Year 2

Mrs Slade and Mrs Held teach Science on a Monday afternoon.

Our day with Sir Teachalot

On the last day of spring term, we had a visit from Sir Teachalot. Our day was split into three parts. Firstly, we had the chance to dress up as knights. We saw what peasants and Kings would wear in battle. Next, we built a castle which could withstand the different attacks from the enemy. We we able to show off our knowledge of the different castle features (Sir Teachalot was very impressed). Finally, we spent the afternoon having a jousting competition on a makeshift horse. 

Spring 2 update

The term so far has been extremely busy.

In History, following from our visit to Tamworth Castle, we explored the parts of a castle, such as the battlements and the portcullis, and learned about their functions. At the castle, we saw many Coat of Arms so we researched the Coat of Arms for our surnames and drew them onto the outline of a shield.

In Geography, we have continued to research famous landmarks from the seven continents. This term we have collected lots of facts about the Statue of Liberty in North America and The Colosseum in Europe.

In Art, we have used different mediums to create a picture of a castle and royal portraits. We explored the methods that Paul Klee used to create his famous 'Castle and Sun' picture and experimented making a picture of a castle from different shapes.

PSHE has been centred around the theme 'Healthy Me'. We discussed how healthy means having a healthy body and mind. We also discussed the importance of relaxation in our busy, scheduled lives.

During RE, we listened to the song 'What a Wonderful World!' by Louis Armstrong. We drew pictures to represent the wonderful features in God's creation, such as rainbows and happy faces. Following on from this, we identified what makes our world wonderful.

For World Religion week, we studied Buddhism. We learned the story of Buddha and about the Noble Truths:

1. That suffering exists - our lives are a struggle

2. The cause of suffering - we create some of our own sufferings in the way that we think

3. There is a possible end to suffering

4. The path (the Noble Eightfold Path) is to be followed in order to end suffering.

We learned about the Vesak festival and created some of our own Vesak Lanterns.

Let's see what next term brings!

Spring term too, is going to be full of fun and learning.  In PE, we will be focusing on our catching and throwing skills along with polishing our Gymnastics moves.  In Geography, taking our learning further, we will be researching about a famous landmark from each continent. In History, we will move on to a new topic of 'Kings, Queens and Castles'. As part of this topic, we will be visiting Tamworth Castle.

Our Autumn Term blog

This term has been action packed!

We have covered a range of topics and objectives moving well into the Year 2 curriculum. Our Learning Journeys reflect our enriching curriculum and are presented to a high standard.

In Geography, we have studied the seven continents and the five oceans. We enhanced our map skills by plotting them onto a world map. Next, we focussed in on countries that make up the British Isles and their capital cities.

PSHE consisted of two 'Jigsaw' units. The first was 'Being Me in My World', where we discussed the importance of rules, duties and responsibilities and how it impacts on our everyday life. The next unit was 'Celebrated Difference'. We thought about how boys and girls are different but also very similar in many ways. We challenged the gender stereotypes and unpicked them one by one. 

For History, we sorted and compared toys from the past and present. We discussed the materials that were used in the past and how the mechanics of toys have evolved over time. Our trip to Cannock Chase Museum complimented our toys topic perfectly.

In PE, we have competed in a range of activities to improve our agility. We have focussed on changing direction whilst travelling, our ability to stop after running and being able to balance whilst moving faster.

In RE, we looked at rules and their importance in our daily life. Rules at home, school and in society were explored too. This was followed by a list of Class Rules put together by the children, which we all adhere to. November brought along Diwali celebrations! We learnt about the story of Diwali and made Rangoli patterns  December brought us closer to Christmas which meant the story of Nativity and play rehearsals. All the children in Year 2 have been working extremely hard to put up a fantastic show for the staff and all the parents.

In Art, we explored the skill of 'Still life' drawing. Pupils were provided with an opportunity to use their observational skills and capture the image of a sunflower. They all did amazingly well!

As you can probably tell, it was a term packed with various learning opportunities. We now look forward to an equally exciting next term.

Guided Reading

Miss Byrne's group have recently read Rumplestiltskin. During a session 2 for Guided Reading, the children acted out some of the main parts of the story. Below are some pictures. Lucy was the miller's daughter and she was being led away by the King (Isabelle). Charlie was the messenger and showed the miller's daughter (now the Queen) what he saw Rumplestiltskin doing in the forest.

PSHE

In PSHE, we have been covering the topic 'Being Me In My World'. We have discussed a lot about our life at school, especially our responsibilities, rewards and consequences. Today, we talked about 'green' and 'red' behaviour. We were given a range of pictures to arrange on the traffic lights. The bad behaviours, such as fighting, went near the red light and the good behaviours, such as working hard, went near the green light.

Black History Month

For Black History Month, we have been studying Usain Bolt.

In English we have been researching Usain Bolt and recording some interesting facts about him. Later this week, we will create a biography with all the information we have found out.

In PE, we decided to test ourselves to see what we could do in 9.58 seconds. This is Usain's World Record time for the 100 metre sprint. We wanted to find out how many cones we could collect, how many basketball dribbles we could do and how many bean bags we could throw into a hoop. We even had a go at seeing how many metres we could run in 9.58 seconds. We were running so fast that Miss Byrne couldn't catch us on camera.

Autumn Topic

This term, our Topic is all about Toys. The children will be comparing toys from the past to the present. We will explore how toys have changed over time, including materials and mechanics.

On Monday 19th November, the children will be visiting Cannock Chase Museum to explore toys from the past and participate in many exciting activities.

In PSHE, the focus this half term is 'Being Me in My World'. We have discussed worries that we may have and ways to deal with them.

Children will be drawing Still Life in Art and studying artists who are renowned for drawing Still Life pictures. We will also explore different mediums such as paint, pencil and chalk.

Homework

Please remember that your child's homework journal should be completed and handed in on a Thursday morning.

Maths homework is given out on a Friday and should be handed in on the following Monday.

Spelling tests are done on a Friday morning. Every Friday, your child will have a new list of spellings to learn at home.

PE Kit

Year 2's PE days are on Tuesday and Thursday.

Please ensure that your child has their full PE kit in school everyday as sometimes our PE slots may change. A full PE kit is a red t-shirt, black shorts and trainers. We do not allow children to wear pumps during PE so please ensure your child has trainers.

No jewellery is allowed in PE. This also includes studded earrings. If your child is unable to remove their earrings, then please send them in with plasters to cover them up.

 For Dance and Gymnastics, children will have bare feet. If your child is unable to do PE in bare feet, please send in a letter. If the child does not have the correct PE kit, they will not be able to take part in the lesson for health and safety reasons.