Phonics

In Year 2, your child will recap Set 2 sounds learnt in previous years and they will learn Set 3 sounds. Your child will have daily phonics lessons to help them learn to read.  The children practise reading with books that match their phonics level. During a phonics lesson, teachers read to the children, too, so the children get to know all sorts of stories, poetry and information books. By the end of Year 2, your child should be able to read aloud books that are at the right level for their age.

English

In Year 2, we will be reading a range of texts including fiction, non-fiction texts and poems.  We will be reading ‘The Twits by Roald Dahl’, ‘The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson’, ‘The Dark by Lemony Snickets’ , ‘Traction Man by Mini Grey’ and ‘The Day the Crayons Quit by Oliver Jeffers’.

At Tame Valley we follow ‘the ‘Talk for Writing’ approach which supports children to write independently and for a range of purposes. Throughout each unit, your child will internalise the language structures needed to write through ‘talking the text’. By the end of the sequence of lessons, your child will move towards independent writing. Your child will learn a range of writing devices and will produce extended pieces of writing with a focus on using the correct punctuation such as capital letters, full stops and questions marks, within their writing.

Throughout their time in Year 2, your child will explore a range of text types including poetry, songs and non-fiction texts and will complete reading sessions focusing on the different reading VIPERS (vocabulary, inference, prediction, explain, retrieve and summarise) to embed their reading skills.

Maths

At Tame Valley, your child will be taught key number facts but the skills they need to answer reasoning and problem-solving questions as well as working on their Maths fluency. We use a ‘concrete, pictorial, abstract’ approach so that the children are able to use a range of resources to help them to answer questions embed key concepts.

At the start of Year 2, your child will revisit numbers to 20 with a focus on independently writing numerals as words. Your child will also recap numbers to 100 with a focus on place value. Children will identify the value of each digit in a number up to 100 with a range of representations. Your child will be comparing and ordering numbers and will begin to use inequality symbols.

By the end of our addition and subtraction unit, your child will be adding and subtracting two 2-digit numbers across a 10 and will apply their understanding of place value and number bonds to support them with this.

Your child will also be taught multiplication and division with a focus on doubling and halving, repeated addition and grouping to support their understanding. They will also be taught to multiply by 2, 5 and 10.

In year 2, your child will also be taught shape, money, length & height, mass, capacity & temperature, fractions, time, statistics and position and direction.

Science

Autumn 1

Our unit for this half term will focus on ‘the use of Everyday Materials’. Your child will identify and compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials. We will also be looking at how shapes of some solid objects can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching.

Autumn 2

Our unit this half term will focus on plants. We will observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. Your child will also find out and describe how plants need water, light and a suitable temperature to grow and stay healthy.

Spring 1

During this unit, your child will learn about how animals including humans mature as they grow. Your child will also learn what animals, including humans need to stay alive and how to stay healthy, including exercise and diet.

Spring 2

Our unit this half term is ‘Living things and their Habitats’. Your child will explore and compare the differences between things that are living, dead, and things that have never been alive. Children will learn about the habitats of different plants and animals and will explore the types of plants and animals that live in their local environment. During this unit, your child will also learn about food chains and why plants and animals need each other.

Summer 1 & Summer 2-

Revision, consolidation and investigations.

History/Geography

Autumn 1- History

In this unit children are going to explore the history of Bournville and the Cadbury family. Your child will look at the impact that the Quaker family had on the local area and the founding of Bournville.

Autumn 2- Geography

In our Geography unit this half term, we will be comparing a small part of the UK with a non- European country. Your child will explore what London and Nairobi are like and will identify human and physical features. They will also identify similarities and differences between both cities.

Spring 1- History

During this half term, your child will learn about significant women throughout history. Your child will explore the work that Mary Anning, Grace Darling, Florence Nightingale, Katherine Johnson and Queen Elizabeth II did, why they are important and what legacies they have left behind.

Spring 2- Geography

During this unit, your child will recap upon and develop their knowledge of continents and oceans. Your child will be locating hot and cold places on Earth and will explore what they are like. Your child will also be locating and exploring the North Pole and South Pole.

Summer 1- History

During this unit, your child will explore life in the Victorian times and what life was like as a Victorian child. They will learn about the workhouses, jobs that children had to do and what life was in school. Your child will also explore the industrial revolution and look at some significant inventions from this period.

Summer 2- Geography

In this unit, your child will be learning about Rainforest around the world. Your child will explore what a rainforest is and what the climate is like. They will also learn about the different layers of the rainforest and research the types of animals that live in each of the layers.

Art/DT

Autumn 1- Art

During our ‘Tell me a Story’ unit, your child will use drawing and painting to develop and share their ideas and experiences. They will focus on showing expression through their drawings and will create a series of illustrations to tell a story.

Autumn 2- DT

During this unit, your child will be learning about the different food groups and how to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. Using their knowledge or healthy eating gained throughout the unit, your child will be designing, making and evaluating a healthy wrap.

Spring 1- Art

During this unit, your child will be learning about the artist Danny Eastwood and the art of the indigenous people of Australia.  Your child will explore a range of techniques to design and create their own Indigenous Australian inspired 3D sculpture.

Spring 2- DT

Your child will be designing, creating and evaluating a hand puppet. Children will be taught the running stitch technique to help them create their final product.

Summer 1- DT

During this unit, your child will explore what a Ferris wheel is and understand it’s purpose. Your child will use research to develop, plan and build a rotating structure and they will explain how particular parts of their product works.

Summer 2- Art

During this unit, your child will learn about the artist William Morris and will explore his work. This unit will focus on print making where your child will explore printing with natural objects and will make a collagraph.