Year 2
Spring 1 Curriculum Newsletter
Attenborough Class
Welcome!
Welcome to another term in Year 2! We hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year. As always, this term is very busy with lots of fantastic learning taking place. Within this curriculum newsletter, there is some key information to help you support your child’s learning.
Uniform and water bottles
Please make sure your child is wearing the correct school uniform and that it is clearly labelled to avoid confusion. Uniform guidelines are outlined on the school website. Please contact the school office if you have any questions. All children should bring a labelled water bottle to school every day. A hydrated body means a higher functioning mind.
PE
Monday and Thursday are our PE days this term.
Children should have a P.E kit in school at all times. We suggest they bring it in to school on a Monday and take it home on a Friday to be washed.
Indoor PE: Children will need black shorts and a plain t-shirt in their house colour. Gym and Dance is done in bare feet. Children will need trainers or plimsolls for indoor games.
Outdoor PE: Children will need black shorts and a t-shirt, as well as a tracksuit or spare jumper for colder days. Children will also need trainers.
Jewellery: A reminder that only stud earrings and wristwatches may be worn to school. Earrings must be removed or covered for PE. Children should not wear bracelets to school.
Homework
Children will have one homework book, which will be used for all homework. In Year 2, the homework expectations are as follows:
- Maths homework on Times Tables Rock Stars (5 minutes three times a week)
- 5 spellings to learn each week
- Daily/frequent reading (at least four times a week)
- One piece of STEAM topic homework each term
Times Table Rock Stars
Cherry Fields Primary School is signed up to the Times Tables Rock Stars programme to support your child with their multiplication and division facts. The curriculum states that all children should be able to recall accurately their multiplication and division facts up to 12x12 by the end of year 4. Therefore, daily times table practice is crucial. When it comes to times tables, speed AND accuracy are important – the more fluent they are with their facts, the easier they will access other aspects of the curriculum. In Year 2, the national expectation is that children become fluent in the 2, 5 and 10 times tables and the related division facts. For their maths homework, children are expected to play on Times Table Rock Stars for 5 minutes at least three times a week. Certificates will be awarded to children in celebration assembly as they progress.
Spelling
At the start of the term, children will be given a termly spelling grid in their homework books indicating which spellings to learn each week.
Each week, your child will receive 5 spellings that follow the spelling pattern they have covered that week. We have also sent home a spelling menu, which has lots of great ways of practising spellings. It is important to practise regularly. On Friday, the children will have a spelling test for the spellings they have practised during the week.
Reading
We expect children to have daily opportunities to read to, or with, someone at home, as well as independently. Reading can include a variety of texts: books, newspapers, magazines, online reading, eBooks, reading tablets, information books, adverts, menus, poems, song lyrics – the list is endless! The important thing is that your child reads regularly (preferably daily!) and enjoys reading.
All children have a reading diary, which they should bring to school in their book bag every day. Please record your child’s reading (as well as any additional comments) in the reading diary including the date and, where appropriate, page numbers. Halfway through the diary is a guide to help adults to support children’s reading as well as phonics/spelling guides for children as they progress through the school.
We will check the reading record is completed every day.
If your child reads four times a week, your child will receive a raffle ticket that will be entered into our termly reading raffle. They have the chance to win a book of their choice from the selection.
STEAM Homework Menus
The children have a termly topic menu with homework options based on our STEAM curriculum. Please could your child bring in one piece of homework based on our STEAM topic each term by the date on the menu.
STEAM
This term, our STEAM focus is Engineering. We will be focusing on the question ‘Can I design and construct a product using my knowledge of the engineering process?’ We will be exploring the concept of flight, specifically focusing on the timeline of events including, the invention of the kite in China, the creation of the hot air balloon and propellered planes. We will be creating models of these three engineering marvels whilst exploring their history and the engineers behind the invention. The propellered planes will use rubber bands and propellers which we would have tested, designed, created and evaluated during our learning journey.
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Maths |
Our maths topics will allow us to explore the concept of multiplication. We will begin by focusing on representing equal groups, groups of 2 and commutativity. We will then move on to looking at groups of 10 and 5 and factors of 0 and 1 before refocusing on commutativity with doubling and halving. The children will be developing their knowledge of counting in steps of 2, 5 and ten from any number forwards and backwards. Year 2 will be investigating repeated addition within context and how to represent this within the multiplication equation, calculating the product within the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables. |
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Writing |
Our writing this term will be based on the book ‘Journey’ by Aaron Becker. This is a book without words, allowing for a great array of inference, interpretation and creativity. We will begin by writing a narrative about some of the illustrations in the book using a range of grammatical devices. We will be focusing on sentence structure and cohesion whilst also looking at coordinating conjunctions such as ‘and’ and ‘but’. We will also introduce the conjunction ‘when’. We will be revising grammatical structures that we already know, such as expanded noun phrases and apostrophes for possession. |
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Computing |
This term, we will be looking at programming robot algorithms. This will include giving clear and concise instructions, programming simple sequences and exploring the effects of changing the instructions. Year 2 will then use logical reasoning to predict the outcome of a programme and explain that programming projects can have codes and artwork. Towards the end of term children will be given the opportunity to design an algorithm and debug a programme that they have written. |
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HRE |
Within our HRE this term, the children will be exploring 3 topics ‘families and close positive relationships’, ‘friendships’ and ‘managing hurtful behaviour and bullying’. As part of these topics, we will spend time identifying:
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Music |
Our music this term is linked to a topic called ‘I wanna play in a band’. In this exciting topic, we will be listening to the pulse, voices and instruments in the music. Then, we will clap rhythms, play instruments using up to 3 notes, sing, improvise and compose a simple melody before performing our final piece! |
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PE |
Our outdoor PE sessions will be focused on ball control – we will be applying our skills to both hockey and football during the term. We will be learning how to move the ball on the floor while moving and dribbling the ball forward using a stick or our feet. In addition, we will be learning how to push the ball towards a target and stopping the ball using my foot or a stick. During our inside PE sessions, we will be exploring health and fitness with a focus on talking about how our bodies react when exercising, completing exercise for a sustained period of time and investigating healthy foods. |
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RE |
In RE, our big question will be ‘Are people really good or bad?’ We will be exploring symbols and beliefs whilst focusing on Hinduism. We will be looking at what Hindus believe about God, identifying their symbols and explaining their meanings. In addition, we will explain what Hindus believe about humanity, focusing on creation and rebirth. |
To help with our STEAM learning, we would like to ask for a voluntary contribution of £2 per child to help us fund our exciting project. Donations can be made via parent pay. Your donations will be used to buy materials for the children to design, create and build a model showing the development of aviation from a kite to a Boeing 747.
Thank you for your ongoing support. We are looking forward to another busy term and working with you to support your child’s learning and development. If you have any questions or concerns, please do come and speak to us before or after school.
Kind regards,
Mrs Raby and Mrs Thomas
Year 2 Teachers
