Autumn 1
Dear Parents /Carers,
Welcome back! The new school year is here and we are very much looking forward to meeting our new classes and welcoming the children back to school. We hope you had a great summer and are well rested and ready for the return to school. We have a very exciting curriculum in Year 2 this year.
English
Children will be reading brilliant and exciting books. Welcome (by Barroux) and Rain Before Rainbows (by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield) are powerful, beautifully illustrated books with positive messages that will offer opportunities for rich discussion on your children's return to school. Using On Sudden Hill (a wonderful picture book by Linda Sarah and Benji Davis that examines friendship), children will write their own narratives. Following that, children will read The Proudest Blue, by Olympic medal-winning fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali and Hatem Aly). This visually-striking book features two sisters’ rites of passage (first day at school and first day of wearing hijab) and an important message about being proud of who you are, a theme children will explore in writing a letter about what makes them proud of themselves. Later in the half term, children will write a diary entry and information text about the Great Fire of London.
Maths
Children will consolidate prior knowledge before learning about numbers within 100. They will learn to compare and order them as well as understand the value of each digit in a two-digit number. The children will then learn to add and subtract two-digit numbers using different methods, including the column method. They will apply this knowledge to solving word problems.
Science – Who would choose a home like this?
We have a very exciting science topic this half term. Children will be learning about habitats, what living things need to survive and what makes habitats suitable for different living things. Children will explore a range of habitats and microhabitats in local outdoor areas and will become experts in what different vertebrates and invertebrates need to survive in their habitats.
History – How do we know about The Great Fire of London?
Children will learn about the Great Fire of London. Children will learn to develop historical question skills as well as exploring and discussing historical sources, considering how these help us learn about events from the Great Fire. Children will be able to order events from the fire as well as identifying reasons for it spreading so quickly. Finally, children will look at the architecture that followed the fire during the rebuilding of London.
RE – Islam – beliefs and lifestyle
Children will find out about various religious stories, including The Story of Bilal, stories of Mohammed as well as The Thirsty Dog and The Crying Camel, understanding their significance. As well as exploring these stories, they will find out why the Qur’an is important to Muslims. They will learn about some of the religious beliefs and teachings, including celebrations.
PSCHE – Understanding our feelings
Children will explore a range of feelings and emotions (e.g. happy, sad, brave, afraid, angry, calm, generous, selfish) through storybooks, poetry, role-play and discussion activities. We will be developing children’s language to describe different feelings and explore how an emotion may feel in our bodies and how this can link to our actions. During Circle Time sessions, children will enjoy structured class discussions, which help them to understand and support each other.
Music – music and accompaniments
This year, children will be learning to play the ocarina as a whole class for the whole year. This terms focus is on learning how to hold and blow the ocarina and learn the sounds DBA. We will also learn how to read rhythm patterns using crotchets, quavers, minims, quavers and rests and will explore pitches DBA using dot notation linked to the solfege framework learned in Year 1. Children will also learn how to improvise and compose simple 1-2 bar rhythm melodies in 4/4 time using the rhythms and pitches we learn this half term and will learn how to notate their idea using rhythmic and dot notation.
Art – Exploring Joan Miro
Year 2 Children will be drawing dream-like characters from their imagination inspired by the artist Joan and the Peter Reynolds book’Ish’. The children will make abstract drawings that they will then turn into 3D sculptures.
Computing – Digital Art
Children will be learning about online safety, before learning how to use using Book Creator to explore and create digital art. The children will be introduced to the digital palette, and explore digital tools such as backgrounds, cut and layer, shape and use of lines and colours.
P.E
All children require a complete change of clothes for PE in the school colours of light blue, navy blue or white, including suitable footwear. Please ensure that your child has suitable clothing such as tracksuit bottoms, sports trainers, jumpers & raincoats .Your child can wear their PE kit on their PE days.
Indoor PE lessons
Children will either be taught dance by our specialist dance teacher Rhian Robbins or Gym by our coach David Wood. The children will have an opportunity to create, explore and perform movement in response to classroom curriculum-based topics and given stimuli such as music, visuals and text. Children will be encouraged and taught to share and develop the language to feedback and comment with an emphasis on creativity, composition, performance and peer learning.
Outdoor PE lessons
Outdoor games will initially focus on fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, skipping, hopping- changing direction and speed with control. Children will focus on negotiating space safely and following instructions. They will experience using a variety of equipment to manipulate with their hands and feet. They will work independently, in pairs and in small groups to practice these skills and improve.
Our overall aims are to encourage children to work together well by helping each other, cooperating and learning how to work as a team. This will be achieved through a variety of fun, age related games
Homework
English (spag.com) and maths (mathletics.com) homework will both be set on Wednesdays and should be completed by the following Monday. This will start on Wednesday 13th September. A separate letter will follow next week with login details.
Words to learn each week will be sent home in your child’s Guided Reading record. This will start in the week beginning 11th September.
Guided reading homework will be set from the week beginning 13th September – the day will depend on which day your child reads with their teacher. Your child needs to bring their Guided Reading record to school every day.
Healthy Eating at Playtime
Children will be provided with a snack at break time. This will be a piece of fresh or dried fruit or vegetable. Children do not need to bring in other snacks from home.
Water
All children need to bring a small, labelled bottle of plain water to drink throughout the day and take it home each night to be washed. They can re-fill this bottle from the water stations in school during the day.
Communication between home and school
It is important for your child’s safety that the school has two accurate contact numbers in case of an emergency but also for us to be able to contact you and discuss what is happening in school. Please can you check that home and any mobile contact numbers that have been sent into school are correct and up to date.
We will work in close partnership with families to ensure your child’s time at school is successful – if you have any queries concerning your child’s education or welfare please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher on the playground or through the office and we will be glad to discuss any queries with you.
We look forward to meeting you all if we haven’t done so already, and to welcoming your children back to school!
Yours faithfully,
The Year 2 Team
Emily Grove (2EG, Year Leader)
Maria Guszvany (2G)
Ruqayah Moses (2M)
Hayley Williams (2W, Meteor St)
Camilla Barlow (2B, Meteor St)
View the Phonics Parent Workshop
