Land Ahoy
Memorable Learning Experience
Year 2 started our new topic with our memorable learning experience. We created pirate ships out of junk modelling and then tested to see if they could float.
Land Ahoy
Memorable Learning Experience
Year 2 started our new topic with our memorable learning experience. We created pirate ships out of junk modelling and then tested to see if they could float.
Creating our boats
Locating seas and oceans around the UK
Geography
We looked at the different seas and oceans surrounding the UK. We identified the countries Captain James Cook visited and whether they were hot or cold in relation to the equator.
Testing which materials float and sink
Science
We investigated different materials to see if they would float or sink. We thought about how different weights and textures affected it. It took 36 pieces of lego to sink our toy boat.
Sketching boats
How much cargo will sink the ship?
Printing Pirate flags
Lighthouse circuits
Science
Following our learning about Grace Darling, we successfully made a circuit that we could use in a lighthouse.
The Pirate Cruncher Story Box
English
All our learning this topic was inspired through our texts – ‘Salty Dogs’ and ‘The Pirate Cruncher’.
History
We looked and researched information on famous sea explorers such as – Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and Henry Hudson. We found out what they discovered and when. We created a timeline of historical sea explorers right up to modern day. We found out about Grace Darling and her heroic rescue as well as looking at the evil pirate Blackbeard.
Towers, Tunnels and Turrets
Memorable Learning Experience
Year 2 started our new topic with our memorable learning experience. We went on a trip to Stafford Castle where we learnt all about how weapons and castles have changed over time. We made lavender bags and minted our own coins.
Art
We took part in a chalk festival where we looked at a variety of chalk techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching, side stroke, feathering to name a few. We then created our own chalk pictures inspired by the title of our topic.
History
We looked at ‘Castles through the ages’ and how they have changed. We thought about what it would be like to live there and these different types of castles inspired our DT work.
Computing
In computing, we used Lego We-do to create our own robots and programme them. We thought about how these could be used to explore different tunnels.
Science
We investigated how many sugar cubes we could use to build a tower and how tall we could make it. We thought about the different structures and how we could make them sturdier buy making the base of the tower larger. For our homework, we also made towers and explored the best materials to knock them down.
History
We learnt about the significant event – ‘The Great Escape’. We know that the prisoners called their tunnels, Tom, Dick and Harry to keep them secret and that only 3 people made it back home.
DT
Following our History learning about different castles, we planned how we could make our own structures. We looked at different joining techniques to make our castles strong and evaluated if these we effective.
RE
We learnt about the Jewish festival of Hanukkah and the miracle of the lamp. We created our own Hanukkiah (menorah) and discussed how this is symbolic to Jews.
Hanukkiah (menorah)
English
We we ‘immersed’ into our narrative Rapnuzel with the story box and ‘defined the space’ of Rapunzel’s tower which inspired our writing.
English
Our text ‘Dragon Machine’ prompted and unexpected arrival on the school play ground. Miss Moore and Mrs Ellerton told us all about their experience which inspired our writing.
Muck, Mess and Mixtures
Memorable Learning Experience
Year 2 started our new topic with a messy afternoon (with the help of Mrs Rose from Reception). We made sandcastle villages, shaving foam artwork, painted with mud and sticks, raced to fill our cups with cornflour, sorted through lots of coloured spaghetti and explored what happens when we mix cabbage water with vinegar and bicarbonate and soda. YUK!
Our ENGAGE afternoon.
Ask us what happened to the colours of our different mixtures.
Sorting spaghetti
In DT we have looked at freezing and melting. We melted chocolate and marshmallows and observed how they changed in appearance.
In English, we have read George’s marvellous medicine. We have loved role playing as Grandma and George and visiting story world.
Role play
We have made our own potions to help us with instructions.
Geography
We have looked at food around the world
Geography
We sorted food to see if it was grown abroad or in the UK.
Art
We looked at famous artists that use food for their media
Art
We made our own landscapes out of pictures of food.
Maths
We discovered why measuring accurately is so important in recipes by purposefully making the gravy too thick.
Art
We have created collages of food using a range of media.
Base 7 Art Gallery portraits
Base 8 
Art Gallery portraits
Year 2’s Art Gallery
Memorable Learning Experience
Base 8 Kings and Queen’s day
History
We looked at the Monarchs who have ruled over the British Kingdom and sequenced them in chronological order.
Year 2 had a visit from a Jester at our Royal Banquet. The Jester made us laugh by performing tricks and dancing.
Base 7 Kings and Queen’s day
Geography
We have looked at Royal Residences in the United Kingdom.
English
We looked at the features of an non-chronological report. We then wrote our own report all about Queen Elizabeth II.
History
We have looked at Royal Portraits of Monarchs and detected what they told us about the Monarch. We looked at the background, props, facial expression, body language and clothing that they were wearing.
Science
We have looked at our body and what organs it has to help us. We traced around our bodies and labelled where we thought they might be.
ICT
We have used the LegoWeDo to create and program a robot using coding.
Music
We have used percussion instruments to represent the speed of toys moving.
We used the iPads to research Queen Victoria. We found out all about her family life, the new laws she created and the traditions she brought in that we still use now.
INNOVATE
For our INNOVATE challenge we had to make our own board game. We created positive and negative impacts that the six sovereigns had on the United Kingdom. We enjoyed playing this.
Cooking
We have used our cooking skills to prepare some popcorn chicken. We had to use the claw technique to slice the chicken with a knife. We measured the flour and the herbs as well as cracked and whisked an egg. One the chicken was diced, we had to soak it in the egg, then roll into the herby flour and finally coat in breadcrumbs.
PE
We have focused on our kicking skills this half term in football. We have practised dribbling and striking.
Memorable Learning Experience
We went on a minibeast hunt in the woods to see what we could find. We rolled logs, looked under leaves and in the crevices of trees. We used mirrors and torches to take a sneaky peek into holes.; We observed the animals closely using magnifying pots and described how they moved.
ENGAGE DAY
Minibeast hunting
Maths
We have started exploring numbers to 100.
Science
We had to gently shake trees to see what minibeasts fell out. We used white sheets to collect them so that we could easily observe them.
English
We had some more clues in our story box for our new book, ‘Into the Forest’.
English
We created freeze frames to demonstrates scenes from the story. We had to think about our facial expressions and body language.
Computing
We have been looking at algorithms in computing. We made some instructions to find the minibeasts. We then blindfolded each other to test them out.
RE
We have made some prayer flags for our Re topic of ‘Losar’.
Computing
We used the BeeBots to program an algorithm of a bee’s journey from the hive, to flowers for nectar and then back to the hive again to make honey.
Maths
We used our money skills to take part in an Ester egg hunt. Each egg had different amounts of money in. We had to add up the total for all of the hidden eggs to win a prize.
Well done to Josh C, Savvy and Ieuan for being the winning team!
Science
We looked at how slugs moved. We search from some slugs to capture and then released them onto a piece of sugar paper. We then watched how the slugs moved and in which direction they went. We made observations together.
Disclaimer: No slugs were harmed in this lesson!
D&T
We looked at the 3 body parts of an ant, jead, thorax and abdomen. We used egg boxes to represent these body parts. We had to make holes to fit the pipe cleaners through for the legs.
Topic
We looked at how bees made honey. We then sequenced the order in which they do this to create our own honeycomb of instructions.
English
We looked at our new book, Cora the caterpillar. We discussed if this was a non-fiction or fiction text. We annotated the pages as a group and presented it to the class.
PE
In PE, we have looked at racket skills and practised striking.
Story world
We entered story world and met Cora the Caterpillar. She told us what she was up to and said she had an important job to do…
Innovate
As part of our innovate we made animations explaining the four stages of a minibeast life.
Memorable Learning Experience
As part of our ENGAGE day, Year 2 had a live webinar from the WWF for world Ocean day. We used iPads to go on google earth to fly to the coastal town of Whitby. We also looked at compass directions so that we could navigate through the towns.
Live Webinar
Science
We have started to look at erosion at the coast. We experimented with sand and water so we could see what happened to the sandcastle when water was poured onto it.