Ferney Lee Primary School

Welcome to Year 2!

Meet the staff...

Spring 1

In English, our core text for this half term is a wonderful story called Lila and the Secret of Rain by David Conway and Jude Daly. Please click here to access a PDF version of the story.

Writing to Entertain: The children will use the core text as a basis for writing their own story about a child who chooses to help their community by using a powerful secret.
Writing to Inform: Again, the core text will be used as a basis for our writing, this time we will be creating instructions for looking after our chosen animal.

In Maths, we will continue the work that we have been doing on shapes and then we will begin a new unit about money.  There will be a big focus within the unit on addition and subtraction of money using part-whole models and bar models, in addition to counting methods enabling children to find the most efficient strategies, such as counting on from the coin or note of highest value to find the total. Children work with pounds, pence and notes, and towards the end of the unit they will work with pounds and pence together.

In Geography our key enquiry question is: How would life be different if I lived in Africa?  As we work towards answering this question we will also learn about and answer the following:

• What is Africa?
  • Are all areas of Africa the same?
  • Why is Africa so much warmer than the UK?
  • Where is Kenya?
  • Is life the same for people all over Kenya?
  • What are the differences between Kenya and England?
  • How do Nairobi and London compare?

The children will learn to locate Africa on a globe, use aerial photos to identify landmarks and highlight human and physical features. They will create a map of a chosen African settlement and then construct basic symbols to be used in a key. They will also comment and make observations about what they can see in as well as draw simple features (e.g. buildings, roads, trees) and label these diagrams. Finally, we will make sure there's time for listening to different types of African music and lots of dancing!

In Science, our unit continues to be: Animals and their Habitats and our key enquiry question is: Why do animals live in different places?

We will:

• Compare the differences between things that are living, dead and things that have never been alive.
• Learn about how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants.
• Learn about and explain how animals and plants in a habitat depend on each other.
• Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using simple food chains.
• Ask questions about animals and their habitats and decide on the most useful method of scientific enquiry for finding out the answers.

In Art the children will explore and create maps through various art forms, including drawing maps of their local area as well as Africa. They will make prints and they will also be designing stained glass. The lessons aim to develop skills in sorting, designing, and evaluating art, encouraging the children to present and discuss their creations in a class gallery setting. 

In computing we will be learning about computing systems and networks: Word processing. We will work on the following key skills:

• Developing confidence with the keyboard and the basics of touch typing.
• Developing word processing skills, including altering  text, copying and pasting and using keyboard shortcuts.
• Using word processing software to type and reformat text.
• Searching for appropriate images to use in a document. 

Promoting online safety occurs throughout the year and we also have designated online safety lessons. During these the children will learn what online information is, identifying whether information is safe or unsafe to be shared online and finally how to create strong passwords.

In PSHE/RSE we will finish the similarities and differences topic and then move on to Caring and Responsibility. The Caring and Responsibility unit focuses on special people. It explores why they are special and how they care for and keep one another safe. It examines pupils’ increasing responsibilities towards themselves and others as they get older, including the role they can play and the difference they can make within their communities.

 In Music we will be learning about West African Call and response songs with the theme being animals on safari. The children will learn to:

• Use tempo, dynamics and timbre in their piece.
• Play in time with their group.
• Use instruments appropriately.
• Successfully sing back the melody line in time and at the correct pitch.
• Play either a call and/or response role in time with another pupil.
• Perform their composition.

In RE we will complete our topic 'How can we make good choices?' and then we will move on to our new topic with the key question 'How and why do people pray?' This will start with an introduction to how Christians and Muslim pray. Children should develop an understanding of the importance of prayer to those who belong to that religion.

In PE we will be completing a unit of work on dance. The children will learn and will have experience of describing how performers can transition and link shapes and balances, perform basic actions with consistency and control at different speeds and levels and finally work as part of a group to create and perform a short sequence of movements.

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Autumn Term 2

In English, our core texts for this half term are Toby and The Great Fire of London by Margaret Nash and the beautiful poem T'was the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore. The independent writing outcomes that we will complete are:

Writing to Inform: Write an information text about the Great Fire of London
Writing to Entertain: Write a diary in the role of Toby.
Writing to Entertain: Write a Haiku poem about the Great Fire of London
Writing to Entertain: Write a character description about Toby.

In Maths, the children will progress to addition and subtraction involving two 2-digit numbers, like last half term, they will learn to represent the steps within these calculations visually with different resources. The children will continue to use known number facts within mental calculations and use their understanding of the inverse as a way to check their calculations. The final stage of children’s learning will provide opportunity for the bar model to be used to represent a word problem, to allow children to self-identify the operation needed to complete calculations.

In History our key enquiry question is: What changed after the great Fire of London?  As we work towards answering this question we will also learn about and answer the following:

• When was the Great Fire of London?
  • How did the fire start?
  • Why did the fire spread so quickly?
  • How did they try and stop the fire?
  • How did the Great Fire of London end?
  • What was the result of the fire?
  • How did they go about rebuilding London after the fire?

In Science, our unit is Animals and their Habitats and our key enquiry question is: Why do animals live in different places?

We will:

• Compare the differences between things that are living, dead and things that have never been alive.
• Learn about how different habitats provide for the basic needs of different kinds of animals and plants.
• Learn about and explain how animals and plants in a habitat depend on each other.
• Describe how animals obtain their food from plants and other animals, using simple food chains.
• Ask questions about animals and their habitats and decide on the most useful method of scientific enquiry for finding out the answers.

In DT we will be learning about mechanisms During this time the children will complete the following:

• Design and label a wheel.
• Consider the designs of others and make comments about their practicality or appeal.
• Consider the materials, shape, construction and mechanisms of their wheel.
• Label their designs.
• Build a stable structure with a rotating wheel.
• Test and adapt their designs as necessary.
• Follow a design plan to make a completed model of the wheel.

In computing we will be learning about algorithms and debugging. The children will learn to:

• Decompose a game to predict the algorithms.
• Give a definition for ‘decomposition’.
• Write clear and precise algorithms.
• Create algorithms to solve problems.
• Use loops in their algorithms to make their code more efficient.
• Explain what abstraction is.

In PSHE/RSE we will 

In Music the children will  develop the following key skills:

• Recognising timbre changes and structural features in music they listen to.
• Listening to and recognising instrumentation.
• Beginning to use musical vocabulary to describe music.
• Suggesting improvements to their own and others’ work.
• Selecting and creating longer sequences of appropriate sounds with voices or instruments to represent a given idea or character.
• Choosing appropriate dynamics, tempo and timbre for a piece of music.

In RE our key question is: How can we make good choices?

The unit of work explores how people always face moral choices. It starts with a consideration of what makes a happy classroom, and why rules are important. The children will then study moral codes from Christianity, Judaism and Islam including the Ten Commandments and the Five Pillars. They also look at non-religious stories and how these exemplify some guidelines for life. They are invited to respond by considering what would make the best rules for life.

In PE we will be completing a unit of work on gymnastics.

The children will perform with control and consistency, basic balances and actions which will be at different speeds and height different levels. The children will be encouraged and given opportunities to challenge themselves to develop strength and flexibility.

Autumn Term 1

 In Geography our key enquiry question is: What are the similarities and differences between living in Todmorden and London?               

Here are some of the main objectives: we will cover:

• What is a settlement?
• What is the difference between cities, villages and towns?
• What makes a place a city? (cover capital city – London)
• How are cities, villages and towns different to live in?
• What human and physical features can I find in my settlement?
• Can I sketch a map of Todmorden?
• Can I sketch a map of London to compare with Todmorden?
• Can you use N, S, E, W to give directions on a map? 

In English, our core texts for this half term are The Queen's Hat by Steve Antony, Belonging by Jeanie Baker and The Bog Baby by Jeanne Willis. The independent writing outcomes that we will complete are:

Writing to Inform: Write an extended piece about your summer holidays.
Writing to Entertain: Write a prediction of what might happen in a story.
Writing to Entertain: Write a story of your own in the style of Steve Antony.

In Maths we will focus on our ability to read and understand numbers to 100. We will use our growing understanding of place value to help us sort, compare and order numbers. Within this unit, we will revise our understanding of different representations of numbers and also meet other representations for the first time. We will use these representations to show a number’s ‘10s’ and ‘1s’ and use this to help us compare and order. We will use part-whole models and place value grids to show our partitioning of numbers and use these to support our reasoning when comparing and ordering. Moving on from partitioning and ordering numbers, we will begin to develop our ability to count forwards and backwards efficiently in steps of 2, 3, 5, and 10.

In Science, our unit is Uses of Everyday Materials and our key enquiry question is: How can everyday materials be used? We will:

• Identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass, brick, rock, paper and cardboard for particular uses
• Find out how the shapes of solid objects made from some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.

In Art we will use storybook illustrations as a stimulus to develop our mark-making to explore a wider range of tools and experiment with creating texture to add detail to drawings.

In computing we will be learning about computing systems and networks. The children will learn to:

• Name some computer peripherals and their functions.
• Recognise that buttons cause effects.
• Explain that technology follows instructions.
• Recognise different forms of technology.
• Design an invention which includes inputs and outputs.
• Explain the role of computers in the world around them.

In Music we will be learning  about the music of the British Isles and creating music of our own. We will compose a piece of music as part of a group and  evaluate and improve a group composition.

In RE our key question is: How is new life welcomed?

The children will learn how babies are welcomed into families. They will think about why it is important to welcome people and especially new babies. They will study initiation rites including infant baptism and the aqiqah and be aware that there are other rituals and ceremonies as well, including non-religious ceremonies. The children will also be given the opportunity to reflect on the concept of promise and to compare different approaches to welcoming new life. This unit specifically addresses Christianity and Islam. The unit also focusses on how people with no religious faith welcome and name children.

In PE we will be learning about team games.

The children will:

• participate in team games
• develop simple tactics for attacking and defending.
• communicate, clearly, articulate ideas and compromise with others during the course of group games.

Here are some of the books that we will be learning about and learning from this year.