Year 2 w/b 12th June
Date: 15th Jun 2023 @ 4:39pm
We have had a fantastic week of learning in Year Two!
In English this week, we were introduced to our new key text. We were all excited to look at our new English display as we were curious over the array of gadgets, tools and blueprints. After this, we then looked at two illustrations from our story: a girl called Rosie rummaging through the trash and another image of her constructing with gadgets and gizmos. This helped us two practise two important comprehension skills: retrieval and inference. First, we focused on things we definitely knew from the illustrations (retrieval) e.g. Rosie has a pink headband. Then, using the conjunction because, we discussed what we could infer (what we think we know) from the illustrations e.g. Rosie is a happy girl because she’s smiling. Next, we listed questions that we had based on the illustrations e.g. Why is Rosie alone? Does she have any friends? Finally, we made predictions about the plot of the story. At last, our key text was revealed…Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beaty. We all enjoyed reading this together. Our final task of the week focused on the vocabulary used in the story. After discussing the meanings of these words and phrases, we worked in groups to match the vocabulary to related images to demonstrate our understanding. Finally, we used these words and phrases in some sentences, challenging ourselves to use more than one and use conjunctions to extend our sentences.
Our spelling rule this week has been the ‘ee’ sound spelt ‘ey’. This is used for words such as ‘monkey’, ‘alley’ and ‘honey’.
In maths this week, we have started our new unit ‘Position and direction’. We have been learning how to use practical positional language to describe scenes or arrangements of items and describe quarter, half and three-quarter turns around a point using the terms ‘clockwise’ and ‘anticlockwise’.
In science this week, we have been looking at everyday materials. We were given a variety of materials and we sorted them into different groups. We sorted them into: soft and hard, bendy and not bendy, transparent and opaque, shiny and dull, and bumpy and smooth. We are looking forward to our lesson next week where we will be material detectives looking for a selection of materials in our classroom.
In geography this week, we have started a new unit ‘Cities and villages’. This unit will enable us to understand geographical similarities and differences through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom (Manchester and Tattenhall), and of a small area in a contrasting non-European country (Kenya – Nairobi and Njoro). This first lesson focused on understanding the similarities and differences between a city and a village and we worked in groups to recap our understanding of human and physical features.
In music this week, we have started a new unit ‘Down in the jungle’. In this lesson, we learned the song ‘Down in the jungle’ and selected a new animal for each verse and changed the dynamics and tempo to suit that animal. Next, we used untuned percussion instruments and for each verse of the song, we used an instrument to accompany that verse. What wonderful musicians we have in Year Two!
In RE this week, we looked at pictures of the creation and then looked at Jewish artefacts eg: Shabbat candles, a Kippah and a Mezuzah. First of all we tried to guess what the objects might be used for, we then handled them and found out what each item was for. Finally, we discussed what we did on 'rest' days and then learnt how Jews keep the Sabbath to keep their promises to God.
In PE this week, we continued our circuit lessons in the glorious sunshine. We tried our best to beat our scores from last week and to improve our jumping and skipping techniques.
In art, we enjoyed looking at more of LS Lowry's artwork, we discussed the colours he had used and how his figures looked like matchstick men. We then focused on Lowry's VE Day painting, we carefully cut out a section and tried to emulate this missing section. It was quite tricky but we were particularly proud of ourselves as you couldn't really tell the difference when they were finished!
Don't forget to send children in their PE kit every day next week please.
We will also be swimming on Monday so please ensure your child has their costumes on underneath their kits to maximise their time in the pool.
We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the sunshine.
Miss Roxburgh and Mrs Taylor
