Year 2 2024/2025
Our classes are:
Nightingale - Mrs Shepherd (Teacher), Miss Watts (TA), Miss Cutts (TA)
Mandela - Miss Thomas (Teacher), Mrs Kitson (TA)
Pankhurst - Miss Young and Mrs Hobson (Teachers), Mrs Cuttiford (TA)
Hello and welcome to Year 2!
Year 2 is very similar to Year 1 but we work at a faster pace as we have lots to cover our broad and balanced curriculum! We cover lots of different skills and new learning linked into a theme each half term.
Autumn Term
In Autumn Term, we start with 'Super Duper You' which is a topic based on getting to know and looking after ourselves, and where we come from. We look at the geography of Bedworth and how it has changed over time. After October half term, we do a history based topic called Little People, Big Dreams where we study significant people and events in history including covering Black History Month. Some of these include: Guy Fawkes, World War I, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, George Eliot and more. In PSHE we explore The Taking Care project so that we know how to keep ourselves safe. We also look at valuing difference. We use different art techniques to draw self-portraits and look at where food comes from as part of DT during Harvest. In Computing, pupils begin the year learning about the use of information technology beyond the school environment, discussing the benefits of using information technology and rules associated with its safe use. After half term, they use spreadsheets to perform mathematical calculations and organise data. In music, we use the musical group ‘Stomp’ as inspiration. We design our own classroom instruments using junk modelling techniques. The ‘Rhythm Family’ characters will be introduced for Stave House to make our compositions more interesting. There will also be the opportunity for children to take their Stave House Level 1 Award, accredited by the London College of music.
Spring Term
After Christmas, we return to our Winter Wonderland topic where we go on a journey to Antarctica. Along the way we meet The Snow Queen who comes through our magic wardrobe and read lots of traditional tales. We enjoy writing our own twisted tales too! After half term, we learn about mini beasts in our Wriggle and Crawl topic where the children love to go on mini beast hunts at school and at Hartshill Hayes! We explore living things and what they need to survive. In PSHE, we learn about our feelings and emotions. In Computing, children develop and use logical thinking when designing simple programs with block coding. They practice reading code line by line to predict the outcome of programs before they are executed and begin to learn the importance of this skill when debugging code. In music, we will be continuing with Stave House and learning more notes and rhythm characters. After half term, we will be going on a journey around the world looking at different musical styles.
Summer Term
When we come back after Easter, our topic is Precious Plants where we look at how plants grow and what they need to survive. We also make a pouch to put seeds in as our DT textiles project. The summer term will end with a Seaside based topic where we read a book called Flotsam. We research what seaside holidays used to be like, and compare these to our holidays today. We learn lots about animals in the sea and on the beach, exploring their food chains. We move on to learning about everyday materials and design and make a waterproof boat which can float. In Computing, pupils learn what the Internet is and use a search engine to effectively retrieve relevant, purposeful digital content. Through online safety lessons, pupils learn what online bullying is; they identify people they should ask before they share things about themselves or others online; and they discuss how people may look and behave differently online and offline. In music, we will be listening to and appraising music inspired by plants and creating ‘plant’ compositions using standard notation. After half term, we will be writing our own sea shanty’s and performing them. There will also be the opportunity for children to take their Stave House Level 2 Award, accredited by the London College of music.
Year 2 Teachers