Our Learning

Year 2 English

Approach

In English lessons, children are taught speaking, listening, reading and writing skills through studying a variety of styles of writing (genres).  Teachers follow the Teaching Sequence for Writing, which means that children will firstly be taught to read and understand the text, then practise the skills of the style of writing (including grammar) and apply into their own writing.

The Primary National Curriculum statements will be taught through the modules below.

Y2  English Coverage

The Year 2 English curriculum consists of the following modules.

Curriculum Content

Speaking and Listening

The children will become more familiar with and confident in using language in a greater variety of situations. They will, for example:

• Listen to and express views about a wide range of books and poems
• Retell familiar stories and discuss the order of events
• Build a bank of poems that they can recite by heart
• Clarify the meaning of words and extend vocabulary
• Join in with discussions, ask questions and explain their understanding
• Change their speaking for different purposes and audiences such as role play or performances

Reading

This part of the curriculum is broken down into ‘word reading’ and ‘comprehension’.

Pupils will be taught to read words fluently and speedily, using phonics as well as developing a growing bank of words that they recognise instantly.  They will also be taught to check their own reading makes sense, and to re-read to correct when something doesn’t make sense.

As well as being able to read words, children need to understand what they read and develop a life-long love of reading.  They will learn to do this through carefully structured activities using a wide range of high-quality books. They are encouraged to:

• Make links between their own experiences and the story
• Self-correct if what they are reading doesn’t make sense
• Answer questions about a text, including questions where the answer is not obvious eg ‘Why did the character say that?’
• Predict what might happen at various points in a story
• Work out why things have happened in a story
• Read a variety of non-fiction books

Recommended reading list:

Traditional Tales and Fairy Tales

• The Jolly Postman –  Janet and Allan Ahlberg
• The Paper Bag Princess – Robert Munsch
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf – Tony Ross
• Into the Forest – Anthony Browne
• Guess who’s coming for dinner? – John Kelly
• Little Red – A fizzingly good yarn – Lynne Roberts
• Little Chicken Chicken – David Martin
• Jasper’s Beanstalk – Nick Butterworth

Stories with recurring literacy language

• Once There Were Giants – Martin Waddell
• Stars of Mine – Kevin Crossley-Holland
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! – Mo Willems
• The smartest giant in town – Julia Donaldson
• Traction Man is here – Mini Grey
• A Dark, Dark Tale – Ruth Brown
• Oi! Get Off Our Train – John Burningham

Traditional Tales – Myths (creation stories)

• How the Whale Became – Ted Hughes
• Tiddalick the Frog – Susan Nunes
• Ahmed and the Feather Girl – Jane Ray
• How the zebra got its stripes – Justine & Ron Fontes
• How the camel got its hump – Justine & Ron Fontes
• How the turtle got its shell – Justine & Ron Fontes
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why giraffe has a long neck
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why lion ROARRRS!
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why monkeys swing in the trees
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why leopard has spots
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why chameleon changes colour
• Tinga Tinga Tales: why elephant has a trunk

Writing

Children will develop their writing through the following areas:

Spelling:

• Continue to spell words using phonics
• Learn commonly used whole words that are difficult to sound out
• Understand more patterns and rules

Handwriting:

• Form letters that are consistent in size
• Leave appropriate spaces between words

Composition:

• Plan what they are going to write
• Record their writing sentence by sentence
• Re-read and check for sense and accuracy
• Write for a range of purposes
• Develop a wide vocabulary
• Develop their understanding and accuracy of punctuation
• Use a range of words to join sentences and add detail

Year 2 Maths

Working mathematically

By the end of year 2, children will solve problems with one or a small number of simple steps. Children will discuss their understanding and begin to explain their thinking using appropriate mathematical vocabulary, hands-on resources and different ways of recording. They will ask simple questions relevant to the problem and begin to suggest ways of solving them.

Number

Counting and understanding numbers

Children will develop their understanding of place value of numbers to at least 100 and apply this when ordering, comparing, estimating and rounding. Children begin to understand zero as a place holder as this is the foundation for manipulating larger numbers in subsequent years. Children will count fluently forwards and backwards up to and beyond 100 in multiples of 2, 3, 5 and 10 from any number. They will use hands-on resources to help them understand and apply their knowledge of place value in two digit numbers, representing the numbers in a variety of different ways.

Calculating

Children learn that addition and multiplication number sentences can be re-ordered and the answer remains the same (commutativity) such as 9+5+1= 5+1+9. They learn that this is not the case with subtraction and division. They solve a variety of problems using mental and written calculations for +, -, x, ÷ in practical contexts. These methods will include partitioning which is where the number is broken up into more manageable parts (e.g. 64 = 60 + 4 or 50 + 14), re-ordering (e.g. moving the larger number to the beginning of the number sentence when adding several small numbers) and using a number line.  Children will know the 2, 5 and 10 times tables, as well as the matching division facts (4 x 5 = 20, 20 ÷ 5 = 4) and can recall them quickly and accurately. They apply their knowledge of addition and subtraction facts to 20 and can use these to work out facts up to 100.

Fractions including decimals

Throughout year 2, children will develop their understanding of fractions and the link to division. They explore this concept using pictures, images and hands-on resources. They will solve problems involving fractions (e.g. find 1/3 of the hexagon or ¼ of the marbles) and record what they have done. They will count regularly and fluently in fractions such as ½ and ¼ forwards and backwards and, through positioning them on a number line, understand that some have the same value (equivalent) e.g. ½ = 2/4.

Measurement

Children will estimate, choose, use and compare a variety of measurements for length, mass, temperature, capacity, time and money. By the end of year 2, they will use measuring apparatus such as rulers accurately. They will use their knowledge of measurement to solve problems (e.g. how many ways to make 50p). They extend their understanding of time to tell and write it on an analogue clock to 5 minute intervals, including quarter past / to the hour. They will know key time related facts (minutes in an hour, hours in a day) and relate this to their everyday life.

Geometry

Children will identify, describe, compare and sort common 2-D and 3-D shapes according to their properties (sides, vertices, edges, faces) and apply this knowledge to solve simple problems. They develop their understanding by finding examples of 3-D shapes in the real world and exploring the 2-D shapes that can be found on them (e.g. a circle is one of the faces on a cylinder). Children begin to describe position, direction and movement in a range of different situations, including understanding rotation (turning through right angles clockwise and anti-clockwise). They use their knowledge of shape in patterns and sequences.

Statistics

Children sort and compare information, communicating findings by asking and answering questions. They will draw simple pictograms, tally charts and tables.