Year 2 Spring 1 Curriculum Information

Welcome back, I hope you had a lovely Christmas and a Happy New Year! Everyone worked really hard in the first term, so I look forward to seeing what this half-term has in store. Once again, we have a busy half-term coming up with lots of exciting things happening, which I can’t wait to share with you!

We will start off our year by reading our class novel which is Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. This story explores the importance of being ourselves and not pretending to be different or like certain things to please others.

The picture book for Spring 1 echoes our learning in other subjects. ‘The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind’ by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer tells the story of a boy named William who lives in a Malawian village which experiences a drought. This resulted in the crops failing in the village, so William spent his days in the library and eventually worked out how to bring electricity to his village. This inspiring picture book links perfectly to our new science topic of electricity; hopefully we will become as knowledgeable as William about electricity after this half-term! Our Big Question this half-term for science is: ‘Can all materials conduct electricity?’ We will be learning about the impact that electricity has on our day-to-day lives, and how we can stay safe around it, as well as exploring simple circuits and investigating conductive and non-conductive materials.

In maths this half-term we will begin to develop our knowledge of multiplication and division. These are vital skills which the children will continue to use throughout their education, therefore it is essential that the foundations are built before building on their knowledge. We have the use of the brilliant resources, Numbots and Times Tables Rock Stars, which will support the children’s learning, so please continue to encourage the children to go on Numbots and to start to go on Times Tables Rock Stars this term.

In English we will be using all our English and writing knowledge to create our own adventure story based on the book ‘The Owl Who Was Afraid of The Dark’ by Jill Tomlinson. Later in the term we will be learning about poetry and will eventually create our own poem. This will be supported by our class poetry book for this half-term: ‘A first poetry book’ by Pie Corbett.

This half-term we will be exploring our Geography Big Question: ‘How does the British Isles differ to Cape Town?’ We will get the opportunity to learn about the vast range of islands and countries that make up the British Isles and how their landscapes differ from one another. We will be comparing British cities to the significantly different location of Cape Town in South Africa. This reinforces our school value of curiosity as we will be learning about the geography of the world around us in the British Isles, as well as the wider world in Cape Town.

In PSHE, we will start by learning about Safety and the changing body. Thinking about keeping safe online before thinking about keeping our bodies safe. In Religious Education we are going to learn about Muslim beliefs. At The Grove we love to learn about other cultures and we will be celebrating World Religion Day on 19^th January 2026; this links to our school values of compassion, curiosity, and respect, as we hope that our learning will broaden our understanding and acceptance of the world and people around us. Our ‘Everyone’s Welcome Book’ for the half-term is ‘The Great Big Book of Families’ by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith.

In our Music topic, ‘Sound and Symbol’ the children will be developing instrumental skills on glockenspiels, exploring rhythm, pitch and melody while introducing the B, A and G notes. The children will have the opportunity to develop confidence through listening, singing and performing pieces.

In PE this half-term we will be doing dance and invasion games. Dance can be very competitive at a professional level, I am looking forward to the children having the opportunity to recognise this and perhaps develop a love for it! Through our invasion games unit the children will develop their throwing and catching skills, while participating in team games, developing simple tactics for attacking and defending.  

In Computing we start the new year with the unit ‘Route explorer’ alongside online safety which will be taught with every computing lesson. This unit allows children to code using the tool, 2Go. Children learn to build simple algorithms to move a screen turtle along routes. They consider direction and distances and create commands.

We will be having our two Art Days this half-term– our focus will be on history painting. This will consist of mythological, biblical, and historical art where a story is told through the use of painting, drawing and mixed media.

Please stay tuned on Class Dojo for pictures and updates - I am really looking forward to what this half-term has in store!

 

Year 2 Autumn 2 Curriculum Information

Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed a well-deserved rest over half term. We have another busy half term coming up which I’m excited to share with you.

We will be starting our new class novel ‘Charlotte’s Web’ by E.B White. This is a classic book which displays values such as teamwork and friendship. The theme of friendship is also present in our picture book ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers; this unlikely friendship highlights the importance of being kind to others – even if they are from a different planet!

We’re heading towards the colder months, so it is fitting that in our next English topic we are going to plan and write our own non-chronological report based on hibernation. We will spend time learning about what a non-chronological report is before creating our own.

In our maths lessons we will continue with our learning on addition and subtraction before moving on to shape. We will use our resources and manipulates to support our learning of different 2D and 3D shapes, building on what the class learned in year one. We will finish the term by learning about money before Christmas.

This half term we will be doing history which I am really looking forward to. Our topic is the Romans, and our big question will go alongside this to support our learning: ‘What have we learned from Roman contributions to British society?’ In addition, the Creative Learning Service have kindly allowed us to borrow some amazing books, some of which are based on the Romans. We will be able to read these books to support what we are learning in history.

Creative Learning Services are also in school to provide a workshop for us where we will get hands on with Roman artefacts!

In science we will be learning about living things and their environments. Our big question for this half term will be: ‘Where do different animals live?’ This links nicely to our previous topic which focused on what humans and animals need to survive, so we can use our prior knowledge to see why plants and animals are suited to their habitats.

Last half term we found out in science that exercise keeps our bodies healthy and decided that our PE lessons are very useful for this! This half term we will be focusing on team building and gymnastics in PE. In our PSHE topic, ‘Health and wellbeing’, we will be exploring healthy lifestyles and how we can develop a positive outlook.

We will be taking part in a careers day, Anti-Bullying week and Children in Need!

We are very welcoming at The Grove and enjoy learning about different cultures and beliefs. This half term in RE we will be learning about Christianity, with our big question being, ‘Why do Christians believe God gave Jesus to the world?’

We are very lucky to have our recorder lessons continuing this half term. I have been very impressed with the children’s progress so far!

This half term we will be having two days dedicated to design technology (DT) where we will be designing and creating our own functional Ferris wheel. We will learn how different components fit together to make the wheel rotate and enable the structure to stand freely.

This half term will take us up to Christmas – so we will have lots of exciting things taking place including a visit to the pantomime!  It would also not be Christmas without a key stage one Nativity, so we will be spending time practising for this later-on this half term!

As always, keep an eye on Class Dojo for photos and updates. I can’t wait to see what this half term has in store for us.

Year 2 Autumn 1 Curriculum Information

Welcome back to the new school year! I am really looking forward to this year and can’t wait to work with your children. We have a very busy half-term ahead of us which I am excited to tell you about!

We are going to start Year Two by reading our class novel which is ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes. This brilliant book explores many themes including bravery and prejudice. The Iron Man is a robot who has a good heart but his appearance can be deceiving. This links to our school values as we focus on courage and acceptance.

We will complement our class novel as we read a picture book called ‘The Tin Forest’ by Helen Ward which looks at dreams and aspirations; it shows us that nothing is impossible if we work hard. It also provides us with the opportunity to talk about how ‘one man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure,’ which links nicely to important topics such as recycling and the elimination of waste.

All our reading sessions will help us in our English lessons, as this half term we are going to create our own stories based on the book ‘The Crow’s Tale’ by Naomi Howarth.

We will start our maths lessons by learning about place value. This is a crucial topic which will help to underpin our learning in maths lessons throughout the whole of Year Two. We will then begin our addition and subtraction topic before the half term break.

In geography this half term, we will be answering our big question: What will I find in my local area? We will start by looking at maps, and how they are designed - even getting to create our own. I am looking forward to our geography lessons, as we will use maps of Melton Mowbray to create a set of directions to get to a destination and go into our local area to test them out!

In science we will be learning about the human body. Our big question this half term is: Why and how should we look after our bodies? We will be learning about how impressive our bodies are, specifically learning about the human skeleton, the circulatory system, the digestive system, and exploring how we can stay healthy. I’m sure our PE lessons will help us with this, as we begin to learn fundamental skills such as running, jumping, skipping and balance alongside developing our ball control skills.

At The Grove we enjoy learning about other cultures and the beliefs of others. Religious education provides us with a great opportunity to do this, and we will begin Year Two by learning about Christianity and thinking about our key question: Is it possible to be kind to everyone all of the time?

In computing this half term, we will be exploring our big question: What is a computer? The children will be identifying different parts of computers and thinking about how computers are used in everyday life.

In music we will be focusing on pulse, rhythm and pitch. We are very lucky this half term to have a visitor coming in to offer us some recorder lessons during music. I’m looking forward to hearing the children learn a new instrument, although I might need to invest in some noise-cancelling headphones while they get to grips with it!

We will be having two art days this half-term– our focus will be on portraits and self-portraits. The children will have the opportunity to develop their drawing skills as well as use oil pastels and paints to create their own portraits.

Please keep your eye on Class Dojo for further updates - I am really excited for what this half term has in store for Year Two!