Year 2

Our Power of Reading book for the beginning of the Summer Term is going to be “Who was Christopher Columbus?”, an interesting read on the life of the man many believe discovered America. However, as we will learn, Columbus didn’t discover America and in fact never even went there. We will learn about the tricky misconceptions surrounding the explorer and have a fair and balanced look at the legacy Christopher Columbus left behind and the explorers he inspired. This will support our learning in history as we write a fact file on Christopher Columbus himself and write a letter as if we are reporting his findings back to the Spanish King and Queen.

Our English focus is going to be suffixes at first but we will also spend a little time practising for our SATs. We are going to ensure pupils feel ready for the task ahead and provide a comfortable environment for them as we head into this challenging time. Edward Pauling prides itself on pupil wellbeing and we hope this comes through in our approach to the SATs.

Similarly in maths, after finishing our topics on shapes and fractions, we will also start revisiting key topics. Pupils will be confident in knowing different approaches to both reasoning and arithmetic, planning strategies to solve all the questions that may be thrown at us.

In our afternoon lessons, Year 2 will also be learning about continents and the Equator. By now pupils know that there are seven continents and five oceans, so they will be building on that information and adding the Equator. Pupils will learn about the different hemispheres and how they are divided. They will also learn about the different climates that can be encountered living both close to the Equator and further away.

We will be keeping up our creativity in computing as we move on from making artwork to making music. Pupils will learn about using computer programs to create different melodies, making them happy and sad by controlling the tempo, practising improving songs that have already been created. It will be a chance for pupils to really stretch their creativity. Linking to this, pupils will be embarking on another music topic. They will be practising and reciting the Friendship Song, a lovely melody about how important friends are.

The focus in PSHE this half term will build on our previous Design Technology topic about healthy living. Pupils will look into how food and water helps them grow and what other things their bodies need to stay healthy. They will learn how much exercise they need and how much they need to sleep. We will have a strong focus on the H in our SCHOOL BAG, which stands for Healthy and Active.

When RE day comes around the focus will be how we are the same and different to each other and whether our differences matter. During the last RE day, Year 2 looked at and discussed how we all belong to Year 2 and Edward Pauling despite our differences and this theme will be continuing that through the Summer term. Pupils will talk about their different beliefs and explore how they talk to people who have different beliefs as them.

Year 2 will continue to have PE lessons on Mondays, therefore all pupils are expected to come dressed in the correct PE kit on the day. We would also ask parents and carers to ensure that all items of clothing are named to help if an item is lost.

Year 2 SATs Tests

Parents and carers should be aware that pupils in Year 2 will sit Key Stage 1 assessments in May 2023. The school will arrange a meeting for parents and carers to attend in the Spring Term with information about the assessments and how these are used to support teacher assessment.

For pupils in Year 2 who did not sit the Phonics Screening Test in Year 1 or who did not meet the required standard, this assessment will be carried out in the week beginning 12th June 2023.

For further information about these assessments, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-1-and-2-national-curriculum-tests-information-for-parents