Welcome to Year 2. Our Teaching Staff are Mrs Wombwell (Monet class) and by Ms Lupo (Turner class). Our teaching assistants are Mrs Nicholls, Mrs Oakaby-Wright and Ms Thomas.
PE: Our lesson takes place on Monday afternoon each week.
Summer Term 2022
During the Summer Term our theme will be:
The Seven Continents and Explorers
The Geography focus will involve the children studying in depth the seven continents of the world. Children will compare and contrast the continents and learn about their main characteristics. They will also learn about seas and oceans.
The first-hand knowledge that staff and children have from journeying to different continents will be used to enrich our studies.
Our learning will be focused around an Enquiry question:
What are the seven continents and five oceans?
History
Linked to our Geographical studies of the continents the children will consider the significance of explorer’s journeys. They will also focus on how the lives of significant individuals in the past have contributed to national and international achievements.
We will be studying a range of explorers from different periods of time and making comparisons between the lives of these explorers. The children will commence their studies by learning about Ibn Battuta followed by researching explorers such as Christopher Columbus, before studying Antarctica and space explorers.
Children will have homework linked to explorers. This will broaden their knowledge and understanding about why these people set out on their journeys. They will be asked to reflect on the impact that the explorer’s journeys had at the time and for future generations.
Science
The children began exploring plants during the National Science Growth week last term. They will continue to develop their understanding of plants by focusing on the needs of plants through observations and investigations. Their experiences will be enriched by the outdoor learning in different areas of our school grounds.
During Summer 2 our Science focus will be on animals including humans and how their offspring grow into adults. Central to this will be the idea that all living things have certain characteristics that are essential for keeping them alive and healthy. We will compare animals in familiar habitats with animals found in less familiar habitats and discuss how they are suited to their environments. Habitats will be included from a range of continents studied this term.
Art
Our focus for art will be creatures of the deep; this theme will be explored using drawing, painting and textiles. Our artist for this term will be: Michelle Parsons. The children will draw and make models of fish and other sea creatures. They will enhance their skills of using felt and decorative stitching to create fish they have designed.
Sea monsters – real and imagined will form part of the learning for this term including exploring some historic drawings of sea life. Links will be made with our Literacy unit Imaginary Worlds.
Computing
Computing will continue to be an essential part in all subjects as well as discrete lessons where children will be taught IT skills. Online-safety remains a top priority to ensure that children are aware of the way we should behave online and what actions to take if anything makes them feel uncomfortable or worries them when they are online.
This term our computing theme is Being Creative. Children will explore using computers for drawing and painting. Animation will be used by the children to bring their images to life. We will continue to use DB Primary, our school learning platform, which will allow children to access learning with you at home.
Maths
In Maths the children will be developing their knowledge of multiplication, division and the relationship between them. They will explore further multiples of 2, 3, 5 and 10. Lessons will foster the development of a deep understanding of strategies that will enable the children to calculate effectively. Learning this term will also include fractions which will involve the children finding, naming and writing fractions 1 / 3 , 1 / 4 , 1 / 2 and 3 / 4 of a length, shape, set of objects or quantities. We will then focus on equivalence of fractions before moving onto revisiting telling the time on analogue clocks to 5 minute intervals. The children will learn about 2D and 3D shapes. Problem solving will be embedded in all units of Maths.
Literacy
We will be exploring Literacy through a variety of genre. Our learning will commence with stories from imaginary worlds. Drama activities will support deepening of the children’s understanding of stories before discussing character’s actions, writing character descriptions and making predictions about future events based on evidence from the texts. The children will read and write reports and explanation texts. During the term the children will focus on different types of poetry which they will read, perform and write. Our school environment will continue to be used to develop language.
Reading
In Reading children will read daily in class and regularly share books with adults. They will have group guided reading sessions during the week and complete activities linked to the texts they have studied. Please continue to hear your children read every day as this shared experience ensures children make the greatest progress possible. Please ask your children questions about books as this will support them in developing comprehension skills which are essential for them to obtain a deep understanding of the texts they read. Later in the term other books will be sent home for you to share with your child to foster further the love of reading.
PE
Our lesson takes place on Monday afternoon each week.
This term we will be focussing on net games and athletics. Children will explore different ways of running and jumping. They will work on coordinating running and jumping and the techniques used for different jumps. Children will learn to change the techniques depending on whether height or length is required.
Spring Term 2022
During the Spring Term our theme will be:
Significant historical events, people and places in our locality
This theme will allow the children to develop a detailed understanding of our local area. We will focus on historical events and explore how these have brought about changes within the area.
Our learning will be focused around an Enquiry question:
What is so special about Hatfield and the people who have lived here?
The children will visit areas of Hatfield including: Hatfield Park and the Old Palace, Fore Street and Hatfield train station. As part of our research we will consider what is significant about our local area’s past. Our studies will commence in AD970 when the land was owned by King Edgar; this will lead into researching further links that Hatfield has with royalty. We will use artefacts to stimulate discussion and encourage questioning skills.
Another question we will explore is: What impact did the Aerodrome have on Hatfield? The children will research Geoffrey de Havilland and use the information they collect to write a biography.
Other aspects of our studies will include the changes in transport. We will learn about how the coming of the railway changed Hatfield. This aspect of our study will continue the links with royalty as part of the railway line was opened by a member of the Royal family. Links to transport will include the development of the motorway.
Science the children will identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials, including wood, metal, plastic, glass and paper for particular uses. They will explore materials used in and around the school observing, identifying and classifying the uses of materials. Our investigations will also include how the use of materials in building has changed since Hatfield Great Hall was built. 
The children will investigate how materials can be altered when different forces are applied. During the second half of the term we will study people who have invented new materials. The children will learn about the reasons behind the inventions and how the new materials were created.
Art
The focus for this term is Plants in art. This will include: drawing, painting, colour mixing and collage. The artists for this term are: Van Gogh, Kandinsky and Monet. The children will draw using different media and on a variety of materials. Linked to our History the children will create an illuminated letters collage. Further exploration of collage will take place using pressed flowers.
Computing will again form an essential strand to all subjects as well as a discrete lesson in which the children will be taught the skills required for digital research and communication. We will continue to use DB Primary, our school learning platform, which will allow children to access learning with you at home.
In Maths the children will enhance their understanding of addition and subtraction including developing written methods. They will explore the commutativity in addition but not in subtraction. The children will strengthen their use of subitising during our Mastery lessons. We will be exploring time and it would be beneficial if you could support you child in learning to tell the time with both analogue and digital clocks.
We will be exploring 
Literacy through a variety of authors including Ted Hughes and Shakespeare. Children will read fiction and non-fiction texts. They will use drama to deepen their understanding of stories before discussing character’s actions, writing character descriptions and making predictions about future events based on evidence from the texts. We will use our school environment to stimulate our language development
In Reading children will read daily in class and regularly share books with adults. They will have group guided reading sessions during the week and complete activities linked to the texts they have studied. We ask that parents hear their children read every day as this shared experience ensures children make the greatest progress possible.
Autumn Term 2021
During the Autumn Term our theme will be:
Events beyond Living Memory
A sense of place: UK landmarks
This will provide us with an amazing opportunity for a wide variety of cross curricular activities.
In Geography we will be using narrative texts to enhance our learning experiences, these will include: The Queen’s Handbag and Katie in London.
Our learning will be focused around an Enquiry question: What are the four capital cities, countries and surrounding seas of the UK? Children will be able to deepen their understanding of the countries of the UK considering the similarities and differences between the countries. We will also research UK landmarks to develop the children’s understanding of regions within each country.
History
This term we will be studying the Great Fire of London and its impact on the United Kingdom. We will be using paintings depicting scenes from the Great Fire along with historical sources such as Samuel Pepys Diary to find out information for our studies.
Year 2 will also learn about the Gunpowder Plot and Remembrance Day and how these events are remembered through festivals or anniversaries. Narrative text, for example Where the Poppies Now Grow, will again be used to enhance the children’s learning.
Science will involve us taking a journey through different habitats and seeing how adaptation has enabled species to survive in a variety of locations. The school environment will be used to explore habitats including microhabitats. Children will find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival (water, food and air).
During the second half of the term we will study plants including bulbs. We will plant bulbs and investigate the conditions they require to develop and flower.
Art this term will develop the children’s appreciation of the need to look closely in order to replicate, different shapes and lines when drawing an object or picture. The children will use a range of drawing media including graphite sticks, charcoal, crayons, coloured pencils and felt tip pens. They will explore new ways of making lines and marks to describe a wide range of surfaces, textures and forms.
Later in the term we will explore printing. The children will create print blocks using different materials and use these to create patterns.
We will also explore the work of different artists and painting styles (e.g. abstract and realistic).
Computing will form an essential strand to all subjects as well as a discrete lesson in which the children will be taught the skills they require including aspects of programming. We will continue to use DB Primary, our school learning platform, which will allow children to access learning with you at home.
In Maths the children will be deepening their understanding of number bonds to 10 initially then to 20 and to 100. We will be developing their understanding of place value including regrouping two digit numbers. Counting forwards and backwards will reinforce their prior knowledge ready to build onto larger two digit numbers. We will also be focusing on counting in even steps, multiplication, division, money and measures. These skills will be used to develop strategies for problem solving.
We will be exploring Literacy through a variety of authors including Joseph Coelho and Anthony Browne. Children will listen to stories and share their thoughts and feelings about the texts. They will retell stories and use the author’s style to write their own stories with new characters which they will create. Our learning journey will be enriched by also studying non- fiction texts including recounts, explanations and reports linked to our term themes. Poetry will also form part of our literacy.
In Reading children will read daily in class and regularly share books with an adult. They will have group guided reading sessions during the week and complete activities linked to the texts they have studied. We ask that parents hear their children read every day and complete their reading record books as this shared experience ensures children make the greatest progress possible.
The Autumn term will form the start of an exciting journey through year 2. We welcome parent’s support on this journey as together we achieve better results.