Year 2
Welcome to Year 2
Summer Term 2023
Areas of study for Year 2*
Literacy
This term we will be using our knowledge of various curriculum areas to create writing in different genres. Our literacy will be linked to our work on Geography and the children will create leaflets about London and imaginary cities. The children will continue to develop their narrative/story telling skills by writing character descriptions based on Roald Dahl’s ‘The Twits’ and other villains. Using our work on Neil Armstrong for inspiration, the children will also be writing space adventure stories and will research other significant individuals of their choice to create mini biographies about them. They will be encouraged to develop their vocabulary and embed their spelling and grammar skills.
Numeracy
This term the children will revisit and revise the Year 2 maths curriculum to consolidate their understanding of place value and number by using known facts to gain fluency in arithmetic. They will continue to develop their problem solving & reasoning skills in all areas of the curriculum. They will be practising their times tables skills in the 2s, 5s, 10s and then the 3 times tables. They will be developing their knowledge of 2D and 3D shape by reasoning about shapes and learning their properties. Money skills will focus on using different coins to make the same amount (e.g. how many ways can you make £1.00). The children will be revisiting and developing their knowledge of measure using different units of measure including metres, centimetres, litres, millilitres, grams, kilograms and centigrade by reading scales in different divisions.
Reading
In reading this term the children will be consolidating their decoding skills and using strategies such as choral and echo reading to improve their fluency. They will be reading fully decodable texts until they are secure in their phonics and then reading a range of book band books in different genres. They will develop their comprehension and understanding of texts by being encouraged to be ‘reading VIPERS’ and to focus on vocabulary, inference, prediction, explanation, retrieval and sequencing skills. They will also begin reading high quality texts as class readers. The children will have regular opportunities to read for their own pleasure and entertainment. They will also read widely for fact finding and discovery, across the curriculum.
Phonics*
In phonics this term the children will be consolidating Phase 5 alternative spellings and moving on to Phase 6 spelling patterns and rules. Children who may still have gaps in their learning will be supported with targeted interventions and small group work.
RE
This term the children will be using a question based approach in their investigation of what makes a good leader. They will study leaders they know and that are familiar to them (leaders in school, in the country, in sport etc) as well as leaders in different faiths. They will develop their knowledge of Moses and Jesus by reading stories about them and find out more about the role of a Granthi in the Sikh faith.
PE
During PE this term the children will continue working on their fundamental movement skills, both non-locomotor and locomotor, and also object manipulation. The lessons will be based around Striking and Fielding games and the children will get the opportunity to use a bat to hit a static or moving ball, as well as exploring different ways to send a ball towards a target. They will also be practising different skills for sports day.
Science
In Biology this term the children will be using their investigative and observation skills to find out about plants. They will be carrying out experiments to discover what plants need to thrive and growing their own plants from seed. They will be learning about the basic structure of some common plants, including trees and will also be recording comparisons of plants grown in different conditions. They will be developing their knowledge of materials in their cross-curricular study of moon buggies (in Design and Technology).
History
Our focus in History this term will be on space exploration through time. The children will be studying Neil Armstrong and comparing his exploration of space with other explorers from different time periods. We will also study the key event of the moon landings. The children will develop the skill of using secondary sources of information to discover key facts.
Geography
This term our initial focus will be on exploring cities and we will find out all about London and compare London with other cities in the world. We will also consolidate our map reading and investigating skills and discuss differences between life nearer to the equator and life further from it. The children will also consolidate key facts about the world’s continents and oceans.
Music
In music this term the children will consolidate their active listening skills by learning to mark the beat by clapping and moving their bodies. They will learn about the duration (short and long), pitch (high and low) and dynamics (loud and soft) aspects of music by listening to a variety of musical genres. They will also learn to accompany songs with different tuned and untuned percussion instruments and begin to create simple compositions.
Computing
In computing this term the children will be learning how to code. They will be using Scratch Junior to create an algorithm and learn basic coding. The children will create an algorithm to race two ‘sprites’ using Scratch Junior.
The children will also be problem solving in a unit based on ‘Computational Thinking’. They will learn the four key techniques to computational thinking: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction and algorithms. They will be using bee-bots to solve a problem and programme the bee-bot to carry out the correct instructions.
Art, Design & Technology
In design and technology, this term the children will be studying space vehicles and will then be designing and making their own moon buggies, using skills such as sawing, fixing, joining and cutting. They will test their designs in ramp races and evaluate the effectiveness of their designs.
In art the children will study the work of Giorgio Morandi and experiment with creating art from still life. They will investigate pattern, form and colour, as well as different shading techniques.
PSHE/RSHE
The children will be continuing to develop their resilience, for learning and emotional wellbeing. They will discover why sleep is important to their growth and mental health as well as their ability to think clearly. They will also be learning about medicines and safety in the home. The children will continue to learn how to develop a growth mindset and develop strategies to tackle new experiences with confidence.
* * To teach phonics in Key Stage 1, we use the Twinkl Phonics scheme and Rhino readers. These are organised systematically and carefully matched to the child’s phonic stage, to ensure that all of our children develop the skills they need to become fluent and confident readers.
**To teach reading in Key Stage 1, the children learn the sounds they need to decode words and read texts that are linked closely to their phonic knowledge. Alongside daily phonics sessions, the children participate in guided reading sessions to focus on their comprehension skills. They are encouraged to become reading VIPERS and focus on the key objectives of Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explanation, Retrieval and Sequencing. We read the children a wide selection of engaging and entertaining real books to inspire in them a love of reading and develop their language and understanding.
*If you require additional information relating to our school curriculum, please ask at the school office or the class teacher.
Top Tips
- Share books with your children- you read to them, they read to you.
- Discuss books and stories — characters, events, endings etc.
- Make suggestions for a different ending, new character etc
- Join the local library & encourage your child to choose their books— this helps to develop preferences etc.
- Don’t forget rhymes and poems – particularly good for improving fluency.
- Encourage your child to write shopping lists, notes, postcards, diaries.
- Encourage correct letter formation — this will help with cursive writing later.
- Play I spy using phonic/sounds - don’t forget endings.
- Practise reading and spelling keywords.
- Watch, listen and discuss news (ideally CBBC Newsround). http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews
- Rewards them with educational games, programmes and web-games.
- Devise a home timetable for your child to complete homework and read.
Educational websites
The following sites provide information relating to trips and studies...
http://www.readingmuseum.org.uk
http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English
Educational web-games
The following sites host links to relevant KS1 (Infant) web-games. You may wish to challenge your child to try some KS2 (Junior) web-games as the academic year progresses.
http://games.e4education.co.uk/groupone/index.php
http://www.uptoten.com/kids/uptoten-features-search-searchpage.html