SUMMER 1

This half term the children have been engaging in some more fantastic learning as we fast approach the end of Year 2!

In our English lessons, we have been immersed in exploring the book “The Secret Sky Garden”, in which a young girl transforms an old airport car park into a beautiful garden full of amazing plants and flowers, and makes a new friend! The children have explored and compared the feelings of the characters and how these might change throughout the book, and have story-mapped the main events that occur. We really enjoying focussing on the emotions in the story and relating to the feelings of the main character, Funni.

In Maths, the children have been consolidating the learning we have done over the course of the year. We have covered everything from place value to column addition and even recapped how to answer those tricky word problems! The adults in Year 2 have been so impressed with the improvements all of the children have made in learning their times tables and we will continue this into Year 3. Well done everyone!

In Project Based Learning, the children have been fascinated by our new Ladybird project! We took a trip into the nearby woods to see if we could spot any, and managed to find FIVE! Since our trip, the children have been conducting their own research into ladybirds, finding out all about their eating habits, habitats, life cycles and different species. Did you know ladybirds are actually a type of BEETLE!? We have found out some amazing facts and created our own ladybird stories and fact files. In addition to this, the children constructed scientifically accurate diagrams and then build their own ladybird sanctuaries – these look so fantastic! The best part of this whole project was how able the children were to lead their own learning! Well done Year 2!

Spring 1

Another amazingly busy half term in Year 2! This half term in English we have explored the traditional story of Jack and the Beanstalk. The children listened to the story and then re-wrote it from scratch. They included some fantastic description and sequenced the story into a beginning, middle and end. We have also planned and written our own exciting stories during our English lessons. The children created their own made-up animals that had a problem and needed to adapt to a new climate. Their stories took the reader on a journey to discover how the animals overcame adversity to successfully acclimatise to their new surroundings.

In Maths, we have recapped the four operations and explored a range of strategies we can use to add, subtract, multiply and divide. The children then used these strategies in practice to solve a range of problems. The children have also enjoyed learning about position and direction and have used vocabulary such as ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘forwards’, ‘backwards’, ‘clockwise’ and ‘anti-clockwise’ to direct each other around the classroom. We have also learnt about the 4 point and 8 point compass and written directions to help us navigate a world map!

In Project Based Learning, our project this half term has been WE ARE Zoologists. During this extremely explorative project, the children have been finding out about adaptation and how animals have adapted to their climates, whether it be temperate, tropical, dry, continental or polar! We looked at existing animals and their characteristics before creating our own creatures that will be based on islands with different climates - islands created by Year 1! The children then sculpted clay models of their imaginary animals for display - with an abundance of creativity and a little mess!

AUTUMN 2

This half term we have really begun to showcase the fantastic learning that has been going on in both Challenge class and Venture class.

In English, we found out about the life and work of the author Julia Donaldson and enjoyed reading and comparing a wide range of her amazing books. We then moved on to reading ‘Lila and the Secret of Rain’ and the children discovered about climate in Kenya and the effects drought can have. From this, they produced informal letters written from the character’s point of view. The children really enjoyed learning about the features of a letter and how to structure them, they then composed some letters to Santa in true festive spirit!

In Maths, we have been exploring measurement, including length, capacity and weight. We created our own ‘invisibility potions’ using coloured water by measuring out exact quantities laid out in a recipe. We also compared weight using scales to specific intervals of multiples of 10 (and 25!). Following this, the children have enjoyed recapping on telling the time and improving their knowledge by comparing both analogue and digital clocks! As if it couldn’t get any busier, we then explored symmetry and enjoyed completing shapes using mirrors to determine accurate symmetrical patterns.

In Project Based Learning, we have actually completed TWO projects in just the last seven weeks. To celebrate Black History Month, we discovered and explored the wonderful life and artwork of Edward-Saidi Tingatinga. He was an African artist born in Tanzania who produced some amazing pictures of animals, in his own unique style! The children then drafted and perfected their own fantastic artwork in the style of Tingatinga as a celebration of his achievements as an artist.

Our second project, ‘WE ARE Historians’, led the children to discover what it means to truly explore the history of a person’s life. We looked at ‘then’ and ‘now’ pictures of our borough to gain an understanding of how it has changed over time. Then, the children carried out virtual interviews with some brilliant volunteers from different cultural backgrounds who detailed their life and achievements growing up in and around Waltham Forest, and what it was like moving here from other countries!

What a busy, brilliant and beautiful range of learning we have covered in Autumn 2. We just can’t wait to see what the Spring term brings!
 

AUTUMN 1

Wow! What an amazing start to Year 2! The children have begun the year in such a positive manner, and this has been reflected in all the wonderful learning they have been able to produce over these past 7 weeks.

In English, we have been exploring the books 'Giraffes Can't Dance' and 'Leaf'. We have been discussing the characters' feelings and how these change throughout each story. From this we have been able to produce some fantastic descriptive writing around these characters. More recently, we have been exploring autumn and the beautiful sights, sounds and feelings that accompany this wonderful season. The children wrote their own autumn poems using their senses and even explored some real objects found in the forest!

In Maths, we have been recapping our place value knowledge from Year 1 to help us to add numbers together using both mental and written methods. We have also explored different types of measurement - length, capacity and weight and have used real-life measuring tools to help us compare measured values. Additionally, we have used our knowledge of shapes to name and describe a wide variety of both 2D and 3D shapes. The children can now describe these based on their number of faces, edges and vertices.

In Project Based Learning, we have just completed our WE ARE Waltham Forest project, and what an amazingly interesting, insightful and diverse project it has been! The children have been given the opportunity to explore the geography of the world - looking at continents and oceans. They have then benefitted form learning about the borough of Waltham Forest and what makes us so unique and culturally diverse. As a result, we have all been able to further explore our cultural backgrounds and even dress up to present and celebrate the variety of culture, religion and heritage in our wonderful borough!