Blackfell Primary School

PE - Net and Wall 

For our first PE session the aim was to 'develop familiarisation with a racket'. Year 2 focussed on holding and controlling their own racket using both their left and right hands. They made shapes in the air with their racket, developed their hand and eye coordination through throwing their ball and catching it on a racket. which proved super tricky! To finish Year 2 then used their cone to catch the ball. Some great skills developing here Year 2 and I can see some of you are ready for the tennis courts! Well done!

Music-Big River

This term our music unit will help us to listen and appraise songs by local artist ‘Jimmy Nail’. We listened to facts to help us to understand more about who he is, where he is from and what his occupation is. Using this information, we were able to create a fact file, draw a picture of him and answer questions. After watching the video of the song we discussed the questions...How does the song make you feel? Do you like/not like the song? What does the song make you think of? Is the tempo fast or slow? Does the song tell a story? How the local area and ship building industry has changed over time? We moved our bodies to find the pulse and found that we had to move slowly and decided it was a sad song because the ships were not being built anymore. Well done Year 2!

Music - Crocodile Shoes

We listened and appraised the song ‘Crocodile Shoes’ by local artist ‘Jimmy Nail’. After watching the video of the song, we discussed the questions...How does the song make you feel? Do you like/not like the song? What does the song make you think of? Is the tempo fast or slow? Does the song tell a story? We discussed the similarities and differences between ‘Crocodile Shoes’ and ‘Big River’ as a class. We decided both songs were very different. We thought ‘Big River’ was a slow sad song with a sad story behind the lyrics. We thought ‘Crocodile Shoes’ was also slow, but the video had lots of comedy in it which made us laugh and feel happy. Finally the children wrote down their own thoughts and opinions and had a dance to find the pulse. Well done Year 2!

RSE - Gender Stereotypes - Toys

First we had a discussion about our favourite toys and why we liked them. We then looked at the pile of toys in our circle. We sorted the toys into ‘toys for girls’, ‘toys for boys’ and ‘toys for both’ discussing our reasons as to why they were placed in that group. We then reflected on our thoughts and had a discussion about our decisions. We decided, as a team, that boys and girls could play with any of these toys and that they have the right to make their own choices and as to what they play with.  We finished our session by reading, ‘How we choose to play’ by Fran Heath.

Design and Technology - Perfect Pizza

For DT, Year 2 have been looking at pizzas. In this lesson we had the opportunity to explore and try different breads that could be used for the base. We also tried many different toppings, including some, like olives and pepperoni, that we had never tried before. We used our knowledge of food groups to sort them and thought about the toppings we could choose for our own pizza design that would be healthy. 

Maths

Year 2 have had a fantastic start to the Summer Term with their maths work. We recapped our place value knowledge, calculations and problem solving. Everyone demonstrated true resilience in overcoming some tricky problems and used all of their skills to work them out; from arrays to repeated addition and sharing circles. Well done Year 2, keep up the good work!

Literacy - Cottonwool Colin

For our literacy lesson we have been looking at the book Cottonwool Colin by Jeanne Willis. Today we have been retelling a story based on three pictures; a superhero, a city and a sun. We went around the circle making up the story as we went. We then went back to our tables and talked about the story that we are becoming familiar with - Cottonwool Colin. We have already storymapped the main events and talked with our partners about what we were going to change. We are very excited to start planning our stories. 

Art - Giuseppe Arcimboldo

In Art Year 2 have been studying Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a famous Italian artist. Our first lesson involved finding out facts about him, we then began exploring his work. In this lesson we looked at his portraits of the 'Four Seasons' exploring his use of natural objects, including fruit and vegetables. We annotated his portraits in small groups. Some of us had Autumn and some of us had Spring. After that we completed our sheet focussing on different elements from the colours Arcimboldo used to the type of fruit and thought about why he had chosen those objects to represent the season. 

The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations

Year 2 had a wonderful day celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. We completed a range of activities from problem-solving tasks to design and creativity. We excelled in our creative skills and, using collage and a range of mediums, produced a super Queen. She even had painted nails and was adorned with jewellery. We performed our song by The Cure - It's Friday I'm in love, and signed some of the words using Makaton in our special assembly too!. In the afternoon we were treated to an ice cream or ice lolly. We all had lots of fun.

Our trip to Gibside

Year 2 had a super trip to Gibside National Trust last week. We continued our work on 'Living Things and their Habitats' by completing a workshop. After putting our bags away in the Forest Room we were taken to the walled garden where we hunted for minibeasts in a range of locations. We had an identification sheet and had to record the minibeast against the number of legs it had. It was great fun carefully collecting the minibeasts in our special pot. After this we walked to the woods and looked for minibeasts under logs and in leaf litter. There were many, especially ants and small spiders. When we had eaten a well-deserved lunch we went on a Scavenger Hunt and finished our day by observing our environment and then sketching a section of it. Many of us chose the chapel to sketch, it was very relaxing and a perfect end to a perfect day!

Science - Alive, Dead or Never Lived

Our Science topic this term is Living things and their habitats. For our first lesson we looked at things that are 'alive', 'dead' and have 'never lived'. We sorted the cards into each heading and had a super discussions about many of the pictures. After that we looked at the '7 life processes' of a plants and animal to understand how they are 'alive'. We then went outside in our yard and explored the area looking for examples. Year 2 were very knowledgeable and could explain clearly why something was alive or dead referring to the '7 life processes', as well as, having never lived. Well done!

History - Grace Darling

In History, Year 2 have been learning about Grace Darling. In this lesson we thought about what life was like for Grace in Victorian times and what her day may have been like. Using our own experiences and what we had learnt so far we roleplayed 'a day in the life of Grace Darling'. It was great fun! In our next lesson we are going to write a diary entry as Grace Darling. 

Geography - Maps

In Geography, Year 2 have been looking at maps and what we can learn from them. In this lesson we looked at a range of aerial photographs (Newcastle and Gateshead, Sunderland and Durham). In our teams we had to look for the landmarks listed and mark these on our photographs. We found it very interesting and many could recognise places they had been to. Well done Year 2!

Computing - Effective Searching

In Computing, Year 2 have been studying 'Effective Searching'. They have been learning about the Internet and looking for information using a search engine on the World Wide Web. In this lesson they had a series of questions about Dinosaurs that they had to find the answer to using a search engine. Year 2 then completed the 'Dinosaur Quiz' on Purple Mash to see if they had been effective searchers. Well done Year 2! Great computing skills! 

Perfect Pizza creations

It was finally time for Year 2 to make their pizzas! Year 2 have worked so hard on their design and technology skills in this topic. They have studied food groups and healthy eating and thought about toppings they might like to use for their own pizza. They tasted different bases and toppings and then designed their own pizza ensuring it was a healthy one. This lesson was all about bringing their pizza to life and what a great time we all had. After discussing food hygiene and safety when cooking we prepared some of the toppings. We then created our pizzas! Some of Year 2 followed their planning completely and others changed some of the toppings. We then cooked them in the oven and in the afternoon got to eat our own one and try others too. They looked delicious and tasted delicious too! Well done Year 2!

Hoopstarz

On Tuesday, as part of our 'Be Safe, Be Fit, Be Healthy' week we had a workshop delivered by  'Hoopstarz'. We learnt how to use a hula hoop and keep it spinning and some of us even managed two at once. We also tried some different moves including jumping up whilst keeping the hula hoop spinning. Then we had a go at making it spin on the floor before, finally, getting into teams and creating an amazing shape with six hoops. We were exhausted by the end but it was great fun!