Blog
Spring 2, Week 3
Well the children have done us all very proud this week! Not only have they continued to show great attitudes to their learning in the classroom but they have excelled in their check points. We are so proud of how well the children have done and are so excited to see how they do in the summer as we know they will impress us all!
The children have been focusing their English on a new story this week called Knights and Dragons where they created their own character description and rhyming paragraph.
The children completed a variety of different activities in maths as revision ready for their checkpoints.
We have been developing their skills in DT and have been making mechanism prototypes ready for when they create their own moving picture!
We can't wait to see what other amazing learning they complete next week!
Mrs Wallace & Mrs Canty
Spring 2, Week 2
In English, the children read the story ‘How to Hide a Lion in School’, answering questions using VIPERS. They have re told the story using a story map, remembering key events and then wrote their own version of the story.
In Maths, the children have been re capping their multiplication and division skills (2s, 5s and 10s) and creating fact families showing their understanding of how multiplication and division are linked.
In Project, children have been learning about invertebrates and vertebrates and how mini beasts protect themselves from predators.
In Science, the children investigated elasticity. They created an hypothesis on what they thought would happen and then experimented with different materials to see which would stretch the most.
Spring 2, week 1
Well the children have definitely returned after the week off ready to learn! What a fabulous first week we have had!
We started our new DT project called 'Wriggle and Crawl' where the children will be creating a minibeast themed moving picture with moving parts. We had the team from Lots of Legs bring their minibeasts in for us for inspiration and to get the children excited for our new project.
We started reading How to Hide a Lion in English and the children have loved reading it. They can't wait to read the sequel next week! They created a wanted poster and a newspaper report based on the story; we have been thoroughly impressed by their writing!
In maths, the children have been looking at data and different ways to present it. We first looked at creating tallys and moved onto creating venn diagrams. The children were great at this and were able to create one with facts about themselves and a partner!
We can't wait to carry on this wonderful learning with the children this half term!
Mrs Wallace & Mrs Canty
Spring 1, Week 5
This week has been brilliant and I'm sure the children have told you all about it!
We started learning about recounts and, in order to have something exciting to write about, we went to the park! The children were incredibly well-behaved on our little adventure and it was so lovely to have such a fun morning with the children. We then used that for our inspiration in our English lessons. The children were disappointed that we won't actually be doing our final recount until next week!
In maths, the children have been learning about different areas of addition and subtraction. They started the week with adding and subtracting 10 and then moved onto adding numbers near 10, e.g. 9 or 11. They learnt about how we can use adding 10 to help us when adding numbers near it.
The children have continued to love learning about the Great Fire of London and recreated some artwork of the fire. They were able to identify similarities and differences between two pieces of artwork and could even explain why one might be a more reliable source of information than the other!
We are nearly at the half way point of year 2 now and we can't believe how fast the time is speeding by already! We have one more week of fun with the children before a week off to recharge. We look forward to seeing what great learning they do this week!
Mrs Wallace & Mrs Canty
Spring 1, week 4
In maths this week, the children have been exploring mass using analogue weighing scales. They were predicting, comparing and ordering weights in grams and kilograms. They also learnt how many grams is equal to a kilogram and used this to convert a range of weights.
In English this week, the children have been learning about non chronological reports. They looked at the features of a report and their purposes and then went onto writing their own non-chronological report about their hybrid creature they created last week.
In Science, we looked at natural and man-made materials. The children then went used these materials to print using paint.
In Project, the children we compared life in the 17th century to life now. The children were very interested in how people lived back in 1666 and were also shocked that there was no internet, tablets or gaming consoles. We made a list of how life looked in both the 17th and 21st century and looked for any similarities and differences. Many of the children decided they would not like to have lived in the 17th century.
Mrs Canty and Mrs Wallace
Spring 1, Week 2
In Maths, the children have been working hard on the multiplication and division skills focussing on 5s and 10s. They counted in 5s and 10s to work out calculations with confidence and understanding how multiplication is related to division. For example, 2 x 5 = 10 so if they know this then they know that 10 divided by 5 equals 2.
In English, the children have been using adjectives to describe the appearance and personality of a character from our story ‘The Barnabus Project’. After that, the children then went on to create their own failed project hybrid character thinking carefully about its features. Finally, they started planning their own story ready to begin writing it next week.
In Project, the children learnt about the events that happened from the Great Fire of London and re told the story remembering the key events and dates. The children also placed Great Fire of London on a timeline with the other historical projects they have previously learnt.
In Science, the children continued to learn about the property ‘absorbency’. This week, the children created the hypothesis ‘hard objects cannot absorb water’ which they then went on to test this hypothesis by testing a range of materials and recording their results.
Mrs Canty and Mrs Wallace
Spring 1, Week 1
It has been a lovely start to the new calendar year and the new term in year 2! The children have come back ready to learn.
In maths, we were learning about 2D and 3D shapes. The children were able to name a variety of them and describe the features of them.
In English, we have started a lovely unit based on the story 'The Barnabus Project'. The children have been answering questions about the text and were loving the story so much that they got very frustrated when we had to stop half way through!
We have also started our FAVOURITE project on the Great Fire of London. We built our own houses which the local fire fighters helped us to set alight to see how quickly a fire can spread!
Have a lovely week,
Mrs Canty and Mrs Wallace
Autumn 2 Week 5
We have started a new unit in English called ‘Adventure are the Pits’. For this unit we are using a film stimulus to create to different writing skills. The children loved the short film and worked hard on describing the setting using expanded noun phrases and similes to set the mood of the film. On Friday, the children wrote amazing setting descriptions. We were very impressed!
In maths, the children were learning to read the time. We started off with a recap of ‘o’ clock’ and half past’ then moving on to ‘quarter to’ and quarter past’ thinking carefully about where the minute hand needs to be as well as the hour hand. We also looked at how these times would look on a digital clock. The children also focused on how many minutes are in an hour, half an hour, quarter of an hour and three quarters of an hour.
In Science, the children learnt about bug hotels, looking at examples and learning which materials to use for which creatures. They then went on to design their own bug hotel.
In Project, the children learnt about the artist John Ndambo and replicated a piece of art of his using oil pastels.
Mrs Canty and Mrs Wallace
Week 4 Autumn 2
In English this week, the children starting researching facts about the character ‘Rocket’ ready to write their information text next week. They also used their comparison skills to compare the two books we have been looking at identifying similarities and differences.
In Maths this week, the children have working on their 10 times tables. At the beginning of the week we recapped counting in 10s identifying the patterns then moved on to solving multiplication and division calculations. At the end of the week, the children read word problems, identified whether they needed to multiply or divide by 10 to find the answer, then used their skills to work out the answer.
This week in Science, the children learnt about habitats and what the conditions are like there such as, ‘Rainforest’ is hot and very wet. They also learnt about the animals that live there and how they adapt to the different conditions.
In Project this week, the children explored texture. They used different techniques with paint to create different textures, then created their own African Art using the textures of their choice. They also looked at the different African patterns and learnt the meaning behind some of the patterns, then went on to replicating a pattern on their choice using oil pastels.
Mrs Canty and Mrs Wallace
Autumn 2, week 2
This week, the children have amazed us with their hard work and focus during their check points! We are so pleased with their results for this point of the year and it has given us a good indication of what the children need to focus on in the coming weeks.
The children are loving our new project 'African Art' and have combined their geography skills from our last project with their love of art too. They have created some lovely paintings and we can't wait to see what else they create!
We have also had a lot of fun in science where we have been exploring our outside environment a lot. This week we went on a hunt for microhabitats and the creatures that might live in them. Perhaps you could go on your own microhabitat hunt around the woods or your local park?
We look forward to sharing more of the children's learning next week!
Mrs Wallace & Mrs Canty
Autumn 2 Week 1
The children have settled in well after their week off. We have started new units in each subject that the children are very excited about.
In English, the have read 2 new stories; ‘Look Up’ and ‘Searching for a Roarer’ and discussed the book as well as answering questions. At the end of the week, the children learnt about rhyming couplets and created their own poems.
In maths, the children learnt about different repeating patterns using colour, position and shape then created their own repeating patterns. The children also learnt about position and direction using co-ordinates and key vocabulary such as left, right, north, east, south and west.
In Science, we have started a new unit called ‘Habitats and Homes’. This week the children learnt about ‘alive, dead and never been alive’ using MRS GREN to support this. The children went for a walk around the school grounds finding things that are alive, dead or never been alive, explaining how they knew.
In Project, we have started our new project ‘African Art’. The children are very excited about this art unit. At the beginning of the week they learnt about where Africa is and lots of interesting facts about Africa, then comparing it to the UK. Then the children looked at different Art pictures from Africa then replicated a chosen picture in their books using paint and oil pastels. We have some wonderful artists in Year 2!
Mrs Wallace and Mrs Canty
Autumn 1, week 8
Wow, what a great start to the academic year this has been! The children have become well settled in year 2 and are showing great enthusiasm and motivation in their learning. It has been lovely for us both to work with all of the children, when we mix them for maths and English, and we can't wait to see what they will achieve over the rest of the Autumn term!
We have loved our English learning looking at Roald Dahl stories and have this week been comparing The Magic Finger to Fantastic Mr Fox. We have seen some brilliant story writing from the children and this week they were able to identify the similarities and differences between the stories.
In maths, we have been focusing on our 5 times tables and it has been great to see the children's confidence grow. There are some links to games on our year 2 page (at the bottom) that we have played in class to practise this learning.
The children have also loved their other learning this half term, especially our geography focused project 'Land Ahoy!' and our science learning 'Amazing Animals'. We look forward to starting a new art focused project after half term titled 'African Art'.
We hope you have a lovely half term and that the children come back ready for even more super learning afterwards!
Miss Bruton & Mrs Canty
Autumn 1 Week 7
This week in English, the children have written their assessed piece of work. Some children, re wrote ‘The Magic Finger’ and others wrote a sequel to ‘The Magic Finger’ explaining what happens to the Cooper family. We have enjoyed reading them so far!
In Maths, the children have been recapping counting in 2s and then using and applying this knowledge to solve multiplication and division calculations as well as word problems.
In Project, the children sorted key facts, matching them to the correct sea explorers and then compared them. They also walked around the school grounds, looking at human and physical features.
In Science, the children recapped what a balanced diet is and what we need to do to stay healthy. They then created fantastic posters to promote staying healthy.
Miss Bruton and Mrs Canty
Autumn 1, Week 6
We've had another lovely week in year 2 this week!
The children have loved their learing based on 'The Magic Finger' by Roald Dahl and have been using their knowledge of the story to infer how the characters are feeling at various points of the story.
In maths, we focused on length and the children are now confident using a ruler to measure the length of something in centimetres. They were also able to compare lengths, order lengths and even identify what items would be better measured in metres.
Our project is nearly coming to an end and the children have learnt about different explorers this week who discovered new lands hundreds of years ago. We also discussed how, even though their discoveries were amazing at the time, that they weren't necessarily heroic people as they often took over these new lands with violence!
The children are continuing to impress us in all areas of the curriculum and we can't wait to see what other learning they produce in the last few weeks of this half term!
Miss Bruton & Mrs Canty
Autumn 1 Week 5
We have had a fantastic week in Year 2 this week. The children have worked hard in all areas of learning.
In English, we started reading ‘The Magic Finger’. The children are enjoying the story so far and have been able to comprehend what has happened by answering a range of questions. We also used similes to describe part of the story. We were super impressed with their similes they were able to create.
In Maths, the children added to and subtracted from tens using base 10 and hundred squares to support. They then moved on to solving missing number calculations using the inverse operation to find the missing number in the calculation.
In Project, the children created a sketch map of the school grounds making sure it has a colour coded key for each part and learnt about human and physical features.
In Science, the children learnt about animals’ diet. The children were introduced to the terminology ‘carnivores, herbivores and omnivores’ then worked in pairs to sort animals according to what they eat.
Miss Bruton and Mrs Canty
Autumn 1, week 4
We have had a lovely week in year 2 this week and spent lots of time with our chicks who we unfortunately said goodbye to on Friday. The children learnt a lot by having them around and showed such kindness and respect when the babies were in the classroom. We will upload our photos this week so you can see the children with them.
We wrote non-chronological reports this week about sharks, crabs, sea turtles or dolphins. The children then ended the week by creating their own Glossaries, using dictionaries to find definitions.
In maths this week, we revisited addition and subtraction focusing on how patterns and rules can help us to add tricky questions more simple. For example, when faced with 30 + 40 we can use 3 + 4 and then multiply the answer by 10.
The children have continued to show enthusiasm in our project as well. We looked at different map types as well as using their new knowledge of the compass points to give directions to their friends. We also completed some more atlas work and the children were able to label a map of Europe or the world using an atlas. They really have loved looking at the world!
We are starting some new fiction learning this week in English and look forward to sharing the new story with you soon!
Miss Bruton & Mrs Canty
Autumn 1 Week 3
In English, the children have been carrying out research on their chosen sea creature ready to write their own information text next week. They carefully thought about each sub – heading, then gathered key information related to these.
In Maths, the children have learnt about 2D shapes and lines of symmetry. They named and described each shape, using their properties and worked hard using mirrors to check if each shape had lines of symmetry.
In project, the children learnt about the seven continents of the world as well as compass points. We came up with a fun way to remember the 4 compass points such as, Naughty Worms Eat Slime.
In Science, the children were very excited to finally meet the 10 chicks that have now hatched. They spent some time observing the chicks then went on to learn about the life cycle of a chicken.