Crabtree Infants' Year 2

English

This week we have been looking at Greta Thunberg and how she is a World Changer. We researched Greta’s life and then put the key moments on a time line. At the end of the week we put the research we had gathered into a fact file.

Maths

In maths this week we have been problem solving! We started by working in pairs and being ‘number detectives’. Here are some of the questions we discussed:

We then used our maths facts and knowledge of maths strategies to solve problems. Here are some examples:

Then we played some maths games, such as Race to 50, 5 Goes to 50 and Lions and Tigers. Ask your child to explain how to play them, if you would like to practise at home. We then made our own games!

On Friday we recapped our learning about symmetry, and working out if a shape has one line of symmetry or not. Here are some questions we considered:

Then we played the games we had made – it was lots of fun!

Art

This week we practised printing using Styrofoam. We used a biro to score a pattern on a Styrofoam tile and then applied a thin layer of paint using a roller. We used a clean roller to apply pressure and then carefully lifted the tile up to reveal our print. We continued printing, experimenting with the amount of paint we put on the tile and the amount of pressure we pushed down with.

Then, we designed a portrait of the Queen. We thought about the features we would need to include so that people would know it was the Queen. We then transferred our designs onto Styrofoam ready for printing next week. We can’t wait to share our finished pictures with you.

Science

This week we learnt about the scientist Mikhail Tsvet. We used coffee filter paper to carry out the process Tsvet invented – chromatography.

We hope you have a good weekend

The Year 2 Teachers

The children enjoyed the start of the transition activities to the Junior school by joining the Juniors assembly on Friday (via Zoom) and playing in their playground when it was free. We will continue this over the coming weeks.

Maths

This week we have been recapping our learning about time, fractions and money. First we checked that we can tell the time if the minute hand is pointing to the 12, 3, 6 or 9. Try asking your child what time it must be if the long hand is pointing to these numbers. Then we practised telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes. This is made especially tricky as we need to count from or back from the 12 in 5s. Please can you practise telling the time at home? First secure their understanding for o’clock and half past, then try quarter to/past. If they are happy with these, then try 5 minutes.

We then practised fractions – recognising and finding half, quarter, two quarters, three quarters and a third of a shape or quantity. If you would like to practise this at home please encourage your child to think about the denominator, or bottom number, being equal parts of the whole.

Finally we have revisited money. I think that not many children (or adults!) are using coins nowadays! The expectation at the end of year 2 is that children can recognise all English coins and notes and can make a given amount using coins. We have practised making a given amount using coins and trying different ways to do this. Maybe you could tell your child a value and then ask them the most efficient way to make the amount in coins. You might like to let them play this game: https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/toy-shop-money

English

This week we have written our stories. Eagles rewrote the story of the Smartest Giant in Town and Owl Class wrote the story to the book Tuesday.

We also enjoyed the visit by a poet this week. He shared some of his poems and then helped us to write our own poems.

Computing

In computing this week we have been making pictures in the style of Picasso, using MSPaint. The children decided if they would prefer to make a picture of the World Changer they researched, Queen Elizabeth II (who we learnt about this week), or a picture of the home of one of the world changers. Your child may like to make some computer art at home, either in the style of Seurat or Picasso.

Science

In Science we have continued learning about different scientists. They included Marie Curie, Stephen Hawking and Mae Carol Jemison. For our scientific enquiry this week we made predictions on what we thought would happen in different experiments. We had great fun making a lemon froth, moving a can with static electricity and making our own lava lamp.

History

We have been learning about Queen Elizabeth II in history, as she is a World Changer – and it was her official birthday the previous weekend. Have a look at the cards we have made for her! We included a fact about why we think she is a World Changer.