Ruby Class

Welcome to Ruby Class!

I am Mrs Foster and I will be your child's Year 2 teacher.

Friday 12th July

It has been a great couple of weeks in Ruby class.

In English, we have been reading the book Rosie Revere Engineer by Andrea Beatty and the children are enjoying it.  They have been linking the characters from the book Ada Twist which we read earlier in the term by the same author.  We started the unit by the children being invited to join Rosie revere's Engineering Academy and the children were set the challenge to design a new bridge for the River Wear - they did an amazing job! Then using their designs the children built their bridges using Lego and they recorded a short explanation of how their bridge works on the ipads.  We have all enjoyed finding out about inventions such as the Cheese Hat, Hotdog Dispenser and the Cheese-helio-copter. The children have used these designs to create adverts, descriptions and explanations.

In maths, we have now finished our time topic. The children have been learning to tell the time for quarter past and quarter to and they have been working out time durations. We are now moving onto a short measures topic where the children will be comparing lengths, masses and volumes.  Over the last few weeks, I have been really impressed with the children's use of Numbots. They are passing so many levels that I cannot keep up with the certificates!  They can use Numbots at home during the holidays so that they can keep working on their number fluency.

In geography, the children have continued with our seaside topic. We have found out about beaches in the NE and around the UK so that the children could create a poster about their favourite. We have ended the unit by comparing a North East Beach (Seaburn) to a beach in Mombassa in Kenya.  Most of the children preferred the beach is Kenya and I can't blame them.  

In computing, the children have been learning to ask Yes/No questions to create binary trees (classification keys) to identify animals.  The children have used this learning to help them create a binary tree in science so that they could identify the characteristics of minibeasts.

Our PSHE learning this term has been 'Changing Me' and this week the children are been learning the correct names for parts of the body and how we tell the difference between boys and girls.  We have also discussed the importance of keeping private parts private and covered.  This week we have also be thinking about touches which make us feel comfortable such as hugging and high fives and those which make us feel uncomfortable such has hitting.

25th June  to 27th June

This Week, Year 2 spent three days in their new Year 3 classroom and they certainly made a good impression. They were hard working and well behaved and showed that they are more than ready for the transition into Year 3 in September. The children did lots of lovely work but really enjoyed the work they did on a book called The Iron Man by Ted Huges.

Friday 21st June

We have had a great week in Ruby class this week.  The children had a great visit to Hylton Castle on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they had a session with Walkwise to learn about road and pedestrian safety.

In English, the children have continued reading the book The Great Fire of London. This week the children have been writing in role as King Charles and creating awards for the people who helped during the great fire.  The children have continued to read Ada Twist and the Perilous Pantaloons in reading. This week, they been thinking about the vocabulary used and making inferences.

In maths, the children have continued to develop thier knowledge of the 2, 5 and 10 times table. They have been using what they know to explore if numbers can be divided by 2, 5 or 10. They have also been learning what happens when they divide a number by 0 or by itself.

This week, the children have started to make their puppets.  I was so impressed with their resilience on Wednesday and their sewing skills.  They just need to add their embellishments and they will be bringing their puppets home to show you.  In PE the children have been developing their athletic skills. They are having lots of fun practicing their running, jumping and throwing. Our geography focus this term is the seaside.  The children have been learning about the beaches which are around us and marking them on a map.  This week they were learning about the physical features of the coast which they may see when they visit a local beach.

Tuesday 18th June

Our visit on Tuesday was fantastic. The children learned all about the castle and they were able to explore lots of different dark and hidden away spaces.  All of the children were amazing and they loved the freedom they were given to explore.  We got to see and feel what the armour the knights would wear - the chainmail was very heavy!  After lunch, we went to the park and I set the children to go and find as many minibeasts as they could in the different microhabitats (this is our science focus this week).  Finally they had fun on the park - especially the roundabout and swings.

Friday 14th June

It has been an exciting week in Ruby class this week with the International Day of Play and designing glove puppets.

In English, the children have been comparing modern London with the London of 1666.  They have really developed their vocabulary and have created some great descriptions.  We have been reading an extract from Samuel Pepys diary and the children have started to write a speech to the King to ask for help.  The children have been using their spelling knowledge to add suffixes to the ends of the verbs they have been using in their writing. I can't wait to see the finished speeches on Monday.

In maths, the children have continued to work on multiplication and division.  They have been making links between the 2 times tables, doubling and halving. They are doing great and recalling their multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times table.  This week, we have also started to learn about how multiplication and division are linked and how to write division equations for the facts that they know.  The children have been using Numbots this week and lots of children have received a certificate in assembly for completing levels. The children have a weekly goal of 15 minutes so please encourage them to use the game at home.

The children have spent lots of time outside this week. On Monday, a coach from Durham Cricket came into school and the children loved their session.  After learning how we know that something is living, non-living or dead, the children had lots of fun exploring areas outside looking for objects for them to sort. 

Tuesday was International Day of Play and the children had lots of fun outside accessing OPAL and playing games.  On Wednesday, we had felt, needles and thread in the classroom as the children started to learn how to and develop their sewing skills - they did a super job.  Then they designed their animal glove puppet which they will be making next week - they are really looking forward to it.  This week in computing, the children were learning about Yes/No questions. They all enjoyed playing 'guess who' with the avatars and practicing the type of questions they could ask.

Friday 8th June

Welcome back to our final term in Year 2.  This term, our PE days will stay the same. The children will need their PE kits on a Monday and their swimming kits on a Friday.  We now have the earlier swimming slot so the children will return to school for home time.

This week, we have started reading 2 new books. In reading, the children are enjoying Ada Twist and the Perilous Pantaloons. They are enjoying the story and are working on making predictions and inferences based on what they have read so far. In English, we have gone back to The Great Fire of London and reading a book by Emma Adams.  This week the children have been developing their vocabulary so that they could describe the city of London today. After reading their amazing persuasive adverts about London, I know that I need to go and visit.

In maths, we have returned back to multiplication and division. The children have been recalling the facts for the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. They have been solving problems using the link between the 5 and 10 times tables. We ended the week by learning about the corresponding division facts and the children were doing a great job using what they know to find the answers. Please encourage the children to use Numbots for 15 minutes each week so that they can develop their number fluency.

We have started lots of new topics this week.  In geography our new topic is the seaside and we started by remembering what we know about the continents and the oceans of the world.  The children enjoyed using Now Press Play to visit the oceans of the world, find out a little about them and save a polar bear. Our new topic in science is living things and the children have been learning about how we know that something is alive using MRS GREN.  It was lovely this week talking to the children about their special places and why they are special to them.

Friday 24th May

This week the children have written some fantastic stories based on our book Toys in Space.  The children have really thought about how to describe what the toys could see in the night sky and the adventure that they would have.

In maths, we have completed our money topic and the children have been really successful in using their addition and subtraction to find totals and change.  This week, we have also been using Numbots to develop number fluency. The children have a weekly goal of using Numbots for 15 minutes each week. Please encourage them to use the game each week.

This week, we've had some amazing castle pictures and models completed for home learning. Thank you for supporting the children with this project this term. I have been so impressed with how fantastic the models and pictures have been.

Please look on our class dojo page which has the details of our upcoming trip to Hylton Castle.

Thank you for the donations of old clothes to help us complete our final art project this term.  All of the children have created lovely pieces of material art which you will be able to see at our art gallery during art week.

Have a lovely half term everyone!

Friday 17th May

In English this week, the children have been writing invitations to invite the aliens from our story Toys in Space to a party. The children have carefully thought about the toys, games and food that they would like to have at the party. 

In maths, the children have continued with their learning about money. This week, they have been comparing amounts, finding totals and finding differences using both coins and notes.  They have used Numbots this week to develop their number fluency. Please can you encourage them to use this online game at home.

PE this term has been based on tennis. On Monday, the children were practicing their ball handling and they did a super job of controlling the ball using tennis rackets.  This week in art, the children had to go into our trees to find stick. They brought the sticks back into class and had lots of fun using thread, ribbon and material to learn and develop their skills for knotting and wrapping.  The children need to finish these next week then they will be able to bring them home to show you.

This week the children have brought home the sunflowers they have been growing as part of our science topic.  They have really enjoyed planting and caring for the seedlings as they have grown.

Earlier in the term, Miss Green set the children the challenge of creating a castle using recyclable materials.  We already have one in school and I am looking forward to seeing what they children have made next week.

Friday 10th May

This week, we have moved away from dragon stories and to stories based in space.  Our book for our story time this term has been Cake in Space by Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre and the children and I are really enjoying the adventure of Astra. In English, we have started reading Toys in Space by Mini Grey and the children have written some great descriptions to describe the toys.

In maths, we have now finished our fraction unit. This has been brand new for the children as it is the first time they have explored fractions.  The children have shown super resilience and kept trying with the tricky jobs and they have all done great.  Our new maths topic is money.  Please can you support children with their learning at home by encouraging them to identify coins up to £2.  Encouraging the children to count coins in 2s, 5s and 10s as well as adding and subtracting coins to £1 would also really help them.

We have continued with our learning about this plants in science. The children are enjoying looking after the sunflower seeds that they planted at the start of the term. I know that they are looking forward to bringing them home before the holiday.  This week in science, the children were investigating what is inside a bean seed.  They were able to dissect a seed and use a magnifying glass to look closely inside before creating their own labelled diagram.

Over the last 2 weeks in art, we have been dying fabric - sorry for the stained hands and fingers!  The children have been exploring different ways of creating marks and rubbings on fabric before using brusho to add colour.  This week, the children really focused on the colours and the patterns they were using to create their artwork.

Friday 26th April

This week, the children have been set a challenge by Miss Green. She has asked the children to build a model castle using recyclable materials. The children need to bring their models to school during the last week of term.

In English, we have continued to read The Dragon Machine and the children have written some amazing descriptions to describe how the machine flew and crashed in the story.  We have continued to read Eric by Shaun Tan and this week we have been focusing on the tricky skill skill of making inferences.

In maths, we have begun a new topic of fractions which is new learning introduced in Year 2.  The children are using their past learning about equal and unequal parts and groups to help them identify fractions in different ways.  They are becoming more confident using fraction language such as one-half, one-quarter and one-third.

This week in science, the children have been learning about the best conditions for plant growth. We have started an experiment which will take a few weeks to investigate what a plant needs to grow.  This week in history, the children have been learning about motte and bailey castles and stone keep castles.  They have been identifying the key features of these castles.

It has been a lovely start to our new half term this week.  There has been a couple of changes to our PE days.  PE is now on a Monday and children will need to have their school PE kits in school on this day. On Fridays, the children are going swimming - they are very excited.

We started our new topic of Fictional Worlds and Fantasy stories this week and the children are enjoying both of out books.  We are reading Eric by Shaun Tan and The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward.  All of the children have written great letters of advice to our main character in The Dragon Machine to tell him what he needs to do to look after the dragons.

In maths, we have finished out addition and subtraction unit.  The children have been very resilient learning to cross the tens boundary and I am really proud of what they have achieved. Please remember that they can access Numbots at home to help build their number fluency.

We have started lots of new topics this week. In science, we are learning about plants and the children had lots of fun acting out the stages of the plant lifecycle.  This term, we are learning about castles in history and we had a great lesson finding out about William the Conqueror and The Battle of Hastings.  Please ask them about it and I am sure they could tell you some of what they learned.  For art this term, we have a focus of textiles and the children really enjoyed finding investigating paper weaving on Eednesday.

Friday 22nd March 

The children have worked really hard this week and I am so proud what they have done with their assessments.  There has still been time for the children to have lots of fun.

This week in English, we have be reading the poem The Owl and the Pussy-cat by Edward Lear.  The children have been able to join in reciting parts of the poem and they have used it to write letters as one of the characters. They really enjoyed today's lesson where there wore masks to be either the Owl of the Pussy-cat and used a microphone to interview each other about their adventure.

This week in maths, we have moved on adding 2-digit numbers.  The children have been doing lots of practical maths using the tens and ones to develop the addition strategies that they will need later in the unit.  Mrs Woodhall has set everyone a Numbots challenge to use the game for 15 minutes each week. If children can do this, there maybe certificates coming their way.  All of the children have their login details (which is the same for Times Table Rockstars) in the front of their spelling books if they would like to take part.

Here is the link:    https://play.numbots.com/#/account/school-login/16579 

This term in PE, the children have been going on an adventure to help them to develop their balancing, moving and co-ordination. We started by reading Freddie and the Pirates and the children have spent the last few weeks walking the plank (to escape the sharks) and using the stepping stones to cross the river (to escape the crocodiles). They have had great fun.

In science, the children have continued to learn about forces and we spent Monday testing lots of materials using magnets to find out if they were magnetic or non-magnetic. We have continued our learning about Kenya and the children are doing a great job telling me what they know about Kenya. Please ask them some facts at home. Last week, we were finding out about the animals of this country and today we were investigating the different types of landscapes.

In RE, we have been exploring the Christian story of Easter and the events of Holy Week. This week, the children were exploring the idea of salvation and how Christians believe Jesus died to save everyone from sin.  The children were amazing in our lesson this week and thought about what a Christian might consider being a sin and they feel about what Jesus did for them.

Friday 15th March

Over the last couple of weeks, we have celebrated World Book Day, welcomed visitors from China into our class and said goodbye to Mr Riley.  While this has all be happening the children have continued to learn and be the best that they can be.

In English, we have been using the poem If All The World Were ... by Joseph Coelho and this week all of the children have used their learning to write amazing memory poems.  They have carefully thought about objects that have special memories and how these can make us feel in happy.  In maths, we have completed our division unit and moved onto shape.  The children have shown they have a super understanding of 2D and 3D shapes and they have become confident using lots of shape vocabulary such as polygon, sides, vertices, edges and faces.

The children have been learning about Kenya for your geography topic. they have been exploring the climate, finding out about the landscape and learning about the animals of this country.  In science, the children have been investigating forces and they had lots of fun exploring magnets. For British Science Week, the children were researching animals which became extinct over time and they made some amazing posters about the animals they had found.

Friday 1st March

We have had lots of fun in Ruby class this, from tasting fruits and vegetables to making cars.

In science, we have began our new topic which is all about forces and magnets.  The children have been learning about pushes and pulls and the objects which need these forces to move.  The children explored our school on Monday looking for places where they use the push and full force.  In DT, the children have been thinking about what makes a healthy snack. They had lots of fun trying some different fruits, vegetables and a fruit smoothie.  They have designed their own healthy snack and I know they are looking forward to making them next week.

We have continued learning about division in maths this week.  The children have been learning to use division vocabulary such as dividend, divisor and quotient. They have also been learning how they can use their multiplication knowledge to skip count and find the answer in division questions.  Today, the children have been learning about how Nissan make cars. Then they worked in teams to build a car before taking it to the hall to race!

Friday 16th February

In English this week, we have continued to read The Minpins by Roald Dahl and we are all enjoying the story.  Using the story, the children have been learning to include suffixes and apostrophes into their sentences. We ended the week with the children writing a short report on the Minpins and using the vocabulary work we have done this week to help them describe.  Our reading has been based on A Book of Bears and we have learnt so many facts about the different species of bears.  The children have been learning how to make inferences about a text and find evidence to support their answer.

In maths, we have continued to practice the 2, 5 and 10 times tables. Please encourage the children to practice at home. We have also moved onto division as our topic. This is new learning for the children and they have made a great start to learning what division means and how they can use their times tables to help them.

We completed our history topic about Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus this week.  The children have been able to use everything they have learned about these famous explorers and decide who was the most significant.  This week has been all about finishing our 3D sculptures.  The children have used clay to make a model digeridoo then they used a variety of tools to create a pattern based on what they have learned about aboriginal art.  The children then chose some aboriginal inspired colours to paint their sculptures.  I am sure they enjoyed sharing them with you when they brought them home yesterday.

Friday 9th February

This week, we have been reading The Minpins by Roald Dahl and the children are really enjoying the story.  They have been thinking about the main character Little Billy and how he would be feeling at different parts of the story.  The children have created great descriptions to describe how Little Billy feels and thinking carefully about their word choices.  In reading, we are now reading A Book of Bears by Katie Viggers and we are all enjoying learning about the different species of bears and their habitats.

In maths, we have been focusing on doubling and halving.  The children have been using their knowledge of the 2 times tables to help them double and half two-digit numbers.  We have also been thinking about different ways that we can partition numbers using tens frames, bar models and part-part-whole diagrams.

In art, the children had lots of fun practicing their designs, based on aboriginal art, for their digeridoos.  They have carefully thought about the patters, shapes and colours that they would need to use.  I know they are looking forward to making their final art pieces in clay next week and I am looking forward to the results.

In history the children were learning about the the achievements of Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus and they worked together in pairs to discuss which achievement they thought was the most significant and why. 

In science, we continued our learning about everyday materials.  This week, we discovered that some materials needed to be heated so that they can be changed.  The children enjoyed making chocolate rice krispie cakes but they loved eating them more. There was chocolate everywhere!

This week, we have also thought about being safe on the internet.  The children thought about different situations when they are online and how it could make them feel. They created jigsaw pieces to give advice to others about how to be safe and kind online.  

On Friday, everyone was thinking have Children's Mental Health and it was lovely to see the children coming to school dressed in clothes that make them who they are.  The children have really thought about how everyone has a voice and it is important that everyone can share it. 

Friday 2nd February

This week in maths, we have continued with our multiplication topic.  The children have been solving lots of times tables in real life contexts. We have now moved onto learning that doubling is what happens when we multiply numbers by 2.  The children have shown that can even double two-digit numbers by using their tens and ones knowledge.

In English, the children have written some interesting reports all about bears.  They have been able to use subheadings for each of their sections and they are more confident using conjunctions to extend their sentences.  This week, we have started our new book The Minpins by Roald Dahl.  Today they have had lots of fun creating monsters for the Forest of Sin. I am looking forward to their descriptions of these monsters next week.

In history, we have moved on from learning about Neil Armstrong and we have started to learn about Christopher Columbus.  This week, we have learned about his life and why he was a significant explorer.  The children created timelines and factfiles about why we remember him. In PE, the children have moved onto developing their ball skills.  Yesterday, they were developing their speed and control when moving a ball around their body.

Friday 26th February

In English this week, the children have written some amazing stories about a scary creature hiding in the house.  I have really enjoyed reading about spiders, clowns, wolves and snakes!  Then we have moved on to thinking about what we already know about bears and sorting facts from fiction.  The children found lots of facts and we are going to use them to write information reports all about bears.

In maths, we have continued with our multiplication topic.  the children are experts at counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.  They are becoming more confident at using the facts to find the products to multiplication expressions. This week, lots of our work have been around context problems where the children have needed to find the maths in the problem so they can find the answer.

The children loved our science lesson on Wednesday.  We used Now Press Play to visit a recycling centre so that we could find out about different types of materials. Then the witch came, stole Scruffy the dog and turned him into plastic.  The children went on an adventure to change objects into the suitable material and rescue Scruffy. 

In history, we have started to learn about Neil Armstrong.  We have created a timeline of his life then on Friday we began to learn all about the moon landing.  We even watched a video of Neil walking on the moon.  

In PE, we continued developing our gymnastic skills.  This week we had to practice our different balances and shapes on the small and big equipment.  We learned about the tuck, pike and straddle.

In computing, we continued our coding learning, This week we had to help the magician make the rabbit disappear and reappear using timers.  The children can access purple mash at home and have a go at jumping monkeys program which I have set as a 2Do.

Friday 19th January

This week, we have finally met the scary bear under the stairs and it turn out to be a pile of clothes! The children have really enjoyed The Bear under the Stairs by Helen Cooper.  They have written fantastic letters back to William to give him advice about the bear and today they have started to write their own version of the story.

In maths, we have continued our multiplication topic and we have been working on the 2 times table and the 10 times table.  The children have learned all about factors and products and how the factors can be swapped around.  Please encourage the children to learn their times table facts.

In science, the children have been learning about the properties of materials and why they are suitable for different jobs.  The children had lots of fun making boats out of wood and paper. They then tested their boats to see which material was the best choice.

In art, the children have been learning about aboriginal art signs, symbols and patterns.  They have done a great job creating their own designs for a digeridoo they will make later in the term.  If you have any cardboard tubes at home, please could the children bring them into school so that they can practice their designs.

The children had lots of fun in PE yesterday where they were practicing their different balances but this time they were using apparatus to make the balances ever trickier.  We also continued our coding lessons and the children enjoyed turning a frog into a prince when he collided with a princess.

Friday 12th January

Welcome to our new term everyone.  It has been lovely to see everyone after the holidays.

Please have a look at our termly overview so that you can see what we will be learning over the next 6 weeks.

Our PE days have changed.  We do PE on a Tuesday and Thursday and children must bring their PE kits onto school on these days.  Please can you include a pair of dark leggings or jogging bottoms as the children will go home on both days in their PE kits.

This week, we have started our new English unit based on the book The Bear Under the Stairs by Helen Cooper.  This sneaky bear has been leaving lots of things around our class week for us to investigate but we haven't been able to see him yet.  The children have written some fantastic letters this week using statements and questions.

In maths, we have started a new topic around multiplication.  This is new learning for the children with concepts and vocabulary that they haven't seen before and they have made a fantastic start.  To support the children's learning, please encourage them to practice counting in 2s, 10s and 5s when you can.  

We have started a new gymnastics unit for PE and the children showed lots of resilience when trying their point and patch balances on Thursday.  The children had lots of fun learning how to code and add 'when clicked' events into a computer program to make the planes move - especially when they could make them collide.

Please remember to encourage the children to read a little every day and to bring their blue bags and red folders to school every day.  Also, it would be great to see the children using Numbots once a week at home to help develop their number fluency skills.

Friday 15th December

Thank you to everyone who made it to our Christmas crafts on Wednesday.  The children had a great time making all things Christmas.

In English, the children have been learning about how water travels around the earth so that everyone can reuse it.  The children have used what they have learned to write an excellent information text all about the water cycle.  They have all tried to use a range of conjunctions to add more detail to their sentences and they have done a fantastic job.  In maths, we have continued with addition and subtraction but this week it has all been about adding and subtracting multiples of ten.  The children are becoming more confident drawing representations of the numbers they are using to help them with their calculating.

In RE, we have continued to think about why Christmas is important to Christians and this week the children have been discussing what Christians are thankful for Jesus and Christmas.  The children also finished their advent wreaths which they will be bringing home next week.  On Thursday, the children met Mr Reilly who will be working in our class and teaching the children during the spring term.  Also on Thursday, the children used boxes, wheels and axles to make their conservation vehicles.  The vehicles looked amazing and the children really enjoyed decorating their vehicles to show where the scientists would be using them to help look after the animals in their habitats.  To end our geography topic this term, the children explored important landmarks on our school site and then they worked in groups to create maps of our school for new visitors.

Friday 8th December

The children loved Christmas Jumper Day yesterday.  They had lots of fun taking part in the Santa Dash and really enjoyed their Christmas lunch.  Of course, on Tuesday the children loved their visit to Silksworth Ski Slope to go snowtubing and to meet Santa.

This week, we have moved onto new stories in reading and English.  In reading, the children are enjoying learning about animals which became extinct in the past.  They have been using their retrieval skills ro find facts and using these to compare animals such as cows and the Stellar's sea cow.  Our new book in English is called We Are Water Protectors and we have been learning all about the importance of protecting our water.  The children have created a river to show why water is important to us and they have written some lovely poems to describe the sounds of the waterways near us.

In maths, the children have continued with addition and subtraction.  We have been learning to partition our numbers to help us subtract and add which has been tricky.  I'm so proud of the resilience the children have shown because they have kept going until they got it. We have now moved onto adding and subtracting ten from two-digit numbers and the children are developing their problem solving skills to solve problems in different contexts.

Last week, Shaun, from IM Church, came to talk to the children about why advent is important to Christians.  We found out about the advent wreath and what churches do to prepare for Christmas.  The children really impressed him with their knowledge of the Christmas story.  To follow this, the children have made a Christmas wreath and it will be coming home soon.

The children have designed their conservation vehicles this week so that they can go out into the world to protect animals and their habitats. They are really looking forward to make their vehicles next week.

If you have any cereal boxes at home, please could the children bring them into school as we will be making our vehicles.

The children have really enjoyed our computing lessons over the last 2 weeks.  They have had lots of fun learning how to compose digit music on the ipads.  They are really developing the skills needed to create a piece of music which represents different feelings.  I have included a QR code in the slide show below if you would like to hear some of the children's compositions.

Friday 24th November

This week, we have finished reading There's a Rang-tan in my Bedroom.  We have all really enjoyed this story and it has taught us lots about the conservation of the rainforests.  The children have created some lovely posters in our last reading session to show what they have learned.  We have started a new book called Lost Species by Jess French and I am sure the children will enjoy finding out about extinct animals. The children have been writing their own stories based on The Journey Home this week and I have loved reading them.  They have all thought carefully about the adjectives they use to describe to add detail to their sentences.

In maths, we have continued to practice counting forwards and backwards to 100 in 1s and 10s.  They children have been learning how to use the number facts they know, such as making ten, to add and subtract a single-digit number to and from a two-digit number.  This week we have been crossing ten with our addition and subtraction and the children have shown great resilience and kept going with using what they know to help them.  This term, we are also focusing on number fluency so please encourage the children to use numbots at home to help them with this.

Our science this term is all about electricity. The children have really enjoyed learning about electric circuits over our last couple of lessons.  We have used role play (and tennis balls) to find out how electricity moves around a circuit and the children really enjoyed using the real components make simple circuits this week. Over the last couple of weeks in RE, we have been focusing on the Christmas story and why the birth of Jesus is important to Christians.

Thank you for sending Lego into school last week. The children really enjoyed using it to explore how to form wheels and axles to make vehicles.  This week, the children used what they have learned to design a conservation vehicle so that they can go into an endangered animals habitat to help them.

Friday 10th November

The children have had a great start to this half term.  In English, our theme is Creation and Conservation and the children are really enjoying both of the books that we have been reading.  In our reading sessions, we have been reading There's a Rang-tan in my Bedroom. It is a lovely book all about the destruction of the orangutan's habitat and the children have been developing their inference skills linked to the character's feelings.  They have been learning how to help explain their answers using evidence from the text. In our English lessons, the children found mysterious footprints around school and they have created posters to try and find the mystery animal. It turned out to be a dodo.  They children are learning about some animals are endangered and they have created fact files about some extinct animals.

In maths, we have continued working on addition and subtraction fluency for numbers upto 20.  We have really focused on being able to find the difference when the information is presented in problems, pictograms and barcharts. This week, we have started a new focus which will be addition and subtraction to and from two-digit numbers.  The children are enjoying using the maths equipment to help they explain their understanding.

We started our new geography topic today which is all about our local area.  We have started by learning about the 7 continents and the children have really enjoyed singing along to the continents song ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6DSMZ8b3LE ). This week, we have zoomed into the UK and we have been learning about the countries and the capitals.  Our DT this term is all about wheels and axles and the children enjoyed exploring different toy vehicles to see how they work. They are looking forward to making their own vehicles next week using Lego.

Friday 13th October

In English, this week we have continued to learn about wolves.  The children have written some fantastic character descriptions of the Big Bad Wolf and I have been really impressed with the vocabulary they have been using in their descriptions. We have all found out so much about wolves - please ask them and i am sure they will enjoy sharing some of the things they have discovered.

In maths, we have been adding 3 numbers and using our pairs to 5 and to help us.  We have also been practicing counting to 100, and in 2s, 5s and 10s. 

This week, the children have been finding out about why we have Black History Month.  We have been finding out about the stand that Rosa Parks took about where people could sit on a bus.  We are learning a poem called Rosa Takes a Ride so that we can share it in assembly next week. In history, we have continued to learn about the Great Fire of Gateshead and Newcastle and this week we were focusing on how the fire spread so quickly.  We had a great computing lesson yesterday and the children have created some fantastic paintings using repeating patterns.

Friday 6th October

This week in English, we have started a new book called Wolves by Emily Gravett.  The children have been learning about the differences between fact and fiction.  The children were set a challenge by one of the Little Pigs to find books about wolves in the school library.  We are going to use the information we have found out write an information leaflet for the Little Pig. In reading, we have started to read Cinderella: An art deco fairy tale.  The children have been using pictures in the story and the actions of the characters to make inferences about the characters.

This week the children have been partitioning two-digit numbers into tens and ones and using these facts to find the missing numbers in equations.  I have been really impressed with their knowledge of two-digit numbers and how they have used this to solve problems.  We have started a new unit which is calculating numbers to 20.  The children had lots of fun this morning adding 2 addends using tens frames, part-whole models and writing the matching equations.

In Re, the children have been learning about Muslim's having 99 names for Allah and how nicknames can tell people about what is special about us.  In history, we have moved on from the Great Fire of London and started to learn about the great Fire of Gateshead.  Please ask the children about it as I'm sure they would love to tell you about.  The children have been exploring how we can stay healthy through diet and exercise in science and the benefits that this can have for us.  Finally, in art, the children have created some amazing artwork based on the artist Kandinsky's style.  I'll make sure I add some photos of their artwork next week.

Welcome to our weekly update.  The children looked great today all dressed in green.  I will add some photos next week so that you can see.

In English this week, the children have written a sequel story for Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  I have really enjoyed reading their stories of what happened when Goldilocks and Baby Bear met when they were older. This week, we have finished reading The Spider and The Fly and the children have been discussing the message in the story. I have put the link below if you would like to watch a video of the book that we have read. 

The Spider and The Fly

The children have continued to learn about the number 20-99 this week.  They are fantastic at counting to 100 and they have used this knowledge to help them add missing numbers to number lines.  The children have also been comparing two-digit numbers and using concrete resources to make the numbers to help them. We ended the week by looking at partitioning the two-digit numbers into tens and ones.

We have continued our learning about The Great Fire of London this week.  The children were historians on Thursday and they used sources such as newspaper reports and Samuel Pepys diary to find out why they fire spread so quickly. On Tuesday, the children enjoyed the PE session with Lauren, French with Madam Armes and music with Laura.  They really enjoyed playing the glockenspiels. 

This week, I have given all of the children a copy of the Numbots logins so that they can access this website at home to support their number fluency.

Numbots Website

Friday 22nd September

In English this week, we have been been reading a book called Me and You by Anthony Browne.  This is a different version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.  We have used this story to compare how there can be different versions of the same story.  Today we have been thinking about what would happen if Goldilocks and Baby Bear met when they were older so that we can plan a sequel story for our writing next week.

In maths, it has all been about multiples of ten.  We have practiced counting forwards and backwards in ten and finding ten more and ten less than a number. To help us be more efficient with our counting, we have practiced grouping large groups of objects into groups of ten and seeing how many extra ones that we had.  We used this to start our learning about writing 2-digit numbers.

We continued learning about mixing colours in art this week. We investigated what happens when we add white, black and grey to a base colour so that we could make tints, shades and tones.  During PE, we are learning learning green challenges so we are learning to sidestep and pivots, skip with high knees and hopscotch forwards and backwards.  The children are really showing their resilience as some of the skills are tricky but they keep trying.

In history this week, we have continued learning about The Great Fire of London.  Today, we have spent time learning about what life was like in 1666 and comparing it to life in the present.  We ended the week with Now Press Play.  We went on an adventure to another planet to learn about what humans need to survive.

Next week is Meet the Teacher and I am looking forward to inviting you into our class at 3:20pm to talk about our day and routines.

Friday is 'Green Day'.  The children can come dressed in green on the day and there will be treats available for the children to buy at playtime.  We will be having a coffee mornings at 9am and 2:30pm.  it would be great to see you there!

Friday 15th September

Welcome to our first update of the year.  The children have made a great start to Year 2 and they are settling well into our new routine.  It has been lovely getting to know the children over the last week.

In English, our topic is called A Twist in the Tale and we are focusing on fairy tales and traditional tales in our reading and writing.  This week we have been reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the children have created fantastic wanted posters to find out where naughty Goldilocks is.  For our reading, we have started the poem The Spider and the Fly and the children enjoyed finding out facts about spiders and flies before we started reading.  

This term in maths, we will be focusing on numbers to 100 and this week we have been counting in multiples of 10.  The children had lots of fun yesterday using ten sticks to measure things in the classroom.  It would be great if you could encourage the children to practice counting to 100 over this term so that they become really familiar with the numbers.

We will be focusing on history this term and we will be learning about The Great Fire of London.  The children really enjoyed using Now Press Play last week to be transported back in time to 1666 to learn about what had happened.  In art the children are learning about mixing their own colours including tints and tones and they are using what they have learned to create artwork on Purple Mash - this week they were creating impressionist paintings!  The children are really enjoying PE, especially our warm up where they get to play Rock, Paper, Scissors.  

Reminders:

Please can the children have their PE kits in school on a Tuesday and Thursday.  Please can it be a school PE kit of black or blue shorts and a white or blue t-shirt.

Please can the children read every night at home to develop their fluency.  All of the children have reading record and it would be great if you could use it to let me know how the children are reading at home.

I have added some pictures below so that you can see some of the things the children have participated in over the last week.