Year 2

This term in Year 2 we will be learning about The Great Fire of London. Children will learn how the fire started, and why it spread so quickly. We will be thinking about how we know about the past, and how London has changed since 1666.

In maths, children will be learning to multiply and divide, as well as exploring measures including length, height, mass and capacity. Children will also be learning about money and using their new addition and subtraction skills to reason and solve problems. Try to find opportunities to support your child with this at home by giving them coins to count, or asking them to work out how much things will cost when you are at the shops.

In English, we will continue to work on becoming better readers and writers. We will use expanded noun phrases and conjunctions to make our writing more exciting. As part of reading, we will be looking at a range of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts and working closely on developing fluency. In phonics we will explore the past tense and learn to add the suffix -ed correctly.

Children will continue to learn about materials in science, before moving onto learning about animals including humans before Easter. Children will work scientifically by performing simple tests and discussing the findings.

In computing we will be learning about information technology around us and how to use it responsibly.

Our RE learning will focus on Islam where children will learn about compassion through the story of 'Muhammad and the Crying Camel', before moving back to Christianity for Easter.

To support your child’s learning further, please regularly check in on Tapestry! 

This term Year 2 will be learning all about hot and cold places in Geography, including where the equator, North and South Poles are. After this, we will move onto comparing London and Nairobi in Kenya. We can't wait to uncover the similarities and differences between these places! 

In Science we will continue to learn about animals including humans, including the importance of keeping healthy through hygiene and a balanced diet. Then we will be performing simple experiments and carefully observing how plants grow and change over time. 

As part of our RE learning we will build on the children's understanding of Judaism including understanding why the Torah is important to the Jewish community. Following this, we will look at a range of parables and gospels before studying The Lost Sheep parable more closely. 

In Computing we will work hard on our coding skills and begin to compare and evaluate two programming platforms. 

For our PSHE learning we will make links to our maths learning and learn how and when to spend and save money, as well as what to do in an emergency. 

In Art we will develop our skills as Sculptors, working in clay to produce 3D tiles and Mixed Media collages. This will support our DT learning about Mechanisms and Structures when we design and make a functioning ferris wheel. 

In maths we will build on our measure knowledge, learning about temperature before moving onto fractions and statistics. 

In English we will be looking at a favourite story, The Tiger who Came to Tea, as well as 10 Things to do to help our world where we will be writing a persuasive environmental letter. 

We can't wait to share our learning with you! 

In Year 2 most children start Accelerated Reader. Accelerated Reader is a computer program that helps us manage and monitor children's reading. Your child picks a reading book at their reading level and reads it at their own pace. When they have finished they take a short multiple-choice quiz on a tablet or a computer in school so we can see how much of their book they understood. Scoring 80% or more on their quiz tells us they have understood what they have read. If they score over 80% on their quiz, we call it a pass. When they have passed 3/4 quizzes on each level, we let them choose a book from the next level.

This year, we want you to know how your child is getting on in their Accelerated Reader quizzes so you can support them better at home. We have decided that each month we will print a list of the books they have read and the scores they got on each quiz and stick it in their planner. We will highlight any quizzes that they passed (by scoring 80% or more) so you can see how well they are getting on.

Things you can do to help your child pass their Accelerated Reader quizzes 

• Hear them read as often as you can (and at least four times a week) and record in their planner.

• Encourage them to read each book twice before quizzing so they understand the story or information ready for their quiz (as their confidence grows and their books get longer, this isn't as important, but while their books are short reading them twice is great practice).

• Discuss their book and ask them questions about what they have read. Ask them to find the answers in the book to prove they are right.

• If you have any concerns about your child's reading or their Accelerated Reader scores, speak to us!

Thank you for everything you do at home to support your child with their reading. It really does make a huge difference.