School's out!

Happy holidays from the Year 3 team!

Castles made of sand

This student was playing in reception last week. In 5 days she made 80 sandcastles. Each day she made 4 fewer castles than the day before.

How many castles did she make each day?

She went on making 4 fewer castles each day.

How many castles did she make altogether?

Who should it be?

Who do you think deserves to be Blogger of the Year?

Sporting prowess

On a steaming hot Friday morning, Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 marched down to Brockwell Park for the KS2 Sports Day.

What events did you take part in and what are your favourite memories from the day?

Number fun - Part 3 (the multiplication game)

Can you multiply each of these numbers by 4? 

Do you notice any patterns?

How did you work out the answers?

Challenge

Multiply all the numbers by 6!

Tuesday review

Now we have finished reading David Weisner's Tuesday, write a review of the book for the rest of the children at school. 

What is the book about? 

What did you like or dislike about the book? 

Would you recommend the book to children in other Year groups?

Bright as a button

My coat has three different buttons. Sometimes I do them up starting with the top button. Sometimes I start somewhere else.

How many ways can you find to do up my coat?

What if my coat had four buttons?

Next Tuesday ...

NEXT TUESDAY, 7:58 P.M.

1. What do you think is happening in this picture?

2. How is this image similar to the rest of the story?

Challenge question
3. Can you predict what will happen next?

The Doodler - Part 1

From Chris Riddell, the Children's Laureate.

Can anyone tell me what the Children's Laureate means and what he does?

New Children's Laureate

Congratulations to Chris Riddell, the author, artist and political cartoonist, who has taken over from Malorie Blackman to become the 9th Children's Laureate.

Chris has said that over the next two years he wants to concentrate on creativity and visual literacy. 

He wants to encourage everyone to draw something everyday. 

So check out his laureate log (his blog) for his daily doodles.

What do you know about Chris Riddell?

The crime scene - Part 2

Write in character what the detective might be thinking in this scene.

The crime scene - Part 1

Write in character what the reporter and eyewitness might be saying in this scene.

Hot off the press - Slimegate!

Ransacked rooms leave students hopping mad ...

The incident in class yesterday was reported in local and national newspapers this morning. 

Here is the special online edition from the Brixton Blog. 

The story has begun to go viral across the internet and is now being referred to as slimegate.

Write a short paragraph about what happened yesterday morning. 

Remember to include:

1. What happened when you arrived at school in the morning.

2. What you saw in the classroom and how you felt.

3. What you did in the classroom.

Challenge question

Who do you think the culprit was based on the evidence?

Terrible Tuesday

The evidence so far ...

Flower power

If you want to be the next Carol Klein or Monty Don, you will need to know your plants inside out.

Even Mr Bloom's vegetables know the answers!

See if you can find out the answers by doing some research on the internet.

Amphibious friends

What do you know about this creature?

Nocturnal activity

What do you think is happening in the picture?

Where are the frogs going?

Blogging club - Part 2

Blogging club - Part 1

First video on blogging from the Blogging Club. I think the background noise is too loud. Also, some of you really need to practice speaking louder. We may need to reshoot!

London Zoo - The movie

The witching hour ...

What do you think is about to happen in this sleepy suburban town, high up in the night sky above the clock tower, when all are safely tucked up in bed? 

London Zoo the movie - coming to a blog near you

What were your favourite moments from our trip to London Zoo?

Was it dancing in the rain, fluttering with the butterflies, strutting with the peacocks or swinging with the monkeys? 

Along the corridor and up the stairs

 

Can you find the answer before Harry does? 

What patterns can you see that could help you work it out? 

Remember coordinates have 2 numbers; the first number is the 'x' axis which means the number at the bottom and the second number is the 'y' axis which means the number along the side. 

The dream ...

1. What does it feel like being trapped in a cage, with hundreds of animals staring at you and taking pictures?

2. How do you feel about the animals who trapped you in a cage at the zoo?

3. When you woke up from your dream, did your feelings about the animals and zoos change?

Challenge

What other questions would you ask the character to find out about how he felt trapped in the cage?

Musical chairs - Part 6

The last in our series showcasing the Year 3 guitarists.

Roles reversed!

 We have been thinking about how animals feel while they are trapped in cages in the zoo. What would happen if the roles were reversed and it was humans in the cage?!

How do the animals feel in this image?

How might the people feel?

Trapped in the zoo!

It was the end of a fantastic day visiting London Zoo. On my way to the exit, I saw a brightly coloured bird swoop past me. So I went to investigate. I followed him, running as fast as my feet would carry me, over a wobbly bridge. By now it had grown dark, very dark and there were no people left in the zoo. I was completely on my own! Then, I began to hear some strange noises ...

Continue the story below.

Feeding time at the zoo

Year 3 bought a picnic lunch of muffins, pizza, apples, oranges and juice for the family in the story zoo. Can you answer these questions:

1. The mum and two boys share equally the three healthy foods at the picnic (the apples, oranges and juice). How many of each will they get?

2. The whole family, mum. dad and the two boys will share equally the muffins and the pizza. 

How many of each will they get?

Musical chairs - Part 5

Sir George Martin is pleased to be working with his latest protégé ...

What should happen to the orangutan?

Do you agree with the businessman who wants to spend money improving the life of the orangutan in the zoo? He will paint the walls, make sure the cage is cleaned regularly and buy another orangutan as a friend.

or 

Do you agree with the bearded man who wants to take the orangutan out of the zoo and set him free in the rainforest of Borneo?

Trouble at the Zoo

We acted out a scene from Zoo by Anthony Browne.

The people around the family are trying to look at the orangutan.

What are each of the characters thinking? 
How do you think they feel?

Blogger of the month - April

Pizza Fractions

Can you write the fraction of each pizza?

What would happen if I had 24 pieces of pizza and I gave 12 away, what fraction would I have left?

How to be a mathematician - Part 1

Watch the first instalment in our new series of instructional maths videos.
Here we show you how to use the column method to add two 2-digit numbers together.

Four questions

Musical chairs - Part 4

Another of our master guitarists!

A good garden read!

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I have been enjoying reading in my garden.

At the moment I'm reading Roald Dahl's autobiography Going Solo. I chose to read this book because I love Roald Dahl's writing and thought a book about his own life could be interesting. So far I have not been let down! At the moment I am reading about when he was a young soldier in Africa. I am really enjoying reading about his adventures, as it makes me think about my Grandad, who was also a soldier in Africa when he was younger!

Where have you been reading lately?

Has a character from a story ever reminded you of someone in your life?

Whose autobiography would you like to read?

Set me free!

Which of the animals do you feel most sympathy for and why?

Musical chairs - Part 3

Kenny Burrell, Django Reinhardt, Wes Montgomery and now ...

Word Search - trapped in the zoo

Complete the word search all about how the animals feel inside the cages in the zoo, then blog the meaning of as many words as possible.

Rows of coins

Take five coins: 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p and put them in a row using these clues.

The total of the first three coins is 27p.
The total of the last three coins is 31p.
The last coin is double the value of the first coin. 

Now take six coins: two 1p, two 2p, two 5p and put them in a row using these clues.

Between the two 1p coins there is one coin. 

Between the two 2p coins there are two coins. 

Between the two 5p coins there are three coins. 

What if you take two 10p coins as well, and between them are four coins?

What's up mum?

Write in role what the mum was thinking in the car on the way to the zoo?

The elephant in the room ...

Can you answer these questions about Anthony Browne's drawing of the Elephant House at London Zoo?

What could the light source be in this picture? 

How could the elephant be seen more clearly? 

Would it make a difference if the elephant's skin was a different colour or its skin was a different texture? 

Can you think of an animal which we may be able to see more clearly in the same amount of light?

Musical chairs - Part 2

Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and now ...

Overtaken by a snail!

Tickets for sale

You have £48 to spend on tickets at London Zoo.

1. How many adults and children can you buy tickets for?
2. How many teachers and students can you buy tickets for?

Remember, there is more than one right answer to each question. Think of all the different combinations you could have for each question.

Zoo - investigate the characters

Next term we will be reading Zoo by Anthony Browne.

What can you tell about the personalities of the four main characters from looking at their pictures above?

Lighten up, Smokey!

Where do you think Smokey has gone on holiday?

In science next term we will be learning all about light. 
What do you notice about the light in Smokey's holiday snaps? 
What else do you know about light?

Blogger of the month - March

On the boardwalk, down by the sea

At the moment I'm reading Sensational!, a book of poems inspired by the five senses. I'm in France on holiday and have gone to the beach for the day. The beach is one of my favourite places to read.

What are you reading this Easter break? Where do you enjoy reading the most?

Maybe it's when you're tucked up in bed, lying on the grass in the park or in the library.

Feel the force

Our science topic last term was magnets. Complete the word search below and blog the meaning of as many of the words possible.

Cast-iron problem

How did we free the Iron Man from the scarpyard without touching him?

Musical chairs - Part 1

After our latest triumphant concert, this time at the Royal Albert Hall, Year 3 will be celebrating its outstanding musical talent in a new series of still photographs.

Here, the baton has clearly passed from Paco de Lucía to the next generation.

An epic battle

Terribly black, terribly scaly, terribly knobbly, terribly horned, terribly hairy, terribly clawed, terribly fanged, with vast indescribably terrible eyes, each one as big as Switzerland.

The world is under threat from the huge and terrifying space-bat-angel-dragon, which wants to eat all living things (people, animals, forests). It doesn't care what it eats, so long as the food is alive!

Write a short story showing how Hogarth and the Iron Man could have defeated the horrifying space-bat-angel-dragon.