This term we have begun our ‘magnificent monarchs’ topic in English and history, taking an overview of British monarchs from the past one thousand years. We have made a timeline of the royal houses/historical periods from 1066 to the present day, have mapped significant monarchs on to our timelines, have considered how the power of monarchy has changed, and will shortly be looking in greater detail at Eleanor of Castile and her home, Leeds Castle. We are continuing to learn the year 2 spelling rules in English, as well as focussing this term on extending our use of conjunctions in our written work. We will shortly be writing an information leaflet about Leeds Castle, incorporating correctly-used conjunctions, in addition to the grammar and punctuation rules we have learnt throughout the year. In class we will share Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, as well as Victoria Whelan’s Queen Victoria’s Bathing Machine and numerous non-fiction texts. These class books are in addition to our ‘reading practice sessions’ on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, where the children read their phonics books in small groups with guidance and support from a teacher. We hope you have continued to enjoy listening to your child reading their phonics books to you, and that you have valued the opportunity to share their weekly ‘book for pleasure’ at home. Thank you for remembering to return both books each Wednesday so they can be used by other children.
In maths we are learning about mass, capacity and temperature, before moving on to fractions (halves, quarters, thirds), and we are continuing to embed the x10, x2 and x5 times tables, including related division facts. Please support your child’s maths fluency by continuing to practise their times tables regularly at home (ideally daily) via the Times Tables Rock Stars website (log-on details were sent home last term). Children who would also appreciate extra support with their foundational maths skills are still able to access the Numbots website for additional practice with place value, addition and subtraction.
Animal survival is our focus in science this term, observing and recording the life cycle of a Painted Lady butterfly, and learning what animals need in order to survive and thrive. We are exploring Islam in RE, are enjoying learning about metre via Shostakovich’s orchestral pieces in music, and in PSHE are exploring relationships, including how to resolve issues with friends. Tennis and athletics (in preparation for sports day) are our foci in PE, and in computing we have started to learn how to use apps to generate and edit music. In DT we will learn how to make neat and accurate stitches, and in art we are studying portraiture, both via sketching and digital means.
It will be a very full term! Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support for your child’s learning.