Term 1

We are using 'Emma Jane's Aeroplane' by Katie Haworth to inspire our writing.

We are writing a character description, a diary and a changed ending to the story. To help us do this, we will be learning about adjectives and spelling past tense words with an -ed suffix.

In our humanities learning, we will also write some short biographies about famous people linked with flight.

A big focus for us this term is capital letters and full stops. We know that the word I needs a capital letter, as well as names of people and places. We are practising our letter formation to make sure we do not have capital letters in the middle of words by accident. 

To help at home, practising writing lower and upper case letters would be beneficial. Children may find it helping to trace over some of yours to gain the appropriate size on a line. 

Term 2

In Term 2, 'Winter Sleep' by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss will be helping us to write a non-chronological report about hibernation. We will also write a setting description in the role of a hedgehog who is getting ready for hibernation. We will talk about making sentences longer with conjunction during this writing, as well as how to use commas in lists. 

Afterwards, we will use 'Little Red Reading Hood' by Lucy Rowland. This is an alternative fairy tale, and will encourage discussions about the similarities and differences from a reading perspective.

When we re-tell the story, we will capture this in writing, and we will write instructions to help others stay safe from the big, bad wolf! During these weeks, we will be learning new vocabulary to enhance our fiction writing and learn about the different sentence types. 

We are continuing to improve our handwriting, especially ensuring that ascending (t, d, h, k, l, and b) are clearly taller than the others. If you would like to help at home, it would be useful to focus on this.

Term 3

We will spend the first two weeks learning about a traditional tale from another culture. We will use our knowledge of fairy tales from last term to compare this story to one that we know. After exploring the main character's personality and making inferences about them, we will change part of the story and make up our own ending with a similar structure.

After learning about tales from another culture, we will start writing about dragons. We will be able to describe their setting well due to our knowledge from our history lessons, although our writing will also focus on other aspects too. We will write informative sentences about an imagined dragon, and write our own story about it. 

If you would like to help at home, please be on the look out for adverbs (they are usually ending in the letters -ly and describe an action). This might be in reading books or when practising spellings.

Term 4

In the first two weeks of term, we will complete Science based writing around plants - particularly leaves. This will help us achieve science objectives, and help us learn more about the structure and features of non-fiction writing. In particular, we will be thinking about subheadings when reading, and using factual rather than descriptive sentences. Our conjunctions should be throughout this piece of writing. 

Afterwards, we will be using a film clip to inspire our writing, and this will end with writing instructions for a treehouse. During our writing, we will need to apply our science learning to describe the setting, and we will look at adverbs of time rather than explanation. The children will learn what a command is and how this is different to a typical sentence. 

We will finish the term with a small section of writing to help us with our second enquiry of the term, again using a video. We will describe the setting of London in the 1600s. Role play will be used to allow the children to notice how different it was then.

If you would like to help at home, please be on the look out for different ways to start a sentence. Sometimes, this can be simple words, but more exciting sentences starters like 'In a flash', or 'Later that day', are often found in reading books and would be great to transfer into writing this term.

Term 5

Our writing this term will be heavily focused on the Great Fire of London. The children enjoy learning lots of facts during their History lesson, and this is put to good use in English lessons. 

We will start by writing a diary entry from the perspective of someone who was present when the fire was burning, such as Vlad the flea. When writing about these real events, the children will be thinking about sentence openers, adverbs and using the correct past tense verbs.

Afterwards, we will write a non-chronological report about the Great Fire, to bring together everything the children have learnt. We will be using technical vocabulary and formal writing terms, rather than our favoured informal tones. Where we can, we will also show off our understanding of apostrophes and other punctuation.

If you would like to help at home, please talk about things that have happened in the past. While they are doing this, make sure they are using the correct past tense verb, for example 'ran' not 'runned' and 'caught' not 'catched'. The topic of your historical conversation is up to you!

Term 1

Number and Place Value

We will be building on our Year 1 knowledge to help us understand numbers to 100. 

To help at home, you could talk about how many tens and ones are in a number, practise writing numbers in digits and words, and practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.

In school, the children will start to move towards a pictorial form of dienes, which means drawing the number of tens and ones in a number. This will be an important skill when moving into calculations with numbers.

Term 2

Addition and Subtraction

We will be slowly building up to adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers, for example 45 + 37 or 63 - 26.

We will learn to do this with dienes, so that the children have a method of drawing to help them each time they are given a question. This method links to place value, making it easier to understand, and helps with making the jump to mental methods. 

Please keep an eye on your child's Seesaw page, where a step-by-step example will be posted once the children have been taught it. To help at home, increasing speed at number bonds to 20 (e.g. 20 = 16 + 4) would be beneficial. 

Term 2

Shape

The children will be learning about more 2D and 3D shape names, including ovals, hexagons, octagons, pyramids and prisms. Once these are all named, we will start to describe how many vertices, edges and faces these shapes have. The children will sort the shapes to help them in describing similarities and differences, as well as completing patterns with them.

If you would like to help at home, please ask your child to name the shape everyday objects take. For example, a cereal box is a cuboid shape.

Term 3

Money

At the start of this topic, the children will start by counting different groups of money to give totals. We will move onto making the same total, by using different coins. The children will also compare amounts of money and answer word problems involving addition and subtraction. This will include calculating how much change a person needs after paying. 

If you would like to help at home, allowing children to count up any spare change you have would be helpful. Asking them to select coins to pay a simple amount would also be a good activity to do at the shops!

Term 4

Multiplication and Division

At the start of this topic, the children will start by counting equal groups and looking at picture representations of times tables. We will then look at multiplying and dividing by 2, 5 and 10 in turn, using these pictures to help us work out the answers. These pictures will not only be beneficial to the children working our arithmetic questions (such as 2 x 6), but more importantly allowing them to work out word problems.

If you would like to help at home, please practise counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. If your child is already able to do this, then please practise multiplication questions involving 2x, 5x and 10x. 

Term 5

Fractions

Understanding equal groups is a key part of fractions, so this will be our first stop. We will then look at half, quarter and thirds in both shapes and amounts. We will finish by looking at three quarters in both shapes and amounts. We will stop and complete mixed questions regularly as it is really easy for the children to forget how many groups they need, especially when we look at three quarters.

If you would like to help at home, please share opportunities to find half, quarter or thirds of things at home. This could be to share food with a relative or friend, or to break up an activity into chunks for example. Please ensure the parts are equal (or as equal as can be!)

Year 2 Maths Long Term Plan

Term 1

We are starting the year reading 'Marv and the mega robot' by Alex Falase-Koya. This is a book is about a boy whose super power is kindness and his "big heart", teaching us many important qualities as people. It has been chosen to enable conversations around these qualities as we settle into Year 2, but also due to the high-level vocabulary which can be taken into our writing lessons. If you would like to read the blurb, please click here.

Term 2

In Term 2, we are reading a lot of fairy tales. This will allow the children to talk about the characteristics found in fairy tales, and help them decide if they are reading one. We will be reading from the Usborne published book, as this has new vocabulary to the children in addition to some new stories. 

Term 3

To link with learning across the curriculum this term in Year 2, we will be reading 'The Boy who grew Dragons' by Andy Shepherd. This is a comical book, to allow the children to explore more exciting tones within their story writing, as well as increasing their base of imaginative ideas to draw from. The children will come across many new words within this story, which they can take into their dragon writing, such as glimmered and flickering. This story will also lead into conversations relating to secrets and friendships.  If you would like to read the blurb, click here

Term 4

Reading for pleasure is very important, so we will be starting the term reading 'Marv and the dino attack' by Alex Falase-Koya. The children requested this book over the others we had prepared since they wanted to know what Marv did next. This will also help the children with the Year 2 reading skill of being able to make predictions about a new book based on prior reading knowledge. If you would like to read the blub, click here.

We will read 'The 13 Story Treehouse' by Andy Griffiths after this. This book has been chosen to continue to develop the class' enjoyment of reading, due to the humour. This will help the children start to think about their author voice when writing, and to think about how exciting writing does not simply contain lots of description. It will also develop their resilience, in imagination, from discussing implausible events in the book. Furthermore, these implausible events will be used to inspire their writing about treehouses too. If you would like to read the blurb, click here

Term 5

We will read 'The Twits' by Roald Dahl to start this term. This book has been chosen to provide the children with less modern style of writing, which is still detailed and has vocabulary in new contexts for the children to learn. We will also use it to discuss how different books have different key ideas and themes. 

'The Owl who was afraid of the dark' by Jill Tomlinson will be after this, continuing a journey of beloved, older stories. This story will allow conversations about bravery and courage, as we are starting to learn about simple themes when reading. Due to it's repetitive nature, the children will also be able to continue learning about predictions linking to something that has already happened in the story.  If you would like to read the blub, click here.

How has air travel changed over time?

To answer this history question, we will look at different transport types and then the forms of flying in chronological order. We will talk about the different parts of a plane, so that we can also talk about how they have changed since being invented. We will learn about many important people, including Lilian Bland, who was born in Maidstone! 

Where in the world are we?

This is a geographical enquiry, where the children will learn about the continents and oceans. We will learn the names of these through some catchy songs, and then use globes and atlases to look at the different places. Learning about the equator will also help us learn about hot and cold places across the world. The children will finish the topic by talking about where they live (or do not live) to show off their understanding of the new words. 

Which castle in Kent is the best for protection, and why?

This is a historical enquiry. The children will start by learning about why the first castles were built, what they were like and how this compares to the castles they know. We will then explore the features of a castle, including geographical features, before learning about the people who lived here and what their lives were like. Throughout the topic, the children will be looking at examples of castles across Kent. When they come to answer the big question at the end of the term, they will see these castles again and use all of their learning to explain which one was best at protecting the people living inside. 

What changed because of the Great Fire of London, and why was change needed?

This is a historical enquiry. We will start by gaining insight into what it was like to live in 1666, including discussions about the jobs that were taken at the time. The class will then move on to becoming detectives - using a variety of sources to decide when, where, when and why the fire started - before they are shown what historians believe. They will also learn about important people, such as Samuel Pepys. Firefighting methods will be looked into, as well as the roles people played, to decide what changes needed to be made so that such an event would not happen again. We will use this to create a new-and-improved London scene.

Term 1- What is a microhabitat and what can I find there?

This is our first question of this year and it will only be short, as we will come back to it later in the year.

In Year 2, we need to know lots of animal names, and their habitat names; for example, polar bears live in the arctic. We will name plants and animals, especially minibeasts, that are common in our local area. Using our outside area, we will go exploring and match minibeasts with their microhabitats, observing them closely. 

To help at home, please name as many animals or plants that you know as you travel to and from different places, even just to school.

Term 1 and 2- How do I know if something is alive? Why can't animals live everywhere?

We will start this unit during term 1, but finish it before Christmas. 

We will start by talking about things that are living, non-living and dead, which will involve classifying a lot of objects into the three categories. 

We will deepen our understanding of animals, habitats and microhabitats, by talking about how we will only find animals in the places they are suited to. For example, a shark is a good swimmer, likes to eat fish and has gills to breath, so the ocean is a good place to live, rather than the desert. We will work practically by looking at minibeasts and their microhabitats around school, as well as conducting experiments where we can learn more about how animals keep warm and dry. 

To help at home, please talk about the plants and animals that appear around while you are travelling somewhere, and why they have chosen to live or grow in that habitat.

Term 3 - How do people choose materials when designing?

We will start this topic by revisiting many of the materials we learned about in Year 1, and using words to describe their properties. We will then begin to learn some new properties and apply these too, such as transparent and absorbent. We will experiment with materials to discover these properties.

After we are experts on what they materials are like, we will then begin thinking about why particular materials have been chosen for an object. We will also make sure that the wrong material is not chosen for an object!

To help at home, please talk about the simple materials that are used around the house. You could also ask questions such as 'What would happen if I poured water on this?' and 'Is this material stretchy?'

Term 4 - How do bulbs and seeds grow?

We will be discussing lots of learning from Year 1 and earlier in the year, since we need to remember the names of different plants around the school. 

In this topic, we will look at a selection of different bulbs and seeds, looking at how they are the same and different. We will learn about what they need to grow by reading some of the packaging and completing experiments after planting our own seeds. Bulbs have been planted all over the school, and we will use these to complete observations too. 

When we are finishing the topic, we will compare some fully grown plants and decide if they are healthy or if they need some help to grow better. We will also discuss which plants lead to fruits, vegetables and herbs that we can eat.

To help at home, talk some time to look at the plants growing in your gardens or around you while you walk in the local area. Which ones are young plants, and which are mature? Talk about the different parts of the plant that they see and how they think it will change over the next week or so.

Term 5- Can I still see the same living things?

This, again, is a short unit. We will revisit our learning from the first question of the year, exploring the school grounds to record data on the living things we see in April. We will compare this to what was found in September, and discuss what reasons there are for this. The children will talk about hibernation, and link their learning of seasons to what plants need to grow healthily.

To help at home, please name as many animals or plants that you know as you travel to and from different places, even just to school.

Term 5 and 6- What do I need to stay healthy and alive? How do offspring grow up?

In this unit, we will discuss animals, including humans. We start by looking at humans and what they need to survive, compared to what we wish to have for happiness. We will then look at different animals groups and find similarities. 

The class will also complete experiments to help with understanding healthiness. We will look the link between heart rate and exercise, as well as practically learning about germs and how important cleanliness is. 

At the end of the unit, we will look at the offspring for animals, and name them. We will also look at life cycles of humans and some animals, to discuss how they change as they age.

To help at home, please discuss the different food groups the children have in a meal - as these can be hard to remember. For example, bread is a source of carbohydrate and fish is a source of protein.