Year 3 study the first castles in England

This week we have enjoyed reading The Stained Glass Window by Penelope Lively. We thought about how desperate the Knight must have felt when he received his orders from the Baron to leave his home and family to go on a Crusade. We thought about the style of writing that the Baron’s summons would have used and wrote our own orders. We have learnt a lot about the Crusades and why people from our country were sent on them in the Middle Ages. In Topic we have been learning about how the first castles in England were wooden motte and bailey castles. Later these were replaced by stone keeps and then by concentric castles.
In Science we have learnt about the different types of human teeth and how they have different functions.

A visit to Berkhamsted Castle would be an interesting weekend activity. It is a very good example of a motte and bailey castle and, although ruined, gives a good impression of the lay-out of an early Medieval castle.

We will be starting to rehearse our Easter extravaganza in our drama sessions. Your children will be told their roles on Tuesday and words will follow so we would be grateful if you could support the learning of these. In English we will be starting to look at adventure stories. We will be looking at several examples of the genre and the techniques authors use to build up suspense. Your children will be asked to give examples of adventure stories that they have enjoyed reading and give reasons for their answers. It would be very helpful if you could discuss this with them. Thank you.