Maths

In Maths this half term we have been focusing on both multiplication and division using numbers 2, 5 and 10. We have used lots of different methods to aid our calculations using physical materials, grouping and understanding how we can use inverse calculations to help fill in partially completed sums. We have practiced our arithmetic, using 3 step addition and subtraction sums alongside figuring out mathematical word problems. Finally, this half term, we have been learning about length, understanding the differences between metres and centimetres and which metrics to use to measure different objects. We have used our rulers and metre sticks to measure length both inside and outside of the classroom and knowing how to record our measurements.

English

In English this half term, our learning has been surrounding the book ‘The Adventures of the Egg Box Dragon’ by Richard Adams. The story follows Emma who creates a homemade dragon out of everyday items and one magical night, he becomes real and shares his unusual talent with the town. In class, we have conducted our own news interviews and role played using our own written scripts, written letters to the Egg Box Dragon asking for his help, created our own artistic pieces trying to construct our own Egg Box Dragons using a variety of materials and even hosting our own royal tea party!

History

In History this half term, our question of enquiry has been ‘How do we know so much about where Sappho used to live?’ We have studied the life of a young girl named Sappho who lived in the city of Pompeii 2,000 years ago. We studied artistic depictions of what the city looked like, the archaeological artifacts that have been found, and conducted our own role play into what we think life would have been like for citizens of Pompeii at that time. We studied maps of the Roman Empire and could compare with atlases to identify the individual countries and discuss what makes an empire. As a class, we delved into the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, watched a real time unfolding of events on that fateful day and discussed what Sappho and her family might have experienced during this historical event.

Science

In Science this half term, we continued our study into the topic of Animals and Humans, firstly looking into the effects of food and nutrition on our bodies and the impact on our health. We understood the different nutrition groups we need in our diet such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc and the importance of balancing these to optimise our wellbeing. We can label and match what nutrition groups certain foods belong to and understand that some foods can belong to more than one group and we reflected on our own diets to see the nutritional values of our favourite meals. As a class, we came up with lots of negative impacts on both over eating and undereating and the effect this may have on the human body. Once we finished our food topic, we then moved onto the topic of exercise. We looked at different types of athletes such as body builders and ultra marathon runners and discussed why we thought their physiques looked different and what methods of exercise we thought they would do. We took part in our own experiment, trying out different forms of exercise and categorising them into whether they are resistance based or cardiovascular based and understood the differences between the two and the different effects these have on the human body. We have discussed a lot of areas in Science this half term and applied the to our own lives to understand how to become the healthiest versions of ourselves.

Music

This half term the year 2 children have been appraising music using Charanga. We have listened to a piece of music in our weekly sessions and tried to identify if and when the musical elements change. We listened to the tempo – was is fast/slow, did it start fast/slow – when does it change ? We listened to the dynamics – was it quiet/loud?  We talked about the structure of the piece and how the music made us feel. Then we moved to the beat and had a dance with the music, thinking about which parts of our bodies we were moving. 

PSCHE

The topic for this half term in PSHCE has been ‘Healthy Me’, we have been fortunate enough to apply our learning of food and exercise in our Science work this half term to help deepen our understanding on how to become our healthiest selves. We discussed how as much as exercising and working hard can be healthy for us, that resting and relaxing is also healthy for us. As a class, we spoke about how we relax in our own lives and the methods we can use to rest our bodies and what works best for us, and how our mental health is just as important as our physical health. We discussed how medicines are used to maintain our health when we are poorly and how to safely use them to get better. Following on from speaking about our mental health, we have been reading different books every morning that can help us manage our thoughts and feelings and what messages the books give to us that we can apply in our lives. We created our own art work on how we feel when we are angry and frustrated and discussed our favourite methods to regulate our emotions and feel happier.

Art

We have been creating lots of different artwork this half term based on printing and collating colours, we have worked in pairs and independently to create some beautiful pieces of art that we are very proud of. We have worked with a variety of materials and paints and used a variety of methods to create collages and splatter images using colour theory and discussing which colours complement each other.

Computing

In Computing this half term, we have been creating our own digital stop motion animation. We have used software to create different frames and scenes of our choosing and learned how we can strategically collate them together to create a flowing animation. We have used different images, text, colours and backgrounds to create a variety of animations and can discuss the process we need to take to create them. Finally, we used our computer skills to create easter artwork of our choosing using digital and pixel art and were very proud of our creations.