Autumn Term
Week commencing 17th December
I think this says it all:
The year 2 team would like to wish you all a lovely, restful half term and Christmas. Thank you for all your support this half term- you and your children are amazing!
See you in 2019. Not wanting to wish my life away, but looking forward to seeing you all already! :-)
Week commencing 10th December
Wow! We are exhausted in year 2- we have so worked extremely hard- we have definitely earned the relaxing Christmas break that is fast approaching!
First of all I would like to present to you our book prize-winners! These children have been reading regularly at home, which has resulted in them achieving 18 stickers on their bookmarks and them going in the book prize box. We are so proud- please keep up the hard work.
This week, year 2 have continued to work hard…
Maths:
In Maths this week, we have been looking at adding 2 digit numbers with other 2 digit numbers. We have used lots of equipment to begin with to help us to see how we get to the answers and why that is the answer- we even got to write on the tables! Ssssh, don’t tell Mr. Clay. After this, the magic witch put a spell on the maths equipment and we had to find away to answer the questions. We couldn’t be defeated; we ended up drawing base 10 to help us solve them. Some of us, however, didn’t need to and could visualise the ones and the tens.
Writing:
This week we have been focusing on writing our alternative ending to Hansel and Gretel. I have thoroughly enjoyed marking them- year 2 have quite the imagination. Some children took their setting to a zoo where they were greeted by an angry zookeeper, some children ended up in a deep, dark cave… oh the settings were truly fantastic- the children even included the subordinating conjunctions in their writing which was our skill focus last week! We are one proud year2 team!
Reading:
Oh wow! Year 2’s reading is improving and we are becoming more confident when faced with new and unfamiliar words and with answering comprehension questions. We have taken a new approach to reading in year 2 and it generally looks like the below:
Monday- reading for fluency and addressing new vocabulary in context.
Tuesday – oral discussion about the text.
Wednesday – written comprehension combined with grammar.
Thursday- Further application of skills.
We have only been delivering it this way for a short while, but WOW… what a difference it is making thus far!
We also have a class that now say: "I love reading!" We even managed to catch some of them reading for pleasure...
Next week is a busy week... Last push... :-)
Week commencing 3rd December:
Week commencing 26th November.
What a busy week we have had! We have been devoting lots of time to practising our Nativity Play ready for our final performance to parents on Tuesday 4th November at 1:30pm. We cannot wait to see it all come together.
This week in our learning:
Maths: We have been concentrating on more and less this week- focusing on 1 more/ less and 10 more/ less. The children are now beginning to identify patterns in numbers but also explain why and how they know there is pattern. This has forced the children to think very deeply about their understanding of numbers.
Writing: In writing this week we have been completing some specific grammar activities that would help us to edit and improve our big writes further. We have focused on past tense, and learning about plural and singular to enable us to select either was or were. It seems to have done the trick as our editing is now complete and they are looking great! We shall be writing up these in neat, like real authors, ready for them to be published to their audience. I promise to put up a few examples when they have been marked.
Homework this week is to keep practising the songs for Nativity- these have been sent out this week.
Reminder: Please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing for this weather. The temperatures have plummeted so it is important that we are wrapping up and keeping warm to avoid us getting ill.
Remember to ensure that your child reads daily (minimum 3 times a week) we cannot stress how important this is! If your child gets 18 stickers on their bookmark, they get to raid our book prize box which is full of brand new and 'hip' books!
Have a lovely weekend- jump in some puddles, have a leaf fight and cosy up under a duvet and welcome December in with a Christmas film. :-)
Week commencing: 19.11.18
This week we have been super busy, however, Year 2 were adament that the only thing that should go on our class page was our mystery activity on Friday. Can you figure out what they had to do?
Next week, we shall be building up to our final big write of retelling the story of Hansel and Gretel. I cannot wait! In maths, we shall be completing further work on adding and subtracting. With this in mind, rest your brains over the weekend and be prepared to work your socks off!
Week commencing 12.11.18
This week has been an assessment week. The children have sat their reading, grammar and phonics test this week and we are extremely proud of the effort they have applied to their first test!
Maths:
This week in maths we have been focussing on using the inverse to check calculations and to also solve calculations that contained missing numbers. We are working extremely hard- keep it up year 2!
English:
Topic:
Nativity:
Nativity practice has now commenced and it is shaping up nicely. Thank you Miss Cragg for leading. :-)
Homework:
Homework has gone out (time tables, spelling and reading focus). This is to be returned on Wednesday, which will also be our time table and spelling test day! Come on year 2- we’ve got this!
Reading:
Remember to read 3 times a week. The reading bookmarks are looking fabulous- keep it up!
Weekend:
Have a well-deserved rest this weekend. Can’t wait to see you all next week to listen to your weekend stories and to see what wonderful work you produce.
Week commencing 5.11.18
Firstly, welcome back! We hope you have all had a relaxing half term and are now feeling refreshed and ready to take on another busy, but fun term!
As always, there has been some super reading over holidays which has seen 6 more children choosing their very own books from our prize book box. Well done you lovely bunch! Keep on reading!
I also promised them that I wouldn't post the funny posing picture- oops! Ssssssh don't tell anyone!
History and Art:
In History this week, the children learnt about Guy Fawkes and the Gun Powder Plot. There was lots of learning for year 2 about this, however, they are now experts! Reading sentences and ordering the story of Guy Fawkes. The children had to apply their knowledge of the Gun Powder Plot by reading jumbled up sentences and then order them!
In our Art sessions, we have been using print to make firework images. Have a look at our firework pieces:
WOW DAY
As you can see we have had an absolutely amazing first week back- the chidlren have never been so engaged and have really enjoyed their 'non- learning day' ;-) I really cannot wait to see where this topic takes them.
Homework:
Homework went out this evening (x2 practise, 5 common exception words and reading x3). There will be a test on Wednesday.
I hope this weekend you ALL have something wonderful planned as you have worked extremely hard and I couldn't be prouder- keep it up and see you next week!
Week commencing 15.10.18
Well done to our prize book winners this week. We are do very proud of you. Keep it up!
Remember, for everytime you read at home you earn a sticker for our book mark. When you have 18 stickers, you get to go in our book prize book to choose your own book to keep forever and ever.
Topic:
This week we have seen our pirate topic come to an end (we are gutted too as noone walked the plank- not even Sue!) and there is no better way to finish a topic than making and racing pirate boats. First, we had to design our pirate boats whilst thinking carefully about the materials that we could use. Once we were happy with our designs, we then made our pirate ships.
Of course, after making our ships, we had to test them...
We had such great fun!
However, the time has come for school to close for two weeks so that you can all recover after working so so hard. The year 2 team are so impressed with the work ethic of the class and the over- whelming support from you lovely parents. Same again next term!
Half term:
Over half term, please ensure that you continue to hear your child read 3 times a week (minimun), practise timetables (2, 5 and 10's) and spelling. We have also given out Math's Whizz usernames and passwords- please have a go!
Next term:
Next term is going to be a busy one as we will be strarting the preparation for the Nativity Play, making things for the Christmas Fayre and learning all about twisted tales.
Finally, enjoy yourselves! You have all worked super hard in making the first term a successful one.
Week commencing 8th October
Wow! What a super busy week. Firstly, the year 2 team would like to say a massive thank you to all those that came to meet with us at parents evening. It was lovely to hear that your children are happy and are enjoying being year 2. We loved sharing their work and learning with you and it was absoltely wonderfult to see how every single one of you are proud of your children. We would like to thank you for being part of our wonderful year 2 team!
Despite the late night for parents evening, we have still be working super hard in the classroom...
Maths:
In Maths this week we have been identifying patterns in numbers and determining whether they are going up/ down in 2's, 5's or 10's. The children have worked really hard with this and are now begnning to use equipment and drawings to prove their answers.
We would really liek our wonderful class to learn their timetables- especially there 2's, 5's and 10's. Here are some links to songs and games that you may find helpful.
Games:
https://www.timestables.co.uk/games/
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/multiplication-and-division
http://www.maths-games.org/times-tables-games.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/ma13tabl-game-tables-grid-find
Songs:
x2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUIB-dZRCiA
x5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3U03MC-SfQ
x10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QXT3HjG7pg
Happy learning!
English:
In English this week, we have been focussing on writing a character description based on a dirty, rotten pirate. The chidlren had to apply their knowedlge of adjectives, verbs and adverbs to help bring this character a live- spookily, the chidlren have done just that. As well including all these word classes, year 2 have had to think carefully about their handwriting, use of conjunctions and punctuation. I think the children have risen to that challenge.
Here is an example of a child's big write after the editing process:
READING PRIZES:
In year 2, we have have been operating a system that involves stickers. All children have been given a bookmark and if they fill that book mark with stickers (achieved by reading at home or in school) then they get to go into our magical book prize box. So far, 6 children have chosen a book to keep forever and ever. Well done to ALL these chidlren- don't stop reading now, keep going! I am also certain that there will be several more children joining the book prize winners soon. We love your reading year 2, keep it up!
I wonder what next week will bring...
Week commencing 23rd September
DO NOT TELL ANYONE, BUT WE HAVE HAD THE BEST DAY EVER TODAY. READ ON TO FIND OUT!
Week commencing 17th september
This term is an extremely busy one and is evident that year 2 are giving it all they've got. They work so hard!
Maths:
In maths this week, we have been concentrating on compairing numbers. We had to use specific vocabulary and how this vocabularly linked with the inequality signs. We got to use lots of mathematical equipement to support our thinking and explanations; we then progressed onto tbe able to do this pictorially and abstract.
Something different:
There will also be somthing different on Thursday too- we will be travelling and dancing our way through Africa. That's all I can tell you- watch this space.
Week commencing 10th September
Your children are now beginning to settle into new routines and adapt to the pace in year 2. They are doing extremely well- you super stars!
We’ve had a very busy week in class this week:
Maths:
In maths this week we have been learning to partition 2-digit numbers into tens and ones. Once we were secure in this, we then got to manipulate maths equipment further to see how many different ways we could partition a given 2-digit number. We have been really pushed this week and some of us were further challenged by the explaining/ reasoning and problem solving questions. Not one person gave up when faced with this, well done to those children!
We shall be doing more of this next week.
Writing:
In writing this week, we have covered a range of skills. We have planned our letters to Captain Dan- Tastic, drafted them, edited and then finalised our letters (big write). Some of us decided to accept his offer to join his crew and some of us politely declined to join. I hope he takes the refusals in good faith, or I could be losing some children to the plank next week!
Within our letters, we had to include the basic features and think carefully about our content. For our first big write in year 2, we did really well.
Next week, we shall start thinking about characterisation of a pirate. Our focus pirate next week will be the infamous Captain James Hook.
Science:Next week we will be creating collages on man-made and natural resources.
Next week, we shall be looking at creating collages of natural and man-made materials.
Roald Dahl:
It has also been Roald Dahl this week too and we celebrated in style on Thursday by dressing up as our favourite Roald Dahl character.
We read some facts about Roald Dahl and why we were celebrating him today. We learnt that he was a Hurricane Fighter Pilot and a spy. We also discovered that he LOVED chocolate but HATED chocolate cake and ice- cream! We then used our retrieval skills to complete the missing words in the sentences about Roald Dahl’s life.
Next, we read a passage from James and The Giant Peach. We looked at the descriptions he used to describe Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker- we even got to act them out which we fully enjoyed.
After this, we wrote a class description of our very own awful Aunt who we named Aunt Huff.
Our next challenge was to then create our very own Aunt using descriptive sentences. We then had to draw a picture of her making sure our drawings matched our descriptions.
Reminders:
- Please remember that we need to be wearing the correct uniform everyday.
- Please keep checking your child’s hair and ensure that long hair is tied back everyday.
- Year 2 have PE every Tuesday and Wednesday
- Your child needs to be practising their timetables daily (x2, x5, x10, x3 and x4)
- Your child needs to be reading to an adult at least 3 times a week.
- Return your parents evening slip as soon as possible to ensure that you get the time that you would like.
- The weather is beginning to turn, so please ensure that your child has a coat in school
Volunteers:
If you are interested in volunteering in year 2 as a reader, please speak to one of the year 2 team. :-)
I hope you all have another lovely weekend. If you are interested, the Town Hall in Sleaford are running a few stalls to showcase clubs and hobbies that are taking place in and around the area of Sleaford- it may be worth a look. You could even feed the ducks whilst you are there. (free duck food is available from the art centre).
See you next week.
Week commencing the 3rd September
Welcome to year 2. We hope that you have had a lovely summer- I know that we all have. However, we are very excited to be back in school with you all and getting to know you whilst on your learning journey! We are in for a good academic year.
We kicked started our new term with a Pirate Day where Captain Dan-Tastic visited our school and shared all his pirate secrets. Just look at all these things that the children learnt:
Well done to all year 2 in dressing up in your Pirate outfits- you all looked amazing. (Well done to all!) Do you agree?
Maths:
In Maths this week we have been focusing on being able to read and write numbers in words and in numerals. We have been set lots of different challenges and we are steadily rising to them. We would like you to practise counting on from a ‘random’ number and practise counting backwards.
English:
In English this week, we have been looking at the basic features of a letter and their purposes. Not only this, we received a letter from Pirate Dan-Tastic in Pirate speak. In order to understand why he was writing to us, we had to edit his letter using pirate dictionaries so that it was in Standard English. We soon discovered the purpose and we will be replying to him next week.
Can you have a go at decoding Captain Dan-Tastic’s letter?
In Grammar we have been revising capital letters and discussing their purpose and where we would use them. We would like your children to keep practising their capital letter formation please.
In reading, the children have been retrieving and inferring information from a picture. The children were surprised that reading isn’t just about being able to read words, but being able to read facial expressions, body language and pictures. Through our reading sessions this week, we have achieved some very good outcomes.
Geography:
In Geography this week we have been focussing on the 7 continents and the 5 oceans. We have been practising two songs to help us with this. They are very catchy and easy to learn, the links are below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUS2Kjzzd9s (5 oceans song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DSMZ8b3LE (7 continents song)
We will be continuing to look at the continents and oceans next week extending to then focussing on the United Kingdom.
Other news:
In year 2 we have adopted a penguin (now called Tom) through the WWF who sent us a cuddly penguin. Tom, the penguin will be sent home every week with a child who has come to school and tried their best every single day. Tom will go home every Friday and will need to be returned on the Monday.
All of year 2 have been given brand new sticker bookmarks. For every time they read at home (please record and sign their reading journals) they get a sticker. When their bookmark is completed, your child will get to choose a book of their choice from our special box.
Have a lovely, relaxing weekend. We cannot wait to hear about all your weekend adventures. For me, it looks like a possibly trip to Bongo’s followed by swimming lessons for my little girl. I am tired already…
