Welcome to Year 2!
Fortune Class
Teacher: Miss O'Rourke
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Bomers
Liberty Class
Teacher: Miss Magog
Teaching Assistant: Mrs Kirk
Term 1: Toys Through Time
Is plastic the best material?
Our history topic in term 1 is Toys Through Time. Children learn about popular toys through the 20th century and the early 21st century. We start by asking children to think about their favourite toy from today before moving on to look at toys which were popular when their parents and grandparents were children.
Term 2: All Aboard
Why did the Titanic sink?
Our history topic in term 2 is All Aboard where we explore the famous RMS Titanic, from the people who sailed on her to how and why she sank.
Term 3: Ocean Explorers
Where are the world's oceans ?
Our geography topic in term 3 is Ocean Explorers. We will be learning about the 5 oceans on our earth and the location of them in relation to the 7 continents. We will also be finding out about all the wonderful animals which live in our oceans and the different types of habitats that they live in.
Term 4: Springwatch
What is in our forests?
Our geography topic in term 4 is Springwatch. We will be exploring forests and woodlands in Britain and the animals that live in them.
We will also be walking to the Bloors Lane Community Woodland on Tuesday 25th March to complete some off-site learning linked to our digital photography and geography topics.
Term 5: Mediaeval Medway
What makes our local castle so important?
Our history topic this term will investigate why Rochester Castle was important by looking at how castles were designed. Children will be encouraged to use a variety of sources, looking at their reliability as well as asking and answering historical questions.
We will also visit Rochester Castle on Thursday 15th May where we will visit the castle grounds, participate in a supervised tour of the castle keep, and take part in an educational workshop at the Guildhall Museum about the history of Rochester Castle.
Term 6: Rio Rocks!
What is so cool about Rio?
This term we will focus on developing children’s geography skills as we learn about the capital city of Brazil. We will be undertaking map work, asking and answering geographical questions and developing our vocabulary to learn all about Rio de Janeiro. We will also be comparing Rio with the place where we live.
P.E. Lessons
PE lessons take place on Friday morning. Please ensure that children come dressed for PE that day. The Association for Physical Education (AfPE) recommends that children remove all jewellery, including earrings, before participating in physical education (PE) activities. This is to ensure the safety of children and others during physical activity. Teachers are not allowed to take out or replace children's earrings if they are unable to do so themselves. It would therefore be helpful if earrings could be taken out at home on PE days. Children will need to wear plimsolls or trainers, a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and jogging bottoms/leggings (for outside PE).
Forest School Lessons
Forest School lessons take place as follows:
Liberty Class – Tuesday
Fortune Class - Thursday
Children must wear a long sleeved top and long trousers regardless of the weather. Children will be outside for at least 50 minutes of a session; they will have time to get changed at the start of the session. Children do not get changed after the session; they go home in their kit. The only exceptions are if they are attending a club.
Educational Trips and Visits 2024/5
Please scroll down to find out more about our learning.
Key ways to help your child SHINE
Maths
1-minute Maths
Designed for use both in class and at home, 1-minute maths is a free app that helps children build greater number confidence and fluency. It’s all about targeted practice in engaging, one-minute chunks!
The app is aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils. Individual one-minute tasks focus on adding and subtracting – and on ‘Subitising’, the skill of instantly recognising the number of items in a group without counting. Multiplication and division topics are also available.
Children can choose any topic they want to try. They then answer a unique series of questions (so it’s a different set of questions every time). If they’re struggling with a question, a ‘Hint’ button will give a helpful clue by showing the question in a different but familiar way. When the one minute’s up, they’ll see a feedback screen telling them how they’ve done.
The app is free to download for parents and children from the Apple App or Google Play Store.
Times Tables Rockstars
By the end of Year 2, most children should be able to recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers. We use Times Tables Rock Stars because it has a proven track record of boosting children’s fluency and recall in multiplication and division.
The question-based games automatically adapt to each child’s unique learning needs, helping them to recall their times tables in record speed.
Children will be able to play the games at home or in school using a their unique login.
Reading
Reading is the key to success!
Children should read regularly. We know that children who read do better at school and make more progress across the curriculum. Research also shows that children who read are more likely to be healthier and happier with better mental wellbeing and self-esteem.
Please ensure that your child is reading regularly. We read a range of texts every day in school, including fictional stories, leaflets, magazines and even menus. There are opportunities to read all around us.
Children will be expected to read most nights in the week for at least 15 minutes. Each child will bring home a Reading Record Book where you can record what they have been reading and tell us about their progress and reading skills.
Spelling
In Year 2, we follow the ELS Essential Spelling programme. To enable children to spell successfully, they need to have a strong grasp of the main sounds of the English language. All children entering Year 2 have been taught these main sounds and the code used to represent these.
ELS Essential Spelling allows children to deepen their phonic understanding in Year 2, as well as covering the spelling focuses outlined in the National Curriculum. For those children who need support to consolidate their code knowledge to underpin reading, we prioritise this using the Early Letters and Sounds interventions.
Children are encouraged to continue to practise their weekly spellings at home. These spellings will be tested each Friday.
You will find the printable spelling lists for Year 2 in the links at the bottom of the page.
Useful Links
Number Fact Families Have a go at practising your fact families.
SPaG - Small Town Superheroes Brush up on your SPaG with the help of some superheroes
BBC Bitesize Daily Activities
Oxford Owl Free Online Books So many great books to choose from!
White Rose Maths 1 Minute maths app - https://whiteroseeducation.com/1-minute-maths