Welcome to Year 2

This year our class names are based on Mythical creatures.

Class 1 are called The Griffin’s. In this class you will find Mrs Willcocks, Mrs Stean and Mrs Byrne.

Class 2 are called The Phoenix’s. In this class you will find Miss Riley, Mrs Byrne and Mrs Rawlins

This term year 2 will be learning through our topic of Space. We will begin our topic using the text ‘The Darkest Dark’ by Astronaut Chris Hadfield. We will use this book as a way to help us begin to explore what the World looks like from space, and as part of our geography topic learn the 7 continents and 5 oceans. We will also look at images taken from the International space station and use google earth to make simple observations and comparisons. We will talk about the equator and discuss the differences we can see between different locations. We will be amazed at how much detail could be seen from the space station!

In History we will be learning about the achievements of Neil Armstrong as the first man on the moon, the impact his exploration has had and then comparing him to Tim Peake. We are sure we will learn many interesting facts about the first moon walk. We will use the information we find out to make simple power points about Neil Armstrong. This will allow us to show how we can alter the appearance of the font and how to add photographs and videos in a word processing package .

Our science and PDL work will allow us to think about what keeps humans healthy and consider what an astronaut would need to do to keep fit and healthy in space. We will find out about how we need to care for ourselves by looking after our bodies in different ways.(sleeping, exercising, eating healthily, keeping hydrated etc)

In art we will explore the night sky and look at paintings including ‘Starry night’ by Vincent Van Gogh. We will develop our colour mixing skills by learning how to mix shades and tints and then using these to create our very own paintings inspired by the night skies.

In music we will listen to extracts from Holst ‘The Planets’ and other pieces of contrasting music, and explore different ways to respond to the music. We will then create a Man on the Moon class soundscape and group compositions allowing us to develop our playing techniques for tuned and untuned percussion instruments. Later in the term, when our ukuleles arrive, we will begin to learn how to play these and accompany simple songs as we do this.

In English we will be exploring fiction texts with a space theme, reading and performing space poems, comparing and discussing the features of non- fiction texts about space and then using the models we have read to help us develop our writing skills for a variety of purposes. We will write space themed adventure stories, write acrostic poems and create fact files, whilst all the while developing our use of expanded noun phrases, coordinating conjunctions, subordinators and using different types of sentences in our writing. (questions, statements, commands and exclamatory sentences)

In maths we will continue to build upon and practise our key skills in place value (hundreds, tens and ones) addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, beginning to explore these more through problems and measurements.

We will recognise and find ½, ¼, ¾ and 2/4 of different shapes and then even numbers. We will work practically to develop a secure understanding of these concepts.

We will end the term with our RE topic exploring the concept of belief and learning about the Christian celebrations of Easter, including simple symbols used around this time.

It looks like we are in a for a space-tastic term!