Year 2 Autumn 2020-21
New Beginnings
What a fantastic start to the year! All the children have settled extremely well into their new classroom and routines. During their first week back they have taken part in team challenges, shared positive words about their peers and thought about their own strengths. Most of all the children have loved catching up with their friends after so long and now we are all looking forward to the year ahead!
Peace At Last
We have been using the book 'Peace At Last' by Jill Murphy as a basis for our first literacy unit. The children have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the story and learning about the characters. In the pictures above, they can be seen acting out freeze frames from the story.
Attacking and Defending
As part of our Invasion Games unit, we have been practising our attacking and defending skills. We've been learning to throw underarm and spent some time practising this with a partner to begin with. Then we took part in a small game defending a hoop from attackers throwing beanbags.
Black History Month
Year 2 explored what Black History Month was all about and discussed how people should be treated fairly and equally despite the colour of their skin.
We then investigated how people of different race were represented in television. In small groups we researched different television programmes and found that from 7 different television programmes, 18 of the main characters were white and 8 were black or of a different race.
Although we were pleased to see people of different race in these programmes there were still many more white people in comparison. We discussed that many of the programmes we watch on television are filmed in America or the UK and both have a higher population of white people which is why there are more white people in these programmes.
From our findings we answered these questions and stuck our responses on the board: Is what we found out from our results fair? Should there be a better mix of race on TV and why? Why would having a greater mix of race on TV be better?
Anti-Bullying Week
During Anti-Bullying Week Year 2 discussed the theme 'United against Bullying’ and how if we each stand up to bullying we can stop it altogether. We thought about how we were different from our friends and what makes us special whilst creating a friendship web. The children acted out bullying scenarios and what to do in those situations—even if they only saw it and were not directly involved. Then to finish the week they created a ‘good friend’ from recyclable objects and thought about the ways they could be a good friend too.
Material Hunt
As we begin our science unit on materials, we spent some time recapping previous knowledge from Year 1. The children explored the Key Stage One areas looking for different materials and discussed their properties. They considered why certain materials had been used for different objects and made links to the properties of the materials.
Exploring the Bible
Within our RE unit we are learning about why the Bible is important. In today's lesson we spent time looking at what's inside the Bible and learning about how it's organised. We also sorted different stories into the Old and New Testament.
Investigating Materials
As Year 2 continue to learn about the properties of different materials, we spent a lesson investigating whether certain materials would bend, squash, twist or stretch.
Black History Month
Year 2 have also spent some time looking at influential black musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Marley, Emeli Sande and Stormzy. We learnt about their various achievements both within the field of music and otherwise. Using these artists as inspiration we listened to and appraised 4 different styles of music which showcase many black music artists including R&B, Reggae, Pop and Ska. We made notes whilst we listened to their music then worked in groups to create posters about the different styles. We included some information on the artists we had looked at too.
Seasonal Walk
To begin our Geography unit 'Weather Patterns', Year 2 explored our school grounds making observations about the weather and the seasons. The children questioned how weather changed from season to season and discussed how plants and animals adapted throughout the year.
Santa Run!
Year 2 had lots of fun helping Santa run his marathon for our sponsored 'Get Fit This December' events! They each ran 3 laps and altogether helped Santa tick off another 3.2 miles taking his total to 4.4 miles! We all enjoyed wearing our Christmas accessories and cheering each other on too! Good luck for the rest of your marathon Santa!
What are portraits?
We have been discussing the differences between portraits and self portraits. We looked at a variety of different portraits and some famous self portraits. We discussed the images, describing what we could see in them and how it made us feel. We also thought about what the artist was trying to say about the person or people they had drawn or painted.
We used our observational skills to talk about what we could see and noticed a lot of details in the foreground and background. We thought of some adjectives to describe how it made us feel or how we thought the person or people in the portrait were feeling e.g. excited, nervous, loved, depressed or lonely.
Finally we discussed and compared a range of portraits in small groups. We organised the portraits and gave reasons for our choices. Some examples of how we organised the portraits included: how the pictures made us feel, pictures that looked old to new and pictures that looked scary compared with happier ones.
Racket Skills
In PE we have been developing our hand-eye coordination and learning to use a racket. We have completed some simple activities to help us develop our skills such as using the racket to throw and catch a beanbag as well as passing a beanbag between two rackets. Then we practised using the racket to hit a soft ball.
Waterproof Investigation
This term in science Year 2 have been looking at the properties of materials and how materials can be used for different uses. After looking at the Great Fire of London we decided to investigate the best material for a bucket as this was one of the main objects used to put out the fire. The children considered what qualities a bucket needed and then planned an investigation to test which materials were waterproof.
Walkwise
Year 2 have been taking part in the Go Smarter Walkwise programme. Part of the this involved learning how to safely cross roads and spot hazards. The children took part in a variety of exercises and scenarios on the yard to practise this.
Sewing Skills
As part of our DT unit Year 2 have been working with an adult in small groups to practice their sewing skills. They practised two different techniques - a running stitch and an overstitch. While some groups were with an adult the other children spent time practising their cutting skills. By the end of the unit, each child will have made their own Christmas decoration!
