CURRENT NEWS
Summer Term 1 - TITANIC!
Summer 1 Website Update
In English this half term, we will be learning how to write a range of genres including: recounts, setting descriptions, narratives, newspaper reports, diaries and letters. We will continue to consolidate the work we have already done on the variety of ways we can punctuate and extend our sentences. As part of our Special Agent training, we will also be setting off on a secret mission this half term to make our writing more exciting! As we get closer to moving on to Year 3, we will also begin to practice proof-reading and improving our written work independently.
In our reading lessons, we will step up our Special Agent Reading training and continue to learn how to tackle tricky reading comprehensions and be given lots of opportunities to practise these skills in both groups and independently.
Alongside continuing our Level 6 Twinkl Phonics spelling sequence of learning, we will also be revising and consolidating previously taught Y2 spelling rules and Y2 Common Exception Words.
Year 2 Class Reading Journey:
In Maths this half term, we will be working hard to continue to develop and extend our mental maths skills to practice the 4 rules of number, we will also revisit previously taught learning objectives within our Maths Special Agent training sessions. In our main maths lessons we will cover the following subjects: numbers and fractions of numbers, written addition and subtraction methods, money, addition and time and multiplication and division – get ready to become experts at your 3 times table too!
In RE this half term, through whole school collective worship, stories and discussions in class we will be exploring our whole school Christian Value for this half term: Thankfulness. In our class RE lessons, we will be reading, studying and sequencing the stories from the New Testament which teach us how Jesus was ‘a friend to everyone.’ We will be considering the following questions:
- How do these stories help us to understand Jesus and the character of Jesus?
- I wonder how and why did Jesus did these things to help these people?
- Why did he speak to everyone?
- What did Jesus want us to learn from his behaviour?
Our Science topic for this half term is all about Materials. Within this topic, we will study the following learning objectives:
- LO: I can identify and compare the suitability of different materials
- LO: I can identify and name a variety of everyday materials including wood, plastic, glass, metal, water and rock.
- LO: I can find out how the shape of solid objects made from materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching
- LO: To identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper, cardboard for particular uses.
- LO: I can compare and group together a variety of everyday materials on the basis of their simple properties.
Through experiments and scientific observations, we will also be:
- Asking simple questions and recognising that they can be answered in different ways
- Observing closely, using simple equipment
- Performing simple tests
- Identifying and classifying
- Using their observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
- Gathering and recording data to help in answering questions.
Our History and main topic for this half term is ‘Titanic’. This topic provides exciting and engaging content that will really enthuse and excite the children and motivate them to want to learn more. The topic offers opportunities to develop worthwhile historical concepts such as diversity, causation, consequence and source analysis and the events of the sinking lend themselves well to developing children’s enquiry skills as they contemplate why so many people lost their lives and to consider how and why the disaster would have been different in the present day.
The variety of accounts based on class and the wide range of secondary resources available online allow children to develop a real understanding of how we have learned about events beyond living memory using photographs, artefacts as well as written accounts and helps children understand visually how life was different in the past. The topic provides children with opportunities to compare and make links to how life has changed 70 years after the Rochdale Pioneers and allows them to build upon previous topics – it lends itself well to comparing aspects of history that make sense to them such as transport and travel and is within the same time period as World War 1, which helps children consolidate an understanding of chronology of events in the past.
Our PSHCE topic for this half term is ‘Fake is a Mistake.’ Within this topic we be thinking about the implications and consequences of lying to ourselves and others. We will continue to explore a range of different emotions and appropriate ways to address and process them including negative thoughts about ourselves such as self-doubt or worry.
In our Computing lessons this half term, we will be Using web-based tools experiment with sounds and musical composition in our topic Creating media – Making music. We will be using a range of prorams such as: - Incredibox, BeepBox and Isle of Tune.
In Art and Design this half term we will be focusing on Titanic based art projects. We will complete the following pieces of artwork:
- children to design and make and test the sturdiest boat they can make.
- Paper plate portholes
- Room design shoebox for first class passengers.
- Titanic night scene and silhouette pictures.
In Music this half term our focus is: Glockenspiels and Titanic Song
Titanic Soundtrack
Exploring Instruments and symbols –
The children will sing a variety of songs and explore the versatility of instruments by finding different ways of making different sounds on the instruments. The children will compose sound bites/ music (using their voices, body percussion and instruments) in response to a stimulus and then use symbols and graphic notation as a way of ‘recording’ their music.
ONLINE LEARNING
In the event of your child needing to self-isolate at any time during this school year, I will be uploading tasks to complete regularly on the Year 2 Information page alongside setting printer free activities and mini challenges on Seesaw too. Maths and English will be set on a weekly basis and will mirror the work the children are completing in task. There will also be a topic grid full of activities that cover all the other subjects we do in class linked to our current class topic.
There will also be a weekly little lesson over on Mrs G's Little Lessons Youtube channel to help you practice your weekly spellings at home and links to other usual learning videos will be posted regularly on our class Seesaw page.
Check out the different spelling, phonics and maths playlists videos and little lessons on YouTube here:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCTWM1mZ7HDSMu-hvF9YCivA
READING
Reading is the cornerstone of all the children do and learn to do in Year 2. As children are expected to leave Year 2 on Stage 10 or higher, it is vital that children read at home as much as possible. Regular reading also helps children to learn the high frequency and common exception words that the children need to be able to read and spell, as well as modelling coherent sentence structures. Children need to become more fluent when reading aloud, and should only need to sound out a few words within the book.
From September, we will be assessing the children's reading and matching their reading books to their current phonetical knowledge. We group the children in class into 2 groups and endeavor to change reading books at least twice a week on a daily alternating basis, to ensure your child's book is changed when needed, please remember to record all reading in the blue reading diary.
It is also really important that your child reads as much as they can - these books do not need to be the school reading book, and I would encourage you to share your favourite books or authors with your children. In the next few weeks, I will be inviting parents (who wish to) to come and read their favourite children's book to the class at home time - to show children that books and stories should be enjoyed and loved! If you would be interested in this, please pop in and see me any time - the children and I would love to have you!
Homework and Spellings
In Year 2, it is very important that the children complete their homework including spellings and reading their homework book every week. At the end of the year, the children will be taking their SATs tests which include separate reading and spelling tests. The outcome of these tests supplement my end of year decisions - spelling plays a big factor in whether or not your child will reach the expected level for Year 2 by the end of the year. At Parent's evening later on this half-term, I will be sending home the lists of High Frequency words and the newer 'Common Exception words' for your child to practice reading and spelling at home to consolidate the work done in class as well as intervention groups. (Please see below for the list of words.)
Revising Year 1 Learning Home support:
This half term, your child will begin the year revising the phonics they learnt in Year 1 to help develop their confidence in both their independent reading and writing. A core skill we will be focusing on is teaching the children to use their phoneme fingers to sound out words when spelling independently. In class, we will be completing phonics fluency tasks that focus in on 5 words that include the same sound and the children have to write down the graphemes for the sounds they can hear. I will also be uploading the Gimme 5 Mini lessons on a regular basis to help your child be able to practice at home and begin their journey to become a Super Speller. Check out the most recent uploads to help you with your sounding out:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDNY9D-fYJHzpjh__CiVcvUyipeX98BBW
Phonics Information for Parents:
Please continue practicing using all the phonics resources we will be sending home in September and don't forget I love to see those videos on the Seesaw app.
You can also visit this website to play some phonics games:
Year 2 Common Exception words
These are all the words your child will need to be able to read and spell correctly when writing independently in class, your child may also refer to these as 'rainbow words' too as this is what we call them in class. Keep your eye out for Rainbow word challenges on Seesaw throughout this half term!
TIMES TABLES CHALLENGES:
In Year 2, the children need to know their multiplication and division facts for the 10,2,5 and 3 times tables.
Fancy practicing your timetables facts? Check out these games here:
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/multiplication-and-division
Want to find out a little more about what Year 2 is going to be like, and what your child will be learning in maths and spelling? Check out these handy Parent guides below:
What will my child learn in Year 2?
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/year-2-at-primary-school/what-to-expect-in-year-2-age-6-7/
More about Year 2 maths:
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-maths-age-6-7-year-2/
More about Year 2 spelling:
