Year 2

Welcome everybody to the Year 2 section of the website.

KS1 Assistant Head Teacher:

Mrs Spoor

 

Class Teachers:

2MS Mrs Marron (Monday-Wednesday) & Mrs Spoor (Wednesday-Friday)

2Y Miss Yates

2G Ms Greenhalgh

 

Learning Support Assistants: Mrs Taylor, Mrs Andrews, Mrs Clemans,  Mrs Armes, Mrs Gregg

If you have any questions, then please don’t hesitate to ask one of the Year 2 team.

 

Reading at home

In Year 2, it is important that you read with your child at least 5 times a week and sign their reading record.  A member of the Year 2 team will check reading records daily, so please ensure that reading records are returned to school each morning. Books will be changed once they have read it 3 times. In the front of their reading diary, you will find their login details for online learning too. Every child has been given a folder for their reading books and diaries. Please bring the folders to school every day. Please note: If a reading record is lost, there is a small charge for a replacement which is payable via ParentPay.

Homework

Children will be given spellings to learn each Friday, spellings should be practised at home each night ready for a spelling test the following Friday.  We will also upload the spellings to seesaw every week.

In Year 2, children are beginning to learn their multiplication table facts for 2, 5, 10 and 3. Please support your child in regularly accessing ttrockstars and Numbots to help develop their number fluency. If you need support logging in, please speak to a member of the team. 

We also add a range of activities to Seesaw from across the curriculum for your child to complete at home. Please check Seesaw frequently to access home learning opportunities. 

 

P.E.

Our P.E. days are: Monday and Wednesday

A gentle reminder that our school P.E. kit is a plain white t-shirt, black shorts and black pumps or trainers for outdoor sports, without visible branding. Some P.E. sessions may take place outside so you are welcome to send in long black jogging bottoms and a long sleeved white top. Children are to come to school in their school uniform and change into their P.E. kit

Water bottles and snacks

Don't forget to bring a water bottle to school each day - it is important for children to stay hydrated throughout the day. Please label bottles and refill them each day. 

Children are welcome to bring a healthy snack such as fruit and vegetables to school each day for snack time, but are also offered a piece of fruit from school each day. Please don’t send in nuts due to children in school with allergies. Bread sticks and milk can be purchased at the start of each half-term (please speak to the school office about this.)

 

English

Our English curriculum consists of Read, Write, Inc, Get Writing and Pathways to write. 

Read Write Inc. is a systematic phonics scheme. It teaches children the sounds in English, the letters that represent them, and how to form the letters when writing. Children then read words and storybooks that are carefully matched to the sounds and words being taught, this allows them to read confidently. Their home reading book is also carefully matched to the sounds they are learning in phonics. Children are taught to read words by identifying the sounds and special friends in the word. They then use 'Fred Talk' to read the words. Children practise 'Fred in your head' to build fluency before 'Speedy reading'.

Please watch the RWI video, understanding phonics for more information 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOJUPNVnLc 

Get writing- During the Get Writing programme children will develop their writing skills through daily practise with teacher support. Children will learn to hold a given sentence and orally compose simple sentences before writing. We focus on the correct use of capital letters, finger spaces and full stops and guide children to be successful in writing simple sentences. We teach children to form letters correctly using the handwriting phrases taught. Children will write using the sounds they have been taught and write about the book they have been reading in their focus reading sessions. Over time, this builds confident and competent writers. We have a range of exciting books to write about in our Read, Write, Inc library.

Pathways to Write- This term the children are reading The Owl who was afraid of the dark by Jill Tomlinson. Plop, the baby owl, is like every barn owl there ever was, except for one thing – he is afraid of the dark, the children will follow Plop's adventure as he discovers that the dark is brimming with excitement and magic! The children will discuss the sequence of events in books and how items of information are related. They will then read non-fiction books that are structured in different ways and draw on what is already known about owls. They will then use this knowledge, along with taught information and vocabulary to write a fact sheet about owls in a non-chronological report. Children will proof-read, evaluate and amend their writing before reading their fact sheets aloud to their peers and sharing their wonderful facts.

We are continuing to develop our handwriting skills.

Children will learn to read and write a range of words and take part in a weekly spelling quiz.

 

Maths

Our focus this half term is;

Addition and Subtraction

Children will develop their understanding of number bonds to 10 and 20 and use these facts to answer addition and subtraction calculations. Children are exposed to these operations in a range of ways including fluency and problem solving to deepen their understanding. 

We will also review Place Value facts to 100.

Please continue to access TTRockstars to practise multiplication facts.

 

Science

In our science lessons we cover the three subjects of chemistry, biology and physics.

This term we will be naming the structural features of a plant, comparing and categorizing things that are living, dead and explaining the differences in a food chain for a herbivore and a carnivore. We will also group objects based on the materials they are made from and identify patterns in day lengths across the 4 seasons.

 

History

How did the fire of Liverpool Road compare to the great fire of London? (A local study)

Through our History topics we encourage children to communicate knowledge through: discussion, drawing pictures, labelling diagrams, drama/ role play, writing, timelines. This term, we are delving into the past and discovering what happened during the Great Fire of London. We will research the events of 1666 and discuss and sequence key events. We will look at why it happened, why it spread so easily and debate whether anything good happened from the event. We will also participate in a drama workshop and find out lots of interesting facts about the events that took place. Children will then learn about the events of the Great fire of Liverpool Road and begin to compare two versions of the same past event. Children will look at historical evidence and discuss reliable sources of information and begin to offer their own opinions about historical concepts/topics.

 

Geography

Where do I live

In Geography, we always encourage children to ask simple geographical questions: 'Where is it?' and 'What is it like?' and to make appropriate observations about why things happen. This term children will learn about where they live, starting with their immediate environment. Children will take a virtual bus tour around Manchester and draw on previous knowledge from the Bus Tour taken in Year One. They will learn to identify key features and distinguish between human and physical features. They will then explore maps of the UK and name and locate the four countries and capital cities that make up the United Kingdom (London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Belfast). They will use a range of resources to support their understanding including books, stories, maps, pictures/photos and the internet. The children will use directional language e.g. North, East, South, West, left and right to take a journey on a map of the UK.

 

Art

Pablo Picasso – Weeping Woman

This term the children will develop their knowledge of Pablo Picasso. The children will respond to visual stimuli of self-portraits to develop their understanding of what a portrait is and look at Pablo Picasso's artwork, Weeping Woman. They will develop their understanding of the artist by creating a research page of his work. They will explore the term cubism and use this vocabulary when observing pieces of artwork. They will mix primary colours to create new colour palettes and develop a range of brush strokes. The final piece of work will be to create a Picasso inspired self-portrait using pencil skills or paint focussing on surrealism and cubism. They will reflect on our work, evaluate and annotate the final piece.