Year 2

Spring Term 2021 - Literacy 

This term we have been reading the text 'Leaf' by Sandra Diekman.  We absolutely loved the illustrations in this text and spent lots of time responding to the images. We predicted where the polar bear floating on a piece of ice had come from.  We wrote in role as if we were 'Leaf.' This was the name that the animals in the forest had given to the polar bear.  They called him this because he covered himself in leaves to look more like them. We discussed how he might feel in this strange environment. Each lesson revealed a new illustration - we were so excited to see what would happen next! We explored how the woodland animals behaved towards Leaf and made a 'Conscience Alley' to suggest reasons for and against helping the polar bear. We wrote a persuasive speech to encourage them to be more understanding of the polar bear's plight. 'Leaf' tried to use leaves to create 'wings' to help him to fly home. We had great fun designing a flying machine for him! We also explored the issue of climate change, as this was how the polar bear had drifted so far from his home. We wrote a persuasive text and designed a poster to combat climate change.

Spring Term 2021 - Maths 

This term we learnt how to make equal groups by sharing and grouping . We used practical resources to help us do this. We also learnt how to add and subtract numbers when crossing a 'tens' number. We used number lines to help us to do this.  We ended the term by practising our measuring skills. First we used non-standard units such as cubes, paperclips and pencils to measure objects with. Then we realised that this gave us different results and we needed to use  a standard unit of measurement.  We measured in centimetres using a ruler. 

Spring Term 2021 - Science

This term we learnt about plants.  Firstly, we began by learning about the process of germination.  Using our knowledge of germination, we then had to decide what conditions a seed would need to germinate. We decided that it needed water and warmth. We put our seeds in a plastic bag on top of a wet paper towel. We sellotaped them to the windows and had to be patient as the seeds took between one and two weeks to germinate. We began to see roots and shoots appearing. Next we learnt what happens when a bulb sprouts. When we were learning about a daffodil bulb, we learnt some new vocabulary , such as 'wither' and 'dormant.'   We learnt what plants need to grow and thrive and how plants might look if they do not have the right conditions. 

Spring Term 2021 - Other Curriculum Areas

Despite being in 'lockdown' for a large proportion of our Spring term, we took the opportunity to revisit lots of learning from the Autumn term whilst at home engaging with our distance learning offer. 

In our Art sessions, we looked at the work of Roy Lichtenstein, focusing specifically on his piece of work entitled 'WHAAM!' We were really inspired by the bright colours and comic like ideas that we created some both in school and during our time away from school. 

We also took the opportunity to revisit 'The Great Fire of London' topic - one of our favourites! We completed some writing in role as Samuel Pepys - some even dressed up just to get fully into character!

In PSHE, we reviewed our Class Charters. The class charter shows the Rights that our class have decided are important to them. The children are the Rights Holders and adults are the Duty Bearers. 

Autumn Term 2020 - Literacy

We enjoyed two key texts in Literacy this term - 'The Last Wolf' by Mini Grey and 'The Jolly Postman or Other People's Letters' by Janet & Allan Ahlberg. 

We absolutely LOVED 'The Last Wolf' - we spent lots of time appreciating and discussing all of the wonderful illustrations and discovering something new each time we read it. We noticed straight away how the story was loosely linked to the traditional story 'Little Red Riding Hood.' One of the key themes in the story is endangered animals and habitats. We produced some very informative non-chronological reports about black rhinos (another endangered animal) as well as some excellent persuasive writing. 

'The Jolly Postman' also enabled us to consider and think about some other traditional tales that we know well. Again, we appreciated the lovely illustrations and variety of different text types through the different types of post that he was delivering. Of course, we wrote some letters of our own in reply to some of the post delivered. We also enjoyed retelling a classic tale, Goldilocks and the Three Bears.      

We have had a busy half term in Year 2!

Maths

We have focused on place value. We have learnt how to use the greater than and less than signs to compare numbers.  We used part , part whole models and bar models to help us with addition and subtraction. 

Art 

We learnt how to make a repeating pattern.  We then made rubbings of interesting textures.  This is called 'frottage'. We learnt that the artist Max Arnst created pictures using the frottage. We made our own images of imaginary animals.

Science

We learnt about living things and their habitats.  We used MRS GREN as a checklist to find out if something was living.  We went outside and identified microhabitats under leaves and stones.

Geography

In geopgraphy we learnt about the differences between a map view and an aerial view.  We identified physical and human features in Guernsey.

History

We have enjoyed learning about the Great Fire of London.  We learnt about when and where the fire started.  We learnt about how the people of London tried to stop the fire from spreading.  We were very excited to visit the Fire Station!  The firefighters told us all about how they put out fires today.  It is much easier that it was in 1666!