Year 2
Welcome
Welcome to Year 2. We have 2 classes of 30 children. Our ethos is simple: we dream, we believe and we achieve! We aim to provide children with many engaging experiences to support their learning and enable them to be their very best.
Who’s Who?
Year Coordinator: Mrs Nicholson
2EC - Mrs Nicholson
2EH - Mrs Tomordy
HLTA
Mrs Yasin (TA)
Miss Eadson (TA)
Mrs Chanda (TA)
What will we be learning this year?
Autumn 1: Where would I like to live – in the city or in the countryside?
We will learn about urban and rural environments and visit Rosliston Forestry Centre to be able to compare a rural area to our local community. We will go on a walk around our local area and learn new vocabulary to be able to describe the environment and compare it with a rural area. We will learn about the facilities a village, town and city need. To help us compare different places we will use maps and learn about the symbols on a map. Our art will be inspired by Andy Goldsworthy and we will be creating a piece of art by rolling, stamping or rubbing to create texture and use secondary paint colours. In science we will be learning about food chains and how habitats provide for the basic needs of animals and plants and how they depend on each other.
Autumn 2: What happened during the Great Fire of London?
Our topic is ‘The Great Fire of London’. We will be learning all about the fire and how this was a significant event in British history. In a drama workshop, we will meet Thomas Farriner, the King’s baker, from Pudding Lane, who survived the fire to tell the story of what happened during those three fateful days. After reading extracts from Samuel Pepys, the famous diarist of the time, we will discover what it was like to live in London before and after the fire. During this topic we will be using our technology skills to design and build a bridge that could have been used in the Great Fire of London. During ICT, we will learn to code and program a computer.
Spring 1: How can I be healthy?
Our topic is ‘Human Survival’ and the life cycle of humans. We look at the changes that happen as we grow from babies to adults. We explore a healthy, balanced diet and the importance of hygiene. We have a food tasting day where we can taste different foods. We design and make a healthy recipe using fresh ingredients and learn new cooking skills. We invite in a food retailer to learn about the process of selecting and selling foods in our local shops.
Spring 2: Who were the kings and queens of the past?
In this term we will learn about the kings and queens of the past and visit a place that has been special to them. We will use our technology skills to make a castle with a moving part. In science we will learn about everyday materials and their properties and uses. We will be able to identify and describe them and consider which materials are suitable for different purposes. In RE we will look at what it means to belong to a faith community and how Christians show that they belong.
Summer 1: How do plants grow?
Have you ever grown your own food? We will be planting and growing herbs and vegetables this term. We will learn about what they need to be looked after and to grow healthily. In art, we become sculptors, using modelling wire and other materials to sculpt our own plants and flowers. Our trip will be to Elvaston Castle, the name of one of our year two classes (2EC). We learn about the lake and gardens and take a long walk all around the parkland hoping to see some wildlife. In this term, we also visit Derby Cathedral where Bess of Hardwick is buried. Elizabeth Hardwick was a famous local historical figure and the name of the other year two class (2EH).
Summer 2: What is it like at the seaside?
Our topic is all about the seaside. We will learn lots of new vocabulary in geography so that we can describe the different features that we see in a coastal area. We will learn about Christopher Columbus and how he travelled across the globe to try and find a different way to China but instead found the Caribbean. Then we will compare his life with that of another great explorer, Neil Armstrong. To enable us to do this we will learn the continents and oceans of the world as well as where the two poles and the Equator are on a map or globe. In art, we will create a seascape inspired by the work of Paul Klee. During this half term there will also be a sports day and transition days to our new classes.
English and Maths
We will be developing our English and Maths skills alongside all of our themes. To help children learn a test so that it becomes familiar to them we use text maps where drawings of what is happening are used instead of words (as seen in the photograph). Children will have lots of opportunities to write, read and perform. Some of the text types that we will be learning about are traditional stories, stories from around the world, poetry, letters, diaries and information texts. Children will be developing their reading and spelling skills in their daily Phonics sessions.
For our maths we will be continuing to improve our ‘maths in our head’ and our ‘maths on paper’ skills. We will be learning about number, fractions, shape, measures and data handling through Singapore Maths.
How to help with Learning at Home
We value and encourage parents working alongside their children. We will have many dates throughout the year where parents will be invited into class to work alongside their child. These workshops will be based on all areas of the curriculum. One of the most important ways a parent can help a child is to listen to them read as often as possible and read to them as this means they hear new words and new ways to put sentences together as well as hearing new ideas to create their own amazing stories.
We encourage parents to support their children’s learning at home through talk, homework and reading.