Year 2
Welcome to Year 2
Year 2, is a milestone stage in your child’s education. It marks the end of a wonderful journey through KS1 and prepares your child for the transition into the juniors.
We start every half term with an exciting stimulus, inspired by inquiry based topic work. Music is at the heart of our school and your child will have the opportunity to perform in the Christmas Nativity, learn to play the recorder and enrich their curriculum with music study.
In the summer term, your child will take the KS1 SATs assessments. The talented team in Year 2 are dedicated to preparing your child academically and emotionally for these assessments through a rich and varied curriculum, that focuses on the develop of the whole child.
To empower your child with independence, they are challenged to think for themselves and take a conscientious approach to their learning. Opportunities for the application of knowledge and skills in real-life contexts are paramount and plentiful. Forrest School, curriculum enhancing outings and community links, ensure children explore learning beyond the four walls of their classroom. In addition, your child will embark on their first residential experience-a memorable adventure not to be missed.
Topics
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 | Spring 1 | Spring 2 | Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Let’s go on a Safari! Africa | ‘Rescue the Rainforests!’ Uganda | Chocywoccidoda! Aztecs | Chim, Chimney Victorian Britain | Revision for SATs | Would the Beatles have won the X factor? |
A Typical Day
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Collective Worship | Religious stories linked to the theme of the week, prayers and hymns in the school hall. |
| Guided Reading/Individual Reading/Spelling journals | Children will revise previous taught sounds and spelling patterns, learn and practise new spelling patterns and will either read individually with the class teacher or as a small group. This is a good opportunity for us to assess the children’s reading comprehension skills. |
| Literacy | Our English curriculum is mastery, text based, linked to our thematic approach to learning. Each term the children are introduced to a new text from which specific skills are taught. The children explore the key features of these text types, through drama, written and practical activities. At the end of each half-term year 2 will complete an independent piece of writing. |
| Maths | In year 2 we follow the Abacus maths scheme. Abacus is a unique maths toolkit that’s carefully crafted to help children inspire a genuine love of maths and help every child master mathematical concepts. It ensures conceptual understanding, numerical fluency, problem-solving skills and mathematical confidence. Allowing for the real-life application of arithmetic skills and reasoning, mathematics is taught as a discrete subject and topically. |
| Music | Children will participate in either a composing, performing or appraising music lesson. Year 2 focuses on the musical elements pitch, tempo and dynamics. |
| Topic | Your child will explore a range of topics aimed to develop their conceptual understandings, strengthening their knowledge and skills across and beyond subject areas to encourage a lifelong love of learning. Our wider curriculum is taught through our cross curricular Approach to learning. This incorporates Science, History, Geography, Religious Education, Music, Art, Computing, Design Technology, Drama, French and SMSC. |
| Singing skills | Children will learn breathing and vocal techniques. They will sing a wide variety of songs and will develop a love of performing. |
| Story time | A valuable end to the day where children will listen to a story. (Each term year 2 have a focus class text linked to the topic). |
PE Sessions
Monday: Swimming
Tuesday: Gymnastics/Dance/Athletics
Homework
Homework is set on Friday expected in by the following Wednesday.
Homework consists of a literacy and Maths worksheet. Year 2 will be expected to complete online Maths homework linked to the Abacus scheme of work.
Housekeeping
May we take this opportunity to remind parents that it is imperative that all pupils have a suitable water bottle in school. At this stage in our pupils’ school careers, we are beginning to encourage our children to take responsibility for putting letters and homework into book bags, collecting water bottles and ensuring that all their clothes and property are taken home at the end of the school day. To help them with this, please make sure all personal items are labelled clearly.
