Autumn 2 Week 6 - wb 02.12.24

What a busy week in Year 2! This week we have had Elf Enterprise and we cannot wait to sell our final products at the Christmas fair on Sunday. 

First, we discussed what Elf Enterprise is and the difference between mass production and making personalise items. We looked at machinery in factories and then created a design criteria and a design for our product. Next we wrote some fantastic instructions explaining how the stockings are made. We used bossy verbs and adverbs. We also designed some packaging and worked out the coatings and how much profit we could make! Once we had done all the admin side of things, it was time to begin our production line!! We had a cutting team to cut out the stocking shapes, a sewing team sewing the back and front of the stockings together, a decoration team who cut the star appliqué and glued them to the front, the sweet team who added the sweets and the packaging teams who packaged the products. We made a great team!! We created some excellent posters to advertise our product too. Finally, we evaluated our product. 

We can’t wait to sell them at the fair and see how much profit we make! Make sure you come along to buy one! 

As well as all the excitement with Elf Enterprise, this week we have had a ball at the Pantomime. We watched Jack and the Beanstalk at the Empire Theatre. It was spectacular and we were all enthralled. 

We have also been rehearsing our Nativity performance which we can’t wait to show you all next week! We have started our Christmas cards too as well as completing some more of our Big Frieze poster. 

On Friday we had a none uniform day and brought in donations for the fair. Our generosity was wonderful. 

Autumn 2 Week 5- wb 25.11.24

What a great week in Year 2! In Maths this week we have been exploring the properties of 3D shapes. We have been looking how many vertices they have, as well as the edges and the faces. We also learnt how some shapes have a curved surface. In English we have been exploring non-chronological reports and have planned and began to write our own non-chronological reports all about Neil Armstrong! 

On Monday we had an out of this world History day exploring the history of space exploration! We wore our best space themed outfits and learnt all about the significant achievements of Neil Armstrong and he even came to visit us! @AsCreativesEd. 

Our RE this week was also super exciting! We had a joint Outdoor Adventurous Learning adventure with Year 1. We used compasses and maps to journey from the East to find Jesus, just like the Wise Men! Then we created advent wreaths representing the circle of life. We also went on a long journey and imagined how Mary, Joseph and their donkey must have felt. Additionally, we used twigs and logs to create Christmas trees, whittling and cutting them to size.We learnt how Christmas trees represent the gift of Jesus and how they are coniferous representing how He is always with us.

We have also been practising for our Nativity. Many of us have been great at rehearsing our lines! 

In French we have revised our numbers and spotted patterns. 

In DT we have continued to sew our stockings. It is quite tricky so we are making sure we are being resilient and keep persevering. 

Autumn 2 Week 4- wb 18.11.24

This week in Year 2 has been a busy and exciting time with lots of learning across different subjects. In English, we have been working hard on our creative writing. We finished our stories based on the theme of a “Right Royal Disaster,” where we used joining words, adjectives, adverbs, and punctuation to make our writing more detailed and interesting. We focused on making our sentences flow smoothly and making our stories as engaging as possible. We also began our new nonfiction unit on Neil Armstrong, learning about his incredible achievements and his famous journey to the moon. Our grammar focus has been using time subordinates, 'when' and 'before.' See if we can give you an example at home! 

In Maths, we continued to develop our understanding of shapes. We spent time sorting 2D shapes, studying their properties, and learning about lines of symmetry. We practiced folding shapes to find their symmetrical halves. Then, we moved on to 3D shapes, where we explored the faces and edges of different shapes. We’re becoming more confident in identifying and describing both 2D and 3D shapes in our everyday world.

In RE, we studied the response of the shepherds to the good news brought by the Angel Gabriel about the birth of Jesus. We watched a video/song to help us understand how the shepherds felt and discussed how they reacted with joy and surprise. We then thought about how the shepherds spread the good news. 

In Science, we explored how animals have adapted to their environments. We looked at animals like camels, polar bears, and giraffes, and discussed their special features that help them survive in different habitats. For example, we learned how camels store fat in their humps to survive in hot, dry deserts, and how polar bears have thick fur to protect them in cold, icy climates. 

In Design and Technology (DT), we began practicing our skills in cutting materials using tools and templates. We focused on safety and accuracy while using scissors and other equipment. We are excited to put these skills to use during Elf Enterprise Week, where we will apply our creativity and practical abilities to create things we can sell.

In PSHE, we talked about the idea of “special people” in our lives. We discussed who these people are, why they are important to us, and how they make us feel cared for and supported. It was a lovely opportunity to reflect on the people who mean the most to us.

In Music, we explored the term tempo and how it affects the speed of a song. We listened to different pieces of music and identified whether they had a fast or slow tempo. We also spent time practicing our nativity songs, getting better at remembering all the lyrics and preparing for our performance.

Next week, we’re looking forward to Space Day on Monday and some exciting Outdoor Learning on Tuesday. It’s been another fantastic week, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!

Autumn 2 Week 3

This week in Year 2 has been another fantastic and busy week of learning!

English:
We’ve started working on our innovated stories about Bob and Queen Battleaxe. We’ve made a great start by writing the beginning and building up the story, and we’re excited to continue next week with the problem, resolution, and ending. We can’t wait to share our final versions!

Maths:
We’ve begun learning about 2D shapes, focusing on naming them, drawing them, and exploring their sides and vertices. We are really getting to grips with the different shapes and their properties!

History:
In History, we’ve continued our unit on Space Exploration. This week, we used various sources of evidence to find out about the Space Race. It was great fun exploring how the race between the USA and the Soviet Union led to some amazing milestones in space exploration.

PSHE:
We had a special focus on Anti-Bullying Week. On Odd Socks Day, we watched a short video that helped us think about kindness and respect. We discussed whether the characters in the video were showing those qualities and learned how important it is to treat others well.  Watch the video here to recap your learning https://www.literacyshed.com/for-the-birds.html

RE:
In RE, we carried on learning about "Good News." We explored how Mary responded to the good news from Angel Gabriel and compared it to Zechariah’s response when he received his own good news. It was interesting to discuss the differences in how they reacted.

Computing:
In Computing, we used Scratch Junior to create our own stories. We enjoyed being creative and bringing their ideas to life using this program.

PE:
In PE, we warmed up by playing games and then practiced our relay race running. We worked hard on teamwork, and supporting each other in the races.  In dance this week we have practiced our actions to the Farmers Jig and added in a few more 'farmer' actions. We can't wait to practice it again next week!

Special Days:
We also had a lot of fun celebrating Children in Need Day and listened to a lovely worship session led by the Vales Committee. And of course, we all enjoyed participating in Odd Socks Day as part of Anti-Bullying Week.

It’s been a fun and busy week filled with learning and special activities! We’re looking forward to next week’s adventures!

Autumn 2 Week 2  04.11.24

This week in Year 2 has been full of exciting learning across the curriculum!

In English, we've been reading A Right Royal Disaster and focusing on using verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and suffixes to improve our writing. We have enjoyed exploring different ways to describe actions and events in the story.

In Maths, we’ve been working on adding and subtracting two 2-digit numbers, with a particular focus on exchanges and we are becoming more confident in solving these types of problems!

In PSHE, we’ve discussed what makes each of us special and unique. The class have been very reflective on their individual qualities and how they contribute to their communities.  We drew pictures of ourselves and surrounded the pictures with things that we have in our lives such as family, church, favourite foods, friends etc

In RE, we’ve learned about the concept of *good news* and explored the story of the Angel Gabriel bringing good news to Zechariah and Elizabeth. This led to some thoughtful discussions about what good news means to us and what good news we have received and how we received it.  In Computing, we’ve started using A.L.E.X to begin our new unit on programming. We have been enjoying learning how to give simple instructions to make things happen on screen.  In our Junior Jam singing lesson, we’ve learned the song Green Green Grass. It’s been fun learning to communicate through signing!  In Music, we’ve been exploring the concept of pitch and have learned a new song called *In The Autumn*. We have all loved singing and experimenting with different sounds and putting actions to the words.  In History, we’ve been learning about the Apollo space missions, the astronauts who have been to the moon, and the incredible achievements of these missions. We were fascinated by the history of space exploration!

Don’t forget to watch our music lesson performance below to see some of the picture highlights from the week! 

Looking forward to another great week of learning next week.

Autumn 2 Week 1- 28.10.24

This week has been a week of lots of new units and new things! It has been a busy one which sets the scene for the remainder of this half term! New dates have been emailed via the office with the class newsletter and the whole school newsletter so please refer to those. A paper copy of the class newsletter as well as home learning grids and an objectives overview, have also been sent home. 

This week we have started our new text in English! It is called A Right Royal Disaster, by Simon Bartram! We have read the first few chapters and we love it! We have written character descriptions of the formidable Queen Battleaxe as well as written to her explaining our ideas for an extravagant birthday party!

In Maths we have continued our addition and subtraction unit by beginning to add and subtract across a ten where exchanging is involved.

In History we explored our enquiry question- How has space exploration developed over time? We looked at the key vocabulary we will explore in this unit and also some primary and secondary sources from when the first humans walked on the moon! We also discussed the difference between within living memory and beyond living memory.

In Music we were introduced to choral singing by listening to the Military Wives Choir. We also learnt how to exercise and warm up our voices and learnt all about the term pitch.

In Science we went on an exciting walk to the reservoir and used our plant and tree identifier to discuss what living organisms were in that area. Then we also discussed the reservoir as a habitat and what might be living in there! 

In DT we have started our new textiles unit. We are going to be creating our own stockings. Today we have retrieved knowledge from our previous textiles unit in Year 1 where we made puppets. Then we have evaluated some existing products and identified some different types of stitches. 

In PSHE we have explored online safety, specifically looking at sending and receiving messages and emails. 

In PE we have started a new dance unit! We are learning a farmers jig to some Irish country music! 

On Thursday afternoon we were lucky to have an amazing Spirituality afternoon. Rev Ben and Rev Matt came to host a special worship then each class has begun to create a piece of artwork representing God's Big Story, inspired by The Big Freize. They are going to look phenomenal! 

Autumn 1 Week 7- wb 14.10.24

What a busy end to the half term we have had in Year 2! 

In English this week we have finished our amazing letters to children in Kenya and also one in role as Anna Hibiscus to her friend Sonny Belafonte telling him all about our trip to the beach. We enjoyed using lots of adjectives in our description of the setting. 

In Maths we have continued learning how to subtract and have completed some really tricky problems! 

On Monday we were treated to a visit from Pets at Home. They brought some different animals into school for us to meet to complement our science learning ! We met a snake, a giant African land snail, a horned frog, an isopod and some hamsters. We even got to hold them. They told us all about what they eat, their habitats and also how we know they are living things. We got to ask lots of questions all about how to look after them! Then we briefly touched on the life cycles and predators and prey which we will build on after half term. 

On Thursday we went to Brungerley Park in Clitheroe. We had a blast visiting with Year 3! We walked around the sculpture park using the map to find the different sculptures, which was an excellent end to our sculptures topic in Art and Design this half term. Then we gave them a score out of ten as well as discussed and noted down what material we thought they were made from. We read about the different artists too. Whilst we were there we looked at what different habitats and micro habitats we could see, one of the sculptures was of a kingfisher so that lead to some great discussions linking to our Science. We also used the map to help us know our way and which sculpture we were looking for and one of the sculptures represented the compass points which links to our Geography learning! Overall, a great day was had by all and we definitely got our steps in! On Friday, we used watercolours to recreate our favourite sculpture. 

In RE this week we have been continuing to look at different Holy books. We have explored the Qur’an and how it shows Muslims how to lead a good life. We learnt that when it is not being read it needs to be on a high shelf and covered in a cloth. We also looked at the script and noticed it was a different language. One of our class mates showed us how he has learnt to read some of the Qur’an at his Mosque. We were fascinated. We wrote our own rules for leading a good life. We have also looked at the Guru Granth Sahib which is the holy book in Sikhism. We thought it was brilliant how the holy book as it’s own bed with its own room in the Gurdwara because Sikhs treat the Guru Granth Sahib with as much respect as a real Guru. Then we played a Blooket quiz to see how many facts we could remember! 

We were also really lucky to receive our Behaviour Treat! Professor Slime came in and we all made our own pots of slime! 

Autumn 1 Week 6- wb 07.10.24

In Year 2 we cannot believe we are almost at the end of our first half term! We have done so much learning and we are well and truly enjoying everything we are learning! 

In English this week we have been focusing on letter writing. We have read some letters from the book 'Letters from Africa'. They were from children who live in Kenya. We have looked at the features of the letters such as the address and greetings. We wrote what we learnt about their lives by using conjunctions. Then we discussed what we could write back to them! We have planned some wonderful letters and next week we are going to write a letter to the children in Kenya. 

In Maths we have all been Brave Banana's and Resilient Rebels this week! We have worked really hard to add and subtract by making and crossing the ten. We have put our number bond knowledge to good use. 

On Wednesday we participated in an amazing Outdoor Adventurous Learning with Louise from Wild One Adventures. First we played a game of North, East, South, West where we had to find the correct direction linked to the animals. We worked together to discuss the countries of the UK and we used a jigsaw to make them. We also had signs for the seas of the UK. We found where The English Channel is, the Irish Sea, the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Next we explored habitats. We recapped that they are somewhere a living thing lives. We went on an adventure to see how many worms we could find. We looked on the ground not up trees! We went on a stream walk and found different living things on the way which we discussed, such as fungus and conkers! Louise told us lots of facts about fungus. We collected worms and made our own 'wormery.' What an amazing Science and Geography lesson! Mrs Harrison has put the video and some more pictures onto Seesaw. 

In Art this week we have added colour to our fantastic Ranti Bam inspired clay tiles. 

In French we have continued learning about our families and how to describe them.

In Performing Arts we discussed why it is imported to follow instructions and do good listening. We played lots of games where we had to follow instructions. We also played a game of opposites. 

In Computing, we focused on hip hop. We discussed what we new about urban and hip hop music. We then used garage band to make some hip hop songs. 

In PE we continued with football and we practised tackling each other. Then we played some mini matches. We also thoroughly enjoyed gymnastics. 

For our RE lesson this week, we took part in the Interfaith Panel. People from different faiths came to talk to us and we had lots of opportunity to ask them questions about their life and their religion. We really enjoyed this! 

We have also taken part in 'Hello Yellow' and worn yellow to raise awareness for Young People's Mental Health. 

As part of our Black History Month learning we have produced a list poem all about Ranti Bam. Mrs Harrison has put the video onto Seesaw. 

Autumn 1 Week 5- wb 30.09.24

We have had a lovely week in Year 2! In Maths we have been looking at spotting different patterns and related facts to be able to support us in completing some super problem solving! Ask us about fact families at home and see if we can tell you the related facts for a question like 4+6=10. 

In English we have been completing our extended writing in role as a Wildebeest! We have retold the story but from the perspective of a wildebeest using first person. We have worked incredibly hard and our pieces of writing are extraordinary. 

In Science this week we have been exploring micro habitats. First we looked at what a habitat was, then how different habitats suit different living things. Then we went into the woods to find different micro habitats! We found nests in the trees and even a rabbit hole! 

In Geography we have compared the weather in Kenya to the weather in the UK. They even have different seasons over there! Next week our English learning will look at Kenya too so there will be lots of retrieval opportunities. 

We have also had a visit from the fire service this week who taught us what to do if we were ever involved in a fire. They also made us all promise to check our smoke alarms. 

In French we recapped our learning from last week, and learnt a new word J’ai which means I have. We played a game in groups where we had to match the word to the picture. 

In PE with Junior Jam we worked on our ball control skills. We dribbled the ball half way then passed it to our partner making sure we didn’t kick it too hard. We then had to try get our ball through the ‘gate’ practising our aiming skills.

 In Gymnastics we practiced our forward and backwards rolls. We practiced standing up without putting our hands on the floor. We took it in turn to perfect our form!

In Performing Arts we talked about how it is important to warm our voices up before we perform. We warmed up our voices by repeats after me activity. We then talked about how we can use emotions to control our voices. We had to say a word in an emotion and we had to guess which emotion it was. We then immersed ourselves into a character and performed an emotion in groups. 

In Computing we focused on ‘electric’ music. We listened to some different music and tried to guess what instruments were being played. We then had a turn at making our own music on garage band. 

Autumn 1 Week 4- wb 27.09.24

This week has been a busy one in Year 2! In English we have written and performed some superb riddles about different animals from The Ugly Five! We have also learnt and performed the story using actions and focusing on our tone and intonation. You can watch this on Seesaw. We have been sequencing the story and have been planning an innovated version so that next week we can write our own version from the perspective of the wildebeest! 

In Maths we have been counting in multiples of 2, 5 and 3. We have used equipment to create number lines counting in different steps. We will be starting our addition and subtraction unit next week. 

In Geography, we became meteorologists! We looked at the weather for Darwen as well as the four capital cities of the United Kingdom. Then we worked as a group to put together an amazing weather report! We didn’t forget the yellow weather warning currently in place. 

In Science, we went on a walk to look at human habitats and how they meet our needs. We discussed how they all had a roof for shelter and all had walls for warmth. We discussed our other needs to ensure we survive and how our house meet them. Then we drew pictures of our houses and labelled them with how they meet our needs. 

In RE, we looked at the story of how the Dead Sea scrolls were discovered by a goat herder! We retold the story in role as the goat herder! 

In French, we continued our learning on family members. We described who was in our own families. 

In Art we have used the clay and our tile designs to create some amazing African inspired tiles! They look fantastic! 

In Computing we focused on rock n roll and blues music and why they can go together. We listened to some old music. We enjoyed the 1954 Elvis Presley song, hound dog and 1964 Chuck Berry - No particular place to go. These made us want to dance. We discussed which instruments we could hear. We then created our own rock n roll or blues songs on garage band.

In Performing Arts our questions for the lesson were. Why is it important to warm up? Why is it important an actor has control over their bodies? How can we use our bodies to create characters without words? We played two games then we turned each other in sculptures and tried to guess what we were. 

We then used one body part to control our bodies round the room, when we froze we had to turn into a character. 

In our Junior Jam PE lesson we played sharks and fishes to warm up. And we started to work on our throwing skills. In Gymnastics with Mrs Winward we revisited all the previous positions and doing a forward roll to standing up. We developed our balancing skills with bean bags. 

Autumn 1 Week 3- wb 16.09.24

What a lovely week in Year 2. We have been enjoying the last of the summer sunshine! 

In English this week we have been gathering the content we will need to write our own riddles. We have been exploring what a riddle is and their features. Then we chose one of the ugly five animals from our focus text before using the iPads to research facts about those animals to help form our clues for our riddles. Then we turned these facts into fact files. Next week we will write our riddles! 

In Maths we have continued our place value unit. We have been focusing on counting in multiples of two, five and ten. Then we have been estimating numbers on a number line. We learnt that an estimate is a brainy guess. We also learnt how to work out the intervals on a number line by checking the start and end points. We have also been comparing objects and numbers by using the inequality symbols. <,>,= 

In Geography we have learnt how the different winds (southern, northerly, easterly, westerly winds) affect the weather in the UK. We went outside and made our own wind sticks and used compasses to see which direction the wind was blowing from. 

In Art we have observed some African prints and then we have designed our own African and Ranti Bam inspired tiles. 

In Gymnastics we focused on different jumps, such as skipping and bunny jumps. 

This week we also enjoyed our first Junior Jam session!  In PE focused on running as well as on warm ups and cool downs. We discussed what a warm up was, we warmed up by jogging around the yellow zone and listened for mr Dyson to give us instructions. We then used the cones as ‘hurdles’ and had to jump over them. To cool down we walked around the playground.

In Performing arts we talked about miming. We introduced ourselves and mimed actions to see if we could guess what each other was feeling. We explored different acting techniques and demonstrated actions. We discussed what ‘actor’ meant. We then recapped our learning. 

In Computing we looked at iGenre - we talked about Genre and discussed if anyone knew what it meant. Louie said - about different music. We looked at different types of music, we had to guess what different genres were. We then had an explore on garage band. We will be developing our understanding of genre and decided which one we like the most. For our Online Safety we looked at some basic rules when using tablets. 

In RE, we looked at some different Bible stories and decided whether they were in the Old or the New Testament. 

In PSHE we have looked at different feelings and emotions and how people show these emotions in different ways. We then created scenarios about what we might say to someone feeling this way. 

In French we learnt the names of different family members such auntie and uncle. We learnt actions for some of the different words too. 

In Music we revisited the round we created last week. Then we used the instruments to copy a call and response song. Then we became composers and created our own call and response songs. 

Autumn 1 Week 2 wb 09.09.24

This week has been our first full week in Year 2 and it has been great! In English, we have continued to become more and more immersed in our focus text, The Ugly Five. We have explored the new vocabulary in the book such as divine and ambled! We have also developed our use of tone and intonation when reciting parts of the story. Then we have focused on using adjectives to describe the animals. 

In Maths, we have continued developing our understanding of place value. We have used place value charts as well as partitioning numbers and writing numbers in expanded form. 

In RE we explored why the Bible is a special book for Christians and how the Bible tells God’s Big Story. 

In Science, we have been categorising items. We have established whether they are living, dead or never been alive. We sorted them into columns on a table that some of us managed to draw independently. 

In Geography we have explored the seasons. We have looked at why the UK has four seasons and what the differences between them are. 

In Art, we have explored the artist Rachel Whiteread. Then we have explored clay! We have used different materials to imprint patterns and texture and looked at how to I use a slip pot to get rid of any mistakes we have made. We really enjoyed our Art this week! Today (Friday) have brought home a letter about a trip we are going on at the end of term to a sculpture park.

In PE we played different team games and races. It was great fun! We also had a game of dodgeball and then did some mindfulness exercises to calm and cool down. 

In French, we learnt the names of different family members. See if we can remember at home! 

Autumn 1 Week 1- wb 02.09.24

Welcome to our Year 2 class blog! Each week we will help Mrs Harrison write an overview of what we have been learning each week. This will help our families at home know what we have been up to and will help spark some after school and weekend discussions about our learning and general school life. 

We have settled into Year 2 exceptionally well and we are enjoying being back at school. We seem to have grown up over the summer and we are so ready for our new challenges! 

This week, we have written some amazing letters to Mrs Harrison, we have told her all about our holidays and what makes us wonderful! 

We have also been on a safari! We found lots of different animals hidden around the playground. Then we used adjectives to describe them. We came up with some super expanded noun phrases. We have started to enjoy our new focus text, The Ugly Five and have written some great descriptions of the animals. 

In our maths learning we have been recapping our place value knowledge of numbers. We have been working on grouping objects into groups of ten to make it easier to count. 

We have also started our new Science topic which is living things and their habitats. We have started this by looking at how we know we are alive! We have looked at how we grow, move, breathe etc. 

In Geography we are exploring the weather and seasons. We watched some weather reports and looked at the clouds to explore how they effect the weather. Then we explored how the weather report predicts the weather. We drew a field sketch of the playground incorporating the sky and used weather symbols to show what the weather was like at that moment. Then we predicted what we thought the weather might be like for the rest of the week!

In French with Madame Wardle, we revisited different French greetings and when each one may be used. 

In PSHE we looked at rules, routines and expectations. We established our rules and made pledges for how we can create a positive classroom. 

In Art we have explored the artist, Ranti Bam. She is going to be our focus artist for our current art unit. We learnt that she is a ceramic artist who is of British-Nigerian heritage. We then chose our favourite piece from her collection and explained why it was our favourite using key vocabulary such as contract, colours, shapes and patterns.