Hello, I’m Mr Houghton and I would like to welcome you to our class and our classroom, which is an exciting, inspiring and happy place to grow and learn.

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What are the three topics and why we are teaching these?

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In Year 2, our three key topics are ‘Ice Age, ‘The British Royal Family’ and ‘Coasts’.

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Autumn Term- Ice Age:

In this topic, we learn about the ancient past of Britain. We review our learning of The Dinosaurs (Year 1 Topic) and ask ‘What happened to the Dinosaurs?  We explore the importance of food chains and habitats, then show how the break-up of Pangea led to the formation of the continents and oceans we see today. We learn the names of each of the seven continents and five oceans and about the hottest and coldest places in the World. 

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Spring Term- The British Royal Family:

In Year 1, we learned about the causes and the impact that the Great Fire of London had on our Capital city. Our topic, ‘The British Royal Family’, aims to build on this previous knowledge, and on the knowledge gained in FS1 in looking at our Queen.  The children are asked to think about and discuss what makes a 'good' monarch and think of some rules that they might create if they were a king or queen.  We also examine the Queen’s immediate family and relate this to our own families and to broaden our thinking through our work around British Values: what it means to be British.  This year, as it is the Platinum Jubilee, we design and make a carriage fit for a Queen!

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Summer Term-Coasts:

Coasts provide a particularly appropriate context for exploring and investigating key geographical ideas and concepts, such as physical processes and human effects on the environment. To equip our children with some familiarity with coastal environments, we begin with a trip to the seaside to enable them to use their personal experience as a starting point for lessons and tasks. We then use images, photographs and maps as prompts for recalling physical and human features observed at seaside locations.  We then link our Geographical knowledge to our History through studying and comparing the way in which coastal towns have changed over time and by studying the life of Grace Darling.

 

What are our mini-topics and why are we teaching these?

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In Year 2, our mini-topics are separated into three parts and are taught at the end of each main topic. They include:

Autumn Term - Life Skills: Stranger Danger

During this mini-topic we look at the various ways we need to protect ourselves as children.  We learn our address and telephone number and how to find a safe adult if we are lost. We also learn how to make an emergency phone call and what to expect when we telephone.  We also learn how to keep ourselves safe online and what to do if we become the target of cyber-bullying. The intention of this topic is to give us the skills to cope if we are lost or are being bullied.

 

Spring Term - Country: Brazil (Comparing a non-European country with our own)

In this mini-topic we hold our very own Brazilian Carnival Day to kick-start this colourful mini-topic.  We look at world maps and globes to locate brazil and to identify its capital city, Brasilia.  We talk about its human features and what it might be like to live there.  We listen to the music of Brazil and explore how life there differs to our own life experience. We also discover Brazilian legends and invent our own Brazil-inspired mythical creatures.  The intent of this mini-topic is to help the children explore their own identity as British and as Global citizens.

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Summer Term - Global Issue: Plastic Pollution

The intent behind this mini-topic is to better understand the causes and consequences our plastic pollution and the importance of recycling. This mini-topic sit between our study of our coasts and that od Antarctica so the children can see clear links between plastic pollution and its effects on the Environment.  We look at what we can do to change the amount of litter in our oceans and at designing a product to help promote recycling.

 

What are you trying to achieve in your year group?

In Year 2, we aim to bring together the skills that we have learnt throughout our school careers so far. We aim to use them in practical ways to learn more about the world and our place in it. In addition to this, it is hoped that we are beginning to understand the difference between right and wrong, knowing that our decisions can have an influence beyond ourselves. Furthermore, it is important that we understand the terms; respect, reflection and resilience and that we are able to put these skills into practice.