Year 2

We find ourselves in the very unusual situation of having to ask the children to work at home for the coming weeks.

As a team, year 2 will be contactable via our year group email:

yr2.staff@warrenparkapps.co.uk

This will be checked daily during term time and between the hours of 9am and 3pm. If you have any questions regarding the workbook or the home learning pack, drop us a line and we will do our best to support you with an answer.

To help support your child at home please view our

Web Links Page or our Online Learning Resources Page

Twinkl

Home Reading

If you wish to continue with home reading, the following website allows access to FREE Oxford Owl books upon registration.

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page/

Our Africa topic:

We have been learning all about Africa as part of our geography topic. Here are some ideas of activities that you could do at home to explore this topic further:

Junk model an African animal (e.g. an African elephant made from a milk bottle).
Paint or draw pictures of African animals.
Create an African animal fact file.
Design an African bead necklace.

Other African activities can be found in the activity pack.

Spring Term

Cat, Bramble and Heron

Once upon a time, there were three friends called Cat, Bramble and Heron who lived by a lake.

Early one morning, they went out to seek their fortune.

First, Bramble slithered through the grass but all that he found was a pot as black as coal. Next, Cat crept along by the wall but all that he found was an old fishbone. Finally, Heron flew down the creek where he saw a pile of gold.

So, Heron, Cat and Bramble shared the gold into not one, not two but three bags. They decided to hide their fortune.

First, Heron spread out his wings, took the bag in his beak and flew away. Unfortunately, he saw his reflection in the water below. He called out, “Hello,” and as soon as he opened his beak, the gold scattered down like leaves from a tree.

Next, Cat crept along the wall and paused by a small hole. Unfortunately, Mr Mouse crept out and stole Cat’s gold.

Finally, Bramble slithered along the hedgerows. Unfortunately, Mr Mouse crept by and stole Bramble’s bag of gold.

To this very day, Cat is still waiting outside Mr Mouse’s hole.

To this very day, Bramble hisses and slithers around the legs of passers-by.

To this very day, Heron is standing still in the water forever staring and looking for his lost bag of gold.

Fire Service

Year Two were lucky enough to have a special visitor. The Fire service came into to talk to the children about keeping safe in the home. The children learnt the importance of fire safety, how to keep themselves safe and what to do in an emergency. Riley even had a go at being a fire fighter. As always, Year Two were amazing and received two compliment clips for their manners and fab behaviour.

Marwell Trip

What an incredible trip we all had at Marwell Zoo. The children were amazing had had an absolute ball. The children we able to get up close to many incredible animals, some of which are endangered. The children were really engaged to observe each and every animal that they saw. The children made some incredible observations and asked some well-considered questions about the well-being and origins of the animals they saw. Some of the children had a go at being a rhino, flamingo and a wallaby, Mr Wood was pretty bad at most of them

Dear Parents, below is a list of words that your child will be learning to read and spell over the year. They are a mixture of words that we encourage children to use in their writing and they are often misspelt. Along with reading at home, it would really help your child if they could practise these at home. We will continue to assess each child every week and send home weekly spellings in their reading wallets.

If you would like any help, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will support where we can.

Thank you, from Year Two.

Arctic Music

In Year Two, we are starting to explore music that is inspired by the polar regions. We looked at a video by Ludovico Einaudi – “Elegy for the Arctic” to see his interpretation of how the Artic inspires musical composure. We listened to this minimalist track and discussed how the simplicity of using just a piano created a calming and tranquil piece. We explored how Ludovico Einaudi changed his use of keys and tone to reflect the dramaticsm of the piece. When the ice started to melt and break off, the music quickly changed to a lower and more aggressive tone, compared to the lighter pitch pattern that takes the majority.

The children were given a musical instrument each and were asked to listen to the music and try replicate the sounds and dimensions of the piece, focusing on pace, loud and quiet.

We discussed how the piece made children feel and what emotions they experienced by watching, listening and performing the piece.

This is a link to the track that we focused on. Please feel free to listen to it with your child and discuss how it made them feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DLnhdnSUVs

In Key Stage One, children should be taught to:

use their voices expressively and creatively by singing songs and speaking chants and rhymes
play tuned and untuned instruments musically
listen with concentration and understanding to a range of high-quality live and recorded music
experiment with, create, select and combine sounds using the interrelated dimensions of music

Hotter and Colder

We played a game of hotter and colder.

The children had to sit in a circle, whilst another child (the seeker) had to leave the room. We gave a secret child a shaker, which they had to keep hidden out of sight from the seeker. When the seeker returned, he / she had to walk slowly around the outside of the circle searching for where the shaker was hidden.

The rest of the children give the seeker clues by clapping loudly when they are not near the egg and quietly as they approach it.

Have a watch of us giving it a go.

If you would like any help, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will support where we can.

Thank you, from Year Two.

English Poetry

As part of our English this term, we are starting to look at poetry as a genre. We have spoken to the children about imagery and how powerful words help build pictures in our minds. Poems don’t have to make sense or tell a story. They don’t have to rhyme or even follow a pattern. This gives us the freedom to create some really powerful writing that captures real individuality.

The poem that we are learning about is called ‘Fear’ and the children have tried really hard to learn it using our story map and actions.

Fear

Fear is black like stormy clouds.

It tastes like cold rice pudding.

It smells musty and damp.

It looks like a dark lonely street.

It sounds like echoing footsteps.

It feels like being alone.

As part of our reading homework, we have put together some poems that you could read with your child. These would count towards reading, so feel free to sign off in the children’s white reading records.

Have a look at some of their videos!

Thank You from the Year 2 Team!

Welcome to Year 2

We would love to say a massive thank you to all of the amazing children in Year Two. They have had an incredible week, where they have settled into their New Year Group fabulously. Over the week, the children have been reading stories, making games and creating some inspirational winter inspired art. They also made their own grasshoppers and bumbles to decorate the classrooms.

Children wanted to play a game where they could practice counting, so they decided to make their very own versions of Snakes and Ladders. To do this, they had to count to 100 and place it on a number grid in a snake pattern. Then they added their snakes, ladders and had lots of fun playing.

For out winter inspired art, the children chose which colours represented the cold months of the year. They selected blues and white chalks and practiced different techniques to create a winter scape. Using blending and different pressures, the children were able to create winter art with different contrasts and styles. They look amazing.

With the help of Mrs Char Char, the children had a go at folding techniques to make some snowflakes too. They absolutely loved having a go at this super simple activity.

With a love of singing, the children have been learning some new songs to help them remember when their birthday is. The aim of the game was for the children to learn all of the months of the year and jump up on their birthday month – this was really funny to watch. We practiced counting to a trillion and backwards in 1s from 100. All these songs are available on YouTube so easy for the children to practice at home.

Our Zone board theme this year, is based around Disney’s ‘Inside Out’. For those who have not seen it, it’s an incredible film that explored all the human emotions from the perspective of a young girl. The story is told from inside the girl and is a really powerful representation of all of the human feelings that we all go through. We love Friday’s in Year Two so each Friday, everybody starts on Fantastic on the Zone board. If they are still there at the end of the day, it’s a guaranteed Cheeky Charlie stamp!

Here’s to a fantastic Year and a thank you from the Year Two Team.