Year Two
Welcome to Year Two
Miss Martin and Miss Smith
Welcome to the final term in year two. We have lot's to look forward to this term.
Here is some information about our learning for the Summer term.
Reading
Reading and phonics are a priority in Year two. Please support the work that we are doing in class by encouraging your child to further practise their reading skills at home. It is expected that children should read at home on a daily basis as part of their homework, listening to your child read for just five minutes each day can have a significant impact on their reading skills, please record all home reading in their reading dairies.
As children progress off the RWI phonics programme they will begin to access a reading comprehension programme with a focus on improving their reading fluency and understanding of a range of texts. We use a range of reading techniques to improve fluency so if you would like any more information on how to support this further at home please just ask.
Please ensure the book bags are in school every day.
Thank you for your support in this.
Literacy
This term we will base our writing around different texts aimed to engage the children's creative writing skills. Our first text is 'the Last Wolf' which also introduces the children to important issues such as deforestation and endangered animals.
In literacy, we encourage the children to apply the sounds that they know in their writing through transcription activities and composing sentences independently.
Alongside this, we’ll be covering SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar), which will be embedded throughout our reading and writing lessons. There will be a particular focus this half term on improving handwriting, presentation and spelling – all key skills that help children become confident and capable writers.
Maths
We start the Summer term on the 'mass, capacity and temperature' unit of work then move onto fractions, time, statistics and finally position and direction. If you want to further assist your child in this area, you can help your child to learn the half termly Key instant recall facts that are available below and to practice the 2, 5 and 10 times tables.
There are also lots of free interactive maths resources and games available on the Top Marks website.
Click on the link below to take you there.
Science
Our topic in science this half term is 'animal survival'. We will discuss animal habitats including microhabitats, animal survival needs, lifecycles and human impacts on animal habitats.
History
Our history topic is ‘Rosa Parks’. A study of the life of Rosa parks offers great opportunities for pupils to consider the issues of injustice and racism. Rosa Parks was an important black woman who wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself when she was treated unfairly. Her willingness to be arrested for not giving up her seat to a white person on a a bus sparked off a much larger protest which is still going on today. She was not the only person to feel as she did of course but her actions hit the headlines , bringing the unfairness to people's attention and getting more people involved. She didn’t shout or make a fuss when the driver said he would have her arrested. She just stayed sitting. That took courage as well as determination to protest against discrimination.
Art
Throughout the year children will be taught a drawing and painting topic which will focus on a particular artists style. They will also be taught a topic which will focus on developing different art techniques. This term our topic will be painting using powder paint skills and we will study the artist Henri Rousseau, in particular his 'Tiger in a tropical storm' artwork.
PE
This term we will be focusing on Athletics (summer 1) and Orienteering (summer 2) in PE.
Our P.E sessions will take place every Thursday.
Please could you ensure that earrings are removed or covered on these days so that your child is able to take part in the lesson as we cannot remove or cover these in school and that children wear the correct PE kit to school.
Thank you
RE
Our RE topic for the summer term is ‘What is the ‘good news’ that Christians say Jesus brings’
In this unit, pupils will learn about the concept of ‘Gospel’ and the good news of forgiveness, peace and love that Christians believe Jesus brings. Pupils will learn about Matthew the Tax Collector and how Christians believe that Jesus offers forgiveness, looking at their heart rather than what they have done in the past. Pupils will learn about the instructions that Jesus gives in the Bible and how Christians follow his example and these instructions in order to behave in a Christ like way. Pupils will take time to consider whether Jesus’ good news is only good news for Christians or whether there are things for people from different worldviews to consider.
This unit is made up of two parts.
PSHE
In summer 1 the PSHE unit is called 'relationships' The relationships unit focuses on helping children understand how to build positive, respectful relationships with others and how to manage feelings within those relationships. Children learn that families can look different but all provide care and support. They reflect on what makes their own family special and how they belong. Children focus on what makes a good friend (kindness, sharing, listening), understanding how to make friends and maintain friendships and recognising when friendships might feel unhappy or unfair.
The unit builds emotional literacy, empathy, and social skills so children can: Form positive relationships,
Communicate their feelings, Stay safe and seek help when needed
In summer 2 the unit is called 'changing me' This unit focuses on helping children understand how they grow and change, both physically and emotionally, in a simple and age-appropriate way. The unit aims to help children feel confident about growing up, understand that change is normal, and know how to look after themselves physically and emotionally.
Homework
Homework will be given every Friday and should be handed in the following Friday. Children will be given spellings each week and a maths or grammar and punctuation task, these will alternate weekly. Children will be tested on their spellings the following Friday.
If you have any queries about anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.
All communication will be posted on Class Dojo, so please check regularly to stay up to date with what’s happening in school.
Thank you
Miss Martin
Read Write Inc (phonics) Materials
Maths Key instant recall facts
