CURRENT NEWS
Autumn 1
WELCOME TO OUR FIRST TERM IN YEAR 2!
Are you ready to have a fantastic year with me in Year 2? We are going to learn and have lots of fun too! Here is what we will be doing in our first half term together:
English
In English this half term, we will be revising the phonics we did in Year 1 and developing our independent reading and writing skills through using a range of the wonderful Julia Donaldson books to get us off to a great start! Check out our Class Reading Journey on this page to find out the range of wonderful books we will be reading together all year. We will be working hard on beginning to use pre-cursive writing, learning all about adjectives, conjunctions as well as making sure we become experts at using capital letters and full stops when we are writing recounts, stories, letters and instructions.
We will begin the year by revisiting Level 5 Phonics, focusing on the trickier phonemes to ensure that we begin the journey to become super spellers when writing independently. Make sure you read your Rhino Readers reading book a few times during the week to consolidate these phonemes at home!
Year 2 Class Reading Journey:
Maths
In Maths this half term, we will begin by revising the key skills learnt in Year 1 to help secure our knowledge of place value, number bonds to 10 and basic addition and subtraction skills. We will also work daily on our maths fluency skills to help us become more confident when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. Check out the Year 2 Maths Knowledge organisers on this page to see where our Year 2 maths journey will take us.
Science -
In Science we will be learning all about Animals Including Humans and learning about how to keep ourselves healthy through healthy food choices and finding out all about the importance of exercise – check out our Science Knowledge Organiser to find out more!
Geography
In Geography this half term, we will be learning all about the UK1 We will find out more about the 4 countries that make up the United Kingdom and find out more about landmarks and capital cities – we will also be using VR headsets to explore the capital city of London in a fun and interactive way! Check out the knowledge organiser to find out more!
Do you love Geography? Check out the GoJetters here::
https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/shows/go-jetters
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0007z03/go-jetters
Check out our Geography Knowledge Organiser to find out more!
RE
In our class R.E lessons this half term, we will be learning and finding out what Christians believe God is like. We will read a range of Bible stories that demonstrate what God is like and the ways in which Christians live their lives because of this. We will also be learning all about special books and finding out all about The Bible – learning what it includes, what it can teach us and how it is split into The Old and The New Testament before moving on to explore stories from The Bible.
Within our whole school worship, we will be exploring the Christian Value of Trust and learning how and why we can be a good friend to others as well as how we can resolve issues within our friendship groups. We will continue to learn more about the meaning of the Holy Trinity and revise what we have learnt so far this school year about our 7 Christian Values and what they mean to us.
PSHE – Get Heartsmart! (taught by Mrs Muncaster)
In PSHE this half term, we will be learning all about how to be smart to our heart – how to be kind to ourselves and how to manage our emotions and celebrating the people we love.
Computing (taught by Mrs Bester)
In Computing this half term our we will be completing activities to help us learn:
Art / Design Technology (Taught by Mrs Muncaster)
Our first topics this year are:
D/T Baby Bear’s Chair – sculpture skills. Art Tell a Story – drawing skills Check out our Knowledge Organisers to see what we will learn in these topics!
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Computing (taught by Mrs Bester) Technology in the world How is information technology (IT) being used for good in our lives? Computing systems and networks – IT around us Music (taught by Mrs Carr) |
Here is what we will be learning in Music this half term:
· Glockenspiels and Healthy Eating Songs Exploring Rhythm and Pulse – Through a variety of listening activities the children will explore pulse and rhythm. Using their voices, movements and the playing of percussion instruments the children will respond to different pulses and rhythms.
The children will use their voices expressively and creatively by singing a variety of seasonal songs during the term. |
Design Technology Knowledge Organiser
ONLINE LEARNING
In the event of your child needing to self-isolate at any time during this school year, I will be uploading tasks to complete regularly on the Year 2 Information page alongside setting printer free activities and mini challenges on Seesaw too. Maths and English will be set on a weekly basis and will mirror the work the children are completing in task. There will also be a topic grid full of activities that cover all the other subjects we do in class linked to our current class topic.
There will also be a weekly little lesson over on Mrs G's Little Lessons Youtube channel to help you practice your weekly spellings at home and links to other usual learning videos will be posted regularly on our class Seesaw page.
Check out the different spelling, phonics and maths playlists videos and little lessons on YouTube here:
https://youtube.com/channel/UCTWM1mZ7HDSMu-hvF9YCivA
READING
Reading is the cornerstone of all the children do and learn to do in Year 2. As children are expected to leave Year 2 on Stage 10 or higher, it is vital that children read at home as much as possible. Regular reading also helps children to learn the high frequency and common exception words that the children need to be able to read and spell, as well as modelling coherent sentence structures. Children need to become more fluent when reading aloud, and should only need to sound out a few words within the book.
From September, we will be assessing the children's reading and matching their reading books to their current phonetical knowledge. We group the children in class into 2 groups and endeavor to change reading books at least twice a week on a daily alternating basis, to ensure your child's book is changed when needed, please remember to record all reading in the blue reading diary.
It is also really important that your child reads as much as they can - these books do not need to be the school reading book, and I would encourage you to share your favourite books or authors with your children. In the next few weeks, I will be inviting parents (who wish to) to come and read their favourite children's book to the class at home time - to show children that books and stories should be enjoyed and loved! If you would be interested in this, please pop in and see me any time - the children and I would love to have you!
Homework and Spellings
In Year 2, it is very important that the children complete their homework including spellings and reading their homework book every week. At the end of the year, the children will be taking their SATs tests which include separate reading and spelling tests. The outcome of these tests supplement my end of year decisions - spelling plays a big factor in whether or not your child will reach the expected level for Year 2 by the end of the year. At Parent's evening later on this half-term, I will be sending home the lists of High Frequency words and the newer 'Common Exception words' for your child to practice reading and spelling at home to consolidate the work done in class as well as intervention groups. (Please see below for the list of words.)
Revising Year 1 Learning Home support:
This half term, your child will begin the year revising the phonics they learnt in Year 1 to help develop their confidence in both their independent reading and writing. A core skill we will be focusing on is teaching the children to use their phoneme fingers to sound out words when spelling independently. In class, we will be completing phonics fluency tasks that focus in on 5 words that include the same sound and the children have to write down the graphemes for the sounds they can hear. I will also be uploading the Gimme 5 Mini lessons on a regular basis to help your child be able to practice at home and begin their journey to become a Super Speller. Check out the most recent uploads to help you with your sounding out:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDNY9D-fYJHzpjh__CiVcvUyipeX98BBW
Phonics Information for Parents:
Please continue practicing using all the phonics resources we will be sending home in September and don't forget I love to see those videos on the Seesaw app.
You can also visit this website to play some phonics games:
Year 2 Common Exception words
These are all the words your child will need to be able to read and spell correctly when writing independently in class, your child may also refer to these as 'rainbow words' too as this is what we call them in class. Keep your eye out for Rainbow word challenges on Seesaw throughout this half term!
TIMES TABLES CHALLENGES:
In Year 2, the children need to know their multiplication and division facts for the 10,2,5 and 3 times tables.
Fancy practicing your timetables facts? Check out these games here:
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/multiplication-and-division
Want to find out a little more about what Year 2 is going to be like, and what your child will be learning in maths and spelling? Check out these handy Parent guides below:
What will my child learn in Year 2?
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/at-school/year-2-at-primary-school/what-to-expect-in-year-2-age-6-7/
More about Year 2 maths:
https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/maths/primary-maths-age-6-7-year-2/
More about Year 2 spelling: