Trotts Hill Primary School and Nursery
Welcome to Year 2
Miss Ruddock is the class teacher and Mrs Paice is the classroom assistant and will be supporting in class every morning and most afternoons.
Year 2 is the final year of Key Stage 1 and we continue to build upon the foundations developed in Year 1 whilst preparing the children for KS2. The children will be encouraged to continue to develop their independence and further develop their creativity.
Year 2 is a very exciting and busy year where children will be continuing to develop a range of skills and knowledge alongside discovering and learning lots of exciting new things. The children will be encouraged to develop their 'Behaviour for Learning'. We will work very hard but also have lots of fun learning together.
This year we will cover a variety of skills, knowledge and understanding including the following topics:
The children will be participating in PE and outdoor skills on Wednesdays and Fridays in Autumn 1. They will need to bring in their PE kits on these days.
The children will also have the opportunity to be involved with many pupil groups around the school.
We look forward to helping Year 2 develop and grow.
As part of your remote learning for snow day ( 12th December 2022) I would like you to:
* Continue to practise your song and poem words.
* Complete your home learning ( use the grid to support you)
* Practise your weekly spelling and number challenges.
* Have fun in the snow and create memories!
* Write about your experience in the snow or write a poem.
* Read your school book or a book from home.
For the next three weeks in English, year 2 have linked their writing to their current history topic - The Great Fire of London. The children are aiming to write a report about the Great Fire of London by the end of the three weeks. This week, the children looked at the features of reports and gathered as much information as they could about the Great Fire. They sorted the information into different subheadings.
This week year 2 have been learning to divide. In this lesson, the children used counters and cubes to share into equal groups.
This term year 2 are beginning their dance unit. They have linked their dance lessons to their current history topic - The Great Fire of London. The children are learning about physical theatre and how they can use their bodies to represent the fire and the burning buildings.
In French, the children have been learning to count up to 20. They learnt a song to help remember the numbers then matched the digits to the words. Some children then came up with their own tune to remember the numbers.
On Friday, year 2 visited St Hugh and St John's Church to learn about the Christmas journey. Volunteers led the session and ran four stations to help the children learn about the Christian Christmas story. The stations included meeting the shepherds, meeting Anna and Simeon, meeting the wise men and making crowns. Year 2 then watched Mary and Joseph perform on stage explaining their part in the Christmas story. We ended the morning by learning and singing a new song with actions. The children had a fantastic morning.
This week in maths, year 2 have been learning to add two 2-digit numbers. On Monday and Tuesday they practiced adding numbers which didn't need to regroup such as 23 + 45. Then on Wednesday and Thursday, the children moved on to adding numbers which need regrouping such as 47 + 36. The children used base 10 to make the calculations and drew representations to support them with their calculations.
This week, year 2 received some letters from different coloured crayons complaining about the way that they have been used. The children then found out that the letters were written to Duncan and shared in 'The day the crayons quit'. Year 2 spent lots of time reading the letters and understanding what each crayon wanted from Duncan. They created their own crayon with it's own sign explaining why it is going on strike.
As part of Science and Maths day, year 2 made their own balloon buggies. They were asked the question 'Does the size of the bottle affect the distance the balloon buggy travels?' The children made their own predictions. Daniel - I think the size of the bottle won't make a difference because the same amount of air has to come out of the balloon. Harry - I think the bigger bottles will go further because more air can get behind it. Gabby - I think the smaller bottles will go further because they are lighter. The children then went to the hall to test their buggies by blowing up their balloon and comparing how far they travelled. We concluded that the larger bottles tended to travel further than the smaller bottles.
In PE, the children were learning co-ordination skills through skipping. The children began with 2-footed jumps and moved onto galloping, hopping and turning while skipping. Year 2 showed excellent perseverance this lesson.
This week in DT, year 2 have been learning about eating healthily. They designed and made their own sandwiches using cutting, grating and peeling skills. We then enjoyed eating our lunches together and were very full afterwards!
In Science, year 2 were investigating the question 'Do taller people have larger feet?' They made predictions about the question and discussed different ways that they could investigate this. As a class, year 2 decided to use cubes to measure their feet and cubes to measure their height. They then looked at their results to spot any patterns. The children noticed that usually the taller children had the bigger feet, however this was not always the case as some smaller children had the same size feet as the taller children.
In PE, year 2 were learning new rolls in gymnastics. They learnt the barrel roll and the straight roll and were practicing their techniques.
In English, year 2 have started learning about 'Traditional Stories'. We began reading 'Rapunzel' and discussed who the characters are in the story so far. The children role played the witch and the man and used their body language and facial expressions to express how their character was feeling. They then can up with a list of adjectives to describe both characters.
In RE, year 2 looked at the different signs and symbols of Christianity. We discussed what each sign and symbol represented and thought of some actions to help us remember them. We have also looked at different crosses and talked about how they were similar and different and which one we liked.
This week in year 2, we have been learning about number and place value. We used lots of manipulatives to represent numbers in different ways.
The children completed their Dt sewing and created some wonderful African animals.
Year 2 have been making their African toys. The children cut out their shapes for their animals and followed their design. The children focused on a running stitch and a back stitch.
Year 2 continued their investigations linked to measure but focused on larger lengths. The children investigated meters this week.
Year 2 have been investigating measure. This week they have been looking at height and length. The children have been measuring using non-unit measures.
Year 2 linked their maths learning to their class book and completed a lesson linked to George's Marvellous Medicine. The children had to measure different amounts to create a special medicine for George.
Year 2 took a virtual trip to Kenya via Trotts Hill Travels! The children experienced flying in an aeroplane, going on safari and learning about the different weather and climate in Kenya. The children looked at compass points and investigated different people living in Kenya.
Year 2 investigated different habitats in our school grounds. They then classified the different animals found.
As part of history the children focused on the Jubilee. The children got into role and act out a significant part in Queen Elizabeth's life.
Year 2 have been investigating different feelings and learning what to do if they feel sad or worried. Year 2 made some worry monsters.
In art Year 2 investigated patterns in our school environment. The children looked for patterns in nature and linked to insects.
Year 2 have started their new topic in art focusing on insects. The children started creating their first page of their sketch book looking, in detail, at different insects and their patterns.
The children had a wonderful time following their designs to make their vehicles. The children focused on making and measuring their axels and chassis base.
In Maths Year 2 investigated 3D and 2D shapes. The children went on a shape hunt around the school.
Year 2 were learning about compass points in Geography. They created their own compass points.
Year 2 have been practising their dance each week ready for their performance in a fortnight.
Year 2 were investigating the Jewish festival Purim. The children made Hamantaschen biscuits and enjoyed them at home.
Year 2 used the Forest school area to create their own settings for Traction Man. The children had to think about keeping Traction camouflaged, protected from the rain and the sun.
Year 2 had a wonderful day dressed up as superheroes. The children learned about their new book Traction Man and completed different activities linked to the book.
As part of E Safety day Year 2 looked at the importance of keeping logins private. They discussed how they would react if people online asked for their personal details and acted out their responses.
Year 2 had a wonderful few weeks learning different yoga poses and routines.
Year 2 read a new book- Vlad the flea. The children then thought about the main characters: Vlad and Boxton. The children got into role and interviewed each other. Each time the children had to role play either Vlad or Boxton.
Year 2 went on a virtual shopping trip and bought different items. The children took turns being both the customer and the shopkeeper. The children had to focus on their accuracy when counting money.
Stevenage museum visited Year 2 today. The class investigated different artefacts linked to the Great Fire of London. The children learned about old buildings, structures and new and old lighting. They asked interesting questions about the different artefacts.
As part of our Maths and Science themed week, the children observed a real fish and looked at all the features closely.
The children have been using number line to support their understanding of subtraction across the 10s.
Year 2 had a surprise this week. All of the white board pens had left the classroom but had left a message! The children got into role and imagined how it would have felt being the whiteboard pen. They thought of ways to persuade them to return.
Year 2 had a special visitor today who shared their great knowledge about Chanukah. The children learned about it and investigated different traditions.
Year 2 worked very hard with their home learning. They investigated The Plague and looked at plague doctors.
Year 2 have been learning about a new book; The Day The Crayons Quit. This week the children have been investigating the book and learning about the characters.
Year 2 have started a new History topic on The Plague. As an introduction to this, they looked at evidence and wrote about what they could see. This begins their learning and they are looking forward to learning more and more.
Year 2 made sandwiches and had an indoor picnic. As part of DT week the children investigated where their food came from and then designed, created and ate their own sandwiches.
Year 2 investigated an island. The children created islands and investigated how they flooded.
This week Year 2 were learning about number lines. The children had blank number lines today and had to place different numbers.
Year 2 pretended to be Rapunzel, escaping the tower. The children thought about what they would see, hear and feel alone in the woods.
The children investigated different types of bread. They described the smell, taste and appearance of a variety of breads.
In Science this week the children investigated that different food groups. they then discussed what fruit they had eaten, and created interactive bar charts to show this.
Year 2 had some visitors this week. The quiet Critters have visited the classroom. The children each wrote a recount about the experience.