Autumn 1 – Wellbeing
In Autumn 1, our whole school topic was Wellbeing. In Year 2, our class topics were Knights and Castles/Kindness.
LITERACY
Our class read a range of Knights and Castle stories this half term including; Knights and Dragons Unite, Zog and The Knibblesome Knight. All the stories had the same theme of kindness always wins! We based our writing on these books as we learnt and developed our punctuation skills as well as joining our ideas together with conjunctions.
PSHE
In our PSHE lessons, we looked at Mental Wellbeing, Friendships and Health. We were able to identify our emotions and talk about these. We learnt about how to be a kind friend and look at for one another.
ART/DT
In ART we studied the work of Paul Klee with a particular focus on the picture ‘The castle and the sun.’ We used the style of Paul Klee’s work to inspire and create our own artwork! We developed our cutting skills to create shapes and patterns and joined them using glue.
We also had a week dedicated to DT this term. During DT week we designed, made and evaluated our own castle catapults!
HISTORY
During our History lessons, we learned about how castles changed over time. We found out about motte and bailey castles and discussed why wooden castles were replaced by stone castles. We identified design features they were built with to help protect the people that lived in them such as; arrow slits, drawbridges, moats, battlements etc. We will found out about the different roles in the castle and what life was like.
PE
In PE this term we developed our Fundamental Skills. We explored how to travel in a range of ways including jumping, hopping and turning. We experimented with a range of balances by using different parts of our bodies, trying to be as imaginative as possible. We improved our accuracy when throwing bean bags, balls and other equipment.
We used the story of the Colour Monster to explore our feelings. |
We’ve developed our cutting and joining skills to create our ‘castle in the sun’ artwork. |
We’ve been inspired by Paul Klee’s work. |
We’ve explored what materials could be used to make an effective catapult in DT. |
We tested each catapult to see which design would launch the furthest. |
We’ve developed our independent writing skills as well as our writing stamina. |
Autumn 2 – Communication
For Autumn 2, our whole school topic was Communication. In Year 2, our class topic was Fire, Fire!
LITERACY
In literacy, we used our senses to write and perform a poem about Bonfire Night. We learned how to use our voices well to perform our poems thinking about volume, tone, expression and actions. We also took part in a poetry festival on 19th November!
We used a story about The Great Fire of London in literacy to develop our story writing skills. We secured the use of higher level punctuation such as ! and ?.
We took part in ‘No Pen Wednesday’ on 25th November which was a day of only spoken activities to further develop pupils’ language and communication skills.
PSHE/ONLINE SAFETY
Our PSHE theme was ‘Staying Safe’. As part of this, we took part in Anti-Bullying week. We identified what bullying is, where we could go for help and advice, how we can unite against bullying. We learned about online communication this half-term in our Online Safety unit. We learned a lot about how to stay safe online, including rules for safe internet use and online communication.
HISTORY
We started the half-term learning about Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. This coincided with bonfire night. We are now able to discuss the key events of the Gunpowder Plot and explain why we celebrate on Bonfire Night. In the rest of our History lessons, we learned about The Great Fire of London. We compared present-day London to the London that existed in 1666.We identified what life was like in the 17th Century and compared differences and similarities between ways of today. We discussed and learned about how the fire started and why it spread so quickly!
PE
This term our PE was gymnastics. We performed contrasting movements and balances including star, tuck, front support shapes and balances. We travelled in different ways, changing speed and direction We learned to control our bodies when jumping and rolling in different ways and link movements to create a sequence.
Working together to complete a word classes investigation. |
Strong, still and steady balances in gymnastics. |
We used the outdoors to understand range of mathematical vocabulary. |
We know everything we do online leaves a digital footprint. We know how to keep our information safe. |
We identified and used a range of imaginative vocabulary in our Bonfire Night poems. We aimed to create a vivid mind picture for the reader. |
Here we are communicating effectively in teams during Forest Schools. |
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Summer 1 – Creativity
For Summer 1, our whole school topic was Creativity. In Year 2, our class topic was Under the Sea.
LITERACY
In literacy, we will be using the story of ‘Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out!’ to develop our writing skills. The story follows the challenges and dangers sea turtles face as they grow, eat travel and breed in oceans and on beaches around the world. We will continue to develop our higher level punctuation skills (! and ?) as well as joining our ideas with a range of conjunctions (as, when, although, because, if, that). We will begin to explore different sentence openers to make our writing more interesting to read.
GEOGRAPHY
In Geography, pupils will develop knowledge about the world, the United Kingdom and their locality. We will learn to name and locate the world’s seven continents and five oceans. We will use world maps, atlases and globes to identify the United Kingdom and its countries, as well as other countries, continents and oceans. We will begin to use simple compass directions (North, South, East and West) and locational and directional language; for example, near, far left and right, to describe the location of features and routes on a map.
PE
In PE, we will be learning an Under The Sea dance to perform at our school’s dance festival! Keep an eye out for the recorded performance! (Monday’s PE). We will also take part in cricket sessions with the Derbyshire Cricket Foundation (Thursday’s PE).
Please ensure your child always has a full PE kit in school.
MUSIC
Our Music this half term is all about Sun, Sea and Song! In our Music lessons, the children will learn to identify different paces, low and high notes, as well as timbre and texture. We will learn the structure of songs (phrase, chorus, verse). We will also practise our breathing techniques, posture, articulation and sound projection. We will sing songs in unison and in two parts, with clear diction and control of pitch.
ART
Creativity is our topic this half term, so Art is of course important for this! We will be taking part in Arts Week during the last two weeks of term, where we will be finding out all about the work of a particular artist, and one picture in particular. But that’s a secret for now!
RE
This term the children will learn all about the Islamic faith. They will be finding out about what Muslims believe, why the prophet Mohammed is important to Muslims and how their faith impacts their way of life.
SCIENCE
Our Science topic this half term is ‘Living thing and Their Habitats’. We will be learning all about what living things do, different habitats creatures can live in and how animals have adapted to their environments. The children will find out about the diets different animals need to survive and what a food chain is. They will also make different food chains for different habitats.
MATHS
In maths the children will be looking at different types of measurement and getting practical! They will be measuring length, mass, capacity and temperature, and reading scales associated with each. Towards the end of the term they will be looking at positional vocabulary and describing movement using left, right clockwise and anti-clockwise. They will follow directions and make patterns and shapes with their knowledge.
Summer 2 – Aspirations
For Summer 2, our whole school topic is Aspirations. In Year 2, our class topic is Aspirational Astronauts!
This term we will be learning about people who have achieved their dreams of being an astronaut and particularly those who have walked on the moon. We will be thinking about our own aspirations and encouraging the children to achieve their own goals. One of the ways we will do this is through the new ‘Ashbourne Primary Award’ where children work to achieve four goals of their own – Physical, Expedition, Skill and Enterprise. This award encourages children to get active, go outdoors, learn something new and think of others.
We are hoping to have a KS1 & Reception sports day towards the end of the term so look out for a date and fingers crossed for some lovely weather!
TOPIC
We will be looking at space in our history topic this half term and focusing on two famous astronauts. Neil Armstrong, who was the first man to walk on the moon. We will be finding out about his life and achievements and learn all about the Apollo 11 landing. We will also learn about Tim Peake. He is one of only a few British astronauts who have travelled to space. We will be finding out about his time at the International Space Centre.
Finally we will be looking at the different planets in our solar system. We will be learning facts about the different planets and look at different missions that are taking place on them.
LITERACY
Our English will be closely linked to our topic. We will be looking at a story written by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and write our own space adventure story. We will be thinking about exciting sentence openers and interesting description to grab our reader.
We will also be writing space poetry and having fun with word choices and alliteration. Our fantastic poems will then be performed to the class to give us a chance to practise speaking in front of others.
The knowledge we have learnt in our topic will be put to good use as we create a fact file on planets. We will be able to include technical language and layout our work in sections choosing interesting headings and subheadings to attract the reader.
SCIENCE
This half term we will be looking at the importance of exercise, eating the right amounts and different types of foods and hygiene for human beings. We will be looking at the different food groups on the Eatwell Plate and finding out which food groups we should eat a small amount of and which we can eat a larger amount of.
Then we will be looking at how food helps us to grow and how different foods give us fuel to help us have energy for our busy days! Naturally we will be looking at the importance of having 5 fruits or vegetables a day!
At the end of the day we will be looking at the importance of hygiene, which we have all become experts in recently!
PSHE
In PHSE children will be learning that changes happen to us as we grow and that is ok. We will be thinking about the ways that we have changed since we were born and discussing how boys and girls have different body parts.
PE
This term children will be learning bat and ball skills. We will be developing our catching and fielding skills, hitting a ball with a bat and taking part in team games. These lessons will take place on a Friday afternoon.
Our Monday PE session will be circuit training where children will be developing their skills of balance and coordination. They will perform different movements with control and accuracy. Each week they will aspire to improve their own performance and achieve the goals they set themselves to see their fitness grow!
MATHS
In maths the children will be looking at 2D and 3D shapes and their properties, finding lines of symmetry and sorting shapes according to the amount of vertices, sides and edges using Venn diagrams and Carroll diagrams.
We will be getting practical and creating 3D shapes from nets and looking at the different faces a shape is made from.
Towards the end of the term we will be learning about statistics, interpreting tally charts and bar charts. We will be collecting data and making graphs of our own.