Hedgehogs
Hello and welcome to the class page for Hedgehogs class, formerly known as Year 2.
Meet the Staff
Miss C Jephson - Year Two class teacher (Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) and KS1 co-ordinator.
Mrs M Deverill - Year Two class teacher (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)
Mrs J Parker - Teaching Assistant
Mrs S Clarke - Teaching Assistant
Miss Jephson and Mrs Deverill are the class teachers in Hedgehogs class. We also have a dedicated team of teaching assistants working with children in our class at different times during the day. Mrs Parker will be working in class on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Mrs Clarke will work in Hedgehogs class all day on a Wednesday.
In a morning the gates will be open between 8.35am and 8.40am. Please say goodbye to your children on the playground and they will walk around to enter the classroom via the cloakroom. Parents are not allowed to accompany them from the playground.
This term’s topic;
Take a Walk on the Wild side!
Sticky Knowledge Organiser- Take a Walk on the Wild sideSummer 1 Homework Tasks
PE this term is on a Tuesday and a Friday. Please wear your PE uniform on these days and ensure that earrings are removed.
Week 1
Where is Africa? What countries can be found in Africa?
We will use atlases to locate the continents and oceans around the world. We will then look at a map of Africa and find out which countries are in this continent. Finally we will focus on Kenya and learn more about this country including its capital city, flag, rivers and mountains.
Week 2
What are the physical and human features that can be found in Africa?
Week 3
What is Kenya like?How is it different from Heanor and the UK?
We will learn all about the African country of Kenya. We will look at photographs and compare the landscape of Kenya with the landscape where we live and other places in the UK.
We will also watch a short video clip about school life in a Kenyan village and city. We will then make comparisons with what school and life is like in the UK compared to Kenya.
Week 4
What is the climate like in Africa? How does it compare to the UK?
This week we will look at the climate in Africa. Looking at tables and graphs we will compare the African rainfall and temperatures with those in the UK. We will also learn about the hot and cold climates around the world and label a world map that identifies temperate, cold, warm and tropical places on Earth.
Week 5
Twycross Zoo-Who are the Big Five?
This week we will be visiting Twycross Zoo to find out about animals that come from Africa.
Following on with what we have learnt from our visit to the zoo. We will look at the Big Five- who they are and learn more about them by doing research and creating animal fact files.
Week 6
Who are the marvellous Maasai?
Finally we will learn all about the Maasai tribe that originate from Kenya. We will learn about their clothes, housing and how they live in Kenya today.
Art/DT
This half term we will be doing art work linked to our topic of Africa. We will create African sunsets firstly by mixing primary coloured paints to create different shades of red, yellow, orange and purple. We will also create sunsets using collage materials.
Using charcoal, wax crayons and oil pastels we will create African animal patterns too. Finally, we will use our skills and knowledge of mixing paints to paint African animals for display in the classroom
Science
Our Science work for this half term will focus on plants. We will be learning about how plants grow from seeds, what plants we can eat and what plants need in order to grow and stay healthy. We will be investigating the best conditions for plant growth using cress seeds. We will also learn about the life cycle of plants; sunflowers and strawberries.
PSHE
This half term we will be looking at how we have changed since we were babies. We will do timelines of our lives so far and look at baby photographs and scans. We will also look at body parts and use the correct vocabulary to name different parts of the body. Through discussion and circle time activities we will debate if "pink is just for girls and blue for boys". Finally we will look at the importance of keeping clean especially as we are getting older.
Sticky Knowledge Organiser Growing upICT
We will use Purple Mash and our unit of work will be 'Questioning'. In this unit of work we will learn about how data is stored and presented, how to ask a clear question to gather data and know what closed questions are and how to use branching databases
RE
This half term we will be learning about sacred books. We will look at the Christian holy book -the Bible, the Muslim holy book- the Quran and the Jewish holy script- the Torah. We will discuss what we can learn from these books and what they teach the different religions.
PE
This term we will do athletics on a Tuesday and field and striking games on a Friday with Mrs Deverill.
Don't forget to come to school in your PE uniform on these days!
Literacy
We will be reading 'Meerkat Mail' and writing character and setting descriptions. We will also write letters and postcards in the role of Sunny, writing to his family. We will then move on to 'Lila and the secret of rain'. We will be using talk for writing strategies to write an innovated version of this story. Our final text will be 'The Ugly Five'. We will write our own animal riddles about the animals featured in this book. We will also be writing about our visit to Twycross Zoo.
We will teach phonics to the whole class together. Some children will work in a separate small group to receive precision teaching and catch up teaching. We will deliver same day intervention catch up sessions for children who require this.
We will begin with a recap of level 5 phonics, focussing on gaps identified through assessments at the end of year 1. We will then move onto level 6 phonics.
Below we will attach parent information sheets which will explain the learning for each week in phonics so you can support your child at home.
In school we will listen to your child read their reading book at least once every week, please make sure that it is in school every day. Please support your child with reading by listening to them read regularly at home. Just a couple of pages every day makes a huge difference to their confidence. Remember to record on the Go read app or Boom reader website every time you hear your child read as these signatures will move your child around our 'Readopoly' board. Reading is the most important piece of homework you can do with your child at this age as reading is the key that unlocks all other areas of learning. To be successful writers, children first have to be confident and successful readers so your support is invaluable.
Click here to read our literacy 'Always skills' for Year 2. These are what we expect in every piece of writing from children working within year 2 expectations.
Help at Home
You can help your child at home by:
-
Practising common exception words - reading and spelling.
-
Talk about what they are learning in class that week.
-
Encourage your child to read out any writing they complete at home to check it makes sense.
-
Read with your child at least 3 times a week.
Mathematics
In Maths the objectives we will looking at this half term are:
* Recognise the place value of each digit in a two-digit number (tens, ones).
*Applying increasing knowledge of mental and written methods-addition and subtraction including two two digit numbers, adding three one digit numbers.
* Solve simple problems in a practical context involving addition and subtraction of money of the same unit, including giving change.
*Solve problems involving multiplication and division, using materials, arrays, repeated addition, mental methods, and multiplication and division facts, including problems in context.
*Recall multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers.
* Choose and use appropriate standard units to measure temperature
* Compare and order temperatures and record the results using < > and =
* Compare and sequence intervals of time.
* Tell and write time to five minutes, including quarter past/tp the hour and draw hands on a clock face to show these times.
* Know the number of minutes in an hour and the number of hours in a day.
*Interpret and construct pictograms, tally charts, block diagrams and simple tables.
*Ask and answer questions about totalling and comparing categorical data.
*Use mathematical vocabulary to describe position, direction and movement including movement in a straight line and distinguishing between rotation as a turn and in terms of right angles for quarter, half and three quarter turns (Clockwise and anti-clockwise)
*Identify the line of symmetry in a vertical line.
*Identify, name, describe properties and sort 2D and 3D shapes.
Help at Home
-
Talking about the learning they have done in class.
-
Practising counting in 2's, 5's and 10's and learn them as times tables
-
Practise recalling addition and number facts to 20.
-
Encouraging your child to count - add money, count out objects, calculate how many will be left, estimate how many there are etc...
-
Practise telling the time.
Click here to read our maths non-negotiables for year 2
Homework
Learning Log Challenges will be given out at the beginning of term and the children can select which activities they would like to do to make a given total of points! These activities need to be returned to school by the end of the term!
Year 2 expectations
Coppice Values
Each week we have a new value – 12 in total. The children will have an assembly Monday morning about how to show and give respect to others both in school and at home! We will be expecting this to be demonstrated to all members of our Coppice community, it is important that even when we move onto a new value, the old one isn’t lost.
Diary Dates
Monday 13th April- First Day of Summer Term
Thursday 30th April - SEND coffee morning
Monday 4th May- Bank holiday. School closed.
Monday 11th May- Twycross Zoo visit for year 2 children.
Monday 25th May- Half term holidays.
Monday 1st June- First day of Summer Term 2. School open.