English Recounts and Reports We will begin by imagining what it was like to be in London in the time of the Great Fire (1666). The children will then write an imaginary recount about escaping from the fire, what would they save? They will learn about Pepys and pretend they are a child from that time and write a diary. Instructions How do you make bread? How do you make sandwiches? After practising instructional language the children will write their own set of instructions for making a sandwich. They will then develop instructions for ‘How to Train a Dragon’. Fantasy Worlds The children are introduced to The Dragon Machine and explore the character of George. They make predictions and write similes. They listen to and discuss other dragon stories and decide which they like best and why. Information Texts The structure & features of information texts are introduced by exploring fire engines. The children will make an information sheet which includes facts & labels. Year 2 Spring Term 2015 Welcome to term 2 of Year 2. I am looking forward to the term ahead because we have some exciting activities planned as part of our new theme. Fire! This is an exciting and imaginative topic which we will introduce through fireworks and firework festivals. We will focus on and celebrate Chinese New Year which will include dragon dancing. Fire breathing dragons provide a wonderful English stimulus and the fire brigade will be helping us find out about fire safety. The second half of the term will be history driven as we will be investigating The Great fire of London. Spring Class Texts The Dragon Machine by Helen Ward, George and the Dragon by Chris Wormell The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch Usborne Book of Big Machines Great Fire of London (How Do We Know About?) by Deborah Fox Please encourage your child to read anything and everything including non-fiction texts about the Great Fire of London and other dragon stories. Websites As the term progresses we will send further details in the Home School Diary of otherr websites that the children will be accessing as part of their learning.

Classroom Routines Reading Books: This year we have made arrangements to change reading books on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The children are responsible for putting any books that need changing in the box. Home/School Diaries: We will continue to provide weekly information on what we have been doing in class, what we intend to do the following week and any changes to our usual routine in the home school diary which will be sent home each Friday. If you put a message in the Home School Diary please remind your child to put it in the blue box as soon as they come into school for us to read. Homework: Homework will be set on a Friday and should be handed in by the following Wednesday. This will be a numeracy skills activity that reinforces a teaching point we have explored in school. We will also set weekly spellings to practise which link to our phonics work. Science The children will be exploring the various properties of materials and will go on to identify how they are used in different ways. We will find out what happens to materials when they are heated. We will consider reversible and irreversible changes through food! Maths This term our number work will focus on: Comparing and ordering two-digit numbers. Rounding two-digit numbers to the nearest multiple of ten. Solving word problems. Finding 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 more or less. Adding and subtracting 11,12, 13, 21, 22, 23 Using pairs to 10 to add and subtract single digit numbers from a 2- digit number. Counting in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Multiplication and division. Halves, doubles and quarters. Finding a difference using pairs to 10. We will also focus on: Shape: 2-d shapes, 3-d shapes, position and direction, symmetry Weight: Estimating, measuring and comparing weights using standard units. Money: Solving problems up to £1. Data: Using tables, lists and diagrams to categorise shapes. Time: Seconds, minutes, hours and days. Telling the time. PE This term our outdoor PE session will be a Monday afternoon. The children will need trainers and tracksuit trousers. It is important that the trainers have a good tread. We will be focussing on multi skills and invasion games. We will also be Chinese dragon dancing. R.E We will be exploring some of the Bible stories that illustrate why Jesus was special. We will then go on to look at the symbols associated with Easter and how the Church celebrates Easter. Computing The children are going to explore programming on-screen. They will plan a sequence of instructions and then program a spaceship. They will also try and work out how simple Scratch games work.