Spring Term 2018
This term we are learning:
Where on earth has this term gone? It has flown by; it must be all the hard work year 2 have been doing!
We have now seen a close to the 1960’s which the children have thoroughly enjoyed- they have especially enjoyed writing their final piece of the term on Andy Warhol. We were looking through the children’s book this week and it is amazing how far the children have come. They should be very proud.
In maths this week, we have continued to look at time. It always amazes me how resilient the children are when they find new concepts tricky, their perseverance this week has amazed Sue and I resulting in fabulous work.
This week has also seen year 2 saying good-bye to Mrs Copson this week and she will be starting at a new school closer to home next term. The children are sad to see her go and can’t wait to send her some letters in the near future. (Sssssh don’t tell Mrs Copson though)
Looking to next term, we are going to be focussing on the book: The Day the Crayons Quit where we will be exploring the complexities that lies behind emotions. Our writing will also link to this and we will be writing our own letters, diaries and poetry whilst exploring emotions and how we can overcome them and most importantly- learning how not to quit when things get really tough!
We have also set a homework challenge… Can’t wait to see them already. :-)
For now, enjoy the two weeks (I am doing my sun dance just for you all) and looking forward to seeing you all back on the 16th April feeling fresh and ready.
Week commencing 19th March
English:
This week we completed our big writes on The Beatles and we produced fabulous work and are very proud of all that we have achieved so far. For the rest of the week we have completed comprehension activities on Pop Art and focussing on the legend Andy Warhol.
Maths:
We have completed our post-test on fractions which saw most of the class achieving secure which is a great achievement. This test was tricky but we preserved and showed we would not be beaten!
For the rest of the week we are tackling time. We have looked at why it is important to be able to tell the time and what situations we may need to use this skill in. So far we have focussed on ‘o’clock’ and half past. We have completed lots of hands on work to help us see the connection between the written and the verbal- this has helped us greatly. We have also been adding and subtracting hours- this made us really think, but we got there in the end.
Science:
This week we have been looking at seed dispersal- we had great fun creating actions to help us with the four different types of dispersal. Can you make up your own actions to help you remember them? (I am not telling you what we did as a class though- top secret)
Year 2’s favourite type of seed dispersal was the animal dispersal… can you guess why?
Sport Relief:
This week was sport relief and saw the whole school come together onto the field to complete a a range of sporting activities. It was great to see both staff and pupils getting fit together and most importantly, having fun doing it! Well done year 2 and well done Church Lane!
Can you guess which members of year 2 enjoyed the parachute games?
We have had a lovely week this week and we can't wait to see what the 4 days left of term brings.
Enjoy your weekend. :-)
Week commencing 12th March 2018
Maths:
This week in maths we have been looking at fractions- understanding what they are and how to identify/ use them. So far we have focussed on ½, ¼ and 1/3. Mrs Egan-shaw and Sue challenged us (as part of our next steps) to find 2/3 of a number etc. We didn’t shy away from the challenge, but should our resilience instead- we could do it! :-)
Have a go at some of the work we were provided...
Science:
Our science lesson this week was postponed due to the Science Dome coming to visit our school. IT WAS AMAZING! We got to learn lots about dinosaurs- we discovered the different types, their favourite foods and even had the opportunity to look at fossils and a dinosaur egg. We were in awe and it is all we could talk about for the whole day!
English:
In English we have looked at the members of The Beatles individually. We had to use a range or sources to find out lots of information and to take notes from. We were truly fascinated by the lives that they led- especially George Harrison. Sue even brought in a guitar to show us, however, she couldn’t play it too well- ssssh don’t tell Sue :-). We have been that fascinated by The Beatles that we cannot wait to show everything we have learnt in our final write.
Week commencing 5th March 2018
Hope you all managed to get outside last week to enjoy the snow. It’s been much better weather this week so we are now back to normal and working hard.
English:
This week in English we have been working on our grammar and punctuation. We have particularly been looking at using the past tense in our writing. The children are working really hard to make improvements in their written work and did some fantastic work on what life was like in the 1960’s.
We are now finding out about the Beatles pop group which links to our topic as well as our history skills on researching famous people in History. Ask your child to tell you some facts about this famous pop group.
Maths:
This week we see our shapes unit come to an end. The children have really enjoyed making their own 3D shapes and can now recognise 2D and 3D shapes in everyday objects. Year 2 sat their post-tests on this unit and EVERY SINGLE child in our class had improved their scores and by a vast amount too! Well-done year 2, you should be proud of yourselves.
Next week, we shall be moving onto fractions. I am sensing a lot of opportunity for sharing food that week :-)
Science:
We have linked our science topic to mother’s day/ special person day this week. Children discovered that plants/ flowers don’t always grow from seeds and that they can grow from bulbs. They had the opportunity to cut up a bulb and identify what one looks like and how they store their food to help their survival through the winter months.
Children then planted their own bulbs in a plant pot decorated with a ribbon to give to their mums or someone special. It was lovely seeing all the parents surprised but smiling faces at the end of the day.
From the year 2 team, we hope that you have a wonderful relaxing weekend.
19th February- 23rd February:
Welcome to the ‘swinging 60s’. This is our topic in year 2 and over the holidays the children completed their fantastic 60s project- they look amazing- come and take a peak. :-)
English:
In English this week we have been looking at what life was like during the 60s. Children got to interview Sue and ask her lots of questions about what life was like; they asked questions about the homes, fashion, toys, food, school and transport. Watch out, some of these children are just destined to be journalists in the future! The children took lots of notes and couldn’t believe how different it was to now. The children then had to turn these notes into sentences to help form paragraphs. Look at some of the pictures below, can you write a couple of WOW sentences about them like the children in our class?
Maths:
This week we have been focussing on 2D shapes and their properties. We now know how many side’s 2D shapes have and how many vertices. We even know what a vertex is! Our favourite lesson of the week, however, has got to be making shapes using the geo-boards and elastic bands. The children had such fun investigating different 2D shapes and trying to discover their similarities and differences.
Science:
What an exciting science topic this term. We are looking at planting and growing which will allow us to use the schools garden to plants seeds and bulbs to help us to understand the growing process and to enable us to carry out investigations too!
This week, children familiarised themselves with different seed packets to help them understand what was needed to help plants to grow. After this, the children then went outside with green-fingered Sue to plant their choice of seeds. The children absolutely loved this and it was fantastic to see their enthusiasm and zest for a spot of gardening- even in this weather!
Can’t wait to see what next week brings. Have a great weekend everyone!
Monday 5th February – Friday 9th February 18
A fabulous end to spring term 1: we have covered so much and the children have worked hard right until the end.
This week Sue led a fabulous lesson on the artist Brain Commerford . He was infamous for his owl painting that concentrated on different colour tones. Can you tell which painting is the artists and which one belongs to the year 2 artists? I bet you can’t!
In maths, we have brought our statistics unit to an end. The finale was for the children to create block diagrams using cubes and then transferring this data pictorially.
Please ensure that your child keeps practising their timetables- they encompass all that we do in maths.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths/multiplication/play/
Science:
We have been really busy in science this week, which also saw the end to our habitat topic. In this week’s lesson, children organised animals into a carol diagram that looked at whether the animals were invertebrate or were vertebrates along with how many legs they had- it was tough, but they got there in the end. Mind over matter. :-). Children also completed questions about different food groups and what would happen if there was a ‘break’ in the food chain. The children are beginning to develop an understanding of the importance of these food chains in the world. Not only this, the children also had to create a brand new animal (using a human template) by manipulating pictures (one of our computing links) and then choosing a habitat where it would most likely be able to survive. There are some very peculiar animals- take a peek if you dare!
If you would like to have a go at making your own, click the link below.
http://www.buildyourwildself.com/
Next term, we shall be looking at the 60’s, which I know the class (and Sue) are really looking forward to. Today we introduced them to the iconic band 'The Beatles' and also the artist Andy Warhol who was the Pop artist that helped to change the meaning art and what it meant- we even had a go at producing our own on Friday afternoon – we cannot wait to practise these skills even more next term.
As always, please have a relaxing half term, YOU ALL DERSERVE it and STAY SAFE! Looking forward to seeing you back next term with the brain cells ready to go :-)
The picture below is what the year 2 term shall be doing over half term. Zzzzzz.
Week commencing the 29th January 2018
English
In English this week we have linked with our science topic on habitats and been exploring a film about Meer cats.
The short clip is called ‘Catch it’ and can be found on ‘Literacy Shed’. Please google this and have a look – we’ve really enjoyed it!
This week we have produced some wonderful descriptive writing about the desert landscape using adjectives and conjunctions. We are now looking at how we can edit and improve our work.
Maths:
In maths this week, we have been creating pictograms. We had learnt how pictures could sometimes represent 1, 2, 5 or 10 and the understanding behind this. The children had to be very creative as they were challenged to create a pictogram from the picture below:
Can you create a pictogram from using only the picture above? I would LOVE to see them.
Science:
Wow! We have had the opportunity to apply a lot of skills this week in Science from across the curriculum. We have been programing bee-bots to direct them back to their habitat (both on the IPAD and physically handling the Bee-Bots) and we have also been outside exploring our school grounds for microhabitats and investigating what type of mini-beasts we found there. We then had to, like true observers/ scientists, record our findings. We had a fantastic time being out in the fresh air- it even started raining and year 2 wanted to stay out in in (wrapped up warm of course) to continue exploring.
We also had a visit from Rhubarb Theatre Company on Tuesday. As well as being huge fun, it also took us on a time travelling adventure through history, where the children could find out about the Romans, the Vikings and the Great Fire of London.
It has been a fantastic week so now go and have a fantastic weekend. See you next week for our last week in school before a well-deserved rest- after your homework of course. :-)
Week commencing 22nd January- 26th Januray 2018
Another busy week in year 2 this week, but we have loved every minute of it… as always.
English:
We have been concentrating on using coordinating conjunctions in our writing this week. We had to create WOW sentences that contained ‘and’ ‘or’ ‘but’ using only an image. Not only did we get to work with our friend, but we also managed to have a giggle whilst producing some fantastic work. Here are the pictures we wrote sentences to:
Maths:
We have absolutely excelled ourselves in our post assessments in multiplication and division- every single one of us have improved on our scores. J Well done to all!
Also this week, we have started to look at statistics concentrating on tally charts. We have learnt to construct our own tally charts and collecting data based upon our favourite animals or habitats. Not only that, but we have learnt how to comprehend tally charts and how to use the data presented.
Have a go at some of these data games:
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/data-handling
Science:
We have been continuing our topic of animals and habitats and this week we have been exploring habitats that are far away from us: The artic, desert and the rainforest. We had fun reading about all the different plants and animals that we may find in the 3 different habitats. Some of us even got to use the computers this week to try and persuade Mrs Egan-Shaw and Sue to move to that habitat- we found this tricky but our work was still fantastic.
Here is an example of our work that we did on the computers:
Have a lovely weekend and we shall catch up next week! :-)
Week commencing the 15th – 19th January 2018
E-safety:
Year 2 had Jo from Ark come in this week to talk to the children about e-safety. We learnt lots of things about how to keep safe on the internet, for example: never use your real name, your real picture or share any information that could place you in danger. Here is the website that was used in the session- it has lots of video clips, colouring pages and pointers:
https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/5_7/hectorsworld/
Just to remind, there are age restrictions on certain social media networks- these are designed to keep your child safe so please take a look…
https://www.net-aware.org.uk/#
English:
This week we have been completing lots of reading about bats. We discovered that bats are the ONLY mammals that can fly… did you know that?
Not only have we learnt about bats, but we have also researched the life cycle of a barn owl. We have had to comprehend a text to help us to sequence the life cycle. If you are interested in finding out more about the Barn Owl, take a look at the following website:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXfy4Cb9thQ
Maths:
It has been a busy and purposeful week- as always- in year 2 this week. We have been learning how to; divide by 2, 5 and 10; identify odd and even numbers and to begin to understand the multiplication symbol. Our Friday’s work really got us thinking, but with perseverance and resilience we nailed it.
Here, have a try!
Fluency:
Have a lovely weekend and see you next week!
Week commencing the 8th – 12th January 2018
Our first full week back has been tough, but the children in year 2 have continued to give 100%- well done to all!
Maths:
We have been looking at making equal groups this week- as always we have worked with objects, then moved to drawing pictures to help us and finally moving to just questions (abstract). We have been encouraging children to use all the strategies that they have learnt to help solve the abstract questions.
We have seen a lot more children this week attempting mastery and greater depth work this week- WOW- WELL DONE :-) . In addition to this, children are beginning to gain confidence in their reasoning and problem skills which means that they are able to explain the why and how questions.
Here are some of the questions/ tasks selected at random that year 2 have been given this week:
Fluency:
Use objects to solve the following:
1) Mum made 10 cakes. She put 2 on each plate. How many plates did she need?
2) Ben had 15 books. He puts 3 on each shelf. How many shelves did he have?
Fluency- remainders
4) There were 23 children in the class. 6 children could sit at each table. How many tables did they need?
Mastery:
Pictorial
Greater Depth: Abstract- but we encourage the use of drawing pictures to help
1) There are 40 fingers in the playground? How many children are there? 2)
2) There are 18 eyes in the staff room. How many teachers are there?
Let us know how you got on. :-)
3rd January 2018- 5th January 2018
Welcome back! We hope that you have had a lovely Christmas and New Year and are ready for whatever 2018 brings back for you. I know that the year 2 team have had a lovely break with family and friends, but are happy to be back at school for a break!
English:
This week in English we have been reading our class book: The Animals in the farthing wood. This is our theme for all our topic work this term, therefore, all our English lessons will be based around this classic story this term.
The first 3 days we have been using our retrieval skills to answer comprehension questions based upon a non- fiction text: The fox.
We rocked! :-)
Maths:
We have wasted no time in getting stuck in this week. We have spent 3 days looking at how to divide equally via sharing. We have explored division by sharing using objects, pictures and how to use these strategies to answer division questions.
Lots of us this week have blown Mrs Egan- Shaw’s and Sue’s socks off with our enthusiasm and zest for challenge. This week lots of us have challenged ourselves with mastery and greater depth questions. :-)
We have also been refocusing on our x2 timetables. Have a practise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hN9Ur_xdm0
