Years 1 to 3

Across Year 3, pupils’ learning is topic-based as they study a series of overarching themes across each term with links being made with different subjects across the curriculum. 

The theme in the Autumn Term is The Romans (Swords and Sandals).

In English we start the year by focussing on transition looking at Anthony Browne's Changes, exploring the ideas that change can be different from our expectations. 

Pupils cover a number of key writing topics through text analysis and study the features of report-writing through research into the topic theme. 

During the Spring Term, the topic moves on to the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings (Myths and Monsters). In English, pupils study the features of myths and descriptive writing, creating their own hero/heroine and monster.  Linked to their topic work, pupils become “Anglo-Saxon Estate Agents” as they create their own settlement and use persuasive language to “market” it to new settlers. 

The curriculum also includes instructional writing and develop their drama skills, reading and performing from a play-script whilst rehearsing for the Year 3 and 4 drama production. 

In Maths, pupils will study the concepts of mass, volume and capacity as well as money, adding and subtracting money, calculating change and solving word problems and time.  

In Science, the focus is on forces and magnets, understanding the notions of friction, looking at types of magnets and their properties.  

The final theme for the year is Kenya (Kenyan Safari) and in English pupils will read one of Alexander McCall Smith’s novels comparing and contrasting features of life in Kenya to that of children’s local environment here in the UK. 

The text allows pupils to explore the features of an adventure story, mapping out the key events in the story and helping them to understand the structure of story writing.  

In Mathematics, during the first term, pupils will be encouraged to master their multiplication tables as well as the four number operations and the concept of place value before going on to study mass, volume and capacity as well as money and time before moving on to graphs, fractions and lines and shapes.  Finally we go on to follow topics on graphs, fractions, angles and line and shape. 

In Science, pupils learn about light, including basic concepts such as reflection and light sources as well as the life cycle, names and functions of plants and photosynthesis.   

Alongside the core subjects and topic work, children have Religious Studies lessons once a fortnight taught by their form teacher and PSHE lessons once a week in which they debate topical issues and throughout he "iSpace Wellbeing" programme the children develop an understanding of their own emotional wellbeing and how to seek support should they need it.  

 

       - YEAR 3: core subjects -      

       - YEAR 3: ADDITIONAL subjects -      

English

During the year, children in Year 2 will study a range of books which demonstrate a range of genres and writing styles; for example, Julia Donaldson's The Dinosaur's Diary highlights the features of a diary and pupils will plan and write their own diary entry and Nicola O'Byrne's Dear Diary is used to look at the features of letter writing.  

Children start to explore character in stories, focussing on cause and effect and learn to write a narrative from a character's viewpoint and focus on the sequence of events in a story.  As pupils move through to the Spring Term they will begin to put this learning into practice themselves, encapsulating ideas, using new vocabulary writing their own narrative based on studied stories including Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.  In the Summer Term pupils will focus on the use of dialogue in stories such as Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince.

During the year, children will also learn about other types of writing including poetry, instructional, travel writing and news reporting and there is also a strong focus on developing pupils' grammatical skills, learning how words work and how to form clear sentences and use punctuation effectively.

Maths

During Year 2 a wealth of mathematical skills are covered including place value, number bonds, addition and subtraction and multiplication and division as well as learning about temperature, money, mass and 2 and 3D shapes.  During the Spring Term, the pupils will put their new understanding of monetary value to the test when they take a trip out to the local shops.  

In the Summer Term, new topics include telling the time and an there is also an introduction to fractions.  

Science

The topic of Dinosaurs is used to teach pupils about a range of topics from food chains before the focus moves to animal habitats.  In the Summer Term the children go on to identify and compare the suitableity of a variety of everyday materials and investigate how materials can change.  

Humanities

Pupils in Year 2 have lessons in History, Religious Studies and Geography.   In History, the children look at the life and work of palaeontologist, Mary Anning and enjoy studying fossils as well as covering the background of significant events such as Bonfire Night and Remembrance Day.  Later in the year pupils learn about the history around British pirates, linked to the term's topic.  Children create a fact file about a pirate before they consolidate their historical learning by creating a timeline.

In Geography, the Dinosaurs topic is used to introduce children to the various continents and the children will learn to label them and identify the world's oceans on a globe and atlas.  In the Summer Term, the children begin learning how to use a map and will sketch different types of map on a walk in the local area.  They will also look at aerial perspectives and learn to recognise different human and physical features on a map.

In Religious Studies lessons, the pupils learn about Christianity, including the nativity story and Christmas as well as Hinduism and Diwali.  

Art and DT

The focus in these lessons is to encourage children to develop a wide range of art and design techniques using colour, pattern, texture, line, shape, form and space.  Pupils also participate in a day long workshop which is linked to the fossils topic.  

In the Spring Term, children learn about the technique of pointillism and use it to create some animal themed art.

During the year, pupils will learn about some painters including Van Gough and Lowry and through beach school lessons, the children will paint their own seascape inspired by Lowry.   

In Design and Technology lessons pupils use a range of materials to design and make products such as boats and rafts. 

Beach School

Beach School takes place once a fortnight and is a double lesson.  The children spend the session on the beach at Holywell next to the School where they will participate in a range of activities which are linked to Maths, English or their termly topic.  During the Summer Term the children will learn about sea life through rock pooling.  

Leaving Reception behind and moving to Year 1 can seem like a big step for both children and their parents but at Bede's Prep we do all we can to make this transition as seamless as possible. 

Learning through play remains a key part of life in Year 1 but as children move through the year, their day becomes a little more structured than it was in Reception.  

Phonics 

Year 1 marks the first year of the National Curriculum and as you might expect the teaching of phonics plays a big part.  Children will learn how to apply their phonic knowledge and skills in order to decode words, learning how to blend the different sounds in unfamiliar words.

As well as the reading which they do themselves the children will listen to and discuss a wide range of poems, stories and non-fiction at a level beyond which they themselves can read.  

Writing

Children will learn spelling rules and begin having a go at spelling when writing independently by phonetically sounding out words sequencing sentences in order to form short narratives.  Pupils will also begin to understand the basics of grammar during this year.  

Maths

Pupils will begin to learn about core mathematical concepts including number and place value, often identifying and representing numbers using objects and pictorial representations including number lines.  They will learn to add and subtract as well as solve one-step problems involving multiplication and division, again using objects and pictures with the support of the teacher.  

Measurement, shapes and direction will also be covered and children will begin learning to tell the time.  

Science

Children are taught to identity and name a variety of common wild and garden plants, animals, distinguishing between carnivores, herbivores and omnivores and describe and compare the structure of common animals.   Children also learn about the various body parts and association with the senses.  

Using our local environment we also observe changes across the different seasons identifying changes in the weather and length of day.  

History

In Year 1 children will learn about changes key events in history such as the Great Dire of London as well as events which are commemorated through festivals or anniversaries.  The lives of significant historical figures such as Elizebeth I and Queen Victoria, Christopher Columbus, Neil Armstrong, Time Berners-Lee, Florence Nightingale  and Rosa Parks, are studied.

Geography

Pupils learn to identify countries and cities within the United Kingdom as well as name and locate the world's continents and oceans.  Weather patterns in the UK as well as other areas of the world are studied, identifying differences between areas in relation to the Equator and the North and South Poles.  

Basic geographic terminology is introduced as well as the key physical features such as beach, hill, mountain and sea and human features such as villages, factories and ports. 

Pupils will use maps, atlases and begin to use simple compass directions as well as aerial photography to recognise landmarks and human and physical features.