Year 2

Mrs Searle welcomes you to Year 2!

We hope you find this page useful as a guide to what your Year 2 child will be learning throughout the year - as well as useful links that you can use at home to support your children.

Phonics & Reading

At Aston All Saints C of E Primary we see reading as a priority as it is a vital skill for life long learning. Once children have mastered the basics of decoding words it is important that they continue to read regularly both in school and at home to build their fluency and confidence. They also need to develop a deeper understanding of the texts they read by asking and answering questions.

As you are aware, we introduced the Read Write Phonics scheme and have seen some great progress with the children. This scheme enables us to deliver phonics and reading lessons that are at the exact level that the children need. We forensically assess all children regularly and can ensure that all children are accessing the teaching of phonics and reading at their exact level. Please support us on our journey to fluent reading by reading regularly with your child and ensuring that the Read Write Inc Phonics reading books are returned to school DAILY!

We read with your child on many occasions each week in school. Each week your child will ideally read twice, usually in the form of reading comprehension with their class teacher and individually with a staff member. There will be many other opportunities for reading through their Literacy lessons, daily phonic sessions and in the wider curriculum.

Children will also be bringing home a book of their choice to read for pleasure, with an adult... maybe read these at the weekend, as bedtime stories or as a calm activity before bed! The key thing is that we develop a love of reading with all of our children!

We change the books each Tuesday on what we call "Choose Day!". These books are taken from a section of the Key Stage One Library and the themes of the books are changed weekly - the Year 2 Library Monitors will help with this throughout the year.

As previously mentioned reading is still the main focus for homework and we ask that you make time to read with your child at least three times a week. In Year 2, we check our lovely new reading diaries each day are are looking for children to read to an adult at home at least three times a week.

Maths

We follow White Rose maths scheme of work as a foundation to our maths teaching. This ensures that our children revisit key concepts of learning regularly in order to commit knowledge to our long term memories. We use a Maths Mastery approach that encourages children to question and explore maths in a fun and exciting way. Manipulatives are essential to our teaching and learning, and these key tools help our children in knowing and remembering more.

We aim for all children to be fluent with their number facts and have multiple strategies to choose from when problem solving and calculating. Being able to make efficient strategy choices, alongside fast recall of number facts are what we need for confident, young mathematicians!

Key Instant Recall Facts for Year 2

Practising these with your child will really help them become fluent mathematicians. Each half term has a different focus and will be taught and practised as part of our maths teaching.

PE days are: Tuesday and Thursday.

Please ensure children have the appropriate PE kit to participate in PE lessons. Please can you ensure your child has shorts, gold/yellow t-shirt and pumps or trainers. We will be doing outdoor PE wherever possible so please include suitable tracksuit for this. Spare socks are also needed as part of their kit.

*For health and safety reasons: Please note that jewellery should not be worn for P.E. lessons and long hair is to be tied back. Children with earrings ideally need to have these removed on PE days, or have appropriate tape to cover them.

Autumn Term Year 2

Movers and Shakers - This project teaches children about historically significant people who have had a major impact on the world. They will learn to use timelines, stories and historical sources to find out about the people featured and use historical models to explore their significance.

Human Survival - This project teaches children about the basic needs of humans for survival, including the importance of exercise, nutrition and good hygiene. They learn how human offspring grow and change over time into adulthood.

Exploring Colours - This project teaches children about colour theory by studying the colour wheel and colour mixing. It includes an exploration of primary and secondary colours, hues and how artists use colour in their artwork.

Remarkable Recipes - This project teaches children about sources of food and tools used for food preparation. They also discover why some foods are cooked and learn to read a simple recipe. The children choose and make a new school meal that fulfils specific design criteria.

Let’s Explore the World - This essential skills and knowledge project teaches children about atlases, maps and cardinal compass points. They learn about the characteristics of the four countries of the United Kingdom and find out why there are hot, temperate and cold places around the world. They also compare England to Somalia. Children carry out fieldwork, collecting primary data in their locality to answer geographical questions.

Habitats - This project teaches children about habitats and what a habitat needs to provide. They explore local habitats to identify and name living things and begin to understand how they depend on one another for food and shelter.

Still Life - This project teaches children about the work of significant still life artists and still life techniques. They explore a wide variety of still lifes and learn about the use of colour and composition. They create still life arrangements and artwork.

Spring Term Year 2

Coastline - This project teaches children about the physical and human features of coastal regions across the United Kingdom, including a detailed exploration of the coastal town of Whitby, in Yorkshire.

Uses of Materials - This project teaches children about the uses of everyday materials and how materials' properties make them suitable or unsuitable for specific purposes. They begin to explore how materials can be changed.

Flower Head - This project teaches children about the visual elements of flowers, including shape, texture, colour, pattern and form. They also explore various artistic methods, including drawing, printmaking and 3-D forms, using paper and clay.

Beach Hut - This project teaches children about making and strengthening structures, including different ways of joining materials.

Plant Survival - This project teaches children about the growth of plants from seeds and bulbs. They observe the growth of plants firsthand, recording changes over time and identifying what plants need to grow and stay healthy.

Summer Term Year 2

Magnificent Monarchs - This project teaches children about the English and British monarchy from AD 871 to the present day. Using timelines, information about royal palaces, portraits and other historical sources, they build up an understanding of the monarchs and then research six of the most significant sovereigns.

Cut, Stich and Join - This project teaches children about fabric home products and the significant British brand Cath Kidston. They learn about sewing patterns and using a running stitch and embellishments before making a sewn bag tag.

Animal Survival - This project teaches children about growth in animals by exploring the life cycles of some familiar animals. They build on learning about the survival of humans by identifying the basic needs of animals for survival, including food, water, air and shelter.

Push and Pull - This project teaches children about three types of mechanism: sliders, levers and linkages. They make models of each mechanism before designing and making a greetings card with a moving part.

Portraits and Poses - This project teaches children about three types of mechanism: sliders, levers and linkages. They make models of each mechanism before designing and making a greetings card with a moving part.

Here are some policies which parents of children in Y2 may find useful:

Calculation Policy 2022-2023

Reading Policy

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar