Please click here for our Year 1/2 class pages, to see what we are learning!

Welcome to Year 2!

In 2C, the 'Terrific Pandas', the class teacher is Miss Beard

In 1/2B, the 'Cheeky Monkeys', the class teachers are Mrs Clarke and Mrs Snow.

Our teaching and learning assistants are Mrs Horne, Mrs Ensor and Mrs Parker. 

In year 2, we work hard to become independent learners with a love of learning. We develop problem solving skills, work cooperatively in pairs and small groups and try our best in everything we do!

Important Information:

2C will be having PE on Monday and Tuesday

1/2B will be having PE on Monday and Tuesday

Please be aware that PE days may change each half term. 

Please remember, children need to take earrings out before they come to school on PE days. If they cannot take their earrings out, then your child will not be able to partake in a PE lesson. 

Please note that children come to school in their PE kits on their PE days - thank you. Remember your white t-shirt!

In year 2, we learn about lots of different and exciting topics!

• Autumn 1: Where on Earth are the world's continents?

• Autumn 2: What makes a person a significant individual? 

• Spring 1: Why is there a statue of Mary Anning?

• Spring 2:  How are our oceans changing?

• Summer 1:  What did Queen Elizabeth the Second do for Great Britain?

• Summer 2:  How does the continent of Africa compare to the United Kingdom?

Please see our newsletters for further information. If you have any questions or queries, please don't hesitate to come in and see us! 

Summer 2

Our theme this term is 'Our World and Beyond'. We will be linking our topic to the continent Australia and answering the key question throughout our lessons:

‘How does the continent of Australia compare to the United Kingdom?’ 

Summer 1 2022

Our theme this term is 'Our Heritage'. We will be linking our topic to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and answering the key question throughout our lessons:

'What has the Queen done for Great Britain?'  

Spring 2 2022

Saving Our Environment 

Our theme this term is 'Saving Our Environment'. Throughout our lessons, we will be answering the key question 'Do we have the power to make a change?'

Spring 1 2022 

Social Justice 

Geography

Throughout our geography lessons, we will be answering the key question:' Am I making the right choices?' We will be answering the question through traditional tales helping us to understand what is fair and what is unfair.

During this topic we will be looking at some different countries and where they are in relation to the equator.

Science 

In science, we are continuing to look at seasonal changes but this time we will be looking at winter. We are going to track the weather and make a weather chart and then compare the weather between autumn and winter. 

Next, we are going to be investigating different materials and their properties. We will also be comparing and grouping everyday materials. To build on our material knowledge, we will be testing which material would be most suitable for our umbrella investigation. 

Autumn 2 2021

Peace and Conflict

History

In history, we will be answering the key question: 'What makes a person a significant individual?' To help answer the question we will be looking at three individuals: Edith Cavell, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. Throughout our history lessons we will be looking at the history of the NHS and the work the three individuals did which impacted nurses and the NHS today.

Science

Our learning in science this half term is linked to the seasons and the changes associated with them. The children will be observing the weather and recording their observations in charts and tables, developing their ICT skills as they record data. They will learn how the seasons change and identify the weather associated with each season. After finding out about the kinds of vegetables that grow during autumn and how they are harvested, the children will make vegetable soup in their design and technology lessons.

Autumn 1 2021

Identity and Diversity: Then and Now

Our topic for this half term links to the whole school theme of 'identity and diversity'. Through their learning the children will be answering the question 'What has changed?'

In science the children will be learning to name and write the different parts of their bodies. They will be about taught about the five senses, carrying out lots of practical activities using each of their senses.  

Having learnt about their bodies, the children will then learn about where they live. In geography, they will name and locate on a map the countries, seas and capital cities of the United Kingdom. The children will then learn about key landmarks of the capital cities, providing them with facts to enable them to create an information leaflet about one of the cities. 

In history, the children will learn about how life in the United Kingdom has changed since their grandparents were young children. We will focus on what life was like in the 1960's, listening to music by The Beatles and comparing it to present day music. We will also look at fashion from the 1960's and some of the Pop Art that was famous at the time, created by Andy Warhol.       

Dot Art Day

We celebrated International Dot Day by listening to the story 'The Dot' by Peter Reynolds and using it as the inspiration for creating our own art based on a dot or circle shape. Everyone produced a very different design and they all look fantastic! Our photos show how proud we are of our work.

Summer 2

Our World and Beyond

Our topic for this half term is called 'Our World and Beyond' - life is an adventure. The children will be working towards being able to answer the key question - Are all places the same as Heanor? We will begin by exploring our school environment and the town of Heanor, using geographical vocabulary to describe the physical and human features that we find. 

 'The Mermaid of Zennor' is a traditional story set in the Cornish town of Zennor near St Ives. We will read the book in English lessons as a stimulus for the children's own imaginative story writing. The book will also be used to learn about Cornwall and compare its features with Heanor. 

In science the children will be learning how plants grow from seeds and bulbs, and will be describing the life cycle of a flowering plant. They will also be taught about how the human body needs exercise, a balanced diet and good hygiene in order to stay fit and healthy.

Carl Warner is a famous artist who creates landscapes using food. The children will study some of his pictures and then create their own drawings by carefully sketching fruit and vegetables to create a fantasy landscape.

Summer 1

Our Environment

The topic for this half term is called 'Our Environment'. The children will be working towards being able to answer a key question - How does the behaviour of humans affect the habitats of animals?

In science they will be learning how animals live in habitats to which they are best suited, and we will explore the school grounds to look at micro-habitats. In our topic and English lessons we will be reading the book 'How To Help a Hedgehog and Protect a Polar Bear', which teaches about different habitats and how humans can affect the plants and animals found there.

The children will also be learning about the dangers of plastic and what happens when plastic bottles are recycled.   We will also be recycling our own plastic bottles to make hedgehog plant pots!                                                                

They will find out about the life of Sir David Attenborough and why his work is important to protecting our environment. 

In art we will be using collage to create a garden habitat and outlining our drawings with pen to add finer details. In design and technology we will be using our sewing skills to make felt puppets of animals.   

Our Heritage - Spring 2

This half term has started with us still in lockdown, but we are all continuing to work hard at home and at school. Our new topic is the Great Fire of London. 

 The children will be learning about where the fire started, why it spread so far and how it was eventually put out. They will be answering the question - How did the Great Fire of London change towns and cities in our country?

In science this term, we will be studying habitats and micro-habitats.

 The children will be able to explore the school grounds to investigate micro-habitats and the animals that live in them. They will find out about things that are living, dead and that have never been alive. They will also learn about simple food chains.

World Book Day 2021

We celebrated World Book Day by making our own masks, so that we could all be a masked reader. They look amazing!

Once Upon A Time - Spring 1

Happy new year and welcome to another busy term. For the next few weeks we will be basing our work around traditional tales, beginning with the story of 'The Three Little Pigs'. 

 In English, the children will read the story and identify the features of traditional tales. They will read an alternative version of the story called 'The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig', making comparisons between the two stories. They will also have the opportunity to write their own version of the story.      

In design and technology we will be building a house for the three pigs using junk materials.

Later in the term the children will read more traditional tales in their English lessons - 'The Princess and the Pea' and an alternative version called 'The Pea and the Princess'.

Our science topic is everyday materials.  The children will name materials and describe their properties. They will also think about how materials are suited to purpose, for example glass is transparent and waterproof for a window.

Maths will begin with learning about money and then move on to multiplication and division. Please support your child at home by providing small numbers of coins for them to count and continuing to practice Times Tables Rock Stars regularly. ​​​​​​​

Remember Me- Autumn 2

We have started a brand new topic for autumn 2 with a book called 'Where the Poppies Now Grow.' 

This book will teach us all about why we wear poppies and commemorate Remembrance Day. We will think about peace and conflict, talking about what we are remembering and why the poppy is the symbol of remembrance.

This half term we will be taking a look back into the past and thinking about what life was like for other people in our local area. We will begin by learning about William Gregg and why the leisure centre is named after him.

Then we will study our mining heritage and learn about the impact this had on people’s lives. Our art work will focus on the famous artist Georgia O'Keeffe who painted lots of pictures of poppies. We will be drawing poppies and making them out of clay. 

Welcome to our World- Autumn 2020

Our brand new topic for autumn term begins with the book called 'One Day So Many Ways'.

This book will help us to compare the lives of children in other countries with our own lives. Within this topic we will also learn about oceans, continents and hot and cold climates. 

We are looking forward to lots of fun art lessons learning about the famous POP artist called Roy Lichtenstein and will produce work in his style.   

The other book we will use is called 'And Tango Makes Three'. It is based on a true story set in New York, so the children will use geographical skills to find out what New York so like and compare it to our local area. Tango is a penguin and we will be finding out about the life cycle of penguins and their habitats.

Down Under - Spring 2020

Our new topic for the second half of the Spring term is all about Australia. The children will be learning about the animals that live there and its geographical features and landmarks. They will compare Australia with the United Kingdom.

In art we will be looking at Aboriginal paintings and finding out the meaning of the symbols used. The children will then have fun creating their own Aboriginal style paintings using dots.

The Great Fire of London: Spring 2020

 We have some more fun things planned over our next term! Our new topic of the year will have a history focus as we are looking at the Great Fire of London.  The children will be learning about the key events such as when and how the fire spread but also understanding the changes that happened as a result of the fire.

Science:

Linking into The Great Fire of London year 2 will be learning about all the different everyday materials. With this, they will be linking it to the materials used during 1666 compared to today!