Canberra (Year 2)

Miss Gee

Class Teacher

Mrs Williams

Class Teacher (Thursday mornings)

Miss Last

Teaching Partner

Canberra's Topic for Term 4 is 'Japan'.

 

Early Morning Work

For the first half-an–hour of the day, Year Two practise and consolidate key skills in Maths and English. Children will read individually to the teacher during this time.  They will be heard at least once per fortnight.

Additionally, interventions will take place during this time of the day.

English

English is taught daily and units span a one or a two-week period and will develop the children’s reading, writing and speaking and listening skills. The children will also be taught new Punctuation and Grammar rules during these sessions.

This term our units of study are:

  • Traditional Japanese tales (2 weeks)
  • Explanation Texts (2 weeks) – linked to our Science ‘Life Cycles’ unit.
  • Preparation for End of Key Stage One Assessments (2 weeks)

To begin each English session, children will participate in a Phonics session, which will include revision of Phase 3 to 5 sounds, as well as coverage of new Phase 6 spelling rules. 

Maths

Maths is taught daily from Monday to Thursday.  Each unit is one or two weeks in length. The main focus of teaching is aimed at developing each child’s confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. They will work with numerals, words and the four operations, including lots of practical resources. They will develop their ability to describe, sort and compare different shapes. They will also use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. This term we will focus on:

  • Number: Fractions (2 weeks)
  • Reading Scales (1 week)
  • Preparation for End of Key Stage 1 Assessments (3 weeks)

Science

During Science this term, the children will undertake a ‘Life Cycles' unit. They will be developing their skills in:

  • Presenting information in different ways.
  • Using observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.
  • Recording information in the form of labelled diagrams.

Computing

This term Canberra Class will be developing their programming skills. The children will be learning how to:

  • Use screen turtles to create shapes.
  • Apply coding knowledge to create regular shapes.
  • Use coding blocks to move a sprite to a given destination.
  • Use sequences of instructions to reach a goal.
  • Use coding blocks to move a sprite in a given formation.

As always, the children will be encouraged to follow the school's SMART rules, so as to ensure that they use the internet and ICT equipment sensibly and safely. 

Religious Education

RE is taught in a focused block week at the end of term where the children learn about different religions and themes. RE is also supported during themed collective worship every day. This term the children will be exploring the Christian theme of 'Salvation' through the key question: 'Why does Easter matter to Christians?'

Geography

During Term 4 the children will develop their skills in Geography through a study of Japan. This will include:

  • Using an atlas to locate key places.
  • Exploring similarities and differences between Japan (a non-European country) and the UK.
  • Describing the human and physical features of a locality in Japan.
  • Exploring why Japan experiences more earthquakes than the UK.
  • Drawing a simple map which includes a key.

PSHE

During Term 4, the children's learning will continue to centre on 'Living In The Wider World'. They will explore how they can appreciate and respect British culture, as well as other cultures. The children will discuss how money comes from different sources and how it can be used for different purposes, and they will also go on to discuss the concepts of spending and saving.

Physical Education

This term in PE, Canberra class will participate in a weekly Hockey session with Miss. Berrington every Thursday. The class will also take part in a Yoga session with Mrs. Poolman on Wednesday afternoons for their Enrichment. These sessions will build on the children's previous experience and will allow children to enhance their co-ordination, balance and teamwork skills. Please ensure that they wear their PE kit to school on these days to allow them to make the most of these lessons. Longer hair will need to be tied up and jewellery removed.

Art and Design

During Term 4, the children will begin by creating their own Japanese-inspired pieces of art, with both Hokusai’s famous ‘Great Wave Off Kanagawa’ print and Japanese manga characters as different starting points for them. The children will go on to study well-known sculptors, who have used trees for inspiration, before creating their own bonsai tree sculpture.

Language

During Term 4, Canberra will be learning some basic greetings in Japanese.

More fun activities in Canberra Class...