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Sora Reading

To continue to promote a love of reading and to support children with continuing to read a wide range of texts, Hook Junior School are pleased to announce the implementation of a new e-Book Platform – Sora.

Sora is a library lending system designed to make the borrowing and reading of eBooks simple and enjoyable. The system enables children to download and read extra titles free of charge, this is in addition to the current school library which is available to all of our children.

As with any online activity we advise that you use this with your child. Restrictions have been put in place to try and prevent the downloading of titles that may be better suited for older readers. Your child will be receiving their logon details from their teacher and an explanation of how to log is below.

Books available through Sora can be used in the same way as school or class library books, however they will not replace book band books. If your child is also on a book band book, we encourage this to be the priority, with Sora books as an additional choice of text. Please continue to record your childs reading in reading records, whether this is a physical book or online text.

An introduction to Sora

How to access Sora

Download the Sora App from the Google Play store or the Apple App store.

  • Open the app and either use the 'Find your school' option and search for 'Hook Junior School', or select 'Have a setup code? -> Continue' and enter a setup code of Hampshiresls.
  • Select Hook Junior School from the list of schools
  • Enter your child’s username
  • Enter your child's password
  • Press the Sign in button

Browse through the selection of books or use the Search for a book tab… To Borrow a book select Borrow To return an item click on options and select Return or Renew.

If are unable to login, or have experienced other difficulties with the Sora app, please email the us (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), clearly stating what the issue and include screenshots if you are able. Mrs Adsley will contact you to assist.

Access to SeeSaw, our new learning platform, is via the Pupil Resources page and is presented alongside a number of other resources (like Times Table Rock Stars). You can access all this whenwe have explained some key points on this page.

Please use the pupil user guide for screenshots to help you to log on and find the different sections of the platform. You will find this on the next page. Your username and password will will be emailed to your parent / carer separately. Please read the instructions carefully rather than post lots of questions to your teacher – we are getting used to the system too.

Where to go when you have logged on:

  • Check the inbox for announcements from your teacher to welcome you and give you any important updates.
  • Check the journal area for whole class messages from your teacher. Please be aware your teacher and your class can see your comments here.
  • Check the activities area for suggested work activities and to respond to the work if needed. Only you and your teacher will be able to comment to each other in activities.

When activities will be posted

On a Monday you will receive a project to complete throughout the week. This is a set of suggested activities on a theme. You do not have to do them all and can be as creative as you like. You can use your project book from school to write in. If you have done something special you are very proud of you can share this as a photo on the SeeSaw learning platform.

By 5PM each day, you will have activities for Guided Reading, English and Maths posted by a teacher ready for the next day. Please use the answer sheets provided for Maths and Reading. You may want to send comments if you are having difficulty, otherwise you can use the support of an adult at home or the answers to help you. If you have understood the work and are happy with your answers, you do not need to send anything back. Your teacher may ask you to respond in a specific way (e.g. in the notes or comments section) but they will tell you if you need to.

How your teacher will respond

Your teacher may ‘like’ any work you post. If they need to add notes or comments they will do so, but they may not provide feedback on every piece of work. Teachers will try to respond within two working days.

How you should be using Seesaw

Please remember that Seesaw is a learning platform and is not social media. These are our school rules for Seesaw:

  • Adopt the appropriate tone between teacher and pupil.
  • You can change your profile picture but must not change your name.
  • Always be polite in any comments and respond appropriately.
  • Remember that your teacher can see your comments!
  • Teachers will contact parents if they are concerned about your use of Seesaw.

Online Safety

It's important for you to stay safe when working online. We recommend that you visit the Thinkuknow website as part of your learning. There are resources for children of all ages and parents too.

When you understand what we have explained above, then you can proceed to access SeeSaw and our other home learning resources.

Each topic that children study is supported by a number of resources. In addition to the resources that children will use in class, the resources below are also relevant to the topics being studied by children in Year 3 during the course of the school year. Making use of these resources as a home learning activity helps children to achieve their curriculum objectives for the year.

Resources for the current topic are already displayed. Press a term button to view other resources.

Autumn
Spring
Summer

Autumn Term: Global Warriors

A mountain covered in rainforest

During the Autumn Term, Year 3 will be developing a sense of global responsibility for the world around them. As a Global Warrior they will examine the concept of discovery through immersion in the animal and plant life of the world’s rainforests.

Through exploration, the children will discover the locations of rainforests worldwide, the importance of rainforest growth on the rest of the world and understand the cultures and traditions associated with these magnificent places. They will also explore the concept of responsibility when considering how rainforests are being threatened by a variety of human activities.

As part of Science and Geography, the children will learn about the physical and human aspects of this environment and create their own investigations of the conditions for the plant-life cycle. The rainforest theme will extend through all aspects of the curriculum including a samba workshop as part of music and within Art the children will be exploring a range of styles, creating logos from recycled materials and tribal artwork using bright and colourful patterns.

The Global Warriors will also investigate Fairtrade, in particular the journey of chocolate. They will then apply this understanding in Design and Technology to create their own Fairtrade snacks to serve at our café Learning Event.

Topic Glossary

  • Biodiversity: the wide variety of living things on earth
  • Botanist: a person that studies plants
  • Camouflage: the way something changes to blend into its surroundings
  • Canopy: the very tallest layer of a forest
  • Carbon dioxide: a gas that is released when animals breathe and when things are burned by fire
  • Climate: the weather that is usually found in a particular area
  • Cloud forest: a forest that gets water from mist instead of rain
  • Colony: groups of animals that live and work closely together
  • Crown: the top of a tree
  • Deforestation: the removal of many trees over large areas
  • Drip tips: pointed leaves shaped to make water run off them
  • Emergent layer: trees that grow taller than the others around them
  • Equatorial: the area near the middle of the earth
  • Evergreen: a plant that has leaves all year
  • Extinction: an animal or plant that no longer lives or grows
  • Habitat: the place where a plant or animal makes its home
  • Hibernate: sleeping for a very long period
  • Humid: when the air contains a high level of water
  • Indigenous: a living plant or animal that occurs naturally in an area
  • Liana: long stemmed, woody vines that sometimes look like ropes
  • Monsoon: a seasonal wind that changes direction with the seasons
  • Temperate: a climate where it is neither extremely hot or cold
  • Tropical: the area around the equator where it is warm all year
  • Understorey: Rainforest vegetation below the canopy and above the ground
  • Vegetation: the plant life growing in a given area

Resources

Spring Term: The Stone Age

Travel back to prehistoric Britain and learn about what life was like as a Stone Age child.

A model of two neolithic men

Topic Glossary

  • Neolithic Man: a man who lived during the Neolithic time, betweeen 10,000 and 2000 years ago.
  • Neolithic Woman: a woman who lived during the Neolithic time, betweeen 10,000 and 2000 years ago.
  • Mammoth: a large animal, similar to an Elephant and now extinct, covered in fur and having long tusks and a trunk.
  • Fur Pelt: the fur and skin of an animal after it has been removed
  • Jewellery: decorative items worn by a man or a woman
  • Tools: items that help make tasks easier
  • Skara Brae: a large neolithic settlement in Scotland
  • Weapons: an object that can be used to attack or injure an animal or person
  • Spears: a weapon used for stabbing
  • Throwing Stones: a weapong used for hitting a distant target
  • Hand Axe: a tool with a sharp edge for working with materials like wood
  • Borer: a tool with a pointed end for working with soft materials like earth and clay
  • Antler: the horns from an animal, used for decoration
  • Hammerstone: a blunt stone used for hammering another object
  • Cave Paintings: decorations painted on wall with coloured powders

Resources

Spring Term: The Romans

Explore Roman times and culture and examine the impact the Romans had on Britain.

The Colosseum, Rome

Topic Glossary

  • Colosseum: a Roman amphitheatre built in the centre of Rome
  • Amphitheatre: an open air venue used for entertainment
  • Aqueduct: a bridge to convey water over an obstacle
  • Bath House: a place for people to wash and bathe
  • Mosaic: a piece of art made from many small, coloured pieces
  • Temple: a grand and ornate building dedicated to a deity
  • Villa: a country house build for wealthy Romans
  • Soldier: a member of the roman Army
  • Centurion: a Roman Soldier in charge of many other Soldiers
  • Shield: a piece of equipment used by a Soldier to protect them from an attacker
  • Chariot: a type of cart, pulled by horses
  • Standard: a flag or banner containing and image that represents a group of Soldiers
  • Toga: a piece of cloth often worn by people in Roman times
  • Boudica: queen of a tribe who challenged the Romans
  • Gladiator: a swordsman who entertained audiences, often in amphitheatres
  • Emperor: the ruler of the Roman empire
  • Roman Numerals: a way of writing numbers, devised by the Romans

Resources

We do our best to make sure these resources are suitable for children. Hook Junior School is not responsible for the content of external, third party website, or for any harmful content that may be found on any of the pages described here. We recommend that in all cases, children are working in a supervised environment with a parent, teacher or other responsible adult.

Images appearing on this page are all used under Creative Commons licensing via Wikimedia unless otherwise stated.

One or more copies of each book shown on this page is available for children to refer to in the school library.

Each topic that children study is supported by a number of resources. In addition to the resources that children will use in class, the resources below are also relevant to the topics being studied by children in Year 3 during the course of the school year.

Making use of these resources as a home learning activity helps children to achieve their curriculum objectives for the year.

Resources for the current topic are already displayed. Press a term button to view other resources.

Autumn
Spring
Summer

Autumn Term: Powerful Settlers

Norsemen are seen here aboard their small ship in a historical painting by Oscar Wergeland.

Norsemen aboard their small ship

Topic Glosary

  • Civilization: a human society with its well-developed organisations.
  • Chronology: the order in which a series of events happened.
  • Furthark: the Viking alphabet.
  • Invaders: people who enter a country with the intention of ruling it.
  • Settler: a person who arrives from another country in a new place in order to live there and use its land.
  • Whetstone: a stone which is moistened with water and used to sharpen metal blades.
  • Insulator: Prevents or reduces the transfer of heat.

Resources

Spring Term: Explosive Journeys

An erupting volcano

Topic Glosary

  • Tectonic plate: Earth's outer layer is made up of large, moving pieces called plates. All of Earth's land and water sit on these plates. The plates are made of solid rock. Under the plates is a weaker layer of partially melted rock. The plates are constantly moving over this weaker layer.
  • Dormant: This volcano has not erupted recently, it could still erupt in the future. This volcano will not have erupted in the past 10,000 years but it is expected to erupt again.
  • Extinct: This volcano hasn't erupted in a very long, long time and is not expected to erupt ever again.
  • Active: Eruptions can be anytime and often. It has erupted within the last 1000 years.
  • Conductor: A material that allows electricity to pass through it.
  • Insulator: A material that does not allow electricity to pass through it.
  • Lava: Lava is liquid rock (magma) that flows out of a volcano. Fresh lava ranges from 1,300° to 2,200° F (700° to 1,200° C) in temperature and glows red hot to white hot as it flows.
  • Crater: Mouth of a volcano - surrounds a volcanic vent.
  • Mountain Range: These are long chains or groups of mountains. Ranges are usually 1,000 or more miles long. The Rocky Mountains and the Himalayan Mountains are examples of mountain ranges.
  • Summit: Top of a mountain

Resources

We do our best to make sure these resources are suitable for children. Hook Junior School is not responsible for the content of external, third party website, or for any harmful content that may be found on any of the pages described here. We recommend that in all cases, children are working in a supervised environment with a parent, teacher or other responsible adult.

Images appearing on this page are all used under Creative Commons licensing via Wikimedia unless otherwise stated.

One or more copies of each book shown on this page is available for children to refer to in the school library.