Welcome to Year 2!

 

• Mrs Ismail (Class Teacher)
• Mrs Ryland and Miss Travis will be the learning support assistants for two pupils with additional needs.

 

 

 

Oops I nearly forgot - we also have help from Grandad. 

 

 

Meet Grandad our secret helper!

 

 

 

 

 

What we are Learning

 

This autumn term we will be learning all about toys.

We will look at the toys we play with now and then at how toys have changed over time. We will think about why toys were different in the past by looking at changes in technology, use of materials and fashion. We will be set challenges by granddad and his twin brother Ernie; sometimes this will be to find out through research an answer to a question or it could be to make something.

 

 

 

History

We will be learning about how toys have changed over time. We will look at toys our parents and grandparents played with and think about how and why toys have changed. This will link with our science work on materials. We will learn about Teddy bears and how this toy got its name. We will look at how toys have changed over the past one hundred years and we will carry out questionnaires to find out more from our grandparents or elderly relatives. We look at the history of our favourite toys in class such as Lego. We will also learn more about our local history as we will learn about the famous Liverpool toy maker: Frank Hornby.

 

Science 

We will be looking at materials this autumn term. We will investigate and classify a range of materials and carry out experiments to investigate their properties and suitability for different tasks. We will use the knowledge we have learnt to design an umbrella for our school bear Anton.

 

Art

We will be learning about famous artists such as Sir Peter Blake and Breughel and how art can help us to uncover more about the past. We will be painting portraits of our favourite toys and Teddy bears. We will be mixing colours to create the correct shades needed. 

 

DT

 We will be making our own toys with the help of Grandad's twin brother: Ernie - who is also a magic toymaker! We will be making Jack in the Boxes with spring mechanisms and we will also be learning to sew so we can join materials together to design and make our own soft toys. We will be given the challenge to invent a toy of our own using the different materials available in our craft area.

 

 English 

Our texts for this term will be linked to our topic on toys. We will be studying Dogger by Shirley Hughes, Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs by Ian Whybrow, Nothing by Mick Inkpen and Traction Man by Mimi Grey. We will be and reading all about the adventures of these toys, looking at plot, sentence structure and characters as well as pinching good words and phrases to use in our own writing. We will write our own stories about toys that get lost and go on an adventure as well as writing instructions on how to make toys.

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We will be having daily phonics sessions and will practice our reading, spelling and handwriting every day. Each pupil is allocated a coloured guided reading group and this denotes the day that they will be having a guided reading session with the class teacher. During this session each pupil will have the opportunity to read aloud but they will also be working on comprehension skills based on their guided reading book. The following day they will then do some work based around the text they have read and this will give them the opportunity to read on and deepen their understanding.

We will send home the  book they are reading so they can practise their reading skills at home and also we hope by sharing this book with you it will help foster a love of reading.

 

Please try to read regularly with your child, 

5-10 minutes a day would be great!

Please listen to your child read, help them to decode tricky words by sounding out the letter sounds but also try to ask them a question about what they have read. ( Which character did you like best? Why? Was there any where in the book you felt sad? Which words made you feel this way? etc)

It is also important for you to model reading so sometimes you could read to them and they could just enjoy the story.

 

Please try to supplement their reading with other books

not just their school reader. 

Remember comics, newspapers are also good to practise reading skills.

 

 

Maths

We will be focusing mostly on number this autumn term, consolidating their reading and writing of numbers to 50 and then 100.We will be reinforcing their place valve skills and how to use these skills to order, add and subtract numbers. We will be counting in steps of 2, 5 10 and eventually 3 and be looking at creating number sequences and patterns.

Your child will also be taking part in a reasoning project offered by The North West Maths Hub, the aim of the project is to give the children weekly opportunities to discuss how to solve  problems and to talk about number. This will help to strength their understanding of number.

Some numeracy skills need to be practiced regularly so the children internalise them such as number bonds for 10 or 20 (1+9, 2+8, 13+7 etc) , double facts up to 20 (1+1=2, 2+2=4, 6+6=12 etc) or subtraction  facts up to 20.(10-5=5, 7-3=4 etc) Counting in steps of  2, 5 or 10 as this help them learn their times tables.

 

 

We will have quick mental maths tests on these facts every Friday to help encourage your child to learn them from memory.

 

Music 

We will be learning to keep the beat and we will be listening to different styles of music from around the world, especially African music. We will be  learning how to play a range of percussion instruments. We love to sing and will be singing daily in-between tasks. 

 

ICT

We will learn about algorithms and how to control a Bee Bot. This will fit in well with our literacy unit on  instructions . This year we will be using a new APP called Seesaw and we will be teaching the children how to store their challenge tasks and best pieces of work so they have a digital learning journal. Often some of a child's best work cannot be captured on paper such as the brilliant model they made, the fantastic dance they composed, the explanation of how they solved a maths problem or how they can read with amazing expression. I am hoping that this APP will help to capture your child's learning more fully and it will also allow you, the parent to see your child's learning journal and comment on their achievement - it will be a great way to celebrate and motivate too.

 

R.E/ P.S.H.E.

 We will be learning about religious festivals such as Diwali and Christmas. We will be attending St Jude's church to celebrate Harvest and Christmas you are all welcome to attend. We will be looking at citizenship and the importance of looking after others and our local community and the children will be asked if they would like to donate some food for the local food bank. We are hoping to arrange a visit to the Hindu temple in Liverpool so the children get the opportunity to learn more about other cultures and faiths. 

We have drawn up our own class rules and throughout the year we will be learning about the importance of democracy and the Rights of the Child. Each week we will elected a class king and queen because they have displayed the values that are important to us; kindness, friendship, equality, inspiration, outstanding attitude, resilience or respect. These children will have the honour of being first for dinner, being first in the line all week and also they will have special kings and queens cushions.

 

P.E

This term will be taking part in dance and games. We will be going swimming this autumn term on Wednesday afternoons so all children will need a swimming costume (one piece) or swimming trunks, a swimming bag and a towel. Girls must wear swimming hats in the pool.

 

Please make sure you have your P.E kit in school

and that it has your name in! 

 

So as you can see it is going to be a really busy term and any support you can offer  will be greatly appreciated.

Homework:

Homework will be given out every Friday and needs to be

returned by Wednesday.

Please complete all homework tasks in pencil. 

 

Homework tasks will be in their homework books .

 

Please feel free to write any comments about your child's learning in their  reading diary.

 

Your child will get weekly spellings to learn and a reading book to share with you at home. Spelling tests take place every Friday and  we will also have some times table tests or number bond tests too.

 

 Sometimes they might get some literacy reinforcement, numeracy or some research to do.

 

Please try to make time to listen to and share a book with your child each week as this is so important in helping their reading skills. It also helps their confidence and self esteem.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for all your support - it really does

make a big difference!

Important Information about our class:

 

P.E will be every  Wednesday and Thursday and the children will need shorts, tee shirt and pumps. Please send their P.E kit in a labelled bag. Swimming will take place in the autumn term on Wednesday afternoons.

 

Please label all your child's clothes as the uniform often gets mixed up.

 

Your child will need a school reading bag. (This can be obtained from the school office)

Please try to get your child into the habit of bringing their school bag to school every day. 

 

They will need to keep their reading diary, spelling log  and reading book in it and  any school letters  can be placed in the bag so they don't loose or forget them.

Try and get into the habit of checking their bag every evening for information letters or messages.

 

If you have any concerns please speak to Mrs Ismail and I will do my very best to help.