Welcome to our Year 2 Class Page.  

Curriculum Information for Parents and Carers – Year 2 Summer Term 2023

The Summer Term is here and we would like to share with you a summary of what your child will be learning in class.  We would also like to share some ways that you can support your child at home.

Detailed information about the topics can be found in the Knowledge Organisers.  The Knowledge Organisers contain the key vocabulary and learning for each topic and you can look at these with your child over the course of the term. 

English

Summer Half Term 1:

Our text for the first half of the summer term is Leaf by Sandra Dieckman.  During our English lessons, we will be improving our vocabulary, spelling, grammar and sentence structure through writing for different purposes including narratives and explanations.

Summer Half Term 2:

Our text in the second half term is Anne Fine’s Diary of a Killer Cat.  Through this text, we will write for different purposes with a focus on using the correct tense consistently throughout writing by using the progressive form of verbs in both the past and present tense.

Mathematics

Throughout this term, we will be consolidating our learning through problem solving and mathematical investigations.  New topics covered in this term are listed below:

Summer Half Term 1:

• Fractions - recognising equal and unequal parts; recognising and finding a half, quarter and a third.
• Time - telling the time to the nearest quarter of an hour and 5 minutes.

Summer Half Term 2:

• Statistics - making a tally chart; reading tables; drawing and interpreting pictograms.
• Position and Direction - directional language including; left and right, forwards and backwards, quarter, half, three-quarter and full turns and above and below in relation to movement.

Mixed Problem Solving - using knowledge learnt across the year to complete complex 2-step word problems and mathematical investigations.

RE

Summer Half Term 1: We will learn about Pentecost through our topic of Spread the Word.  Using our religious learning, we will answer our big question of ‘What responsibilities are involved in passing on messages?’

In our topic of Thanksgiving, we will learn about the Eucharist and answer the question ‘What is special about the Bible and why is it important to us?’

Summer Half Term 2: In our other faiths topic, we will learn about Islam.  We will explore how religious belief shapes the way some people live out their lives.  In our topic of the Universal Church, we will be learning through scripture about what we treasure and why.  We will relate our learning to answering our big question ‘What made me?’

Science

Summer Half Term 1: In our topic of ‘Our Local Environment’, we will be learning about habitats of different creatures from our local environment and of those from around the world.  We will learn about predators and prey and food chains.

Summer Half Term 2: In our topic ‘Young Gardeners’, we will learn about the life cycle of plants and what they need to survive.

History

This term, we will be learning about the Greatest Explorers throughout history and what made them great.  We will be using historical enquiry skills to answer a new question each lesson and build upon our understanding of chronology.  We will make comparisons between different explorers and their journeys.

Geography

In our summer term topic of ‘Wonders of the World’, we will name, locate and identify characteristics of the seven continents and oceans through the context of the seven wonders of the world.  We will use world maps, atlases and globes to locate continents, oceans and countries, and use this to help with our understanding of geographical similarities and differences (both human and physical).  We will identify the locations of hot and cold areas around the world.

Music

Summer Half Term 1: We will be exploring treble clef pitch notation.

Summer Half Term 2: We will be building on our knowledge of pitch notation to learn as a class how to play the Ocarinas.

PE

Athletics: We will be developing our athletic skills of running, jumping, throwing and preparing for the KS1 Sports Day carousel.

Striking and Fielding: We will be developing our understanding of the principles of striking and fielding games. We will begin to think about how to use skills, strategies and tactics to outwit the opposition.

Ball Skills: In this unit, pupils will explore their fundamental ball skills such as throwing and catching, rolling, hitting a target, dribbling with both hands and feet and kicking a ball.  Pupils will have the opportunity to work independently, in pairs and small groups.

Art

Through our Superheroes topic in Art, we will use a range of materials creatively to design and make products.  We will use drawing, painting and sculpture to develop and share ideas, experiences and imagination.  We will work collaboratively on a large comic book inspired piece.

Design and Technology

In Design and Technology, we will be looking at making pouches in textiles.  We will learn how to join fabric using a running stitch and how to thread a needle safely.  We will also learn how to cut fabric neatly and to pin the fabric before sewing.

Computing

Summer Half Term 1: In our topic of ‘Stop Motion’, we will be learning how to create a flip book animation.  The children will decompose a story into smaller parts to plan a Stop Motion animation.  The children will then create an animation with small changes between images.

Summer Half Term 2: In our topic of ‘Online Safety’, we will be learning how to recognise what information is safe to be shared online.  The children will be able to say who they can ask for help with online worries and will develop strategies to work out if online information is reliable or not.

RHE (Relationship and Health Education)

In RHE, we will learn to recognise safe and unsafe situations in real life and online.  Through activities and the story of Smartie the Penguin, we will understand that being safe is not just about physical precautions, we need to feel safe on the inside too.

We will also learn the difference between good secrets that are safe to keep, and bad secrets that are unsafe to keep.  Through activities and teaching, we will learn how to resist pressure when feeling unsafe.  We will discuss how our bodies are made by God and given to us as wonderful gifts that deserve our and others respect.

Finally, we will use our understanding that we are created to love God and love others, and we should therefore look out for and care for one another.  We will discuss what makes a situation a 999 emergency and introduce the principles of basic First Aid through animated teaching, role play and discussions.

Educational Visits

The Wetlands Centre to investigate habitats.

How you can help your child at home

Daily reading.

Freckle Maths.