Spring 2
This half-term, our Learning Journey has been called ‘The Circle of life’. We launched our topic with a hands-on learning experience by Living Eggs, who gave us seven very special eggs to take care of. The children have shown their curiosity by asking a range of interesting questions about the life cycles of plants and animals. They have carried out an investigation into how plants get water using simple scientific language to talk about what they have found out and communicate their ideas to each other. They have then shared this knowledge with their parents by growing a sunflower.
In Maths, we have been learning about multiplication and division. The children found out that multiplication was commutative but division was not. They have enjoyed sharing their understanding through drawing pictures and arrays to solve problems. You can continue to support your child in this area of Maths by logging onto TTRocktars to practise their quick recall of multiplication and division facts from the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
Our English learning has focused on writing explanation texts. We have looked at the key features of this genre, discussing how these texts are organised to help the reader to read and understand the information given e.g. through the use of flow charts, labels and subheadings. Children have developed their use of conjunctions to extend and develop their ideas.
We have also enjoyed the book, “Tadpole’s Promise” by Jeanne Willis. We explored the characters feelings throughout the story and wrote in role as a character. Our grammar learning has focused on recapping the different word classes and our spelling has focused on adding suffixes: s, es, er and est.
In Geography, children have learned about the Earth and explored how it can be represented in different ways e,g through maps, globes and satellite images. We learnt about the equator and how proximity to it affects the climate of different places around the world. Children particularly enjoyed learning the names and locations of the world’s continents and oceans.
Spring 1
This half-term our Learning Journey is called ‘Fire and Ice’. We launched our topic with the beautiful text “The Snow Dragon by Vivian French.” The children found some dragon’s eggs in the hall which we have cared for. We have also investigated the historic event, The Great Fire of London.
English
We started this half term learning about warning tales and suspense. We learnt the story, ‘Kazeem and the Fire Dragon’, looking carefully at the story structure and typical plot of a warning tale. We learnt how to create suspense in our stories and practiced using these features. Children then used their knowledge of ‘Kazeem and the Fire Dragon’ to create their own warning tales with suspense. Also, in English this half term, we have written descriptive poems, imagining what it might have been like to be in ‘The Great Fire of London’. We have tried to include adjectives, similes and alliteration to describe the fire. In spelling sessions, we have focused on adding the suffixes -ed and -ing to root words. We have used the rhyme, “Is there a letter we need to drop? Is there a letter to double or swap?” You could help your child with their English skills by reading with them as often as possible and learning to read and spell the tricky words on pages 18 and 19 of their reading diary.
Maths
As Mathematicians, the children have continued to practise their addition and subtraction skills. We have been using a number-line to help us add and subtract and two 2-digit numbers. We have also been learning about 2D and £D shapes. We have learnt to identify these shapes and describe them using their properties.
Creative Curriculum
As Historians, we have been learning about The Great Fire of London. We had a visit from Sir William Petty who was an eye-witness to this famous historical event and he told us how it started and what happened. We did experiments to show how the fire spread and how people tried to put the fire out.
As part of our Design and Technology learning the children have had to design purposeful, functional, and appealing products based on their design criteria. Children in Year 2, made fire engines using a range of tools and equipment to develop their skills such as cutting, shaping, joining and finishing. They have critiqued, evaluated and tested their own and others finished products.
Autumn 2
This half-term our Learning Journey has been ‘Marvellous Medicine’ and was based around the nurses from history; Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale.
English
We have been learning how to write a non-chronological report and how to set it out correctly using sub-headings and paragraphing. We have used conjunctions to extend our sentences and add detail to our writing.
For fiction we have been focusing on the journey story, ‘The Papaya that Spoke.’ The children learnt the story and created actions to help them to re-tell it. They then created their own imitation of the story, changing the characters and places visited. We had some great writing with lots of imagination, creating Christmas journey stories.
Maths
In Maths, we have been learning to add and subtract numbers. Children who have mastered this unit will be able to differentiate between addition and subtraction problems, understanding how to represent the numbers provided within the context in different ways, using different resources. Children should be flexible with the methods they can use to calculate different problems depending on their complexity in order to work efficiently. Children who have mastered this unit will be able to relate each number in a calculation to what it represents within a context. Children will be able to use a variety of manipulatives to represent addition and subtraction and use these alongside the number line method. Children will also become fluent at recalling and applying their number bonds within 20 to addition and subtraction equations and adding two 2-digit numbers in a variety of ways.
Science
In science this half term we have been learning how to keep ourselves healthy. We enjoyed finding out how much food, water, rest and exercise a human needs to survive. We now know the difference between wants and needs. We also looked at the word ‘hygiene’ and what it means to be hygienic.
Art
This half term in Art, we have been developing our drawing skills, focusing on shape and adding tone to show light and dark areas in portraits. We have practised out shading skills and built up our knowledge to apply to a final piece on self-portrait.
History
We have been learning all about Mary Seacole and Florence Nightingale in History. We now know all about the Crimean War and how both nurses helped. We also looked at their legacy and how times have changed for Woman over the centuries.
