Year 2

Class Teachers: Mrs Hodgson and Miss Robinson

Teaching Partners: Mrs Weaver,  Miss Young,  Mrs Willis,  Mrs Landers 

Learning Support Assistants: Mrs Thurman, Mrs Dumont, Miss Wilkinson

Welcome to Year 2!

Our class page is your go-to place for all of the key information about our learning journey together this year. The team can't wait to support you in your progress and learning this year, where we will be exploring lots of exciting new concepts and skills!

Please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Hodgson or Miss Robinson with any questions or queries.

Our Timetable - Spring Term

Please note that our PE day is on a Tuesday with Miss Robinson and the KS1 Team. Please come to school dressed in PE kit on these days. Earrings and other jewellery should be removed for PE and hair tied back where possible.

PE Kit includes:

• Red or dark PE hoodies,  black or grey tracksuit trousers or shorts (unbranded)

• Black, grey or white trainers

• Zip-up sports jackets are suitable for colder weather.

Curriculum Overview

Spring Term 1:

• English: We will be writing setting descriptions using our focus text Little People Big Dreams - Amelia Earhart. Our class book will be: The Creakers by Tom Fletcher.
• Maths: Money: counting pence and pounds, making amounts with different variations of coins and notes and giving change; Multiplication and Division: 2x, 5x and 10x table, solving problems involving multiplication and division facts.

• Science: Materials - Uses of Everyday Materials: Recognising the suitability of materials for specific purposes, children will explore how actions like stretching and bending affect solid objects, compare material suitability through tests and record data

• History: How did we learn to fly? Amelia Earhart. The children will compare significant people over time linked to the theme of flight whilst learning about a successful female pioneer working in a male-dominated world. Pupils will learn about Amelia Earhart’s ground-breaking and daring flights and how she became a role-model to ambitious young girls. Pupils will consider why Earhart was famous, learn about the main events in her life that shaped her future, find out why Earhart was keen to fly at a time where few women were interested, learn about the ups and downs of her life, use sources of evidence to find out about her life and achievements and consider what her greatest achievement was and create a commemorative book cover.
• Art: This pathway aims to enable pupils to respond to a painting from another culture or era, using visual literacy skills to come to their own understanding of the artwork. Children then go on to make their own creative response to the original painting, using layering of shape, colour and line using printmaking and drawing, inspired by artists Henri Matisse and Romare Bearden.
• Computing: Children will have an understanding of how we use the internet safely to gather information. They will create their own eBooks and learn how to use digital tools to present their findings through data handling. (throughout Autumn Term)
• Music: Recognising and exploring musical mood and choosing sounds to match character, mood or theme.
• Physical Education: Dynamic balance on a line, static balance and stance, Dance: focusing on artistry, shape and partnering.
• Religious Education: Believing - Jewish people. Children will learn about how the Jewish faith and Christianity share beliefs about creation and about Jewish celebrations including Shabbat.
• Relationships, Sex and Health Education (including Economic Education): 'Too Much Selfie Isn't Healthy' - focusing on how we can be kind to others and show respect. Making choices with money, considering what we can use our money for.

Spring Term 2:

• English: We will be writing explanation texts around our science unit of life cycles. Our class book will be: The Creakers by Tom Fletcher.
• Maths: Continue with Multiplication and Division block: 2x, 5x and 10x table, solving problems involving multiplication and division facts; Length and Height: measuring in cm and m, ordering and comparing; Mass, Capacity and Temperature: measuring in g, kg, ml, l, reading temperature, comparing and ordering.

• Science: Animals - Life Cycles & Health: Studying the life cycles of various animals, the children learn what animals need to survive, observe changes over time, collect and record data on their peers, develop measurement skills and consider how scientific knowledge supports healthy choices. 

• Geography: Learning about the world’s wonders, the names and locations of the world’s oceans and considering what is unique about the local area.
• DT: Children will follow a design brief to design and create a functional fairground wheel so that the wheel rotates and the structure stands freely.
• Music: Sequencing and combining sounds to tell stories and create effects and creating and performing soundscapes.
• Physical Education: Coordination, ball skills, counter balance: with a partner, Dance: continuing to focus on artistry, shape and partnering
• Religious Education: Salvation - children will learn about the Easter story and consider why the Easter story matters to Christians.
• Relationships, Sex and Health Education (including Economic Education): 'Don't Hold on to What's Wrong' - exploring forgiveness. Naming personal and private body parts and understanding what 'private means. Exploring how we can use money to help others.

Homework

Spellings:

We send home 10 words each week for the children to practise spelling. These words are taken from the list for their year group in the National Curriculum. Spellings will be tested on a Thursday.

Other homework may be sent home to practise a concept the children have learning in the week.

Reading

Please read with your child as often as possible, even if only for a few minutes. 

Mrs Hodgson will check the children's reading records each Friday, and for each Year 2 who has read 3 times or more to an adult outside of school during the week, they will be rewarded with a dip in the goodie bag! Please date and sign their reading record each time they read to an adult, and encourage them to read a range of text types. Useful documents including key questions to support with hearing your child read can be found below. These will also be sent home with the children at the start of the academic year.

Please note that we encourage the children in Year 2 to take responsibility for changing their own colour-banded books as they come into school each morning. Decodable (Phonics) books will be changed on a Friday by Mrs Hodgson. Please note that children are encouraged to read these books at least twice before being changed.

Key Dates

Parent-Teacher Meetings: 

We offer these termly, dates are included on our weekly newsletters.

Trips and Visits:

TBC

Communication

You can contact Mrs Hodgson or Miss Robinson via the below contact forms. Alternatively, please email teachers@archbishopcranmer.notts.sch.uk or the school office (office@archbishopcranmer.notts.sch.uk or schooladmin@archbishopcranmer.notts.sch.uk).