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Year 2

Year 2 Autumn Term 2024 Curriculum Overview

Subject 

Teaching and Learning 

Parental Involvement- We encourage parents to choose at least one activity for each subject to support your child in their learning. 

Maths 

The children will learn to represent numbers to 100 in a variety of ways and know their place value by ordering and reasoning. They will solve calculation problems involving addition, subtraction for number facts to 20, find bonds to 100, add and subtract 2-digit numbers crossing ten and add three 1-digit numbers.  

In geometry, the pupils will learn to recognise, name and sort 2D and 3D shapes according to their properties. They will also make patterns with 2D and 3D shapes. 

 

  • Count objects and compare amounts.  

  • See what numbers your child can spot up to 100 when out and about and tell you how many Tens and Ones in each number. 

  • Your child can practise their maths skills on Numbots (see login sent home). There are lots of fun games and songs available online too (see below). 

- ICT Maths games 

- Top Marks  

English 

English objectives will be covered through a variety of high-quality texts that will spark the pupils’ interest. The texts will cover poetry, fiction and non-fiction.  This term the children are learning to write lists, labels, captions and an explanation text to show information. They will also write narrative stories with familiar settings and modern stories. The children will learn skills to read aloud stories and poems, create story maps, do storytelling through drama and role-play and write in role. The children will learn grammar and punctuation discretely.  

 

  • At home, read as many storybooks as possible from different genres, e.g. information books about animals, modern stories and poems. When reading information books, including explanation texts, look at the layout including contents page, captions, lists, labels and the index and discuss how these help the reader to find information easily.  

  • Practise forming the letters of the alphabet using the letter formation phrases sent in the home-learning pack.  

  • Ask your child to write simple lists using bullet points. They can write a list of their toys, a shopping list for you to buy, their favourite food or things they have at home. 

Reading 

The children will be reading a variety of different types of books in their reading practice sessions that they have at school. They will have 3 sessions a week when we focus on using phonics knowledge to decode the words, read aloud with expression and then comprehension to show what they have understood from the text. The children will then bring home with them the book they have read in class to practice reading it again at home with you. 

  • Please listen to your child read at least 4 times per week. Children who read regularly at home make the most progress, not just in reading, but right across the curriculum. Please ask us if you need any support. 

  • Be a reader yourself - let your child see you reading and talk about your enjoyment of reading. 

Science 

Animals including humans & Growth and Lifecycles 

This term the children will find out and describe the basic needs for survival of animals, including humans, know why exercise is important, describe the importance of healthy eating and teeth care and hygiene. They will explore and describe the life cycle of various animals and why they have off springs.  

 

  • Visit the BBC Bitesize website to explore the different units of learning about animals, including humans: BBC Bitesize Topics  

  • Go to the library and get out books or watch nature programmes about different animals that your children show interest in and read them together. Talk about the different body parts of the animals and find out together what they might eat. 

Computing 

This term, the children will learn about online safety, technology outside school and creating pictograms to record results of an experiment. They will also learn to make music digitally by exploring, editing and combining sounds using a computer program. 

  • Use the Purple Mash login that we are sending in the home learning resources packs and practice how to log in and browse through their working area. 

  • Visit the BBC Bitesize website and read and watch the videos to reinforce the online safety rules to follow. BBC Online safety link  

RE 

Why do we need to give thanks?  

This term the children will learn about how and why people say thank you. They will learn about why harvest is an important time to give thanks, ways and reasons why Hindus and Christians might show their gratitude to God through prayer and songs.   

What do candles mean to people? 

In the second unit, the children will learn how candles and light are used in different religious celebrations such as Diwali, Advent and Hanukkah.  

 

Here is some key vocabulary we will be using with the children this term. It would be helpful to talk through these words with your child at home: grateful, Hindu, Christians, harvest festival, shrine, puja, worship, hymn, 

Art 

Craft and designs: Map it out 

The children will explore ways to explore and create maps through various forms, including drawing, making a 3D map using collage, printmaking and designing stained-glass using collage. In the lessons, the children will use skills such as sorting, designing and evaluating art.  

  

 

  • Explore your local area by going for walks and looking at the different features that are around. Support your child to draw a map of their journey to school or features around your house. You might want to make a map of your house/ child’s room using Lego. 

  •  Explore looking at different maps, including those of your local area, including virtual maps such as Google Street View or Google Earth.   

D&T 

Making a moving monster 

The children will be learning about mechanisms that are all around us, including pivots and linkages. They’ll be examining basic mechanical tools, such as scissors, and toys with moving parts. They will then use card and push pins to create simple linkages and follow design criteria to create their own moving monster. 

  

  • Look at simple mechanisms with your child and discuss how they are creating movement. Toy cars have wheels and axles, hole punches have a lever, a can opener has gears, pop-up books and greetings cards often have sliders and toy cranes may have pulley systems as well as levers and wheels and axles.  

  • When you are out and about, see if your child can spot any mechanisms. Talk about what you find. 

  

PSHE 

Families and Relationships  

In this unit the children will understand the role of the family in their lives and understand the different types of families. They will also understand that some friendships might make us feel unhappy and how to deal with this and understand how loss and change can affect us.  

Health and Wellbeing 

The children will describe a range of feelings and develop simple strategies for managing them, understand the benefits of physical activity and a healthy diet and learn ways of looking after our teeth.  

 

Here is some key vocabulary we will be using with the children this term. It would be helpful to talk through these words with your child at home:- 

relationship, emotions, manners, respect, stereotypes, death, diet, growth mind-set, goal etc 

History 

What is history? 

In history, the children will be learning about what history is. They will explore holidays from the past and compare them to holidays in the present. They will be reflecting on their own memories of holidays. 

  • Talk about holidays you have been on as a family and holidays your parents/carers have been on in the past.

 

Geography 

Where am I? 

The children will be learning about features of the local area and school. They will be learning about maps and how they are used and the symbols we use to represent places on a map. They will also be exploring aerial photographs and finding the features in the photographs. 

  • Look at the area around your home and see what features there are e.g., road, trees. 

  • Draw a map of your local area.

PE 

Fundamentals 

The children will develop the fundamental skills of balancing, running, changing direction, jumping, hopping and skipping.  

Sending and receiving 

They will develop their sending and receiving skills including throwing and catching, rolling, kicking, tracking and stopping a ball. Each lesson will focus on a new skill and each lesson will end with a game in which children can practise the skill learnt. 

Staying active at home will support your child’s progress in PE. Here are some links to follow for some ideas: 

 

Please note that these videos are on YouTube and therefore may need some level of supervision. 

Music  

This half-term, the children will learn about a unit called: Menu Songs, which focusses on active listening, beat, echo singing and understanding pitch movement. 

 

Next half-term, they will learn about a unit called: Colonel Hathi’s March, which focusses on beat, march, timbre and film music). 

Read about playing and performing music on the BBC Bitesize website: BBC Bitesize music