2022-24 Year 3 Blog

 Today, year 3 were visited by Fedelmid, an Iron Age inventor and shopkeeper. He talked to the class about six of his finest items for sale and asked the children which they would buy if they were an Iron Age person.  We learned new words such as carnyx - a sort of long trumpet for declaring battle and scaring enemies, and rotary quern - a device used for grinding wheat into flour. Year 3 noticed some similarities between Iron Age technologies and some of our modern household items. For example, one child noticed that her salad spinner at home looks a lot like the rotary quern. So which of these items would be most useful? The firedog was a popular choice among children who like BBQ! Many of us would choose the carnyx as a way of scaring off enemies. Many children agreed that the mirror would be least useful as we wouldn’t be too concerned about our appearance! Food and protection would be more important. And where would we be without a trusty Iron brooch to keep our cosy tuni...

 The Bronze Age was a special time, as people now had lots of new things, including stronger bronze tools, bell-shaped beakers, amber jewellery and wool clothes. Today, year 3 began to explore archeological evidence from the Bronze Age. What can these objects tell us about life in the Bronze Age? People would bury their dead in small earth mounds. The dead were buried with all kinds of treasures and possessions. People must have believed that they could take things to the after life. Tests on teeth show that people moved around. The teeth on this skeleton show that a man that was buried in Wiltshire actually came from the Alps! We have even found the remains of a boat. People definitely travelled around. It must have been easier to make boats now that they had strong Bronze axes for chopping wood! Wealthy people had lots of jewellery made of amber and even gold! People built walls too. Maybe so that other people wouldn't take their belongings! Wealthy people must have liked to show...

 Today, Y3 went back in time to Prehistoric Isle of Wight! We made our own flour, created clay pots like the beaker people, and even dug for bronze artefacts. We were fascinated to see and touch a REAL Iron Age coin that was found here on the island. 

 170 years ago, on an island off the coast of Scotland, a storm came and blew away a large amount of sand... Below the sand, historians were shocked to find a Stone Age village! Year 3 started to explore the artefacts that tell us about what life was like for Neolithic people. The evidence suggests that this people ate fish, made jewelry, kept warm by a fire and even had dogs! Archeologists found ancient dog poo! Yuck. Year 3 were curious to find out why people abandoned Skara Brae. Why would they leave their cosy town behind? Look below to see some of the ideas that Year 3 came up with.

Last week, Year 3 started to learn about Stonehenge. Where is it? Where did the stones come from? How was it erected? Next, we began to explore some possible uses for Stonehenge. Historians think that it was a sort of sun dial or calendar to find/celebrate the summer solstice. It could also have been a temple or a place for healing or burial. Year 3 came up with brilliant suggestions for what else it could be used for (for example, a party or circle time)! This week, we had a go at making our own mini Stonehenge. Why do you think the Stone Age people went to so much trouble to make theirs? If you were a Stone Age person, what would you use your henge for?