year2@addingham.bradford.sch.uk
First day back is Wednesday 3rd. January 2024.
Year 2 Autumn 2 2023 year2@addingham.bradford.sch.uk
Dear Parents,
We hope you have had a wonderful half term holiday. Our new term has begun in style with our Roman dress up day! All of Year 2 showed fantastic listening, engagement and excitement as we learnt about the Romans together with our guest speaker. Thank you for reading with your children over half term and logging any reading onto BoomReader.
Staffing this term will be Mrs McLean and Mrs Cruse Monday to Friday, and Mrs Field will teach PSHE on Thursday afternoons.
Best Wishes,
Mrs McLean, Mrs Cruse and Mrs Field.
English
Our English this half term will be taught in sync with our history focus on Romans in Britain. We will use the text “The Sandal” by Tony Bradman and Philippe Dupasquier to re-cap 2a sentences using capital letters, finger spaces, punctuation and carefully chosen adjectives. Last term, the children had fantastic questions about the Roman army. We will explore these in detail to enable us to write non-chronological reports about Roman soldiers. We will learn about the Boudican Revolt and use it as inspiration for writing letters.
During the Nativity performances we will learn poetry off by heart with our Year 5 Reading Buddies, and write our own poems inspired by Winter.
Maths
Addition and Subtraction
We will build upon our learning about double digit numbers to develop efficient strategies for adding and subtracting them. Through repetition and discussion, we will increase the speed at which the children can calculate alongside exploring problem solving opportunities.
Multiplication and Division
We will consolidate our understanding of multiplication as repeated addition then go on to learning about related division facts within 100. In Year 2, children must learn their 2, 5 and 10 times tables. We will practice these in school but extra support at home is vital to ensure that children are confident and able to recall these quickly. Thank you for your support.
Geometry – shape
During the Nativity period we will explore the properties of 2D and 3D shapes and their lines of symmetry.
History
Our focus is on “Romans in Britain”. We will learn about timelines, how Archaeology is used to inform our historical understanding, the Roman Empire, Roman invasion of Britain and the Boudican Revolt.
Science
Our focus is on Living Things and Their Environment. We will learn about habitats, animal adaptation and food chains. Additionally, we will develop our understanding of Scientific enquiries by publishing the results of our bread experiment and setting up a new enquiry during World Science Day.
Computing.
We will learn about internet safety and digital photography.
P.E.
Invasion games and Gymnastics.
R.E.
We will learn about Diwali in Week 2 and our theme for the half term is Christmas- Jesus as gift from God. Key question: Why do Christians believe God gave Jesus to the world?
Music
We will consolidate our learning about Pulse, Rhythm and Pitch when practicing for the Nativity, using percussion instruments and hand clapping.
P.S.H.E.
This half term we will finish our topic on families and friendships, consolidate this learning during national Anti-Bullying week then move on to our new topic about respecting ourselves and others. Alongside weekly P.S.H.E. we will continue to use the Zones of Regulation each day to support the children.
Art/D.T.
Our focus is on colour, shape and texture. Inspired by the work of Matisse, we will cut out shapes and colour them based on complimentary colours during week 6 and 7. We will then explore how to create visual texture in 2-dimensional art, examining Van Eyck’s Arnolfini portrait and his techniques.
Autumn 1 Week 4
Year 2 have had a busy few weeks! We are very proud of their enthusiasm and dedication to their learning, and it has been a pleasure to teach them all. Here are some of our highlights.
In Maths, we have re-capped and consolidated our understanding of place value using double digits. We have explored numbers using a hundred square and begun chanting in 2s, 5s and 10s . By exploring repeated addition, the children will be able to progress towards learning their 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables as the term goes on. They are very excited about getting new Times Tables Rock Stars logins over the coming weeks. This is a fantastic interactive online system that helps children build upon learning done at school from Year 2 to Year 6. It gives children a fun way to practice at home, which plays a big part in ensuring every child is fluent in all times tables by the end of Year 4. Thank you in advance for supporting your child in achieving this with practice at home over the coming years.
In English we have been enjoying our book ‘Orion and the Dark' . We have written character descriptions using expanded noun phrases, creative adjectives and challenged ourselves to use similes too. We are continuing to enjoy reading our class novel 'Odd and the Frost Giants' by Neil Gaiman alongside lots of wonderful picture books. 'How to Live Forever' by Colin Thompson sparked excited discussion, but our favourite picture book so far has been 'Winnie the Witch' by V. Thomas and K. Paul.
In Geography we have continued to explore maps, comparing and contrasting old and modern maps of Addingham alongside Mr. McLean's Ordnance Survey maps of the U.K. We also learnt about Aboriginal Songlines and their traditional method of singing to remember a route. I challenged Year 2 to compose a song that told me their journey to school, and, as always, the children showed fantastic engagement and creativity.
We have enjoyed learning songs and a hymn for the upcoming Harvest church visits on 13th and 19th October, explored Mrs McLean's Polly Pocket collection during wet breaks and made friends with our new starters. We are very proud of how well they have settled in.
In Science so far we have learnt about the Skeletal system, the Muscular system, the Digestive system and the Circulatory system. Year 2 enjoyed feeling their heart rates change before and after exercise, and drawing their learning onto human body outlines.
In Art we have explored Geometric and Organic shapes, comparing and contrasting works by Paul Klee and Picasso. We went outside to find natural, organic objects and drew them in pencil and pencil crayon.
Autumn 1 Week 3
Lots of children bring in sweets to share with their classmates to celebrate their birthday.
If you feel able to, please consider choosing one of the texts on our Year 2 "Wish List" instead. Then we can read it together and enjoy it all year in our snuggly book corner.
Thank you for all of your support, and please don't feel obliged in any way.
Best Books for Year 2: Recommended Booklist for Ages 6-7 (booksfortopics.com)
Year 2 2023-2024
year2@addingham.bradford.sch.uk
We are so proud of how well the children have settled back into school life and can already tell it is going to be a super year! They have showed fantastic enthusiasm for their learning and kindness towards their classmates.
It was great to meet many of you during our class open evening and at drop offs and pick ups. Below are a few pieces of key information from the PowerPoint for those who could not make it.
Mrs McLean, Mrs Field & Mrs DeAth
Monday
Homework handed in and given out.
Reading books changed.
Tuesday
Library session.
Wednesday
PE Kit.
Spelling Test.
Thursday
PE Kit.
Reading books changed.
Dates to remember this half term:
Parent Information Evening – Wednesday 13th September 3.30-4pm and 4.30-5pm
National Poetry Day - 5.10.23
World Mental Health Day – 10.10.23
Black History Month – October
Family Fridays are 8.40 – 9am, Year 2 parents will have the chance to come in and share a story on Friday 13th October.
Harvest – Year 2 and Year 6 at Methodist church Friday 13th October
- Whole school at St. Peter's church Thursday 19th October
Break up for Half Term – Friday 20th October (full day)
In R.E. this week we enjoyed exploring what kindness means to us, giving specific examples of things we can do to be kind to ourselves, our families, our planet and our friends. Year 2 showed fantastic listening skills and wonderful creativity.
