Year 2

Click here for the SATs presentation

 Click here for an update of weekly spellings

Welcome to our exciting year ahead in Year 2  

 

Autumn 1   FAMOUS FOR.....

This term we are learning about three different famous people. 

Do you know why they are famous ?  Do you know what they achieved ?

 

Neil Armstrong  Click on the picture of Neil Armstrong to learn more about him. 

Neil Armstrong saw the earth from space on his way to the moon 

 

Florence Nightingale  Click on the picture of Florence Nightingale to learn more about her.

Louis Braille Click on the picture of Louis Braille to learn more about his work.

 

 

 

Online Mathematics support 

 

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/coins-game

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/toy-shop-money

 

We will also start looking at multiplication and what this means.  Try practising your knowledge with the game moonmaths.  Click on the picture below to go to the game page.

 

 

Reading

Please continue to read as much as possible at home.  Your child can change their book once they have read and completed their book at home.  Your child may now start to read independently during a quiet time - before bed is a great time but what ever suits you is great.

 

 

 Autumn 2    Happily Ever After 

Welcome back to school everyone.  I hope you've had a lovely break and are now ready for a new topic.  To start the term we will be reading a book called Varmints by Helen Ward and Marc Craste.  This book will be the inspiration for our whole school geography week where we will all look at different environmental issues. 

After this first week our topic is Happily Ever After - we will read lot of different fairy stories and discover what makes a good fairy story.

 

INTRODUCING 

THE VARMINTS by HELEN WARD and MARC CRASTE

Click on the book above to watch an animation of the story

 

During this week we will be thinking about 

• Our natural environment and the beauty of our natural world
• Artists that have painted landscapes and artists that have depicted industrialization 
• Changes that urbanization and industrialization make to our natural world 
• Writing a letter to the leader of the varmints about our thoughts on these changes
• Learn how plant survive environmental changes

 

How many Fairy Stories do you know ?

Can you explain any similarities between different fairy stories ?

Have you read any fairy stories that have been based on a traditional tale ?

 

Here are some stories you can read online - think about the characters, the setting of the story and the events in the story.

Click on the link above to access lots of stories - parents will need to register on this site.

During the term , we will write our own traditional fairy story based upon our best loved fairy tale.

 

In mathematics we will practice different techniques for subtraction

• Counting back
• Counting on
• Mental subtraction using tens and ones 
• Column subtraction - learning what happens when we can't calculate mentally

 

Click below for a website to help with your subtraction skills.

We will also practice our skills using money and units of measure.

Remember to practice your  X tables with Times Tables Rockstars.  Come and see me if you haven't got your log in details 

ttrockstars.com 

 

Remember to look out for the dates of our Christmas performance.

Spring 1 - Where In The World ?

Happy New Year

This term we are learning all about our Country the United Kingdom and learning about where we are in our big wide world.  

Did you know there are lots of stories and traditions from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. 

Do you know that each country has an emblem but do you know why ? 

Why do English footballers have the picture of 3 lions on their football shirts ?   

We will learn the answers to all of these questions and we may even make some traditional Welsh cakes.  Did you know that Mrs Bradbury was born in Wales ?

We will start by looking at the story of Fynn Mac cool - an Irish tale of the giants causeway between Ireland and Scotland.  Click on the link here to watch the story.   Has anyone been to the Giants Causeway ?  We'd love any pictures from anyone who has been there.

 

You can also hear it on the Oxford Owl website as an ebook.  Click here to register with Oxford Owl. 

We will read a lot of facts about the 4 countries of the United Kingdom and then present these facts as a factual report. 

In Maths we will focus upon multiplication and how we can use our multiplication facts to help solve problems.  We will also look at division and how this links with division.  

Continue practising multiplication facts with moon maths (see Autumn ) to help with quick recall of facts.  Why not try some multiplication and division problems on the Nrich website - A selection of puzzles written especially for children by the mathematics team at the University of Cambridge. 

Clck on the icon below to get to the Nrich site.

 

Remember how fun Mega Maths is to watch ?  They are now on YouTube.  Watching megamaths can help you remember your multiplication facts.  There are lots of episodes on YouTube covering multiplication.

 

 

Don't forget Maths Zone if you want to practice other mathematic skills :)

 

 

 

 

Curriculum Matters

Year 2 Curriculum Matters Spring 1

Spring 2 - Roald Dahl 

This half term we are learning all about the children's author  Roald Dahl

 

Did you know  ?

• He wrote most of his stories in a shed at the bottom of his garden
• He has a writing table with an electric pencil sharpener and lots of interesting things on it like bone shavings
• He was born in Cardiff
• He joined the Royal Air Force as a pilot

 

CLICK HERE for a link to a webpage about Roald Dahl  

There is a website dedicated to Roald Dahl click on Matilda below 

 

 

 

 

Summer 1 - The Great Fire of London 

 This half term we will be learning about THE GREAT FIRE OF LONDON 

There is so much to learn about this historic event.  Here are some of the things we will learn about

When did the fire start ?

Where did the fire start ?
How did the fire spread ?

Why did the fire spread ?

What was the impact upon London ?

Are there any clues about the Great fire in modern London ?

Who was Samuel Pepys ?

 

In art we will use different techniques to  re-create  the scene painted here of the Great Fire.

Look at the huge, hot flames behind the houses and the people seeking safety from the fire in boats.  Did you know that Samuel Pepys sat on a boat watching the fire and wrote about his experience in a diary ?        Keep looking on the website for an update on how our scene is coming along.

Here is an excellent on line quiz to test your knowledge of The Great Fire Of London - Click on the link below to start. 

Here is the 'Magic Grandad' episode 

 

In maths we will be consolidating everything that we have learned over the year so far -particularly in problem solving.  Please continue to use the links above to Nrich  mathszone Topmarks  and Moonmaths for great websites to help with maths skills. 

WOODLANDS MATHS AREA is also a great fun website to help practice maths skills. Click HERE to go straight to the website. 

 

 

Our class text this half term is George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl.  We have 30 copies borrowed from Sheffield Schools' Library Service but you can always bring in your own copy to read.

 

 

 

The SATs assessments will be administered during this half term - if you have any worries please pop into see me.  All past KS 1 SATs are published online.  If you would like to have a look at them click HERE.

 

Summer 2 - A trip to the Past - Victorians

On Friday 14th June Year 2 will be going on a trip to The Museum of Childhood at Sudbury Hall.  Please see your email for the trip details.  Payment is now available on parent pay.

 

This half term we will learn about Queen Victoria and what it was like for children in the Victorian times.  We will order the Monarchs from Queen Victoria's time to the present day and discuss what it meas to be a monarch.  Before our trip to Sudbury Hall we will look at the toys that children played with in Victorian times and compare them with the toys we play with today.

We will discuss the following 

When did the Victorians live ?

Who was Queen Victoria ?

Why is Queen Victoria so famous as a monarch ?

What did children do in Victorian times ?

What was the most popular past time for Victorian families ?

 

Going to the seaside was a huge part of life for families in Victorian times.  We will learn why this was important for families, where families from Sheffield would go and what they did for entertainment at the seaside.  As part of our Design and Technology lessons we will design and make our own puppets.

 

In English we will continue to use all the techniques for writing in our work, to embed our learning, including using 

Full stops, capital letters and commas in lists

apostrophes for contractions and to show possession

expanded noun phrases

adverbs 

exclamation marks and question marks

We will look at classic poems and write a recount of our trip to Sudbury Hall.

 

 

 

 

Have a look at the Year 2 common exception words. 

Can you read and spell them ?