Month: September 2020

Dear Parents/Carers

The children have continued their hard work this week and have started to really settle in to their new role as the oldest children in Key Stage 1, being excellent role models for all the younger children in our bubble.

For Spelling Shed this week there are lists of spellings for each group. The children will practise their phonics at school each day, and the spelling shed supports this learning at home. Maths shed can be used by the children to revise what we have looked at in maths this week through their lesson quiz function.

This week we have been learning to count in 2s and 5s in maths, both in ascending and descending order. In English the children have become journalists and have learnt about and written newspaper articles based on the Lonely Beast. We will publish their newspapers on Monday, adding pictures and captions to their writing. If you would like to watch the Lonely beast story, it can be listened to here – youtube.com/watch?v=mRzkcuNhiBk

In Science, we learnt about materials can be changed through bending, twisting, squashing and breaking, as well as what would happen to different materials if they were left in water, or heated up. In topic we began to research the Isle of Wight for our Wish you were here topic. The children learnt that rare animals, such as the red squirrel live on the island, as well as various other facts. In R.E. we continued to look at the Jewish celebration of Rosh Hashanah, creating cards and trying some apples with honey –  a common dish in a Rosh Hashanah feast. Most of the children thought it was very yummy! In Art, the children created collages, making globes using card, paper and tissue paper.

Next week, we will be learning how to count in 10s and 3s in maths, writing riddles in English, investigating which materials are waterproof in science, learning about objects that are important to Jewish people in R.E., and labelling human and physical features of the Isle of Wight in Topic.

Have a lovely weekend, thank you for your continued support. Please can the children’s book bags be back on Wednesday.

Mr Stocking and Mrs Killy

Dear Parents/Carers

We have had another excellent week in which the children have worked very hard; they’ve definitely earned a restful weekend!

This week I have set Spellings on Spelling Shed. The spellings each child has been set is based on our phonic assessments we have been doing over the past few weeks. This is very important in preparation for the phonics screening test at the end of half term. This will be mainly used as revision, however one group has started on the Year 2 spelling lists and we will have a small quiz to test the children next Friday. The aim is to move all of the children up to the Year 2 spelling list over time.

With the phonic assessments now complete, the children will be taking home learning to read books and reading for pleasure books from Thursday 24th September. After this week, the children will bring back their book bags on Wednesday and they will be sent home again on Thursday. The reading for pleasure book can be read to the children, and they will have some choice over what they take home. The learning to read books will be set based on the sound each child is looking at that week.

This week we have become beasts and written a diary entry about the Lonely Beast’s adventure. The children wrote in first person and in the past tense and tried to use exciting vocabulary. In maths we have been learning about comparing numbers and objects and we have been revisiting some of our learning from the end of Year 1.

In topic, the children learnt about the countries and capital cities of the UK. In R.E. we began our topic on Judaism by learning about the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which is happening over this weekend. In science, the children continue to learn about materials and we explored the suitability of certain materials. In P.E. we completed obstacle courses that practised skills linking to our athletics topic. In Art, the children have painted their own versions of the Lonely Beast, which I will post pictures of to the blog when they have dried next week.

Next week we will be starting to look at Newspapers in English, counting in 2s, 5s, 10s and 3 in maths, creating Rosh Hashanah cards and learning about different foods eaten during the Jewish New Year in R.E., and we will be starting to research facts about the Isle of Wight in Topic.

Have a lovely weekend, thank you for all of your support in the first few weeks of this new school year.

Mr Stocking and Mrs Killy

Dear Parents/Carers

We have come to the end of our first full week of Year 2 and everyone’s first full week of school for around 6 months. The children have worked very hard, and have continued to embrace the more challenging work of Year 2. Everyone’s behaviour has been excellent and all are very enthusiastic about their learning.

Normally, the children would have new spelling’s to practise that will link their phonics, and maths activities to have a go at on Maths Shed. This week, I have only set maths work as a way to ease the children into working at home. I have set a couple of number bond activities and a 2 digit number activity that all the children should be able to access. Maths Shed now has work that links directly to the lessons we have been doing in class. If you click Autumn Term > Place Value and then choose a lesson, the children will be asked questions based on our work this week. I am sending, with the children, their usernames and new passwords to access Spelling Shed and Maths Shed. I have also spoken to them all about this, showing them how to access the website.

This week, we started our place value topic in maths. The children have been using a variety of practical resources to help with their understanding and to identify any gaps in their learning. Next week, we will continue this learning, whilst also revising a few lessons from Year 1. In English, the children have been reading the Lonely Beast, our first book to help with our writing. We have learnt to write in the first person as the beast, and next week we will be building on this to write diaries.

For our topic, we have started to consolidate our knowledge of the seven continents and have learnt about the 5 oceans of the world. Next week, we will be learning about the countries and capital cities of the UK. In R.E. we wrote our class prayer, thinking about what we are thankful for and what we would like to ask for help. In Science, the children started learning about materials, having to identify mystery materials without looking at them based on what they feel like. We started our dance and athletics lessons in PE and created Island collages in art.

If the children haven’t brought in their PE kits yet, can they please be in for next week. I hope you all have a very relaxed weekend.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask,

Mr Stocking and the Year 2 team

Curriculum Map Autumn Year 2

Dear Parents/Carers

The first week of Year 2 is complete and the children are settling into the new school year nicely. In what has been a different start to normal, the children have shown excellent resilience and have taken to the necessary changes fantastically well.

Each Friday I will be sending out a letter, going over a few of the things we have looked at in the week and what we will be doing the following week, along with any important notices or reminders. This will also be posted to the class blog. Some weeks it may not be possible to send out paper copies and it will only be available on the Year 2 blog.

This week the children have made ID cards, and written about their summer holidays. In maths, we started to look at place value, starting with using practical resources to identify tens and ones. The children enjoyed our new virtual assemblies, in which Mr Quinn live streamed to all of the classrooms so we could have our usual whole school worship. We also completed various phonics activities, continuing their learning from Year 1.

Our first topic for the year is ‘Wish you were here’ in which we learn about the Isle of Wight and Australia, as well as the countries of the U.K. and the oceans of the world. The children were introduced to the topic by designing their own dream islands. We had some very creative and imaginative island designs!

Looking to next week, we will be looking at partitioning 2 digit numbers in maths. In English, the children will be introduced to our story for this term, The Lonely Beast We will be starting our Science and whole class phonic lessons, as well as starting our new PE topics – dance, and athletics. P.E. lessons will be on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, and the children can leave their PE kit in school for this half term.

Next week I will be sending out a PowerPoint that I have put together, in place of the usual meet the teacher meetings that would happen at this time of year. This will go over what we are doing this term, and any changes that being in Year 2 brings. If you have any specific questions, please email the office with them and I will try to include the answers in the PowerPoint.

Thank you for your support, have a lovely weekend,

Mr. Stocking and the Year 2 team.