Year 3 Curriculum

Autumn Term 

Autumn Term Overview

The United Kingdom

During this topic, following their study of our locality during Key Stage 1, the children will broaden their understanding of Greenmount’s place within the United Kingdom. The children will build on their knowledge of the UK and explore the names and locations of the countries which make up the United Kingdom, their geographical regions and counties and learn to distinguish between the United Kingdom and the British Isles.

The children will concentrate on developing further their mapping skills, using large scale maps and atlases to identify the geographical areas of the UK and their major cities. They will also begin to develop their understanding of using smaller-scale Ordnance Survey maps to identify through map symbols topological (physical) and human features of different localities, identifying some of these by using 4-figure and 6-figure grid references.

Within the topic, the children will also develop their understanding of rivers and river systems, being able to name the key features of a river and identify from maps the major rivers within the UK.

The children will develop their art skills through studying the British landscape artist John Constable. In Year 5 they will contrast the landscapes and their changes over time through studying the work of LS Lowry.

Spring Term 

Spring Term Overview

From Stone Age to Iron Age

Following on from their studies of more recent history in Key Stage 1, the children will begin to learn about the earliest periods of British history, namely the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.

The main focus will be about how society within these times varied greatly from today and how this developed in diversity from people leading solitary hunter-gatherer existences at the start of the period, to living more communally and developing farming techniques as the period progressed into the Bronze Age and Iron Age.

The children will also learn how religion, technology and travel influenced this period and how by the end of it large tribes and kingdoms had developed.

In Art and Design, children will learn that coil pots were produced during this period. They will learn how to sculpt using this technique, adding handles and relief. They will study the work of a modern sculptor, Grayson Perry, who continues to use this coil pot method in his work.

Summer Term 

Summer Term Overview

The Romans

Following on from their topic on The Stone Age to The Iron Age, the children will continue their chronological study of early British history, by studying the Romans and the impact which this period had on our country. The children will find out who the Romans were and where they came from, starting off by looking at the legend of Romulus and Remus. Their developing mapping skills and locational knowledge will allow the children to identify Rome, Italy and the early Roman empire in atlases.

The children will study the reasons for Julius Caesar’s failed attempt at invasion in 55-54BC and how the Romans learned from this to launch a successful invasion in AD 43 under the leadership of Claudius. The children will also look at how important the Roman army was to establishing their empire.

The children will look at how new technologies brought and developed by the Romans and Roman culture had an impact on British society which still exists today. Finally, the children will also look at how specific groups of “Brits” tried to resist Roman rule, looking at the reasons behind Boudicca’s rebellion.

In art and design, the children will study the architecture of Ancient Rome and use this as a stimulus to develop their drawing skills.

Resources

Year 3 Meet the Teacher 2025

Recommended Books for Year 3