DT

In Year 2 the children have enjoyed a Design and Technology unit to design a healthy sandwich. They tasted different foods to help them decide on the fillings they would like to put in their sandwich and thought of words to describe the colour, taste and texture. Once they had designed their sandwich, the children learnt to use kitchen equipment safely to prepare and assemble their product. These included a chopping board, serrated knife, peeler and grater.

Science 

Year 2 enjoyed using a variety of equipment to complete scientific investigations during Science Week. These included petri dishes, pipettes and mini microscopes. 

History

The children are learning all about Florence Nightingale in History. They recently found out that Florence Nightingale was a nurse that helped wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. The children had the opportunity to ask questions before finding out why she was significant. Some questions included:

• How many people did she help during the Crimean War?
• Was it hard to treat the soldiers?
• Did she make the soldiers feel better during the war?
• How did she die?

Following some brilliant questions, they learnt more about Florence Nightingale and her contributions towards changing the hospitals and modern day nursing. Afterwards, we turned the classroom into a timeline, sequencing the key events of her life.

Science

The children have been planning and carrying out ice experiments in science this half-term. The children were put into groups and each group had to decide on a different research question to investigate. Some examples included:

• Does ice melt faster without or with salt?
• Do smaller or bigger ice blocks melt faster?
• How long does ice take to melt?

The children carried out these ice investigations and recorded their findings and results. They had lots of fun doing the experiments and were eager to explore the other groups’ investigations as they were all so different!

The Great Fire of London

The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Great Fire of London. This topic was brought to life through a workshop delivered by ‘History Off the Page’. The children enjoyed dressing in costume and visiting different shops in London in 1666. They were able to make candles, pomanders and bread rolls, as well as visit the barber surgeon. During the morning the fire spread rapidly and the children were involved in pulling down houses with fire hooks, filling leather buckets with water from the well and setting off explosives to blow the houses up that were in the path of the fire. In the afternoon they became archaeologists and sifted through the remains of the fire to look for clues to help them identify what each shop had been. It was a fabulous day.

Reading

This term, Year 2 have had the exciting opportunity to read with students from Hills Road Sixth Form College. The students visit every Monday and they buddy up with a Year 2 pupil. They listen to them read where they help explain meanings of new vocabulary and ask questions to develop the children’s understanding of the texts they read.

Science

In Science, the children planned experiments to see if they could make ice melt faster. They reviewed their plans, so they knew the first steps of the investigation. The children used a table to record their findings as they were carrying out an observation over time. Everyone had lots of fun carrying out their experiment and sharing their results. The children compared their results to the predictions they made. They were able to draw a conclusion from their results and discovered that out of the materials tested, salt melts ice fastest.

I can describe and compare properties of materials, suggesting why materials are suitable for their purpose.

In Science, we thought about whether the same object could be made from different materials. We concluded that it could, using the examples of spoons and water bottles. In groups, we investigated spoons, thinking about what materials they are made from and why this might be. We then discussed why we might need spoons to be made from different materials. Some ideas included:

• Some spoons are made out of rubber because rubber is smooth and bendy. Babies use these to eat their food without hurting their teeth.
• Some spoons are made out of metal because metal is stiff and hard. Metal spoons hold food and adults use these to eat their food.
• Other spoons can be plastic or wooden too.

DT

In DT, the children have been investigating techniques for strengthening and joining materials by making mock-ups of playground equipment. They have investigated methods such as making slits, tabs and folding. They also joined cocktail sticks with blu-tac. The children discovered that using a triangular frame makes a structure more stable than using a square-shaped frame. This knowledge was used to build a stable bridge for the ‘Three Billy Goats Gruff’ to cross. The children made some fantastic bridges and had great fun building them.

Science

In Science, the children have been exploring different types of materials. They have been learning new terms such as transparent, opaque and absorbent, which can be used to describe materials. The children have been learning about what materials everyday objects are made out of.

Maths

The children have learning about making 10 to help with addition of two or three single digit numbers in Maths. They have been doing lots of work on partitioning and number bonds to 10, so that they can easily spot two numbers that make 10.

A song that the children love to help them learn their bonds to 10 can be found on the URL link below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJBBaETaElI

In Year 2, the children practised partitioning numbers into 10s and 1s (units). They used their knowledge of place value to help them put some numbers in the right order.

Maths:

In Maths, the children have been learning to add and subtract two 2-digit numbers with not crossing a ten (for example, 21 + 13 and 58 – 12). They have been using dienes to support with them with the written methods. 

Fairy Tale

The children in Year 2 started their 'Fairy Tale' topic with a fairy tale theme day. They looked amazing dressed as different characters from well-known stories. Throughout the day the children enjoyed a range of fairy tale themed activities, including hearing lots of stories; reading together; playing fairy tale character top trumps in maths; investigating the ingredients for a successful fairy tale and making character puppets with wooden spoons. 

Planting bean seeds

In Year 2, the children enjoyed planting bean seeds. They predicted what the seeds would need in order to germinate and kept a diary to record their bean's growth.

Maths

In Year 2, the children practised grouping large quantities into groups of 10 to make them easier to count.

In Year 2, the children practised partitioning numbers into 10s and 1s (units). They used their knowledge of place value to help them put some numbers in the right order.

Year 2 used musical instruments to make sounds

The children in Year 2 used musical instruments to make sounds like the rain and thunder. They generated words to describe the sounds they made; for example,  drip, drop, splish, splash and bang!

Science

As part of our science work , the Year 2 children went out to the field to investigate plants. They looked at different plants and found different ways to sort them.

Year 2 Trip to Duxford

In Year 2, we recently visited Duxford to learn more about aviation. The children explored aeroplanes from the past and even looked at some futuristic designs too. They were lucky enough to hear some stories from someone who lived through World War II, a true eye-witness! The children were fascinated as they listened to these stories being told. After lunch, everyone had the opportunity to board a Concorde plane, as well as watch an incredible air show. We also made sure to visit the Wright Brother’s display that currently links to our current History topic in school. It was a day packed full of questions and fun!

Cross-Curricular History and English

Year 2 recently did some cross-curricular work with History and English. They looked at different sources of information that all linked to the Wright Brother’s first flight. Some of these sources included, a diary entry, poster, painting, telegraph and pictures. They thought about if each source was reliable and why. After discussion, it was decided that the painting is not reliable because it is not a live image of the flight. The colour indicates that it is a painting, as colour photographs did not exist in the early 1900s. On the other hand, Orville’s diary entry would be a more reliable source. This is because it is a first person account of the flight. We had some great discussions and the children were able to argue their opinions clearly. They will be writing a diary entry pretending to be Orville in the next couple of days.

PE- Sports day

Sports Day was a terrific event. The Y2 children joined in enthusiastically with all the activities. They were competitive, but also sporting and supportive of one another. Our Y6 sports leaders ran the events brilliantly and made sure all the children knew what to do. It was a fantastic morning.

History

In History, Year 2 had a special visitor, Orville Wright! He travelled to the future to talk about his and his brother’s invention of the first aeroplane in the early 1900s, as well as the first flight. Orville talked about how his fascination with flying started, as well as how they built the first powered aeroplane. The children were fascinated and had the opportunity to ask Orville any questions they had!

Science

In science, Year 2 planned and made their own bug hotels. The children collected different resources to put in their microhabitats, such as fallen leaves, twigs and pinecones. They worked in small groups to create 2 different microhabitats, thinking about which minibeast would be attracted to each microhabitat and why. The children also talked about the ways they could make their experiment fair, so that the results are reliable. They are excited to monitor their hotels in their chosen locations over the next couple of weeks.         

RE

In the ‘Big Questions’ unit in RE, Year 2 have been learning how people with different faiths and world views show they are thankful. The children learnt about the Jewish festival of Sukkot.  The most popular tradition of Sukkot is building, decorating, and spending time (even sleeping!) inside a hut called a sukkah.  

During Sukkot, families welcome guests into their sukkah, or visit friends in theirs, enjoy delicious seasonal food and feel thankful for what they have. After learning about Sukkot, the Year 2 children went on a natural world scavenger hunt to find items and objects that they felt thankful for. 

Art

In Art, the Year 2 children used sketching pencils to make observational drawings of leaves. They looked carefully at what they could see and shaded their pictures using different mark-making techniques.

In art in Year 2,  the children investigated the effects of using different painting techniques, such as stippling, spattering and crosshatching. They also experimented with different sized paint brushes and thought about how they could be used most effectively; for example, a thin brush is best for painting detail but a thick brush can cover background area easily. They looked at the effects used in some famous paintings and worked to recreate these.

Computing

In computing, we have been learning about impressionist art. We talked about what the impressionist movement meant and the standout characteristics of its artwork, which included bright colours and bold brush strokes. We explored some impressionist art, but then also tried to design our own. We worked really well with our partners and produced some great pieces of work!

Queens' Quest Activity Day!

The children in Year 2 really enjoyed designing and making space rockets during the 'Queens' Quest' activity day. The also completed training to become an astronaut through a range of agility training activities. Everyone enjoyed celebrating their achievements with a rocket shaped ice lolly at the end of the day.

 

The children in Year 2 have also enjoyed exploring mass, capacity and volume using practical apparatus.

Year 2 Celebrating the coronation of King Charles III

The children in Year 2 had a fantastic day celebrating the coronation of King Charles III. They decorated Union Jack flags and made crowns and kites. They also each drew a miniature picture to go on a whole school display, which will commemorate this special event for years to come. In the afternoon, the children enjoyed an afternoon tea and ate the scones they had made.

Year 2 Exploring microhabitats

The children in Year 2 enjoyed exploring microhabitats to look for the minibeasts living there. They found slugs, snails, woodlouse and centipedes. They recorded their observations carefully in a table format.

Year 2 DT

The children in Year 2 worked really hard to thread needles and sew together their felt butterflies in their DT lesson.  It was lovely to see the children helping and encouraging each other when it became a bit tricky!

RE

At Queen Edith Primary, the children enjoyed a whole school assembly delivered by the GenR8 team. This focused on forgiveness and saying sorry in light of the events of Easter. The children were captivated by the team's engaging delivery, which used songs, puppets and sketches to explore this theme.

Florence Nightingale

Year 2 had great fun learning about Florence Nightingale and her time in the Scutari hospital during the Crimean War. They enjoyed a range of drama activities that brought this topic to life and helped them to learn about the terrible conditions that soldiers faced and the importance of Florence's work.

Year 2 DT

The children in Year 2 thoroughly enjoyed following their own designs to make a healthy sandwich as part of their design technology curriculum. They learnt to use equipment such as knives, graters and peelers to help them chop, slice and grate the ingredients. They all agreed that their sandwiches were delicious!

World Book Day

March 2023

World Book Day was celebrated on Thursday 3^rd March and in the days following, pupils have completed a number of fun book based tasks.  On Thursday, we all dressed down in our pajamas to celebrate the importance of reading and especially to encourage bedtime reading. We read a story with our teachers and had milk and cookies to celebrate. Other activities in the past few days have included a classroom door decorating competition, making our own bookmarks, discussing our recommended reads, going to the Book Fair and we even played a game where we had to describe a book character for our friend to draw and see if they could guess who it was! The hugely popular book fair has been in school this week – thank you to those of you who have bought books either in person at our fair or online through our special link.

Door Competition  

March

Miss Simmons set the whole school a challenge to decorate our classroom doors based upon a book. We all had a wonderful time being creative and made some amazing bookish entrances to our classrooms. Which one do you like best?

Spring Term February 2023

The children in Year 2 have been tasting different sandwich fillings to help them decide which ones they would like to put in the healthy sandwich they are planning to make.

Design & Technology

Year 2 have been enjoying our DT project this half term. In connection to our fairy tale topic, our challenge was to design and make a new bridge for the Three Billy Goats Gruff. We investigated freestanding structures in the classroom and playground to see how they had been made strong and stable. We enjoyed using construction kits like lego, blocks and marble run to trial for strength and stability then designed and made our own bridges using junk modelling materials. We tested them over our own ‘rivers’ before we wrote our evaluations.

Maths

In maths this term, 2.1 have been busy learning about money. They started with consolidating being able to recognise pence and pounds. This was then followed by working on finding differences and totals with different amounts of money. 2.1 have been using the play money to help support their learning. Recently, we also had a practical session where the children were faced with different problem-solving questions, in which they had to use the play money to support their conclusions and answer the questions. Overall, there has been some brilliant work these past couple of weeks!

English

2.2 have been really enjoying our High Street topic this half term! We have read and written stories based around shops in the high street, and recently opened our own Year 2 high street in the classrooms. We worked together in groups to decide which shop we wanted to open, then made items to sell before taking turns to be shopkeepers and customers. Buying and selling all sorts of exciting things was lots of fun. We produced some super writing about our experience as well, using time openers to order our ideas clearly.

Science 

In the first half of the Autumn Term, 2.1 have been growing their own bean plants. In pairs, pupils planted a bean seed and have been looking after their plants, recording its growth in a bean diary. After a couple of weeks, the plants were then put into different conditions to see how it affected their growth. For example, some were put in the dark, freezer or given no water. The children have had great fun and have been fascinated with watching their plants change and grow over time.

Roald Dahl Day 2022

On 13^th September, Queen Edith was delightfully taken over by a whole host of mischief-making Big Friendly Giants, Oompa-Loompas and Matildas! We celebrated Roald Dahl day (on his birthday) by dressing up as one of his fantastic characters, or simply wearing his favourite colour – yummy yellow! It was a great way to introduce his writing to the children and to have fun with reading in a creative way.