Year 2

This term we will be working on the following subjects:

 

English       

Our focus texts will be The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch, The Enormous Crocodile and The Twits. Through these texts we will write for different purposes, including fictional personal experiences and fictional narratives. We will continue to develop our ideas for character descriptions, settings and story retelling. We will also re-read our own writing to check if it makes sense and make simple revisions.

When reading, we will continue to develop our comprehension of a range of texts.

In grammar lessons, our focus will be on adjectives, verbs, adverbs and sentence structure, including the use of conjunctions to join simple sentences. 

 

Maths          

We will be using the NCTEM to support our mathematical learning. We will be revisiting multiplication and division and applying this to solving word problems. We will also be telling and writing the time and starting our learning on fractions. We will be comparing volume and learning to measure in litres and millilitres. We will also be using the mathematical language associated with position and direction.

 

Science        

We will be studying two science topics this term. In Living things and their habitats, we will explore and compare things that are living, dead and things that have never been alive. We will look closely at mini beasts and plants in their habitats. We will continue with our ongoing learning about plants.

 

Geography

We will be learning to name and locate the seas and oceans surrounding the UK in an atlas. The children will be able to define what a coast is and name some of the human and physical features of coasts.

 

History       

We will be learning to use resources to research and develop an understanding of what schools were like 100 years ago. The children will investigate the similarities and differences between schools in the present and in the 1900s.

Music              

In Music this term, Year 2 will start by looking at instruments of the orchestra and timbre through the music of ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Sergei Prokofiev. The children will become familiar with the story and learn the character themes. They will use movement and characterisation to explore this work and the key instruments.

After half-term, music sessions are based around marches. The children will listen to military bands and become familiar with key march tunes and learn to conduct. The children will compose music to march to, using percussion. Recorder sessions will continue to run alongside these regularly so that we continue to build on our work from last term. ​

 

Computing

Programming quizzes – The children will begin to understand that sequences of commands have an outcome, and make predictions based on their learning. They will use and modify designs to create their own quiz questions.

 

Design Technology (DT)                  

As part of our topic on Coasts we will. Design and create a model lighthouse. Linked to our work on The Enormous Crocodile we will be designing and making a piece of playground equipment.

 

Physical Education (PE)                 

Invasion games – we will be learning to track the path of a ball, begin to hit and return a ball using a variety of hand, foot and racquet techniques with consistency.

Athletics – we will develop power, agility, coordination and balance over a variety of activities. The children will be able to negotiate obstacles, showing increased control of their body and limbs.

 

Religious Education (RE)              

Our topic, Where and How do some People Talk to God? We will be learning what prayer means, what objects people use when they pray and where some prayers come from.  This topic compares prayer across different religions, including Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

 

Personal, Social & Health Education (PSHE) / Relationships & Sex Education (RSE)  

Our topics this term are:  

Physical health and Mental wellbeing which covers looking at why sleep is important; Medicines and Keeping Healthy; Keeping Teeth Healthy; Managing Feelings and Asking for Help. We will also look at the topic Growing and Changing which covers: growing older; naming body parts; moving class or year. Finally, we will look at Keeping Safe which covers safety in different environments; risk and safety at home and emergencies.

 

Reminders

• Your child needs to bring in a labelled water bottle every day.
• The weather is beginning to warm up at this time of year. It is important that your child is wearing suncream and has a labelled hat.
• Your child should read for 10 minutes every day and complete homework set on Fridays. It is also important that an adult reads to your child every day. Please talk to your child about the book and check their understanding by asking questions about events and the characters’ actions. Please also explain new or unfamiliar vocabulary. Their bookbag should come into school every day. 
• We are a Healthy School. Please do not put sweets or chocolate bars in your child’s packed lunch. Please do not send in sweets or other treats when it is your child’s birthday. If you want to celebrate your child’s birthday with their classmates, you could buy the class a book, send in a healthy snack such as boxes of raisins or buy stationery such as a pencil, but due to the impact on the environment, we ask you not to send in plastic toys.
• If your child is absent from school, please contact the school office: 020 8850 5486 and leave a message detailing why your child is absent. If your child has had an upset stomach, they can return to school when they are better. Please try to book medical appointments outside the school day and note that family holidays will not be authorised.
• If you have any questions or wish to raise a concern, please contact the class teacher in the first instance. Please use the email addresses above.

Please check the school calendar and weekly newsletters for information about events for Year 2.