Rowan Year 2

Mrs O'Neill and Miss Long

Our themed curriculum for the Autumn term will be 'Movers and Shakers', which is a history based theme. We will be learning about historically significant people who have had a major impact on the world. The children will learn to use timelines, stories and historical sources to find out about the people featured, and use historical models to explore their significance.

In our Art lessons, we will be focusing on 'Still Life', where we will be learning about the work of significant still life artists and still life techniques. The children will explore a wide variety of still lifes and learn about the use of colour and composition. They will create still life arrangements and artwork.

In our Design and Technology lessons, we will be focusing on 'Push and Pull', where the children will be learning about three types of mechanism: sliders, levers and linkages. They will make models of each mechanism before designing and making a greetings card with a moving part.

In Science, we will be learning about 'Uses of Everyday Materials'. We will be learning how to identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses, and find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.

After half-term, we will be learning about 'Living Things and Their Habitats'. We will be learning how to explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive; to identify that most living things live in habitats to which they are suited and describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants, and how they depend on each other; to identify and name a variety of plants and animals in their habitats, including micro-habitats; to describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using the idea of a simple food chain, and identify and name different sources of food.

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Termly Curriculum Maps

Please note that our timetable is flexible and may be subject to change! 

In Year 2 we are all eager to learn and ready for new challenges. Rowan class are enthusiastic and positive learners who show increased independence and confidence in the classroom.      
​Year 2 is about becoming even more independent and the children taking responsibility for themselves. The children already know the high expectations that they need to show and this will continue to increase throughout  the year.

Useful information:

• Book bags need to be brought into school every day.
• PE is on Wednesday and Friday. Please ensure your child wears their named, correct PE kit in school on these days and that earrings are not worn.
• The children have access to their water bottles in the classroom during the day. Please ensure that your child has a named water bottle in school which is taken home regularly to be washed
• Reading books will be changed as regularly as possible. Your child will be responsible for changing their own book - they will record the date and title of the book that they have chosen in their reading record. Please also make sure that your child’s reading record is signed to say they have finished their book and read as regularly as you can with them at home. 
• Any questions, please come and speak to me!

Spellings:
Each Friday, spellings will be shared on our ClassDojo page for your child to learn/ practise over the course of the week. There will be a spelling quiz on these spellings, on the following Friday. Some spellings will be words they can ‘Fred talk’ to spell e.g. th-i-s = this, however some are ‘red’ words that they will just have to learn e.g. after. Many of these red words are words which have a high frequency in the English language so it is important that children learn to spell them correctly.

In order to practise, the children need to:

• Look at the word
• Say it
• Cover it
• Write it
• Check it and edit it (if necessary)

Additionally, they could write a sentence using the words or write the words out of the order listed for even more practise.

Homework:
The children  will receive a piece of Maths or English homework each week. This will be shared on ClassDojo each Friday and will need to be uploaded to your child's portfolio on Dojo by the following Wednesday. We encourage parents to support their children with their homework but prefer that this work is child led as the homework will reinforce the work that we have been completing in class. There will be a half termly themed piece of homework - please see the Homework Grid for this half term's choices!

SATs:
I will be responsible for judging the standards that your child is working at by the end of the academic year. To help inform those judgements, pupils sit national curriculum tests in English and Maths, commonly called SATs. These are merely a tool to help measure your child’s overall performance and identify their needs as they move up to Year 3. The tests will take place during May 2023. I will use the results from these tests, along with the work your child has produced throughout the year, to help me reach my own judgements. As with the phonics screening check in Year 1, your child will not know that they are completing a test. We will call them Fun Quizzes and approach them with a positive and engaging manner.

 

 

Forest School:
More information  to come soon!
Forest School sessions form an integral part of the broad, balanced curriculum we offer here at Totternhoe CE Academy, and take place as part of our timetabled learning outdoors.