CURRENT NEWS
SUPER ME! 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. Here is our plan and the books we will be reading together first in Year 2:
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Autumn 1 |
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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Literacy Genre and Books
BASELINE assessments Spag, spelling, reading and writing, assess all phonics levels for reading books
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Stickman– introduce stories by the same author. Need to do PIRA Y1 baseline and Spelling and Grammar tests and Phonics reading assessments
Baseline writing – Summer holidays recount concentrating on time words verbally – cold piece of writing
Additional work focuses on describing Stickman and reinforcement and practice of basic sentence structures |
Stickman Revision of time words to sequence recount and use of and to extend sentences. Storyboards and Stickman’s day recount
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The Highway Rat Narrative writing, recounts and letter writing. |
The Highway Rat Narrative writing, recounts and letter writing. |
What the Ladybird heard Recount, sequencing of events and instruction writing – how to catch the burglars |
What the Ladybird heard on holiday Recount, sequencing of events and instruction writing – how to catch the burglars |
Zog Expanded noun phrases, narrative writing and recount writing |
In Spelling and Phonics, we will begin the new school year by revising and consolidating the trickier phonemes from our Twinkl Phonics Level 5 teaching sequences, before beginning our Level 6 Phonics journey.
In our Reading sessions, we will be working hard to develop pace and expression when reading aloud and continue to question the meanings of new words and add them to our growing vocabulary that we can use when writing independently. We will also continue to focus on our prediction, inference, deduction and sequencing skills to build upon our success so far with our reading comprehension skills.
Have a look at all the wonderful books we will be reading together this year in our 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.
RE
In our class R.E lessons this half term, we will be learning all about what Christians believe God is like. We will explore this concept through reading a range the parable of The Lost Son and exploring how this teaches us that God loves people, even when they go off on their own way. We will consider how we can show God that we are glad he loves us so much as well as considering the ways in which Christians also show their belief in God through forgiveness.
Within our whole school worship, we will be exploring the Christian Value of Responsibility and learning how and why we should be responsible in all areas of our lives. 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!
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.
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
Art / Design Technology
In Art this half term we will be focusing on our drawing skills in our first Art topic ‘Tell A Story.’ Here is what we will be learning in our art lessons:
At the end of this topic, we will be able to:
- Suggest ways to draw a word through marks. Use relevant language to describe how an object feels.
- Suggest ways to create different textures through drawn marks. Freely experiment with different tools, receiving encouragement when needed.
- Describe and then draw shapes that make up an object. Use good observational skills to add details to their drawing.
- Use an interesting range of marks that show an understanding of how to draw different textures.
- Make sketches, which may be of basic stick-like figures or may imply more shapes. Develop sketches into a character, with some support, adding details to enhance their character.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how drawing facial features in different ways conveys expressions.
- Recount a story and select key events to draw. Create scenes from their own imagination, with some support.
In our Design Technology lessons this half term, we will be developing our sculpture skills in our topic ‘Baby Bear’s Chair.’ Here is what we will be learning in these lessons:
At the end of the topic, we will be able to:
- Identify man-made and natural structures.
- Identify stable and unstable structural shapes.
- Contribute to discussions.
- Identify features that make a chair stable.
- Work independently to make a stable structure, following a demonstration.
- Explain how their ideas would be suitable for Baby Bear.
- Produce a model that supports a teddy, using the appropriate materials and construction techniques.
- Explain how they made their model strong, stiff and stable.
Class timetable Autumn
Your child will need to come to school in their PE kit every Thursday and Friday this half term.
Monday – your child will bring home their Rhino Reader Phonics book for the week – aim to read this book with your child at least 3 times in the week!
New spellings will be sent home in your child's green Spelling book each Monday.
Thursday – your child will bring home an additional reading book matched to their current Phonics and reading level of learning – aim to read this book a few times over the weekend with your child!
Weekly Spelling tests will be every Friday.
Friday – children will choose and bring home a book to enjoy with their families from our KS1 and class libraries. Please return this book the following Friday.
Homework will be sent home every Friday and due in the following Wednesday.
ONLINE LEARNING
There will 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:
