Year 2

Year 2 @ Mount Street Primary

Welcome to the Autumn Term in Year 2!

English 

This term we will continue to develop our phonics and early reading skills. Reading is a priority our school and so we will practise reading every day so that we become fluent, confident readers.  At the start of term, all children will continue to advance their phonic skills further through our Read Write Inc program.  We will begin to answer questions by learning about the 6 reading comprehension skills. We remember them by saying VIPERS: Vocabulary, Inference, Prediction, Explaining, Retrieval, Sequencing.  In writing, we will consolidate and build new grammar skills. We will learn how to write stories that will engage the reader with exciting detail and fantastic word choices as well as developing our ability to write non-fiction texts and poetry. We begin the term looking at Poetry, specifically acrostic poetry. Then we will progress to writing Information Texts all about where we live or have lived. Then later in the Autumn term we will explore fiction and learn about stories where good overcomes bad.  This term we will also begin to practise our writing skills by completing creative writing and imaginative quick writes through the week! 

Maths

In maths, we will begin by reminding ourselves of the fundamental skill of place value to develop our arithmetic skills.  We will be learning more about tens and ones and making numbers in a variety of ways. Later in the term we will learn about addition and subtraction and then finally we will begin to learn about coins and money. Then we can use all of our skills of place value, addition and subtraction.  We will continue to secure our understanding of place value and use a variety of apparatus and jottings to represent tens and ones within numbers. We will also broaden our understanding of addition and subtraction and a variety of apparatus will be available to support the children with their learning. We will also continue to use Numbots and I have set a miniumum of 10 minutes Numbots homework a week. 

Science

In Science, we will learn about living and non living things. We will explore what it means to be a living organism both plants and animals. The children will lean about the main features of living things and the types of habitat different living things (including animals) live. How they adapt to those environments. Finally we will this about the environment and how it is changing and what effect this is having on plants and animal life. We will then progress onto lifecycles and food chains in a variety of habitats.    We will learn about the history of  this field of science and explore some key discoveries and some influential scientists of the time. Our science skills will include conduction experiments for a range of purposes, carrying out a fair test and how to measure and present our findings. 

Art

This term we will explore local art and art featuring our home. We will spend time looking at art by local artist Brian pollard. The children will learn about naive art, line, colour and some perspective. We will explore line and shape to create an interesting and varied foreground and use collage skills to layer up our final painting. 

DT

This term we are learning all about freestanding structures. What gives structures stability and keeps them upright and strong. we will begin by exploring materials and joins to create strong structures. Then we will learn about strong shapes and spot them is some good examples. Then we will design a chair for a purpose and see if we can use our skills to create a strong and stable chair for a customer! Finally we will get their review of the product. 

Computing

In Computing, we will begin by learning about safety. How to use a computer safely and effectively. Later in the term  we will explore we will learn what computers are, where we use them in real daily life. Then we will learn about the different types of computer and the key elements of what each piece of equipment does. 

Geography

This term's geography will begin with revising and revisiting where we live and pin pointing Plymouth on a map of the UK, what county we live in and what counties border us.   We will then explore the land use in and around the City from the Moors to the Coast. Looking at each area as a special habitat. 

History 

We will learn about the history of Plymouth and some of the key local figures. Why Plymouth is where it is, landscape, homes, employment and how it has changed over time both before our lifetime and also in recent years. 

Music

In our Music lessons, we will be learning a range of songs and using our voice to sing and accompany others.  We will be learning about all the Foundational Elements of Music with a focus on simple patterns.  Later in the term we will learn about tempo and dynamics where we will work on the application of dynamics and tempo within listening and performing. We will begin to play Instruments and use body percussion with or without Notation . We will also begin to improvise, using our voices and instruments. 

PE

In PE, we will  develop our fundamental skills of movement and agility, where we will link simple movements to travel in a variety of ways including rolling, running and jumping and at different levels.   We will also develop our dance sequences, both individually and with a partner, responding to beat, rhythm and a theme to express ourselves and a story.

PHSE

For the first half of term we will focus on 'Being me in my world', thinking about who we are, how we behave around others and what are our rights and responsibilities in society. After half term, we will focus on 'Celebrating differences' - thinking about what makes us unique and how we can celebrate what makes us different and supporting others. How we show kindness and tolerance. 

RE

In RE, we will begin by asking the question ‘Who is Muslim and how do they live?’.  We will build upon some of the key Muslim beliefs about God found in the Shahadah and the 99 names of Allah from last term. We will learn about a range of Muslim stories and the teachings of Muhammad PBUH.  We will explore examples of how stories about the Prophet show what Muslims believe about Muhammad PBUH and how Muslims use stories about the Prophet to guide their beliefs and actions.  Later in the term, we will ask ‘Why does Christmas matter to Christians?’ and explore the account of Jesus’ Birth, recognising how Christians use the story to guide their beliefs and actions.

Useful Information 

Home learning

This will be set at the following times:

Home learning will be given out on a Monday (English) and will be due in on the following  Monday. Maths Home learning will be sent home on a Friday to be returned the following Friday. 

Home learning will bet sent home in a paper format. Sometimes we will send the learning on Teams. 

Reading – 10 minutes reading daily. We ask that an adult signs the reading diary and it is brought into school every day.  The children will bring home Read Write Inc books that match their phonics group and reading levels. They will be able to decode these independently to you. We encourage them to read the same RWI book 3 times - by the final read their confidence and expression! 

Numbots - an exciting way for your child to practice their maths skills daily at home. I Can't wait to see your child's weekly score! I have set 10 minute targets weekly. 

Spellings - Spelling checks will be on a Friday.

Games and PE

Children will need their PE kit in school all week as children  MUST have P.E. kit to take part for health and safety reasons.  Lessons are Tuesday and Thursdays. 

Kit:        Trainers, white shirt, blue/black shorts, football/trainer socks.

In colder weather, a plain tracksuit may be worn outdoors for games.

Please ensure that all items of clothing are named. A small named bag containing your PE kit is all that is necessary as cloakroom space is limited.  Please keep your PE kit in school and we will ensure that it is sent home each half term for washing.