Welcome to Rowans Class!
Class teacher: Miss Plater
hplater@bewickbridge.co.uk
Class teaching assistants:Miss Dean Miss Madhok, Mr Collett
Specialist Pathway
Below is a summary of what children will be learning in each subject in the Specialist Pathway Curriculum this term. As well as the key knowledge the children should know for each unit.
In science, we will be studying a unit called ‘Animals including humans.’ In this unit, we will notice that animals, including humans, have offspring which grow into adults, find out about and describe the basic needs of animals, including humans, for survival and describe the importance for humans of exercise, eating the right amounts of different types of food, and hygiene.
Knowledge:
Some animals give birth to live young.
Some animals lay eggs which the young hatch from.
Both of these offspring then develop into adults.
Some offspring look like their adults when they are born.
Some offspring do not look like their adults when they are born.
To stay alive, all animals have three basic needs for survival:
Water: to keep use hydrated
Food: is the fuel of our bodies
Air: so that we can breathe the gases we need: oxygen.
Shelter:so that they're protected from the environment and also from predators.
To grow into a healthy adult, we must eat the right types of food in the right amount and exercise.
Food groups: fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, dairy, fat and sugary foods
Over half of our diet (about two thirds) should be made up of carbohydrates, fruit and vegetables
The rest should be proteins, dairy, fat and alternatives.
Advice: Eat less often and in small amounts.
Being active and exercising keeps our bodies and minds healthy.
Hygiene: To stop germs from spreading, it is important to be hygienic.
Geography
For the first half term, the topic for geography is ‘France and Australia.’ Over this half term, children will be developing their geographical skills in human and physical geography and place knowledge. Children will develop their understanding of human features by comparing the purposes and utility of different human features. Later in the half term, they will expand upon their fieldwork skills by reading and drawing a variety of different maps, interpreting different aerial photographs and by recording their observations in their study of the school site.
Knowledge:
Human features are man-made and include castles, towers, schools, hospitals, bridges, shops, tunnels, monuments, airports and roads. People use human features in different ways. For example, an airport can be used for work or leisure and a harbour can be used for industry or travel.
A map is a picture or drawing of an area of land or sea that can show human and physical features. Maps use symbols and a key. A key is the information needed to read a map and a symbol is a picture or icon used to show a geographical feature.
An aerial photograph can be vertical (an image taken directly from above) or oblique (an image taken from above and to the side).
A significant place is a location that is important to a community or society. Places can also be significant because of religious or historic events that may have happened in the past near the location. Significant places can also include monuments.
The four cardinal points on a compass are north, south, east and west. A route is a set of directions that can be used to get from one place to another.
Data can be recorded in different ways, including tables, charts and pictograms. Fieldwork can help to answer questions about the local environment and can include observing or measuring, identifying or classifying and recording.
History
The topic for history is ‘seaside’. Children will be looking at how the seaside has changed throughout history and how the invention of the steam train turned the seaside into a popular tourist destination. We will be using different resources to understand how the past is represented. We will use information and evidence to describe significant individuals from the past.
Knowledge:
George Stephenson invented the steam train
The invention of steam trains in 1804 made it possible for people to visit the seaside for the day from all over the country.
1830 Liverpool to Manchester and Canterbury to Whitstable first steam powered passenger railways.
1871 first paid days off for workers in England
Holidays in the past were nearly always health related. Sea water was considered to have a beneficial effect on health and cure diseases.
There are differences between seaside holidays 100 years ago, 50 years ago and today such as entertainment, transport and clothes.
Women would use bathing machines, rolled out into sea, to change into their swimming costumes.
People would be covered and wear their clothes to the beach. They did not have shorts and t-shirts to wear. Not many people sunbathed.
Buckets and spades would be very heavy to carry. They were made from metal, tin and wood.
People would watch Punch and Judy shows and walk along the promenade to watch a show, hear a band or sit and rest. Punch and Judy shows can be seen today but very rarely at a beach.
UK Beach holidays in the last 20 years have declined due to cheaper package holidays abroad.
RE
For the first part of the term, pupils will be exploring the question, ‘How do some people talk to God?’ They will begin the unit by considering why some people might choose to talk to God and the ways that some people pray. The children will then recognise how different people use their bodies to pray by exploring practices, and understand why some people use special objects and clothing during prayer. They will then explore Hindu prayer practices and the significance of special objects, and explore where some prayers come from. In the second part of the term, the children will be thinking about the question, ‘Where do some people talk to God?’
Knowledge:
To know that prayer means communicating with God.
To know that some people who follow the Hindu worldview believe that they can communicate with God through prayer.
To know that people pray in different ways in different places.
To know that objects, words and actions can represent an idea of belief.
To know that when some people talk to god they might use their body to show respect.
To know that some people talk to god in different ways and for different reasons.
To know that some people who follow the Muslim worldview carry out Wudu before prayer.
To know that some people who follow the Muslim worldview use special positions and actions during prayer called Rakat.
To know that within a community people have different values, ideas and beliefs.
To know that some people who follow the Hindu worldview visit the mandir to worship and pray with members of their community.
To know that some people who follow the Muslim worldview visit the mosque to worship and pray with members of their community.
Computing
In the first half term, learners will begin to understand what the term data means and how data can be collected in the form of a tally chart. They will learn the term ‘attribute’ and use this to help them organise data. They will then progress onto presenting data in the form of pictograms and finally block diagrams. Learners will use the data presented to answer questions.
Knowledge:
Data and information – Pictograms
To recognise that we can count and compare objects using tally charts
To recognise that objects can be represented as pictures
To create a pictogram
To select objects by attribute and make comparisons
To recognise that people can be described by attributes
To explain that we can present information using a computer
Programming B – An introduction to quizzes
To explain that a sequence of commands has a start
To explain that a sequence of commands has an outcome
To create a program using a given design
To change a given design
To create a program using my own design
To decide how my project can be improved
DT
In the first half term we will be doing cooking and nutrition, learning all about a balanced diet and making healthy wraps. The second part of the term, we will be doing textiles which will involve making pouches and learning about what different sewing techniques we can use.
Knowledge:
Cooking and nutrition
To know that ‘diet’ means the food and drink that a person or animal usually eats. To understand what makes a balanced diet.
To know where to find the nutritional information on packaging.
To know that the five main food groups are: Carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, protein, dairy and foods high in fat and sugar.
To understand that I should eat a range of different foods from each food group, and roughly how much of each food group.
To know that nutrients are substances in food that all living things need to make energy, grow and develop.
To know that ‘ingredients’ means the items in a mixture or recipe.
To know that I should only have a maximum of five teaspoons of sugar a day to stay healthy.
To know that many food and drinks we do not expect to contain sugar do; we call these ‘hidden sugars’.
Textiles
To know that sewing is a method of joining fabric.
To know that different stitches can be used when sewing.
To understand the importance of tying a knot after sewing the final stitch.
To know that a thimble can be used to protect my fingers when sewing.
Art
In the first half term our theme in art is The Sea where the children will focus on the work of Alfred Wallis and his seascapes. The children will develop their painting skills during the unit.
In the second half term we will be understanding the colour wheel and how we can create a colour wheel with natural dyes. We will learn about the process of dyeing and learn how to make patterns with dye from natural resources.Finally, we will learn about the Indonesian technique of Batik.
Knowledge:
A seascape is a picture of the sea. Alfred Wallis (18 August 1855 – 29 August 1942) was a British fisherman and artist known for his port landscapes and shipping scenes painted in a naïve style. Having no artistic training, he began painting at the age of 70, using household paint on scraps of cardboard. Many of his works of art are on display in Kettle's Yard in Cambridge.
Different plants can be used to create natural dyes.
Tataki zomé’ (Hapi Zone) Japanese art form where plants are hammered onto fabric to cause their pigment to pass to the fabric.
Caroline Ross is an artist living on a boat in Dorset who makes paints from foraged earth pigments from around the UK, and makes art tools and inks from natural, wild, and found materials such as oak galls, rusty nails, elderberries, bay leaves and cherry tree gum.
Sculpture is an art form created in 3 dimensions. Augusta Savage was an American sculptor who fought against racism to create a place for Black women in the world of art.
PE
In the striking and fielding unit, pupils will develop their understanding of the principles of striking and fielding games. They will develop the skills of throwing and catching, tracking and retrieving a ball and striking a ball. They will also begin to self-manage small sided games and will learn how to score points and play to the rules.
In the athletics unit, pupils will develop skills required in athletic activities such as running at different speeds, jumping and throwing. In all athletic based activities, pupils will engage in performing skills and measuring performance, competing to improve on their own score and against others. They learn how to improve by identifying areas of strength as well as areas to develop.
Knowledge:
Striking and fielding
Striking: understand the role of a batter. Know that striking quickly will increase the power.
Fielding: understand that there are different roles within a fielding team. Know to move towards the ball to collect it to limit a batter's points.
Throwing: know that stepping with the opposite foot to the throwing arm will help me to balance.
Catching: know to use wide fingers and pull the ball into my chest to help me to securely catch.
Tactics: understand and apply simple tactics for attack (batting) and defence (fielding).
Rules: know how to score points and follow simple rules.
Athletics
Running: know that running on the balls of my feet, taking big steps and having elbows bent will help me to run faster.
Jumping: know that swinging my arms forwards will help me to jump further.
Throwing: know that I can throw in a straight line by pointing my throwing hand at my target as I let go of the object.
Rules: know how to follow simple rules when working with others.
Music
In this unit we will be building on our previous experience of using music to accompany a story. Using well-known Fairytales and in particular, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, pupils will learn control of their instruments and group-based performance skills. The second half of the summer term will be time to ‘Revise and review’, in which all skills developed over the year will be revisited and improved upon. Instrumental techniques always require a regular refreshing and strategies for developing creative compositions will be further advanced in this way.
Knowledge:
Music can be used to represent mood or help tell a story.
Rhythms can derive from speech patterns.
Following a leader when we perform helps everyone play together accurately.
English
In English, we will looking at a range of text types. In this half term, we will be focusing on writing a non-chronological report and a newspaper report. We will look at some of the features we need to include when writing. We will magpie ideas from good examples to help us when we independently write our own and will be looking at verbs, conjunctions and expanded noun phrases. We will practise writing in the past and present tense, and using commas, question marks, and apostrophes.
Maths this Year!
Reminders
PE Kits: The children have PE on Mondays and Fridays, and need to come into school wearing their PE kits. We will have a mixture of indoor and outdoor PE lessons so please ensure your child's PE kit is appropriate for all weathers.
Reading books: Please make sure your child has their reading books in school every day and are recording their reading on our online reading log.
Spelling books: Children will have weekly spellings to practise and these will be sent home in a spelling book. Please can these be brought in every day.
Water bottles: Please make sure your child has a water bottle in class every day.
Home Learning!
We expect children to read daily. School books need to be in school each day.
Over the course of the week, we expect children to spend time learning their weekly spellings (year 1 and 2 common exceptions words or other words selected from their lessons), practise their maths skills (using Numbots and TTRockstars) and learn their Key Instant Recall Facts whilst working on their home learning project.
Recommended Home Reading!
If you would like to know what books we recommend for your child to read in Year 2, please look at the list below.
Year 2 Suggested Reading List:
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch - Ronda and David Armitage
Into The Forest - Anthony Browne
Gorilla - Anthony Browne
The Cat Who Lost His Purr - Michelle Coxon
Mr Wolf’s Pancakes - Jan Fearnley
Cat and Mouse Story - Michael Rosen
The Snow Lady - Shirley Hughes
Grace and Family - Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
The Adventures of Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey
Little Wolf’s Book of Badness - Ian Whybrow
Mrs Wobble the Waitress - Allan Ahlberg
Pirate School: Just a Bit of Wind - Jeremy Strong
The Guard Dog - Dick King-Smith
Emily’s Legs - Dick King-Smith
No Tights for George - Julia Crebbin
Princess Smarty-pants - Babette Cole
Prince Cinders - Babette Cole
Jolly Roger - Colin McNaughton
The Worst Witch - Jill Murphy
Horrid Henry Series - Francesca Simon
The Magic Finger - Roald Dahl
The BFG - Roald Dahl
George’s Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl
A First Book of Nature - Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld
The Big Book of the Blue - Yuval Zommer