Year 2
Welcome to Owls
Here you will find all the documents you need for the Owls class page this year as well as lots of updates about our learning each week. Please enjoy reading about what we are doing in class and remember to email us if you have any questions.
Email address:
PE days will be on a Monday and Thursday
Term 4
Welcome back to Term 4. We hope you had a wonderful break. This term we will be continuing with our Explorers topic, which the children have been thoroughly enjoying.
Week 2
Careers Week
This week we were very lucky to have a visit from PC Matthew Aldridge. He told us about some of the jobs he has to do when he is at work and how long he has been a police officer for. He explained to us how some of the equipment he carries works and when he might have to use it. We asked some interesting questions and he told us that being good at Maths and English was important but also wanting to help people was a really important skill to have.
We also walked into Watlington to visit some of the shops and businesses and ask them some questions. First of all we visited the Granary. They told us that they like working with people and meeting different types of people. You have to be good at listening - so you know what they have ordered. Also being good at writing clearly is important so that everyone knows what to make. Another skill is being a good baker! We also saw Miss Brown in the co-op and she explained how being flexible, organised and helpful is important when you work in a shop. Two of the Owls even got to have a go at using the checkout! Finally we visited the library and Libby the librarian talked to us about how important it is to know your alphabet when helping people to choose books. She also explained that the library is a warm, space that everyone is welcome to use.
World Book Day
Everyone looked amazing in their costumes this week! The children loved explaining who their book character was and why they liked that book. We enjoyed many different activities throughout the day including, creating illustrations in the style of Oliver Jeffers, joining in with an online live read and paring up with a Year 5 child to do some reading. What a fun day of reading!
Week 1
English
This week we have been writing our cold writes - A journey story in space. The children have really enjoyed thinking about how their character would feel, where they would go and what they would see as they fly through space?
Maths
We have been learning all about measure this week. We have been using rulers to measure objects in cm and metre rulers to predict how long larger object might be.
Topic
This week we looked at space travel and how it has changed over the years. We then created a time line to show key events over the last 70 years. We had to look at the dates and decide which order they went in.
Windsor Castle
What a wonderful trip we had to Windsor Castle! We have been learning all about Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria so it was really interesting to get to explore a real castle and learn all about King Charles III. We even found out that King Charles was in the castle in the morning! Unfortunately we didn't spot him as we were looking around the castle. We saw amazing paintings, furniture and Queen Victoria's dolls house. After lunch we took part in a workshop where we learnt all about our monarch King Charles III and got to act out different things that he has to do.
Week 5
Maths
We have been finishing off learning about 2D shapes. We have explored how many sides and vertices each shape has and we have been trying to remember all of the names. We also looked at lines of symmetry and learnt that each side must be equal for it to have a line of symmetry.
English
We have started writing our hot writes this week about overcoming a monster. We used the structure of our model text and then changed the characters, where it happened and how the hero scared off the monster. We will be finishing them off next week.
PE
We have been really improving our skills in cricket. We have been working on aiming our balls at the cricket bats and being able to strike the ball with the bat.
Music
We have been learning our Christmas song for the Church Carol Service. We are learning O Christmas Tree. We are even trying to learn a verse in German. The words will be coming home so the children can practise at home.
Week 4
Maths
We have been learning all about 2D shapes this week. We have been looking at the properties including how many sides and vertices they have. We are getting very good and naming all the different shapes.
RE
We looked at Advent this week and what that means. We learnt that some Christians light a candle every Sunday starting on the 1st December. We also talked about how many of us have advent calendars and enjoy the countdown to Christmas day.
Topic
We have been learning about Queen Victoria this week and found out some interesting facts about her. She was very small but a very powerful and famous Queen. She had many children and was later referred to as the Grandmother of Europe. When her husband died she decided to wear black all the time as she was so upset and sad.
We also made our Christmas decorations for the tree in the Church. The theme was fairy tales so we did Cinderella and made some shoes and crowns.
Week 3
PE
This term on a Thursday we have been enjoying cricket lessons. We have been improving our throwing and catching skills which are very important when playing cricket.
Topic
This week we have been learning all about Queen Elizabeth I. We have researched and found out some interesting facts about her. Ask us what we have learnt about her and see if we can remember!
Reading
This term in our reading lessons we are looking at some Roald Dahl books. We are really enjoying George's Marvellous Medicine. We have been describing Grandma and predicting what George might do next.
Week 2
It's been another busy week in Owls.
We enjoyed wearing home clothes for Children in Need on Wednesday and the bake sale was a huge success!
English
We have started learning our new story map 'George and the Dragon' and are really enjoying recalling the story and thinking of our own actions. Ask us to retell the story for you - we are really good!
Maths
We have been subtracting 2 digit numbers this week. We have been carefully recording our tens and ones so that we are able to take away accurately.
Topic
This week we learnt what a monarch was and identified some special objects that a King or Queen might have. We then talked about the qualities that a good King or Queen would have and what would be good or bad rules for the country.
Computing
We had a special lesson about programming where we learnt about a fancy word: algorithms which means 'computer instructions'. We had a go at writing our own algorithms to direct a robot around a grid, picking up healthy food and avoiding unhealthy foods.
Science
We have been fascinated learning about 2 famous scientists in the last two weeks: John Dunlop and Charles Macintosh. These two scientists were both interested in how they could use rubber to make useful materials. Charles Macintosh invented the waterproof coat and John Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre.
Week 1
English
This week we found some very strange clues in our classroom. There was a witches hat, a picture of forest school and a letter addressed to the Owls. When we read the letter we found out that Miss Newing had been captured by a witch and taken to forest school. We rushed over to Forest school and found Miss Newing. Then we had to write a story explaining how we were going to help Miss Newing escape! We had some great ideas.
Maths
We have been learning how to add 2 digit numbers. We have been using base 10 and learning how to draw our tens and ones clearly so that we can then add them up to find the answer.
Computing
This term we are looking at digital photography. We used the IPADs to practise taking photographs. We had to think about what makes a good photograph. Was it blurry? Did it have all of the image in the picture?
Term 1
Week 8 End of term maths games (thanks Year 6!) and emotions art work
Week 7
We are scientists!
We have been having a great time in our science lessons this term, where we have been learning all about everyday materials and their properties.
Some of the things we have been getting to grips with include identifying and comparing the suitability of everyday materials and finding out about how the shapes of solid objects change by being squashed, bent, twisted or stretched. Next term, we are going to learn about some famous scientists and how recycling helps our environment.
Look at the photos below, where we were testing the absorbency of different materials, in order to find out the best material to use for animal bedding in a vets' hospital.
Week 6
Friday 11th October
It was lovely to see so many people on Thursday for the open afternoon. The children absolutely loved showing you their books and giving you a tour of their new classroom.
English
We have started a new unit looking at information texts. We looked at a variety of non-fiction books and had to identify all the different features that they have. Then we talked about why they have these features and what they are used for.
Computing
This term we have been looking at IT all around us. We have discussed how and where we use IT at home, school and in the world around us. We have also discussed staying safe while we are using technology - we came up with our own set of rules. We have also been using the IPADs to help us with our number bonds to 10 and 20 by using the white rose maths and hit the button apps.
Topic
This week we identified all the factors that made the fire spread so quickly. We decided it was because the houses were all made from wood and they were built very close together. We also found out that it was a very hot and dry summer and there was a wind that made the flames spread from house to house. Finally we all agreed that a big reason was because they didn't have fire engines like we have today.
RE
In RE we have been thinking about the question 'How important are the groups people belong to?' We talked about how we all feel that we belong in our families and in our school. We also talked about wider clubs and places that we felt that we belonged to.
Week 5
Friday 4th October
It's been another busy (slightly rainy!) week of learning in Owls class!
Maths
We have been practising and learning to remember our number bonds to 10 and 20. We found that a tens frame helped us with our number bonds to 10 and the rekenreks helped us with our number bonds to 20.
PE
The sun finally came out today so we were lucky enough to have our PE lesson on the paddock. We have been practising our ball skills. Throwing and catching and looking at the techniques of how to throw balls accurately.
English
We have been writing our Hot Writes in class this week. We had to write a recount of the 'Great Fire of London' pretending to be Thomas Farriner (the baker). We were trying to include interesting adjectives and use different time conjunctions at the start of our sentences.
Week 4
Friday 27th September
It's been another busy week in Owls class this week. We had a brilliant day on Wednesday for 'Languages Day'. The children thoroughly enjoyed learning some French and Italian vocabulary and taking part in a variety of activities including making flags, menus and silhouette pictures.
Maths
We have been comparing numbers using the greater than, less than and equal to symbols. We have also been ordering numbers. We decided that is was really helpful to look at the tens column first and then the ones unless they had the same tens.
Art
We continued our art topic this week and learnt all about the artist Picasso. He also enjoyed painting portraits but he didn't do traditional portraits. We looked at some of his paintings and then tried to recreate some of our own paying particular attention to lines and shape. We then decided on bright colours to finish our work off.
Library visit
We were all excited to go down to the KS1 library and choose a new book to take home and enjoy.
Week 3
Friday 20th September
English
We have been really enjoying our story about Vlad and The Great Fire of London'. We have been learning all about adjectives and verbs and how they can help to make our writing much more interesting. We then had a go at using them in our own writing. Ask us to see if we can remember what they are!
Art
We have started a unit on drawing this term. We are working on improving our techniques in using line, shape and form. We used mirrors and photographs to draw self portraits of ourselves. The Owls were amazing and created brilliant self portraits.
Topic
This week we have been looking at what London was like in 1666 and comparing it with how it is now. We talked about how the houses are different and made with different materials. We also talked about how there were very different jobs in 1666. Finally we looked at transport and how it has changed over the years.
Music
We have been listening to music from South Africa. We used the glockenspiels to try and accompany a song called 'Hands, Feet and Heart'. We were very good at following the beat and rhythm.
Week 2
Friday 13th September
It's been a busy week in the Owls class. Everyone has settled into Year 2 and we even squeezed in a visit to the new pond! We are very excited about our new topic 'The Great Fire of London' and have come up with some brilliant questions that we can try and answer over the next few weeks.
English
We have started to learn our new story map 'Vlad and the Great Fire of London'. The Owls have been amazing and we have created our own actions to go along with the story.
Maths
Over the next few weeks we will be learning all about place value. This week we were partitioning 2 digit numbers into tens and ones and representing them in different ways using base 10, numicon, part/whole models and place value charts.
