Welcome to Class 2M (2023-2024)! Mrs. Murray is your class teacher and works in school Monday - Thursday. Mrs. P is our other class teacher and works in 2M on a Tuesday afternoon and Friday. Our learning support assistant is Miss Spencer. We also have Miss Kay and Miss French working as a 1-1 for children. We hope you enjoy every minute of being in year 2 while we have lots of great fun along the way!

On this class page, you will find lots of information about your class. We aim to update you regularly with what is going on in our class but you will be able to use this website to read up on information about the year 2 curriculum, school learning schemes, reading books, P.E information, homework topics and important dates for your diary.

If there is anything you would like to ask, share, or have a question about, please do not hesitate to contact staff during school hours using class dojo. We will endeavor to reply to messages as soon as possible.

Phonics

Phonics is taught daily in Year 2. Phonics is a method for teaching reading, where your child is taught to read letters or groups of letters by saying the sounds that they represent. Your child can then start to read words by blending the sounds together to make a word.

Our school follows the Read Write Inc (RWI) approach to teaching early reading and spelling. This is a structured and systematic approach, that is designed to create fluent readers, confident speakers, and willing writers. It is vital that your child is encouraged to pronounce phonemes (sounds) correctly.

For further information on RWI please visit the following website: -

www.oxfordowl.co.uk

Book Bags

 In support of our approach to teaching reading, your child will take home a Read, Write Inc. phonics  Book. Your child will be reading their book during their RWI lessons and we ask that you reinforce your child's learning by revisting the book. Depending on the group that your child is working with they will either have a new book every 3 days or every 5 days.

Your child may also like to take home a book for you to read together for pleasure. We encourage that you ask your child questions about their book and that you encourage your child to ask their own questions. It is important to develop comprehension skills, as it supports your child with reading and writing. We encourage you to visit our amazing local library to expand your child’s knowledge and love of books.

Ebooks will also be allocated regularly on Oxford owl. Your child's log in details are the same as last year. If you are unsure about the log in details then please message us on class dojo.

The Spelling Shed, Maths Shed and TT Rockstars

Your child will be given a password to access this. The passwords will enable them to log onto the spelling shed, maths shed and TT rockstars. We will set a variety of fun activities on this site for you to share at home with your child.

PE

Our PE day this year is Tuesday. The school P.E. kit is available from Lazer School Wear, St. Mary's Road in Garston. This is a red T-shirt with the school badge and school blue shorts. Children can also wear a plain red T-shirt and plain blue shorts that are available from most supermarkets. The children should wear trainers or pumps.

This is part of our school uniform and must be worn for PE lessons.

Football kits and other sportswear will not be allowed.

Water Bottles

 There are studies to say, that drinking water and being well hydrated, improves the mood, memory, and attention in children. We would ask that you send in a water bottle for your child each day. We request that your child brings in water only and not juice or fizzy drinks. The bottle needs to have your child’s name on. The children will have access to their water throughout the day.

Homework Menu

Every half term, a homework menu will be given out with a selection of tasks to be completed, across all areas of the curriculum. It is your choice as to how many you complete; however, you must complete at least one piece and hand it in to school by the end of the half term. Your child’s completed work will be celebrated. 

Upcoming dates this term:

Tuesday 5th September - Children return to school. 

WC 1st October 2023-Harvest focus

WC 2nd October: Dyslexia awareness week

WC 2nd October- Other Faith Week (Judaism)

Wednesday 4th October 2023- Parents Drop in/Parent's evening

WC Monday 17th October: Harvest Focus

Friday 20th October -INSET

Friday 27th October- Finish for half term 

Monday 6th November: Return to school

Friday 22nd December: Break up for Christmas

AUTUMN CURRICULUM

Our first few weeks in year 2 will begin with getting to know new routines, meeting new adults and going over the expectations for the year ahead. We will ensure children feel happy and confident in their new surroundings and that they have the opportunities to talk about their feelings. Please see below the overview for each area of the curriculum and I hope you enjoy seeing the photographs of your children hard at work.

RE- Rejoice- Beginnings

 In our first topic of the year, we will be looking at the 'new beginnings' we come across in our life. We will talk about how new beginnings make us feel. We will read the story of creation and discuss how God was there at the beginning and is always there at every new beginning.

Maths- Inspirational Maths and Place Value

To begin the year the children will take part in a variety of maths lessons that will enable them to show off their problems solving skills as well as develop some basic maths skills. Children will think creatively about numbers and explore different ways of using numbers in everyday life.

The children will then start their first unit of Maths - Place Value, with areal emphasis on counting, recognising and partitioning numbers 0-100. We will be using practical resources in our lessons to support our work such as numicon, number fans, base 10, cuisenaires and counting cubes.

Maths Basic Skills

In Year 2, we also enjoy our Mastering Number sessions. In these sessions, we focus on developing our Number Sense. Here we will cover skills of subitising (knowing the amount without counting), cardinality, ordinality, counting, composition, comparison and number facts. In these sessions, we use a rekenrek to support our understanding of numbers and their relationships. In addition to this, we also work through Maths Flashback (White Rose) for our morning Maths work, which helps to recap on our previous learning.

English

Some children will be continuing with Read, Write, Inc. lessons. Books will be assigned to children by their R.W.Inc. teacher. Some children will have completed this program of study and will now be taught English by myself, Mrs. Murray. They will develop skills in reading and writing through a range of genres, developing their comprehension skills and mastering expert skills with grammar and vocabulary.

Whole Class Read

Our whole class read lessons will be based around 'Rivers and Seas' and ties in with our geography topic for this term. The children will be introduced to various fiction and non-fiction texts. Through questioning children will develop their comprehension skills and be introduced to technical vocabulary.

Geography Entry point-The Coast

For this topic the children will be finding out all about 'Coasts.' In the early lessons they will look closely at the differences between seas and rivers and will carry out research into the cause and effects of coastal erosion. They will enjoy talking and sharing their experiences of visiting a beach or a coastal area and make links to their home Liverpool, in relation to it being a coastal settlement.

Art: Autumn 1-L.S Lowry

We will be looking at the work of L.S. Lowry. Children will have the opportunity to create fact files about the artist and look at pieces of his work. we will look closely at the skyline and buildings in each of his pieces and how he uses this to give background to his work. Thinking about the skyline of Liverpool, children will then attempt to create their own work using sketching pencils to replicate the different skylines of Liverpool.

PSHE  - Different types of families

In these lessons children will explore the similarities and differences between families. They will talk about how they enjoy spending time with their family and what family means to them. Children will research 'weddings and marriage' and how different religions might celebrate.

Science-Living things and their habitats

Before children begin this topic they will spend some time thinking of their prior knowledge from Year 1. As a class we will talk about various animals, where they live and what animal group they belong to. Children will then go on to explore other types of animals and their habitats. They will complete bug/insect hunts and recognise where animals live. They will discover that certain animals live in certain habitats for different reasons. Children will learn that different habitats provide for different needs. Thinking about animal needs, children will create their own food chains. Throughout this topic, children will spend time researching scientist - David Attenborough and create a fact file about him.

P.E.

In our P.E. lessons, children will begin with a gymnastics unit. They will learn how to develop balance, agility and control. They will create routines in which they demonstrate how to balance using different parts of their body. Children will be taught various types of rolls and how they can do this by mastering control of their bodies. Using apparatus safely children will be taught various types of jumps.

Computing

The children will re-cap the work started last year using code studio. They will have the opportunity to master skills with programming, editing and de-bugging.

Music

The children will learn a new song - 'Music is in my soul.' They will enjoy looking for the pulse in the piece of music and be introduced to spotting rhythmic patterns. Children will work together to find a steady beat within musical pieces and develop confidence when performing in front of others.