Year 2 Crew
Welcome to Crew 2!
On this page you will find lots of information about our class and our curriculum. Please take the time to read through this page, which we hope contains everything you need to know. Remember to check our class SeeSaw page for regular updates and photographs.
Staff, Keeping in Touch & SeeSaw
Teacher: Mr Fraser
Learning Coach: Miss Bow
We will be available at the start and end of the day to pass on or receive brief messages. If you wish to discuss something in more detail, please send a private message on SeeSaw or telephone the school office to arrange a meeting.
The most up to date information and pictures of our learning will always be shared on SeeSaw.
Please click the logo below to visit our SeeSaw page:
Expeditionary Project Narrative for Autumn 2021
Our autumn 2021 project title is: ‘Our Wonderful World’
We have to answer the essential question: 'Where does the sea end and the land begin?’
The Learning Targets for this project are:
- I can explain what a hemisphere is
- I know how many oceans there are and can name them
- I can name each continent and some of the countries within it
- I can define and identify what a human and physical feature is
- I can give reasons why some animals and plants survive in each continent
- I can explain what climate is by using examples around the world
- I can compare our climate and geographical features with another city
Overview
In this project children will build on the knowledge they gained in Year 1 and look at the wider world. During this project children will discover and be able to name both the continents and oceans of the world. They will begin to name some of the countries within each continent and become familiar with globes, atlases, maps and satellite images. Further to this children will be looking at the physical and human features found on Earth, being able to define these terms and give examples of them. Children will explore climate zones and begin to investigate how plants and animals survive and are adapted to different environments around the world.
This project provides children with the opportunity to discover and realise that they are part of a dynamic and diverse world. They will appreciate the challenges different citizens face when living in extreme climates as well as recognising the wonder of nature across different landscapes, as they study animals and plants from around the world.
Case Study 1:
We will begin the project by looking at local area maps and recognising the physical and human features within our local area. We will then identify the countries that make up the UK. We will use globes, recognising how it represents Earth and observe what we can see. We will look at aerial photographs of areas around the world, including physical and human landmarks. The children will see the value in aerial photographs as well as understand that the word ‘aerial’ can be defined as meaning 'from the sky’.
Case Study 2:
Next we will look at the makeup of our globe and used satellite images. We will recognise that there are areas of land and sea. This will help us to define the word ‘continent’, understanding that this is a mass of land. We will look at the seven continents using our globe, maps and satellite images, observing their shape and colour. After, we will explore why some continents are coloured green, some are white, others were sandy and some a mixture.
Case Study 3
Having identified the different continents, we will look at which countries were within them. We will use the children’s experience of travelling as a stimulus for discussions. We will learn how to use atlases to locate continents, including the oceans which separate them, and then identify countries named within continents. We will then discuss how our island is part of Europe. We will look at other continents which are not one land mass and discuss why islands might be grouped or joined to a near landmass to form a continent.
Case Study 4
The children will discuss and define the term ‘hemisphere’, recognising that our spherical earth can be split into two hemispheres - the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere. We will familiarise ourselves with north and south, learning the correct orientation of the globe. Using a Venn diagram, we will recognise that the continents are located in the northern and southern hemispheres and that some stretch across both.
Case Study 5
Looking at the satellite images using our project board, we will discuss further the different colours on the continents. This will prompt us to think about why that is the case. Why are some continents covered in snow and others are sandy? Will the children notice that snow appears at the very top and bottom of our globe and sandy coloured continents are across the middle, between the two hemispheres? Is there a pattern? We will look at key landmarks in some countries/continents of the world, we will use this as a stimulus for our DT project where we will design and make a world famous landmark.
Case Study 6
The children will spend time, using books, atlases and the National Geographic website and resources researching each continent and explore why the continents have different temperatures and types of weather. Why are some hot, some very cold, some rainy, some a mixture and others steady? Following this we will began to explore the term ‘climate’. We will explore that ‘climate’ is the weather but over a long period of time and that it would take several years to discover the climate of an area. We will look at the climate zones, acknowledging that they are like bands across our globe. As the bands run horizontally, this means that some continents have several climate zones, explaining why they could be green, rainy and humid in one area but dry and sandy in another. The children will reflect on our own climate and we will explore the term ‘temperate’. We will explore that the climate zones have names: temperate, polar and topical.
Case Study 7
In case study 7, the children will began to make sense of why certain animals and plants survive in different climate zones. The children will study a selection of animals and plants, observing their features and needs. We will plot pictures of different animals and plants across the world. Once the animals are on the map the children will be questioned to see any similarities. To look at this in more detail, we will think about the different conditions in our own country and how our plants and animals are suited to them. The children will recognise that if we moved animals and plants to different climates, it would be unlikely that they would survive.
Case Study 8
In the final stages of our project we will think about what different places around the world would feel like. The children will use their knowledge to think what they would take to a topical location, a polar location or a temperate location. The children will compare our climate, animals and plants with those in Johannesburg, where we have a link with a primary school. We will use our knowledge of our own country, climate, animals and plants to write an information text.
Link to Global goals (14 and 15):
The children will recognise the diverse world they live in, thinking about how climates, animals and plants can vary across continents. It will enable them to see the challenges different citizens face when living in extreme climates.
The Presentation of Learning:
The children will create an information leaflet titled ‘Introducing Liverpool’. The leaflet will look at our global position, the climate we live in and the animals and plants we are familiar with. We will ask questions about the differences found in South Africa and send our leaflets to our partner school, Sedibeng Primary School in Johannesburg.
English across the curriculum: Anchor text:
Our main anchor texts will be A River by Mark Martin and Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett
A River
There is a river outside my window. Where will it take me? So begins an imaginary journey from the city to the sea. From factories to farmlands, freeways to forest, each new landscape is explored through stunning illustrations and poetic text
Meerkat Mail
Sunny the meerkat lives with his enormous family in the Kalahari desert. They are all very close ...so close, in fact, that one day Sunny decides he's had enough and packs his bags. He's off to visit his mongoose cousins. But from the watery world of the Marsh Mongoose to the nocturnal lifestyle of the Malagasy Mongoose, Sunny just doesn't fit in. And who's that shadowy figure who seems to be following him around? There's so much to enjoy, from the newspaper cuttings on the endpapers to the wittily accurate information about each mongoose species Sunny visits on his journey.
Knowledge Organiser
Reading
All children will bring home at least one home reading book each week along with their reading diary. Children have a dedicated day that their book is swapped, however they are also listened to at other times during the school day and so we ask that reading bags are brought into school everyday. We strive to foster your child's love for reading and we engage them in wonderful, immersive books and a wide variety of rich, engaging and carefully selected texts. You can support us by reading with your child at least three times per week, more if possible.
Maths
We follow a mastery maths programme and use the White Rose Maths planning resources.
Children are supported in a variety of approaches to their maths work to ensure sound mathematical understanding. The approaches used are as follows:
Concrete – children should have the opportunity to use concrete objects and manipulatives to help them understand what they are doing.
Pictorial – alongside concrete objects, children should use pictorial representations. These representations can then be used to help reason and solve problems.
Abstract – both concrete and pictorial representations should support children's understanding of abstract methods
A suggested overview of the maths blocks can be viewed below however, due to COVID-19, we are adapting our curriculum and teaching to ensure that children have a secure understanding of the key learning targets in mathematics for their year. Further to this, regular teacher assessments, feedback and child engaged discussions inform our dynamic maths curriculum, which responds to the needs of every child. Please see SeeSaw for regular updates on what is being covered.
Useful maths websites for children
PE
PE will take place on Thursday afternoons. Your child can come to school in sports clothes or PE kits on this day. Please make sure they have suitable footwear for sporting activities.
Spelling
Your child will be given their weekly spelling list every Monday and a test will take place on the following Monday.
As well as ensuring your child learns their list, you can support their spelling understanding using Spelling Frame. Log-in cards have been given out to every child. Please access the website here: https://spellingframe.co.uk
Recommended books for Year 2
