught by Mrs Jones.

This half-term our topic focus is explorers!  We will be reading ‘The Girl, the Cat and the Navigator’ by Matilda Woods and our non-fiction book will be ‘Explorers’ by Jessamy Hawke.

Y3 Lanner Matrix 1 overview_26-27

English

We will be studying our core text, ‘The Girl, the Cat and the Navigator’ throughout the half-term.  Linked to this, we will be writing our own exploration adventure story to further develop the narrative writing features we learned last half-term.  We will also be learning to write a persuasive letter linked to events in the story, followed by an independent letter to persuade Father Christmas that we have been good!

Maths

As mathematicians, we will continue learning about addition and subtraction, before moving on to learning about multiplication and division.  We will learn about arrays and the multiples of 2, 5 and 10 as well as learning to multiply and divide by 3, 4 and 8.

Science

This term we will be learning about light including recognising that they need light in order to see things and that dark is the absence of light.  We will investigate how light reflects and how shadows are formed. We will also learn that light from the sun can be dangerous and how we can protect our eyes.

History

In History this half-term we will learn about the Tudors and the Age of Exploration.  We will learn about the main Tudor monarchs, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.  We will also learn about the explorers Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh and the impact their explorations had on Britain.

Art

This half-term, we will research and learn about the work of the Cornish artist, John Dyer.  We will use his work as a model and try to imitate his style to paint layers, plants and animals.  We will develop our skills and build towards creating a finished painted piece.

PE

Our PE days will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Please wear your PE kit, including your school PE hoody on those days.  When the weather gets colder, leggings or jogging trousers may be worn.  Please remember that long hair needs to be tied up and any jewellery or watches must be removed for PE.

In PE this half-term we will be doing Dance and Dodgeball.

RE

We will continue with our focus on Christianity in RE this half-term, considering the question, ‘What is it like for someone to follow God?’  Within this unit, we will look at the Bible, focusing on the story of Noah, what a covenant or pact is and where these are made in our everyday lives.

Computing and Online Safety

In our computing lessons this half-term, we will learn about stop-frame animation.  In our online learning lessons, we will use the Project Evolve resource to learn about online identities and whether we can trust people we know online

PSHE

In PSHE, we will continue to learn about different issues through a range of bools.  We will continue to learn about relationships, including online relationships and ways to keep ourselves safe online and around unknown adults in real life.  We will explore the impact our behaviour can have on others and learn about privacy and consent.  We will also learn about the effects and consequences of bullying.

Music

We will continue our learning with Charanga music this half-term, working on the ‘Three Little Birds’ unit.

MFL

Year 3 will continue with their French lessons this term using the ‘Language Angels’ scheme.  This half-term, we will build on the phonics we learnt last term in the unit ‘I am learning French’.  We will learn to ask and answer ‘What is your name?’ in French, learn the numbers to 10 and learn the names of some colours in French.