Year 2
Welcome to the Year 2 blog!
All children have made a brilliant start to the term and have settled really well into their learning. Please see below for a brief overview about what the children have been learning. Please also see the 'learning web' tab where you will find the Autumn 1 learning web. At the start of every term, the learning web will be printed and placed in the window of your child’s classroom.
Writing: we have focused on the lovely book 'Beegu' which is about an alien feeling lost on Earth. The children have just finished writing their own story about their own alien. The children learned about using the conjunction ‘and’ and use of adjectives to modify a noun.
Maths: we have focused on place value so far this term and the children have placed numbers to 100 on a number line, compared numbers to 100 using the comparison symbols (< > =), partitioned 2-digit numbers into 10s and 1s and have read and written numbers to 100 in digits and words.
History: our focus this term is ‘Explorers’. The children have learned about Ranulph Fiennes, Amy Johnson and Christopher Columbus.
Science: in our Science lessons this term, we have focused on how exercise impacts our heart and the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet. Last week, we looked at the sugar content of popular drinks. The children were amazed by how much sugar was in a smoothie and Ribena!
DT: the children have just designed their own ‘moon buggy’ and will start to make these this week – keep an eye out for photos of the brilliant creations over the next few weeks!
We have the exciting Explorer Dome in on Monday 16th October – please contact the office to discuss payment for this experience if you need extra support.
Friday 13th October 2023
Writing: over the past two weeks, the children have focused on the book How To Catch A Star by Oliver Jeffers. It’s a lovely book about a boy who loves stars so much that he wants one of his own…he tries many different ways to try and catch a star of his own but none of them seem to work until one day he sees one floating in the sea. Does he catch the star? Please do ask your child to tell you the rest of the story! In lessons this week, the children have recapped using adjectives to describe a noun plus they have learned about the conjunctions ‘and’ & ‘but’. Before the children start planning and writing their own stories next week, they have focused on sequencing sentences to create a short narrative.
Maths: we have moved onto our addition and subtraction unit in maths. The children have been learning about number facts to 10 and 20 and using these facts to solve ‘odd one out’ problems. Next week, we will focus on adding ones to a tens number and adding three 1-digit numbers together.
History: our focus this term is ‘Explorers’. The children have now learned about Neil Armstrong and the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
Science: our focus for the past two lessons has been personal hygiene and how we can keep ourselves clean and healthy. We have discussed the importance of a balanced diet, exercise, getting enough sleep and showering/bathing regularly.
DT: the children have had a brilliant time in DT lessons over the past two weeks. They have been busy making excellent moon buggies using axels and wheels. All the children were really proud of their projects.
Friday 10th November
All children have made a brilliant start to the term and we’re excited for the term ahead. The children loved the Space Dome last term and were mesmerised by the light show. The children also really enjoyed crawling through the tunnel to get into the dome!
Writing:
In writing, we have started looking at the book ‘Penguins can’t ride a bike’ which is a non-fiction text all about penguins and how they survive in Antarctica. In our lessons, we’ve been learning how to identify question and statement sentences, how to use the conjunction ‘because’ and how to use effective adjectives to describe a noun. In the coming weeks, we will focus on how to make notes about a chosen animal and how to write a non-fiction information text about a chosen animal.
Maths:
We’ve continued our focus on addition and subtraction with a specific focus on finding 10 more and 10 less, adding and subtracting a multiple of 10 to a 2-digit number, adding and subtracting two 2-dgit numbers using a number line.
Geography:
This term we are learning about colder climates with a specific focus on Antarctica. So far we’ve learned about the physical geography of this continent and how penguins are well adapted to live there.
Science:
Our Science this term is animals including humans. So far, we’ve learned about what a human wants and needs in order to survive, the children we able to provide some brilliant definitions of what a ‘want’ and ‘need’ is. We’ve also learned about the different stages of the human lifecycle.
Art:
We’ve had some lovely art lessons so far this term – our first focus was on pattern making and the children had time to explore and create their own patterns using a range of colours and objects. The second session focused on rubbings which the children thought was magic! We explored different textures and created a range of different rubbings.
RE:
Our RE focus this term is ‘Why does Christmas matter to Christians?’. So far, we’ve learned about the Nativity story and to understand the living conditions Jesus was born into.
Home learning spellings:
Please find below a selection of spellings from our daily ‘Bridge to spelling’ lessons.
rhino
wrist
school
make
kitten
will
mess
feel
fell
Friday 24th November
We’ve had another brilliant two weeks in Year 2. Please see below for details about our learning:
Writing:
In writing, the children finished writing their information texts about an animal of their choice. The children worked hard using questions, statement sentences, the conjunction ‘because’, adjectives and their writing targets! We have now started a new narrative text called Augustus and his smile – this book is all about a tiger who has lost his smile so needs to head off on an adventure to try and find it. He looks under bushes, he climbs the tallest trees and he even swims with fish. Next week, the children will be learning about contractions (can’t/didn’t etc) and effective vocabulary before moving on to planning their own narrative.
Maths:
We have finished our addition and subtraction unit and have moved onto shape. So far, the children have learned about 2D shapes and have identified different shapes (pentagons, hexagons, octagons). Today, the children have learned about vertices, regular and irregular polygons. Next week, we will continue our focus of 2D shapes to include drawing 2D shapes and recognising 3D shapes.
Geography:
This term we are learning about colder climates with a specific focus on Antarctica. The children have compared Antarctica to the Sahara Desert, they really enjoyed looking at different photographs including satellite images. The children have also compared Antarctica with the Arctic and have thought carefully about key similarities and differences.
Science:
Our Science this term is animals including humans. Over the past two weeks, we’ve completed an investigation key questions such as ‘Does having the largest hand span mean you can pick up the most cubes?’ and ‘Does the tallest person in our class have the largest handspan?’ The children were fascinated exploring these Scientific concepts and really enjoyed the comparative investigations. This week, we’ve learned about offspring and how offspring can look different from its adult version.
Art:
Last week, the children learned about ‘Frottage’ and the artist Max Ernst. The children created more rubbings using texture and turned these rubbings into animal of their choice – we had some brilliant examples and the children loved being creative. This week, we’ve learned about shading and how to create depth and shadow to make an image look 3D.
RE:
Our RE focus this term is ‘Why does Christmas matter to Christians?’. We’ve considered the living conditions Jesus was born into and the message behind Christmas cards and why people send them.
Home learning spellings:
Please find below a selection of spellings from our daily ‘Bridge to spelling’ lessons.
wishes
dress
foxes
catches
bag
mix
mixes
humming
running
Home learning