Autumn 2021
Welcome back everyone. We hope you have had a very lovely summer.
Here's hoping that this year will be a good one with lots of new things to experience and learn in year 2!
Autumn 1 - Our Local Area
This half term, our topic revolves around our local area.
Below, you can see our topic web that contains information about the curriculum we plan to cover in Autumn 1.
Art
We had a busy first two days in Year 2 which included some pieces of art work for a hall display- we drew our shoes!
DT - Design Technology
Children were introduced to our Food Technology topic. We looked at the journey of food which had been farmed, grown or caught. Children each played a part when following a recipe to make rainbow omelettes; they chopped peppers, spring onions and spinach while others grated cheese to add to the mixture. All children ensured that they followed our rules for hygiene:
Wash hands; make sure your work area is clean and tidy; wear an apron to protect your clothes; and be careful around knives and sharp objects. Some children enjoyed their finished creations whereas others were uncertain about the omelettes. We will continue to try more foods over the coming weeks.
English
We started our English topic by discussing the front cover of an Anthony Browne book. Children made predictions by responding to key questions. It has been impressive to see children really focusing on their cursive handwriting to neatly present their responses. Well done Year 2!
RE
In Religious Education, we discussed the importance of Parables and the messages (morals) that they teach us. In this lesson, we looked at 'The Parable of the Lost Son'. Some children made mini books and others made story wheels to retell the story. Children had some fantastic discussion to decide on the moral:
Don't be greedy
Don't be angry with someone who has made a mistake if they are sorry.
It is not always easy to forgive.
Family and friends are important.
If you love someone, you can forgive them for making a mistake.
FORGIVENESS
Maths
In Maths, we are looking at using different resources to represent two digit numbers:
numicon, base ten, cubes, ten frames and place value charts. Children are continuing to work on their reasoning and problem solving skills, linking to key vocabulary.
English
Children are really enjoying our book 'Into the Forest' as a foundation for their English work. They have written predictions, blurbs, sequenced events and most recently, completed a diary entry from the boy's perspective. We have a wonderful array of writing on display in our classroom.
PE
Our PE this half term is golf, the children have been practising their aiming skills. We have some budding golfers!
Topic
Our new topic is ‘Made in Cumbria’, today the children have looked at where in the world we live. First we explored atlases and maps and had a look if we could find where we are in the world. Some children knew we are in Europe and that we live in England. One child even knew the county we are in! Some children were able to confidently say their address. We looked closer at maps of Rockcliffe and looked at places we recognised, we used the symbols to help us.
Art
Children are working on their self portrait skills. They have practised mark-making with a range of artist pencils and shown how they can use shape, line and shading to demonstrate texture. They are also being critical friends when evaluating each other's finished pieces.
Design Technology
Children worked as a class to follow two recipes for vanilla dough and chocolate dough. They decided on job roles and used equipment safely. Children identified how to keep their work space hygienic and ensured that they washed their hands well beforehand. They then used all of the components to create teddy bear biscuits and decorated them with icing, chocolate buttons and chocolate chips. All children were desperate to take part in the all-important taste test and they evaluated their finished creations.
Here is an example of the evaluation:
Other evaluation points included using smarties or other sweets for eyes; using only chocolate dough and tripling the recipe because they would like bigger biscuits!
On World Mental Health Day, we all wore something yellow to help raise awareness of mental health.
In English, we have started our final writing unit for this half term, writing a set of instructions. The children all made bread rolls, they had to follow the instructions carefully. They then created a text map to help them remember each step. Next, we will be writing 'How to Make Delicious Bread Rolls', take a look -
Music
In music, we used xylophones and glockenspiels to provide musical accompaniment for our song 'Heart, hands and feet', Children had to concentrate incredibly hard to try and hit the right note and following the pulse.
Maths
In Maths, we are moving on with our addition to look at 2 digit + 1 digit. We have been using base ten equipment and number bonds to 10 to try more efficent adding when crossing the tens boundary.
Art
Children created some fabulous self potraits using their range of art pencils to add detail. Brilliant work Year 2!
Here we are already in the second half term, take a look at our overview to see what we will be learning about -
The focus for our hall displays this half term is Festivals of Light. Year 2 were given Eid. They used collage to complete elements of this display including the Mosque, the Muslim boy and girl, the moon and stars. The finished display board is beautiful.
When the children returned after half term, they were flabbergasted to see the state of the year 2 reading corner; there were muddy footprints, an old banana skin and KS had gone! The children could see the remains of the crime scene and had so many questions! Who could possible help us?
English
In English, we looked at the use of the question mark to write questions about the above crime scene.
RE
Diwali is the festival of light, and to celebrate this, Hindu people burn many small candles in their homes. Sometimes they arrange them in patterns. Diwali is also very exciting because Hindu people buy new clothes, clean their houses and share sweets with their families.
Colour is a very important way for Hindus to express themselves in Diwali, and they make beautiful, coloured lanterns which are hung up in the streets and outside the houses.
Children created their own Diva lamps as part of our Diwali work and discussed the symbol of light for Hindus at this special celebration.
Children were creative with their designs which links to this half term's Christian Value- Creativity. Well done year 2!
Art
In art, we are beginning to look at the use of oil pastels. For our first lesson, we looked at primary and secondary colours. We all made our own colour wheels to show what happens when we mix two primary colours to make a secondary colour.
PE
This half term our PE sessions will be gymnastics, the children have been practising their balances.
Computing
In computing, we have been using Bee-Bots, we put instructions into a Bee-Bot to move them from one spot to another. We used the forward and backward button for this and looked at the importance of pressing 'clear', to make sure any previous instructions had been deleted.
Topic
During our topic sessions the children have been looking at Florence Nightingale and her life. The children have been ordering events of Florence’s life and researching facts about her. They created lamps and pretended to be Florence and the wounded soldiers.
Remembrance
Children all created a poppy to contribute to our year 2 wreath. They discussed the significance of poppies and wrote short prayers to give thanks. Children were extremely thoughtful and compassionate in their reflection.
Winter Art
Children used oil pastels to create patterns on their hats. They were amazed when we added the watercolour! Children also used oil pastels to complete some word art inspired by Roy Lichtenstein. They were limited with four colours and they all did a fantastic job to finish the other half of the word art. Well done year 2!
Our Superhero Classroom is certainly a hive of activity!
English
Children have started writing their own story openers. They have designed their very own superhero and made a storyboard plan. We are very impressed with their fantastic range of vocabulary. (e.g. flabbergasted, phenomenal) Well done year 2- we look forward to reading your finished stories.
Maths - money
Children identified pounds - those which are coins and those which are notes. They also recognised that the pound sign comes before the number. They then used this knowledge to count a specific amount in pounds-matching the cards in pairs. Some children used additional resources to help and all identified the biggest value to count on from. Children recorded the number sentences on their whiteboards to check their addition.
RE
Why did Jesus bring Good News?
Last lesson, we discussed the importance of the Christian Value, Forgiveness. This week, we have been looking at the different types of Peace that we experience and in our lives: Peace in our own lives; Peace in the world; Peace with others and Peace with God.
Children were left with a reflection question- Why is Jesus called The Prince of Peace?
The Son of God has become the Prince of Peace so that we, the children of God, may become the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9, Isaiah 57:19)
Art
Inspired by Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' children used oil pastels and watercolour paints to create the night time sky. They cut building silhouettes from black paper and some children added a Superhero. They look fabulous! Children really thought about their colour choices and patterns.
Design Technology
Children conducted some research about well-known superheroes and their superhero symbols before designing their own superhero cuffs. They thought about which materials would stick to their cuff and how to fix other items. There were some fantastic designs and creativity!
Advent
On Tuesday 30th November 2021, we had a visit from Reverend Ian to teach us about Advent. We then produced our own class Advent Calendar including daily acts of kindness.
Christingle
On Thursday 9th December, EYFS and KS1 visited the Church for a Christingle Service with Reverend Ian. It was an absolutely beautiful service and the children were in awe as their candles were lit. This was a truly wonderful celebration for the children. Thank you Reverend Ian.
Final Week
We have had a very busy final week - Christmas performance, Christmas jumpers, Christmas dinner and Christmas games afternoon. The children have enjoyed a range of Christmas activites this week and they loved the Christmas dinner! Take a look at some of the photos -