I know I am writing lots of reviews at the moment but it is that time of the year when lots of people are looking for learning resources so I thought it would help if I wrote summaries for all of the Core Knowledge books that I own.
The Year 3 book follows the same set-up as the other books in this range. It is broken down into the same 6 subjects
- Language and Literature
- History and Geography
- Visual Arts
- Music
- Mathematics
- Science
And at the end of each subject chapter they include a Suggested Resource List (I always love looking at these suggestions to get ideas). The Resource list includes books, DVDs, online sites, sometimes apps and places to visit.
1. Language and Literature
Under the Literature section they include recommended poems and extracts from recommended stories (I like this as it gave me some good ideas) but my favourite had to be the section on Greek Myths. It starts with a quick explanation about how Greek Mythology evolved, who the main Gods and Goddess where and a very useful comparison between the Greek and Roman God names (really handy). Then they include some of the famous Greek Myths. 18 pages in total on Greek Mythology but I really liked reading this section, it was a great reminder for myself and my kids actually read the Greek Myths directly out of the book.
Language. What are nouns, singular and plural, verbs, past and present tense, adjectives, contractions, abbreviations, capital letters and then finally familiar sayings (I quite liked the fact that they included in the familiar sayings).
2. History and Geography.
I must admit when I first started reading these books I thought it was strange that they grouped History and Geography together and did not have separate chapters for each. But as we have progressed through our home education I must admit that our History and Geography actually often merges into one. If we are studying Vikings we naturally learnt a lot about Scandinavia and the places the Vikings travelled to, likewise Anglo-Saxon History meant a lot of British Geography so now I actually like the combination.
They focus on Western Europe and then talk about where you live and go onto Rivers, first Rivers of Britain and then Rivers of the World.
Then onto Civilisations in Asia (I found this fascinating to read). Indus, Ganges, Hinduism and Buddhism. More detail about China and then Japan. Then Ancient Greece – this ties in nicely with the Greek Mythology covered in Literature.
Then British History – a good summary up to the Elizabethan / Shakespeare era (20 pages). Highlights include-William the Conqueror, The Crusades, Magna Carta, War of the Roses, English reformation, religious conflict and then Elizabeth I. I do consider this a nice layout of main events – in fact after rereadng it for this review I suggested to my oldest that she should reread this section herself.
3. Visual Arts
Talks about lines in drawing – creating forms, movement and symmetry. Then creating landscapes and still-life pictures, bringing in Mythological paintings and Classical Greek Architecture. Not a very long chapter in total 20 pages.
4. Music
Again not a long chapter about 26 pages in total. It talks about different types of music and some famous composers as well as writing music down. It also mentions some typical songs you might sing with a Year 3 child.
5. Mathematics
They split the Maths section into 4 groups
- Working with Numbers to 100 – this includes skip counting, tally marks, writing numbers as words, doubles and halves, introducing the idea of an equation, adding and subtracting with two digit numbers where you carry and exchange, rounding to the nearest ten, basic fractions and then finally three digit numbers
- Measurement – length (100cm = 1m), weight, measuring time with a calendar, ordinal numbers, time in 5 minute intervals and the idea of how much time has passed.
- Geometry – 2D shapes and what a perimeter is, 3D shape, points, lines and segments as well as lines of symmetry
- Multiplication and Division – using brackets when you multiple three numbers together and division with remainders.
6. Science
The Science Chapter starts with life cycles and the seasons (I like the combination). They include life cycle of a chicken, flower and a frog. Then onto the water cycle – talking about evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
After the water cycle they go onto Insects – including what in an insect, the parts of its body, metamorphosis and then onto bees.
Human Body is next – a quick introduction to cells, your teeth, major organs and a healthy diet (very quick no detail).
Magnets and Simple Machines are next followed by a few stories about famous scientists.
The Science section in this book is still fairly high level in the older year books they do into more detail.
You can buy this book directly from Amazon – What Your Year 3 Child Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good Year 3 Education (Core Knowledge UK)
Other Core Knowledge books I have reviewed are here – What your Year 2 Child Needs to Know, What Your Year 4 child Needs to Know and What Your Year 6 Child needs to Know
I do include Affiliate links. If you follow an affiliate link and go on to purchase that product, I will be paid a very small commission, however your cost will remain the same. I only include affiliate links for products that we use.
ofamily learning together 