Reading at Home: Asking Questions to Deepen Understanding

Our current reading focus in class is helping children learn to ask questions as they read, in order to deepen their understanding of a text. You can support this important skill at home by encouraging discussion and curiosity during shared reading time. Here are some simple and effective ways you can help:

Pause and wonder together – encourage your child to ask questions such as “Why did that happen?” or “What do you think might happen next?”

Ask open-ended questions – use prompts like “How do you think the character is feeling?” or “What would you do in that situation?”

Model questioning – share your own questions aloud to show that good readers think as they read.

Look closely at illustrations – discuss pictures and ask what clues they give about the story.

Encourage predictions – ask your child to predict what might happen and explain their reasoning.

Revisit tricky parts – if something is confusing, encourage your child to ask questions and reread together.

Celebrate curiosity – reassure your child that there are no “wrong” questions and that wondering helps us become better readers.

Thank you for your continued support at home—it makes a real difference to your child’s reading development!

Mrs Gledhill

Year 3 recently enjoyed a visit from the MindMate team, who talked to the children about recognising and managing their emotions. The session focused on understanding different feelings and learning simple regulation techniques to help stay calm and positive. The children took part in thoughtful discussions and practical activities, sharing ideas about what helps them when emotions feel overwhelming. To finish the visit, everyone created their own Five Ways to Keep Calm Hands, giving them useful strategies to take back to the classroom and beyond.

Well done Year 3!

I am really proud of Year 3 for their thoughtful work in our Spring 1 RE topic, where we have been exploring how to let our little lights shine and follow the teachings of Jesus. The children have shared some beautiful ideas and reflections, showing kindness, care and faith in their learning. Please come and have a look at our pictures on the class page to see their wonderful reflections for yourself. Keep shining brightly in all that you do Year 3!

Mrs Gledhill

As we come to the end of the term, I would like to wish all our families a healthy and holy Christmas and a very happy New Year. Thank you so much for the lovely cards, kind gifts, and generous blessings — they are truly appreciated from the whole Year 3 team. Your continued support means a great deal, and I hope the holiday season brings you peace, joy and special time together.

See you all in January!

Mrs Gledhill

Throughout Advent, we enjoyed coming together to share special moments of reflection and celebration. The children took part in prayers, discussions and activities that helped them understand the meaning of the season and prepare their hearts for Christmas. We warmly invite you to come and look at our beautiful display pictures, which capture these meaningful celebrations and the wonderful work created by the children.

Year 3 pupils recently watched The Dream Giver short animation and were magically surprised with a mysterious dream egg! Inside the egg were a series of clues about a hidden dream. The children worked together to carefully infer what the dream might be about and who would enjoy it, using the evidence from the clues to support their ideas. They did an amazing job justifying their inferences, explaining their thinking clearly and confidently. It was wonderful to see such enthusiastic and thoughtful learning in action.

Inferencing is the skill of using clues from a text, along with what we already know, to work out information that isn’t directly stated. When children make inferences, they “read between the lines” to understand characters’ feelings, motivations, and what might happen next. This helps them become deeper, more thoughtful readers and improves their overall comprehension.

Below, you can find some example questions to discuss with your child when reading at home, which will support their inference skills:

• How do you think the character was feeling at this point in the story? What makes you think that?

• What clues in the text tell you where the story is taking place?

• Why do you think the character didn’t tell anyone the secret?

• What can you infer about the character’s personality from their actions?

• Why do you think the setting is important to the story?

• What is the weather like in the story? What clues can you find in the text or images to support this?

• What might the character be thinking when this happened?

• How do you think the situation will change after this event?

• What does the author want us to understand without directly telling us?

• What clues help you infer what might happen next?

Happy reading Year 3!

Mrs Gledhill 

Year 3 had a fantastic time celebrating Culture and Heritage Day 2025! The children came to school dressed in wonderful outfits representing their family cultures, proudly sharing the stories and traditions that make their backgrounds so special. They loved giving presentations about their own cultural heritage and were so excited to tell their friends all about their family history. It was a joyful day filled with colour, learning, and pride. Mrs Gledhill would like to say a huge thank you to all the parents for their amazing support in helping the children prepare for this special celebration — your efforts made the day truly memorable!

Year 3 were thrilled to welcome the famous Leeds artist, the Burley Banksy, for an inspiring art workshop! The children had a wonderful time learning about his creative street art and how he celebrates the local community through his designs. Inspired by his work, the pupils created their own colourful pieces to celebrate their own heritage, expressing their unique backgrounds and stories through art. It was a fantastic day full of creativity, teamwork, and pride—and the children loved every moment spent with the Burley Banksy! It was a particularly special day for Mrs Gledhill too, as the Burley Banksy used to be her old primary school teacher! What a wonderful time celebrating our personal stories through artwork - well done Year 3!

 Welcome to Year 3! 

We are so excited to begin our school year together! We know each of you are ready to begin your journey into Key Stage Two, what a wonderful plan of discovery awaits you all! Please find some key information below:
 

Your Year 3 Adults: 

Teachers: Mrs Gledhill (3 days) and Mrs Reuben (2 days)

Teaching Assistants: Mrs Gallagher and Mrs Cecil

PE Days for Autumn 1 are: Wednesday and Friday. Please come to school in your PE kit on these days.

• Please try and get logged on to Google Classroom as soon as you're able. We post lots of updates and reminders of here!
• Reading is key! Aim to read with your child at home every night and sign their planner. Ask questions about what they have read and also make sure that they get chance to listen to you read too - remember they are learning from you as a role model with this!
• Encourage your child to become more independent. Now they are in Key Stage Two, it is a great chance for them to pack their own bags for school, thinking about when they need their PE kits and water bottles. Let them try and solve problems before stepping in - these opportunities are golden!
• Remind children that we encourage a growth mindset in our class. Making mistakes are a key part of learning and this is something we really instill within our lessons together. Don't be afraid to have a try! Be resilient and work together to celebrate each other's progress.
• Keep us updated with anything you think we may need to know - we are always here to listen if you have any concerns or worries. Please note our Designated Safeguarding Leads at St Anthony's are: Miss Leonard, Mr Whittle, Miss Taylor, Mrs Doherty and Mrs Nicholson, our SENCO.
• Have fun learning together! Learn about our upcoming topics in our half-termly newsletters and bring learning to life through books, museums or exploring nature. Celebrate learning milestones together, we can't wait to share in their successes this year!
• Use Mathletics and Times Table Rockstars to develop Mathematical fluency. School pay the subscriptions for these amazing resources and we can really notice the progress children make during our Maths lessons together!

If you have any questions, please come and see either of your class teachers 

Below, we have put together a short poem which sums up our excitement for the year ahead!

Kind regards,

Mrs Gledhill and Mrs Reuben

Adventure Awaits in Year Three!

In Year Three we begin to soar,
With braver steps than ever before.
We zip our bags and tie our shoes,
And start to make our own wise moves.

We read new books and take a peek,
At heroes bold and creatures meek.
With every page, our minds will grow,
To places only books can show!

We’ll dive through history, numbers, and more,
And science will open a magical door.
We'll paint, we'll build, explore the skies,
Ask big questions and wonder “Why?”

Independence grows each day,
As we learn, laugh, and lead the way.
Year Three's a journey, bright and new—
And the biggest explorer is you!