Welcome to Jupiter Class!

Class teachers: Mrs Brannan(Mondays), Mrs McFarlane (Tuesday- Friday)

TA: Miss Marden

Class email: jupiter@kafed.org.uk

We teach foundation subjects (History, Geography, Art, DT, RE and computing) in two week blocks in the afternoons. Please see an example of our timetable below.

Year 3 reading

In Year 3, children are moving beyond phonics into becoming fluent, confident readers. While Little Wandle phonics resources are mostly designed for younger children, there are still lots of helpful ways you can support your child at home.

How to Help at Home

• Fluency practice – encourage your child to re-read short sections aloud so their reading sounds smooth and expressive.
• Vocabulary growth – talk about tricky or new words, discuss their meaning, and try using them in different sentences.
• Comprehension checks – ask questions such as “Why do you think the character did that?” or “What might happen next?”
• Independent vs shared reading – your child should read their matched school book independently, but it’s also important to enjoy more challenging stories together.
• Spelling links – use resources like the Grow the Code or Bridge to Spelling mats (if your child brings them home) to make connections between reading and spelling.

Helpful Resources

• Little Wandle Rapid Catch-up – for children in KS2 who may still need some phonics reinforcement.
• Little Wandle Bridge to Spelling – supports children with the spelling patterns they will meet in Year 3.
• BookTrust – www.booktrust.org.uk – ideas, activities and recommended books to keep reading enjoyable.
• Oxford Owl – www.oxfordowl.co.uk – free e-books and guides for parents.

✨ Remember: little and often makes the biggest difference – 10 minutes of reading together each day is more powerful than one long session a week.✨

Reading for enjoyment helps children develop imagination, vocabulary, and confidence, while visiting local independent bookshops supports community businesses and a love of discovering new stories!

• Moon Lane, Catford 
• Catford Bookshop – Catford
• Forest Hill Books – Forest Hill
• Grove Books – Honor Oak Park
• The Book Nook – Sydenham

Year 3 Writing

Year 3 End of Year Expectations:

• Write sentences more independently – using capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.
• Use joining words - conjunctions -  (like and, but, because) to make their sentences longer and more interesting.
• Choose exciting vocabulary to make their writing fun to read.
• Spell many common words correctly and have a good try at trickier ones, using phonics to help.
• Form letters clearly and neatly, with most letters the right way round and of a similar size.
• Write for different purposes, such as stories, instructions, letters or information.
• Reread their work to check it makes sense and start making small improvements.

✨ Every child develops at their own pace – these are broad goals to aim for, and children may get there in different ways and at different times.✨

Spelling Support:

The Little Wandle Grow the Code mat is still a really helpful tool to support spelling at home. Encourage your child to try writing a word in a few different ways – this helps them see which spelling “looks right.” They often make connections with their reading and will usually recognise the correct spelling once they’ve written it out.

Year 3 Maths

A great way to build confidence with multiplication tables is by using Times Tables Rock Stars. We suggest aiming for 15 minutes per week (little and often works best!) – but children are very welcome to play for longer if they’d like.