Step into Year 3: The KS2 Adventure Begins

Get ready for an exciting adventure as you step into Year 3! This transition from Key Stage 1 (KS1) to Key Stage 2 (KS2) is a major milestone in your educational journey, packed with new academic challenges and awesome social opportunities. To ensure this transition is smooth and fun, a little preparation, understanding, and support from students and parents is key. Dive into this article for essential tips to navigate Year 3 successfully, focusing on the academic and social aspects that will help your child shine! 

 

What is Year 3?

In schools in England, Year 3 is an exciting time for 7–8-year-olds as they transition from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 and become Juniors. If your child attends an infant school, they’ll also move to a new school and become part of the youngest year group again. Most primary schools have an infant school and a junior school within the overall school, so your child may be transitioning to a new building instead. 

 

Year 3 opens up a whole new world of learning! With less focus on phonics, early maths and reading, your child will dive into fascinating subjects like History, Geography, Science, and even a new language. They’ll explore spelling rules and tackle more advanced maths with formal methods of calculation. It’s a thrilling time of growth and educational discovery!

 

Changes in the transition to Year 3 

 

The transition between Year 2 to Year 3 can be hard for students in the following ways:

 

• • New environment: Moving from infants to juniors may involve transitioning to a new building or even a completely new school. This can be daunting as they navigate unfamiliar surroundings and routines.

• • Increased independence: Children will need to take more responsibility for themselves, such as being dropped off in the playground rather than being escorted to the classroom door. This new independence can feel overwhelming.

• • Step up in academics: Year 3 comes with more challenging academic work and additional homework. The increased workload requires children to develop better study habits and manage their time effectively.

• • Changes in play: Adjusting to the loss of afternoon playtime can be difficult. The longer, more structured school day may lead to fatigue and a need for new ways to unwind and play.

• • Increased opportunities: Taking on more extracurricular activities can be exciting but also exhausting. Balancing schoolwork with new commitments requires energy and time management skills.

• • Friendships: Making new friends and fitting into new social circles, especially when a child is moving to a new school, can be stressful and challenging. Oftentimes, friendship issues can arise as children become more socially developed, which can be tough to manage. Handling friendship issues, especially when moving to a new school, can be tough. Making new friends and fitting into new social circles can be stressful and challenging.

• • Academic expectations: As standardised testing becomes more common, children may become more aware of their performance compared to peers, which can be difficult to navigate. This awareness might lead to self-doubt or pressure to meet higher expectations.

Strategies to use in the transition to Year 3 

 

All these changes can be overwhelming for a child, but there are things you can do to make the upcoming year easier:

 

1. 1. Help your child master their weekly spellings by practising at home. These spellings are usually tested once a week, so regular practice is crucial. At Educate Excellence we support this by providing vocabulary lists where we emphasise the spelling and definitions of words.

2. 2. Reading remains a cornerstone of learning this year. Continue listening to your child read regularly and ask them questions about the story to deepen their understanding. Make reading fun by using different voices for each character silly voices or intentionally making mistakes, which allows your child to correct you and learn the importance of punctuation.

3. 3. Expand your child’s reading horizons by exposing them to various writing styles. This includes fictional stories, non-fictional texts, newspaper articles, diary entries and more. This will enhance their reading fluency, vocabulary, and overall knowledge of different types of writing. Engage in our ‘Reading book club’ and ‘Additional reading’ books too. At Educate Excellence we analyse different texts in class to broaden their reading horizons. 

4. 4. Support your child’s math skills by practisingpracticing relevant times tables at home. Focus on the 3-, 4-, and 8-times tables, along with the 2-, 5-, and 10-times tables from previous years. Use different methods to find what works best for your child. Our times tables help page provides a variety of strategies to make learning fun and effective. At Educate Excellence we start each lesson with a times table activity, so they are well versed with these. We also incorporate times tables as part of children’s weekly homework to give them the opportunity to be actively tested on their knowledge. 

5. 5. Gradually increase your child’s responsibilities at home, such as packing their school bag or organisingorganizing their homework. 

6. 6. Praise their efforts and successes in managing tasks independently to build their confidence. Remember that this is a big transition for children, so we should always be celebrating small achievements as we help them become comfortable with the new school year. 

7. 7. Teach effective study habits, such as making to-do lists, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and using timers. At Educate Excellence we start to introduce the children to study techniques so they can start to practise these at home.

8. 8. Encourage your child to talk about their day and any social issues they encounter. Listen actively and offer advice. Help them work through these issues. This may include asking them questions actively to understand why they are feeling that way, or providing some solutions for what they could do. This may potentially involve talking to the teacher at school as well for further advice. 

9. 9. Encourage creative play and hobbies at home that can provide a relaxing and enjoyable break from structured schoolwork.

Throughout Year 3, your child will dive into a world of knowledge, exploring various exciting topics in Maths, English, and Science. Here’s a sneak peek at what they’ll discover:

 

Year 3 Maths: Counting, Shapes, and More!

 

In Year 3 Maths, your child will embark on a journey of numbers and shapes:

 

• • Solving worded problems: Mastering numbers is fun!

• • Adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers using the column method: Simple math magic!

• • 3,4- and 8-times tables: Building on previous years.

• • Adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator: Exploring fractions with shapes and quantities.

• • Using analogue and digital time: Using 24-hour clocks.

• • Perimeter of 2D shapes: Discovering the world of geometry.

• • Introduction to angles: Recognising them as a measure of a turn.

Year 3 English: Reading, Writing, and Phonics Fun!

Year 3 English is all about building confidence and creativity:

• • Spelling: Recognising patterns and looking at prefixes and suffixes.

• • Reading stories and poems: Immersing in a world of words.

• • Handwriting skills: Joining letters.

• • Storytelling: Looking at settings, language style and character.

• • Punctuation basics: Using inverted commas and punctuated direct speech. 

 

Year 3 Science: Exploring the Natural World!

In Year 3 Science, kids become young explorers:

• • Plants: Your child will study the different parts of flowering plants and investigate the requirements plants need for life and growth.

• • Animals, including humans: During this topic, they’ll learn about how muscles and skeletons help animals and humans to move, support and protect them. They’ll also look at nutrition – the types of food animals and humans need to survive.

• • Rocks: They will learn about rocks and fossils.

• • Light: Your child will investigate how light is reflected from surfaces and learn how shadows are formed.

• • Forces and magnets: They’ll observe how things move on different surfaces and how magnets attract and repel each other. They’ll also learn how magnets attract some materials but not others.

 

How can Educate Excellence help?

Here at Educate Excellence we can help ease the transition for both parents and children. Our sessions bridge the gap between year 2 and Year 3. You can find all your child’s resources on the portal and if you or your child have any anxiety around starting the new school year our tutors are always here to help. Please either contact Fayas the head of education or your child’s personal tutor. 

Transitioning into Year 3 is a significant step in a child’s educational journey. By focusing on both academic and social skills, students can gradually thrive in this new environment. 

 

For students, developing strong reading habits, enhancing writing and math skills, and cultivating good study habits are key strategies for success. Parents play a crucial role by creating a supportive learning environment at home, encouraging a love of reading, and fostering positive social behaviours. With these tips in mind, both students and parents can look forward to a successful and enjoyable Year 3.