1. Year 2 Dear Parents Welcome back to the new academic year. The children have returned from their Summer break well rested and full of enthusiasm! These first two weeks have been thoroughly enjoyable and the children’s commitment to learning is already impressive. As always, if you have any queries or questions, please don’t hesitate to pop in and ask. I look forward to the rest of the term Miss Bedford Important Dates: Trip to Beeston Castle: TBC Class Assembly: 26 th November 2014 Tattenhall Residential : 30 th April/1 st May 2015 Useful Websites and Apps: www.phonicsplay.co.uk www.spellingplay.co.uk Our topic this term : Castles and Knights Numeracy Literacy Over this half term our units of work include : *Traditional Tales *Creating a leaflet *Non chronological reports *Poetry *Diary writing We will use Traditional Tales to analyse the structure of story writing and use the evidence as a model for our own work. Punctuation and grammar will remain a focus, especially when being applied in independent work. Our topic will form the basis for the research and report writing aspect of our work. The children will research castles and cross – curricular links will be evident throughout our History topic. We will have a weekly spelling pattern in focus and this list will be sent home. Throughout the week, the children will apply these words in written work and alongside handwriting. During this term the children will have the opportunity to : *count on and back in 1s or10s from a 2 digit number, write figures up to 100 *Begin to count up to 100 objects by grouping in 5s or 10:estimate up to 50 objects *Partition 2 digit numbers into tens and units *Order numbers to at least 100 and position them on a number square Add by counting on in 1s from the larger number, crossing a multiple of 10 *Add three numbers by putting the larger number first *Rehearse + and—facts for pairs that total up to 9 *Relate + and—facts to missing number sentences *Estimate, measure and compare lengths in cm; use a ruler *Estimate, measure and compare lengths in metres

2. Art and Design & Technology We will focus on designing and making a dragon mask, joining two materials together. The children will review their final product and discuss any changes they would make in future and what they feel worked well. We will also learn what is meant by a balanced diet and explore the different food groups by planning a meal for a royal banquet. (link to PSHCE) P.E (Tuesday/Wednesday) We are lucky enough to participating in Dance workshops led by PDS coaching. Our unit of work will link to medieval dance and link to our topic this term. Science Everyday Materials and their Uses *Learning to compare the suitability of a variety of everyday materials for particular uses *Explore and find out how the shapes of some materials can be changed by squashing, bending, twisting and stretching *Ask relevant questions and use different types of scientific enquiries to answer them Geography Geographical skills and fieldwork: *Using maps and atlases to identify the UK and it’s countries *Using aerial photographs to identify landmarks and physical features *Recognising compass points *Creating a simple key History King Arthur and King Henry VIII Researching significant and contrasting figures from the past. We will research both Kings and learn about their role in history. We will compare ways of life then and now. I.C.T- Control programming: Linked to Castles, programming and guiding a Beebot around a plan of a castle What can you do to help? Reading—support your child with regular reading and completion of their Guided Reading Tasks. Developing comprehension skills and finding evidence in texts is a very useful skill to encourage. Using Maths in everyday situations: Money, Time, Measuring Quick recall of number bonds to 10 and 20 is also beneficial. Recall of multiplication facts- 2s, 5s, 10s in the first instance and then beyond. Regular handwriting practise linked to Letters and Sounds/Spellings is an ideal way of reinforcing and developing both areas. PSHCE - Drugs education - why some drugs (medicines) are good for us while others are bad for our bodies. How to be safe with medicines.. RE - Family Life and values in Judaism. Music-Recognising, maintaining and changing the pulse when playing percussion instruments. The Nutcracker Homework Maths homework is sent home each Friday to be returned the following Wednesday. Guided Reading tasks are sent home weekly Spelling patterns will be sent home each Monday