Mrs Murfitt is the class teacher in Penguins. Mrs Murfitt enjoys teaching art and science. For the Spring Term, Mrs Murfitt is really looking forward to creating some environmental art in the Earth Art topic and making Baby Bear's Chair in DT. In Penguins, PE days are Wednesdays and Thursdays this term. Spellings are given out on Fridays and tested on Thursdays. Homework is put on Seesaw on Fridays. Star stamps are given for every time your child reads at home and this is checked on Fridays too.

Penguins' Teaching Assistant is Mrs Revill. Mrs Revill says - Happy New Year to all our wonderful Penguins and I hope your full of new energy ready to tackle the Spring Term! During this term in History, we will be discovering all about famous explorers from around the World.  Also, we have some fun games planned to help improve your times table knowledge.  I'm really looking forward to cracking on with our Phonics sessions and don't forget to keep reading at home, to earn all those extra star stamps!  

Mrs Hawkins is a Teaching Assistant who supports in Penguins one morning a week. Mrs Hawkins loves spending time with her family and going on long walks.

History

Our history topic for the Spring Term is an adventurous one! Year 2 are going to be learning all about explorers with our topic - Explorers of the World – Who was the greatest? Our children will investigate the lives of Ibn Battuta, Christopher Columbus and Neil Armstrong. They will look at different methods of voyage including sea and space and conclude by thinking about the impact of exploration on our lives.

 

Geography

The children will get to become geographers with a fieldwork unit about weather and climate. We will read weather maps and collect and record data related to weather.

Writing

Our writing units are inspired by the books The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward and My Name is Not Refugee by Kate Milner. The Dragon Machine, a touching story about a lonely boy with a passion for dragons, will lead us to write our own story with an adventure focus. Our second book is a beautifully written story about a young boy’s journey with his mother as a refuge. The children will build their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills and understanding writing a recount of events from a character’s point of view.

Reading

During the Spring Term, the children will be accessing a range of different text types, including a non-chronological report entitled ‘The World’ and a narrative entitled 'The Legend of Nian’. In our commitment to ‘creating connections’ the children will access a persuasive leaflet about visiting Mexico linking to our Autumn Term geography. Additionally, the children will read and gain a greater understanding of poetry through a poem called ‘I’ve seen a moose bake banana bread’. In each reading unit, word reading and fluency are enhanced through activities like echo reads, timed reads, and fluency grids. Texts feature high-frequency and common exception words, helping children read them quickly and accurately. With repeated encounters, they can sound out unfamiliar words effectively, boosting their fluency and confidence. Our children are encouraged to utilise their vocabulary to grasp texts, discussing meanings and connecting new words to what they already know. Through various retrieval questions, children are taught to identify and explain key aspects of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry texts, such as characters, events, titles, and information.

Maths

Maths in the Spring Term covers money, multiplication and division, length and height and mass, capacity and temperature. Our money unit will see us counting pounds and pence in notes and coins. Also, making a pound and finding change with some two-step problems. With multiplication and division, we will be recognising, making and adding equal groups before introducing the multiplication symbol. We will then look at timsing and dividing by 2, including the vocabulary doubling and halving.

Art and Design and Technology

Earth Art will be our art stimulus. The children will explore ways of painting on rocks, make sculptures with sticks and twigs and begin to weave. Additionally, we will create mandalas and create collages using natural materials.

In design and technology, the children will learn about structures and strengthening materials before making baby bear’s chair. They will then test and fix the chair too!

RSHE - Relationships, Sex and Health Education

Our No Outsiders books will focus on understanding what diversity is and thinking about what makes a good friend. Additionally, we will learn about special people in our community and the diversity of families. Our E-Safety will look at permission and how something put online can last a long time. 

 

Science

Science in Year 2 in the Spring Term is all about growing: Growing Up – Animals and Humans and Growing Seeds and Bulbs. During our Growing Up unit, we will consider that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults. Additionally, the children will find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival. We will also describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene. Following the half-term break, our focus will shift to growing plants.  The children will observe and describe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants and learn about the differences between seeds and bulbs.