Our Achievements In Year 2 2022/23

English - Explanation Text

In Year 2, we have been looking at non-fiction books and researching facts about butterflies. This has supported our recent Science work. We have learned about the life cycle of a butterfly. We have also learned some very important vocabulary like chrysalis, metamorphosis and predators. We have found this work very interesting and we have tried to include lots of our knowledge on our work. We have presented our written work on the back of our beautifully decorated butterflies; we tried very hard to make our work symmetrical.

Well done Year 2, your butterflies are marvellous!

History - Why is a castle built the way it is?

In Year 2, we have been learning about castles. To start our topic we found out who built the first castles in the UK and why. We looked at some pictures of the Bayeux Tapestry and thought about what was happening. In the picture we saw some men and found out they were Normans. We then looked on a timeline and realised that Norman Britain began in 1066. We enjoyed finding out facts from this period and we created our own timeline to show that Edward the Confessor died, Harold of Wessex was crowned King of England. Then William Duke of Normandy set sail, and in England there was The Battle of Hastings. We found out that as the Normans conquered more of England they built castles to keep their people safe. We found out that the Normans built wooden motte and bailey castles first. Later the Normans began building stone castles that were stronger. To learn more about castles, and what they look like, we went to Carlisle Castle and had a guided tour to learn some key facts.

After our visit to Carlisle Castle, we selected some facts that we had learned and recorded them. We found out that a prisoner had escaped down a toilet. The word wardrobe comes from the word toilet. They put straw and lavender on the floor of the hall so it smelt nice. We smelt some different scents that you might have noticed around the castle and from that, we all agreed that lavender was a good idea as an air freshener. We also dressed up in clothes that different people might have worn who lived in the castle and ordered the importance of the people. It was a very informative day - thank you Carlisle Castle.

We then thought more about how people were treated and the taxes they had to pay. We talked about the poll tax and learned that some people had had enough of how they were treated. We thought about what questions we would like to ask Richard II.

Design and Technology - Pizzas

In Year 2 we have been learning about pizzas and through this we have revisited recent work in Science and PSHE on healthy eating. We started our unit of work by asking members of our class what their favourite pizza was. We collected this information on a tally chart. Next, we thought about the base of a pizza and examined lots of bread based products by tasting them. This was a thoroughly scrumptious afternoon.

We then thought about where food comes from and we categorised some different foods. We designed a 'healthy pizza' using the knowledge we had learned and then to end our delicious topic we went to Pizza Express. At Pizza Express we learned a little about the history of the pizza and then we made our own (even the adults).

Thank you to Pizza Express for a brilliant morning.

The children have written about their experience at Pizza Express. It was agreed by many that it was the best day of their life!

Design and Technology - Vehicles

We have been learning about vehicles. We started our work by naming different kinds of vehicles and deciding what a vehicle is and what it does. We then identified different features of vehicles. After that, we learned how the wheels, axles and chassis work on a vehicle through an investigation.

Then, we looked at different shapes: cuboids, cubes, triangular prisms and cylinders and used the nets of these shapes to investigate how to make the body of a vehicle.

Next, we used all of what we had learned so far to design our own vehicle. Finally, this was followed by a super afternoon putting all of our learning into practise and making a vehicle of our own. Well done Year 2!

Science Week - Drop Everything and Invent!

Science Week started with a fabulous assembly all about Inventors and Engineers. We learned how cameras, lights and telephones have been changed and improved over time to make them better. Do not forget to look on our Facebook page and see some photos about our assembly. Then, on Monday 13 March at 2.30pm precisely, a bell sounded in school and we had to stop everything and invent. An envelope was secretly put in our classroom with a problem and we had to find a solution. The children decided whether they wanted to work individually, in pairs or in threes.

The children worked on their ideas, adapting and improving as they went along. Some incredible ideas were thought of - carrying items on your head, carrying items around your waist, carrying items in a box using the handles of the crutches. These photos are just a sample of ideas.

Well done Year 2 - a fantastic start to Science Week!

Geography - What is life like in the Arctic?

We started our learning by dressing one of our class members up in his winter clothes. He put on his coat, gloves, scarf and hat. We then talked about what part of the world you would need to wear warm clothes. The children thought about the North Pole and when we looked on a globe, we found the Arctic Circle. We then talked about the countries that are in the Arctic Circle and we labelled them on a world map. We used Google Earth to take a closer look at different parts of the Arctic Circle. We learned about the seasons and compared them to the seasons in the UK. We enjoyed learning about the animals that live there and how they survive.

We looked at photographs of the Arctic and talked about both the physical and human features we could see. We also looked at some videos to deepen our understanding. We then used our knowledge and imagination to create some super pieces of writing. At the moment, it is very cold and on the news it has mentioned an Arctic wind. We now know why this wind is so cold!

Computing - Internet Safety

We have been talking about staying safe on the computer as part of Internet Safety Day. We listened to the story of Digiduck and talked about the consequences of posting a picture of one of his friends being a bit silly online. We all agreed that Digiduck should not post the picture because it was not fair for his friend. The children agreed that Digiduck needs to think about his friend's feelings. He also needs to keep himself and others safe when using the computer.

Well done Year 2 for some very thoughtful and mature comments.

History - What is an Explorer?

In Year 2 we have been learning about Explorers. We started our topic by passing a pineapple around in a 'feely bag'. The children had to describe it and then guess what it was. Some children thought it was a hedgehog; others described it as spikey and leathery. We started learning about Christopher Columbus when it was revealed it was a pineapple inside the bag because he introduced the pineapple to Europe. We learned what life was like on board one of Christopher Columbus' ships and wrote a diary entry to describe it. We also thought of questions we would like to ask Christopher Columbus.

Then we looked at different books and photographs to find out about Neil Armstrong. We enjoyed learning about Apollo 11 and how 'The Eagle' landed. We pretended we were Neil Armstrong and completed a 'hot seating' activity to talk about the excitement surrounding the first man on the moon. Some of the questions we asked each other were what his first words were when he stepped onto the moon and what he brought back from the moon. Click here to watch!

We also decided and explained who our favourite explorer was.

Geography and PSHE - Stocks Wood Outdoor Centre

We will be learning about maps in Geography soon, so we thought it would be exciting to introduce this concept in the woods. We learned that maps guide people where to go and we used a map to find the seating area, fire circle and pond. To read the map we also had to read the key. We learned about a compass and North, East, South and West. The children looked at the grid on the map and thought about how the grid helped to explain where different areas were.

We played games and supported each other as working together is part our PSHE learning.

The children enjoyed cooking marshmallows. After that, the children practised how to start to fire. We had to persevere at this because it can be rather tricky!

The children were enthusiastic to choose their own activity and had lots of fun bug hunting and pond dipping. So much so, that we were all very hungry at dinnertime.

At the end of a very busy and fun packed day, we relaxed and played with our friends. Thank you Julian and Claire for an inspirational day, and well done Class 2 for being super learners!

Design and Technology - Puppets

We have been learning about puppets. We have learned the names of different types of puppets from hand puppets to marionettes. We have also had the opportunity to play with them in our very own classroom puppet theatre. To start our learning we made finger puppets. This allowed the children to experiment with different materials and think about how we could join the materials together.

Then, we learned how to do a running stitch. This was so we could join different materials together and not use glue. We were very good and decided that we could use this piece of work as a bookmark!

Next, we designed our own hand puppet thinking carefully about who would use it and the audience who would enjoy it. We thought about the materials we could use, for example, buttons, pipe cleaners and felt. We also thought about the tools we would need, for example, scissors, needles and thread.

After we finished our design, we made our hand puppets. It was a very busy afternoon and fabulous fun!

Art - Self-Portraits

In Year 2 we have been learning about self-portraits. We have looked at the work of different artists and used their work for inspiration. Firstly, we dressed up to show the things we liked and enjoyed (we noticed this in famous pieces of artwork); our friends then took our photo. Next, we thought about different kinds of materials that are used to record work and we practised making marks with a pencil - shading, dots, zigzag, hard and soft lines, etc.

Then we attempted to draw a self-portrait using pencil. When we looked at different pieces of artwork we noticed how the artist used colour to create a mood. We then painted our work to show how we were feeling. It was a cold afternoon and one of our class members was feeling chilly!

Finally, we thought about sculptures and we talked about the different materials used. We made our final self-portraits in clay.

History - Toys and Games Workshop at Tullie House

We have been learning about toys from the past. We have created a Toy Museum in our classroom with old toys from our teachers, parents and grandparents. At Tullie House we looked at some toys going back nearly 200 years, and ones which were relatively more recent. We learned that some dolls were made from wax and some even had human hair on them. We also enjoyed looking at old toys from programmes that our parents would have watched like He-Man and ET.

We talked about some of the materials old toys were made from and how that is different from today. We discovered how old toys moved and what children might have played with on the school playground in the past.