Welcome to Willow Class

Our teacher is Miss Raheem/Mrs Atkins and our wonderful teaching assistants are Mrs Coverdale and Mrs Parker

On this page you will find information about how things work in Willow Class and some useful resources that you can use to help us with our learning. 

This page will be updated termly with information that may be of interest to you regarding projects, timetables, curriculum maps, videos, pictures and more. It will be useful to keep checking this page for any helpful documents that will keep you informed about this year. If you ever have any questions please get in contact using the contact form below. We have another exciting year ahead!

Our PE days are on Monday and Tuesday. Please can children come dressed in their PE kits on these days.   For further details on PE kit please refer to our Parents Information document.

In the case of self-isolation or further lockdown

In the event of your child needing to self-isolate, please use the homework website links above that your child can access for a range of subjects. 

In the event of our class bubble isolating, or a school closure lockdown, we will be using Teams Online. Your child will need their username and password to access teams.

Here are our reflections:

"I loved our session it made me feel calmer and ready for the day."

"My favourite yoga position is child's pose. It is so relaxing!" 

“The music was calming and relaxing."

“The session was fun! I want to do it again!"

"My body feels all relaxed now."

“I enjoyed telling stories using story logs.” Milly

"This was my first time sitting near to something hot. I was frightened and excited at the same time!" Pixie-Rae

“I loved eating cheese toasties around the fire.” Molly-Mae

“It was interesting learning about the history of telling stories around the camp fire. They never had cookers so they used to eat and gather around the fire and tell stories.” Matilda

“Making up stories was so much fun!” Livvy

"I liked the warmth of the fire." Logan

“This was my first time near a fire. It was so scary but fun! I would love to do it again!” Arven

“I really enjoyed getting the experience of making a star. I was sad it didn’t work but I will try it again.”

“I loved making the star, the best bit was opening it at the end and seeing what I made.”

“My favourite part was at the beginning when we had to plan our designs. I liked coming up with different designs and then choosing my favourite.”

“I liked that we were all doing the same activity and had to persevere and help each other.”

“I found it challenging but it was worth it as I made a star at the end!”

“Decorating the lollypop sticks was so much fun!”

“I struggled using the scissors to cut the star. I was proud of myself for not giving up.”

“I liked all the games, it was so much fun!”

“My favourite sports leader is Bella, she was very kind.”

“I’m proud of myself because I managed to get two things in the hoop all my myself.”

 “I loved the game ‘Rob the Palace’ -Tommy was the guard and we got the crown! It was a good team work.”

“I really liked the game, ‘Santa got stuck up the chimney’. Maisy and Daisy were really nice and encouraging.”

“I tried my best in all of the games. I’m proud of myself because I did not give up.”

"I thought Jasper was a good leader, he explained the game clearly so everybody understood the rules."

“I’m really proud of all the Year 6 Sport Leaders for coming up with such fun games!”

We have been reflecting on this question: ‘Is light a good symbol for celebration?’ We started by exploring the festival of Diwali and the way it uses light. During this Hindu festival the traditional story of Rama and Sita is remembered. We learned that light symbolises the triumphs over dark and good over evil. Recently, we have been learning about the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. We created information posters about the Jewish festival following steps to success. We identified many similarities and differences between the two festivals. 

These are some of our learning reflections:

“I didn’t know Hanukkah was a festival of light just like Diwali.”

“Hanukkah lasts eight days so it is longer than Diwali. Diwali lasts five days.”

“Hanukkah is so similar to Diwali; they light candles, play games, eat special food and give gifts.”

“I never knew the story and now I know. I liked learning about the temple and how they destroyed it.”

“I find it interesting that they light the menorah on each day of the festival and then they get to open their presents.”

“I am excited, this is our first trip out!”

‘We’ve been playing Polar Express in the playground as we are so excited about the trip!”

“I’ve never been on a train before. I’m nervous and excited at the same time.”

“My favourite part was when the ticket man came and stamped our ticket with the start of our first name.”

 “I’ve had so much fun. I loved meeting Santa!”

 “I loved having hot chocolate it is my favourite!”

“We got a giant cookie and a bell from Santa!”

“I liked listening to the story of the Polar Express. I love the story.”

“Best day of my life!”

This term in PSHE, we are exploring mental health and wellbeing. We started by brainstorming what a feeling is and what feelings do. We have learned that we have different feelings all the time and that different things can influence and affect our feelings. We discussed ways we can help to make our days feel better or help us to recover if something happens that doesn’t make us feel good. Here are some of our reflections:

“When I am sad or worried I love to read. It helps me to take my mind of things.”

“Dancing makes me feel happy!”

“If I am not feeling so good, I like to listen to my favourite music.”

“Spending time with my family and having lots of hugs helps me to feel better.”

“If something happens that makes me feel no good, I’ll talk to somebody like my parents and that makes me feel better.”

There are some of our learning reflections:

 “I’ve learnt that the sun is a star and not a planet.”

“I was surprised to find out that the scientific name for light is white light and it is made up of the colours of the rainbow”

“I can’t believe the moon is not a light source but reflects light off the sun.”

“There can only be light if there is a light source. If it was completely dark we would not be able to see.”

“I was shocked to learn that if you look straight at the sun it can damage your eyes.”

“It was interesting learning about how we see things and how our eyes work.”

“I have heard of UV before but never knew what it meant. It means Ultra Violet”

“You can see things in the dark if the objects are reflective.”

We have been learning how to subtract two/three-digit numbers from three-digit numbers. Willow Class generated their own steps to success to help with their learning. They have worked really hard.

Here are some of their reflections:

 “I feel I am getting better at exchanging. The equipment has really helped. I need to practise showing the exchanges”

“I was a bit nervous at the start, but now I’ve got more understanding and have got better at it”

“I have improved at showing my exchanges”

“I have enjoyed learning how to exchange and use the column method. I’ve been practising lots!”

“Using the maths resources has really helped me understand”

“I have got better at checking my answers to calculations before moving on”

Willow Class have had a great time at Fir Tree Forest. During the session we learned about the different types of fungus that grow during this time of year and how crucial they are to the woodland. We learned how to identify Jelly Ear fungus, Wrinkled Peach fungus and Dead’s man’s fingers.

Here are some of their brilliant reflections:

“I never knew anything about fungus. It is so interesting”

“It is important to be safe around fungus”

“We are building a den for shelter”

“I’m digging in the mud pit for worms”

“I’m searching for fungus”

“I’m making fungus from the leaves”

“We are making magic potions!”

“We have to feed the birds in winter because the bugs hide”

“I have enjoyed learning to build a shelter”

“I love the heart bird stamp we have been given it reminds you to feed the birds”

“Jelly Ear Fungus looks like a cloud”

“It has been so much fun especially having hot chocolate!”

We are learning how to write a set of instructions that are easy to follow. To get a feel for instructions, we started by playing a game involving children giving their partners instructions on how to take off their jumpers.  It proved quite tricky as it involved the partner having to follow their instructions word for word. Through this game, we learned about imperative verbs, also known as ‘bossy’ verbs, and how important they are in instructional writing. We got better the second time we played the game, using imperative verbs in our instructions helped us to be more specific and made the instructions easier to follow.

Recently, we have exploring instructions where there are too many adjectives and adverbs. We played a sorting game which involved sorting different types of instructions into the most useful, useful and least useful. Through this activity we have learnt adjectives only need to be included when they are necessary and help the reader to know exactly what they need to do.

This term in Science we have enjoyed learning about Rocks and Fossils. We started by exploring the three types of naturally occurring rock. They are Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic rocks. To deepen our understanding further we looked at real life examples. Following on from this we learnt about human made rocks.

We have carried out investigations which involved comparing and grouping together different rocks on the basis of their appearance and simple physical properties. We tested five different rocks and investigated their permeability, durability and density. We also recorded whether the rock was hard or soft. After recording the properties of each rock we grouped the rocks based on their properties. Recently we have been learning about fossilisation process and how fossils form in rocks. We have learned that fossilisation only takes place in Sedimentary rocks. We used role play to aid our understanding of how fossils are formed.

The Stone Age 

Willow class have had great fun learning about The Stone Age. We began our project by brainstorming what we already know about The Stone Age. We investigated Britain’s prehistory (time in history before written records) by creating a timeline with the main dates of the periods in the Stone Age. We deepened our knowledge of the names of the three main periods:

Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age)

Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age)

Neolithic (New Stone Age)

Recently, we have compared and contrasted life in the Stone Age with modern day life.

Here are some of our reflections:

“I have really enjoyed learning about hunting and gathering”

“I’ve loved learning about the weapons they used to hunt animals. I am amazed how clever they were to make their own tools”

“I like woolly mammoths, I didn’t know you could eat them”

“It was interesting finding out about farming and how it had got better in the New Stone Age so people didn’t need to hunt.

“I can’t believe people didn’t have anything we have today and they survived”

“I would like to live in the Stone Age because I would like to create my own clothes”

“The most interesting part for me was learning that in the Old Stone Age people moved around and didn’t stay in one place”

This term we have explored the style of Stone Age cave art. During the project we have learned that in Stone Age times there were no writing but people recorded the world around them by carving or painting on stones and cave walls. We discussed why cave art is so important to historians finding out about this period of history. We carefully observed examples of cave art and noticed the similarities and differences. On many paintings we could see people, animals and weapons. We learned that they used colours from natural materials like rocks, woods, berries or charcoal. They then mixed the powder with water and animals to create paint.  Willow class loved pretending they were in a cave and creating their own cave art.  

English

We have been reading ‘Stone Age Boy’ by Satoshi Kitamurato. Using drama techniques, we have stepped in to the characters shoes to understand the characters thoughts and feelings.  We have explored the features of postcards and created word banks to help with our writing. We have created our own postcards from Stone Age boy.

Our first trip to Fir Tree Forest 

 Willow class have had a brilliant start to the first term in their new school as Year 3 pupils. We’ve only been at school for a couple of weeks and have already had the opportunity to experience Fir Tree forest. We were very excited as we were the first class in the school to be picked. After going through the steps to a successful forest session we met Mrs Thatcher, the forest leader. Here are some of our reflections:

“We are making a den, it’s fun trying to make it and also a bit of a challenge” (Myles)

“I found a woodlouse.” (Livvy)

“We found three woodlice and a black bug, We love them!” (Darcey and Cassie)

“I am making mud pasta.” (Sophie)

“I don’t know what it is. It has quite a good camouflage.” (Heidi)

“This is for a woodlouse’s’ birthday!” (Amira)