Year 2B 2023-2024

Mrs Patel, Miss Ramsden and Mrs Bullen

 

Upcoming events:

2nd February - NSPCC number day. Children are welcome to come to school with a number themed outfit.

7th February - Year 2 class assembly 2.30-2.55. Parents are welcome to attend.

15th February - Year 2 reading afternoon 2.30-2.55.

 

 


PE

Tuesday and Friday.

Please make sure you bring your PE kit in a bag on these days. PE kits can be left in school in our classroom PE box.


Reading

Please bring your reading books and records into school everyday so we can listen to you read in school.

We encourage parents and carers to read with the children at home to help them become a more confident reader.

This half term we are reading...

Mother Teresa (Little People, Big Dreams)

Malala's Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzi 

Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen

Mr Big by Ed Vere

The Secret Sky Garden by Linda Sarah and Fiona Lumbers 


Spellings

Please bring your red spelling book into school every Tuesday. Our weekly spelling test will be every Tuesday and you will get new spellings to stick into your red spelling book. 

We encourage children to practise their spellings at home.

Y2 Group 3 Spellings


Year 2 Spring Curriculum Letter 

Have a look at what we are learning this term!

Year 2 Spring Curriculum Letter


 


Year 2 Autumn Curriculum Letter 

Have a look at what we are learning this term!

Year 2 Autumn Curriculum Letter


 

In art we have been studying the artist Christy Brown, who had cerebral palsy. Because of his condition, Brown was unable to use his hands to paint, so instead created beautiful paintings with his feet. We had a go at painting in the style of Christy Brown. It was lots of fun, but much more challenging than we thought it would be. 


In P.E this half term we are doing gymnastics. In this lesson we were practising different shapes that we can make with our bodies and different ways to balance.


 

In English this week we have been looking at instructions. We made our own jam sandwiches and then had to write a set of instructions for someone else to follow.


We had so much fun at the KS1 Christmas party. We played games, dances, ate a feast and met a special visitor! 

 


We went to the Victoria hall with KS2 to watch the Mayor's Christmas Ball. We listened to the orchestra and the choir, laughed with Buddy the elf and Santa and we got to join in with some singing. We had lots of fun. 

 


In P.E we had lots of different equipment out and practised the different ways we could travel along it. 


Year 2 went to Bury Fire Training centre to learn all about what we need to do in an emergency. We learnt what number we had to call and how to stop, drop and roll. We also looked at different rooms in a house and thought about what we could do to prevent a fire.


In art we looked at the artist Cesar Manrique, who is famous for creating amazing wind sculptures. We designed and made our own wind sculptures using plastic bottles.


In science we have set up an investigation to find out what plants need to grow. Each group has planted some seed and they have put their plant pots in different places. One is in the fridge, one is in the cupboard, another is in a tray, one is on the windowsill and one is outside. We will look after them over the next few weeks and see what happens.


In Guided reading we have been studying an autumn poem. In groups we came up with actions to match the words of the poem and performed them to the rest of the class.

In PSHE we learnt about the Green Cross Code. We then went on to the car park to practise crossing the road using this code. In class we created storyboards to explain the Green Cross Code.


 

 


We went to The Hive at Moss bank park to learn about plants and to create some environmental art. We had an amazing day and our teachers were very proud of how we represented St Matthew's.


In science we were observing what happens to trees during the autumn season. We painted some observational pictures.

 


In P.E we have been practising our communication and teamwork skills.


Y2B 2023/25

 Welcome to our class page 

Class team - Miss Burkmar and Miss Ramsden

 

 

Upcoming events:    

This half term parents are invited to come in and read with their child every Thursday morning at 8:40am to 8:55am. This will start on Thursday 20th April. 

Thursday 20th April - Y2 meet the teacher - 2.30 - Buttercups classroom.

Tuesday 25th April - Eid party - the children can come to school in their party clothes.

Thursday 27th April - Buttercups trip to EUREKA. The children will be back at school by 3.45.

WB Monday 15th May - KS1 SATs.

WB Monday 12th June - Phonics Screening Check

 

 

 


This term our PE days will be Wednesday and Friday. Please make sure you bring your PE kit in a bag on these days. 


Please bring your reading books and records everyday so we can listen to you read in school. 

 

This half term we are reading…

 

As a class during Spring 1, we are focusing on these 5 books:

Rhyme Crime by Jon Burgerman

This is not my hat by Jon Klassen

Eyes that kiss in the corner by Joanna Ho 

Beegu by Alexis Deacon

The boy who sailed the world by Julia Green 

 

In our English lessons we are reading:

George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl

Mr Bunny's Chocolate Factory by Elys Dolan

 


Have a look at what we will be studying this term

Buttercups summer curriculum letter

 


Theme Curriculum Overview for Summer 1-2

Medicine Woman - Elizabeth Blackwell

‘Medicine Woman’ is a competency-based thematic unit with a history focus, telling the inspirational story of Elizabeth Blackwell. She is famous for being the first woman to graduate from medical school and the first female Doctor of Medicine in modern times. Pupils will learn, through her life story, all about her achievements and ongoing legacy.

Going Wild

“Going Wild” is a thematic unit based around humans and animals, with a science focus. Pupils will look at humans and animals, beginning with characteristics of living and non-living things through to classifying birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. There will be a particular focus on looking after animals and pupils will learn about extinction, wildlife conservation, habitat destruction and endangered species.


Summer 1 Spelling Overview

Spelling books (small red home books) need to be in school every Wednesday.

Spelling test will be every Thursday!

We ask the children to practise their spellings at home because this will help them to become a more confident speller.

A list of the weekly spellings are attached below.

Summer 1 Year 2 Spellings List

 


Theme Curriculum Overview for Spring 1 & 2.

Zero to Hero Unit:

“Zero to Hero” is a thematic unit about heros and heroines, both past and present, who have overcome major challenges in life and become inspirational figures. There is a key subject focus on history.

Paddington's Passport:

A geography-based National Curriculum thematic unit with a focus on two contrasting locations. Pupils will learn about locational similarities and differences, through studying the human and physical geography of a small area of the United Kingdom, and of a contrasting non-European country i.e. Lima, Peru and London.


Spring 1 Spelling Overview

Spelling books (small red home books) need to be in school every Wednesday.

Spelling test will be every Thursday!

We ask the children to practise their spellings at home because this will help them to become a more confident speller.

A list of the weekly spellings are attached below.

Year 2 Spellings overview Spring 1

 


 

Theme curriculum overview for Autumn 2:

“Zero to Hero” is a thematic unit about heros and heroines, both past and present, who have overcome major challenges in life and become inspirational figures. There is a key subject focus on history.


Spelling books (small red home books) need to be brought to school every Thursday.

Spelling test will be every Thursday!

Autumn 2 Spellings Overview


Year 2 visited the children's museum EUREKA, which is in Halifax. This is hands on museum where we got to explore the different galleries and watch a 'five senses' show. We had so much fun finding out about all the museum has to offer.


To celebrate King Charles III coronation we decided to design and make our own coronation crowns. We used our computing skills to research different crowns and how to make them. We then used this research to inform our own designs and finally we created our crowns.


We had lots of fun celebrating Eid in school with a big party. There was dancing and party games in the hall and then we took our food outside to enjoy a picnic in the beautiful weather.


To celebrate Earth day we thought about little changes we could make in our lives to help sustain the Earth. We worked together in teams to make pictures of the Earth with our little changes written in hands around them.


We continued to look at the ascension story and thought about Jesus ascending to heaven. We looked at different artwork depicting heaven and then created our own pictures using watercolours and pastels.


 

In theme we have been looking at the different ways that people share news. One way that people communicate is the semaphore method, which is where you use flag signals for different letters. In groups we had a go at creating a word and the rest of the class had to guess what it said.


                                                                                        

We had lots of fun celebrating World Book Day. We were looking at the book 'Milo's Monster' by Tom Percival and had lots of discussion about the emotion jealousy. We thought about when we might feel jealous and what we could do if we were feeling jealous. We then created our own monsters and wrote a non chronological report for them. We also buddied up with the children in Year 6 and spent time sharing our favourite books with them. We also enjoyed participating in the costume competition and the potato competition.


                                                                                             

For mental health week Year 2 were thinking about all the different ways we are connected to each other. For example we all go to the same school, wear the same uniform and follow the same school values. We played a game where we had to pass a hoop around a circle whilst staying connected to each other. It was lots of fun!


                                                                                                     

On Friday it was Number day, so we all dressed as rock stars to raise money for the NSPCC. We had a times tables rock stars competition and completed a times tables challenge in our class.

 


                                                                                                 

Every Wednesday we have class worship. We read verses from the Bible and discuss how they relate to our own lives. We sing a song and then share our own prayers.


                                                                                             

This week in science we have been looking at different materials and their properties. We were testing the materials to see if we could change their shape.


                                                                                                 

In maths this week we have been looking at statistics. We created a class pictogram of our favourite story out of this half terms '5 reads.' We discussed which was the most and least popular and answered different types of questions.


                                                                                                             

In computing today we had to program Bitesize Bot so he was able to complete the different routes to deliver his letter. We created different algorithms for him to follow.


                                                                                                             

In science this week we tested different material to find out which would be the best to use for the Professor's lab coat. It needed to be warm, hard wearing and water proof.


                                                                                                       

This half term, every Thursday, parents are invited in to their child's classroom to read their reading book with them for the first 15 minutes of the day. It was so lovely to see so many parents join us for the first session.


                                                                                                     

We created a display for the hall. The title was 'An artist's eye on creation' so each group was given a different part of the world to paint. We had desert, arctic, jungle, under the sea and city. We are proud of the art work we created.


We have practised programming algorithms into the beebots. We had to complete lots of challenges.


                   

                                                                                     

Year 2 worked so hard to prepare for our Christmas performance. We had songs and actions to practise, lines to learn and then we had to perform in front of our parents and other classes in the school. 'Christmas Recipe' was a huge success and everyone who watched it loved it. 


                                                                                                         

In theme we looked at the artist Christy Brown, who could only paint with his feet because he had cerebral palsy. We looked at different pieces of his art work and then tried to create our own using our feet.


                                                                                                 

We used our ICT skills to create inserts for out Christmas cards. We had to change the size and colour of our font and copy and paste a picture.


                                                                                               

We looked at the story of Thomas Edison and spoke about how he never gave up. We sang 'This little light of mine' and thought about what the song meant. We then thought about something we would like to achieve in the next few weeks and created our own little lights.


                                                                                          

We had lots of fun at the Mayor's Christmas ball. There was an orchestra, a choir, a rock band and we even saw Father Christmas!

 

                                                                                                   

 

In Science we were challenged to make the bulb light up. We learnt that to do this we needed to make a circuit.  

 

                                                                                               

We have been looking at Nelly Bly with Commando Joe. This week we were travelling to China and had to try and collect our equipment without being caught. This required us to be stealthy. 



                                                                                                           

2B GR

 

In guided reading this week we are lookiing at the book 'How to Catch a Star' by Oliver Jeffers. We completed a role on the wall of the main character.

 


2B and 2M joined together to have a bench ball tournament. We were practising our throwing and our catching and we had lots of fun.


In science this week we looked at batteries and had to decide whether different electrical items were battery powered or used the mains electricity. 

We made Christmas cards to give to Bolton Hospice. We had lots of fun being creative.

 

 

                                                                                               

2B children in need

 

On Friday we celebrated Children in Need. We came to school dressed in our Pyjamas and everyone in our class donated £1.


Year 2 had lots of fun at the fire training station. We learnt who to call if there is ever an emergency, what to do if our clothes catch fire and what to do if the smoke alarm goes off.


 

This term 2B have been completing lots of challenges with Commando Joe. Last half term we learnt all about Ernest Shackleton and this half term we are learning about Nellie Bly.


For science in Autumn 1 our topic was plants. We looked at the different parts of a plant and about what seeds need to grow into healthy plants. We carried out an investigation where we put seeds in different conditions to see how they grew. We also spent time in the forest school using a key, to see if we could identify the different trees.


spring curriculum letter 2B

In our English lessons we are reading: 

We're going on a bear hunt by Michael Rosen

The Hodgeheg by Dick King Smith

          


 

 

 

 


This half term our theme is Unity in the Community. 

 

Theme overview "Unity in the Community" is a thematic unit about the area you live in, with geography focus. Pupils will develop their geographical skills, local knowledge and understanding through learning about their school, the features of its ground, the surrounding area and how it has changed over time. They will be taught all about the importance of acting responsibly within both the school and the wider community. 

 


A trip around our local community

We went for a walk around our local community to understand what makes up our local community is. We spotted the Church, the Mosque, the doctors, our school and lots more places.

We talked about human and physical features whilst on our walk too. We spotted lots of human features such as roads, houses and factories.

Our favourite part was going on the local park! We had lots of fun playing with our friends.


 

SCIENCE!

We went out into forest school to explore different types of trees. We identified the trees by looking at their leaves and used a checklist to record our findings. We discussed the different types of shapes, colours and textures of the leaves with our partners. Next we compared our findings with the rest of the class and discussed the name of the trees which the leaves were from.  


Archived information from previous terms

Year 2 buttercups curriculum letter aut

 

This half term we are reading…

Malala's Magic Pencil by Malal Yousafzai

Mother Teresa (Little People Big Dreams) by Isabel Sanchez Vegara

Good Little Wolf by Nadia Shireen

The Secret Sky Garden by Linda Sarah

Mr Big by Ed Vere

The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson


 

Have a look at what year 2 got up to last year! 

 

This half term our theme is Beside the seaside 

     

'Beside the seaside' is a thematic unit based  around the beach and coast, with a geography focus. Pupils will learn about key physical and human features of coastal places, and apply their learning to a study of Blackpool. Further map skills will be developed as part of this theme. They will also look at the beach and coast as a habitat for living things, learning more about how animals are adapted to their environment. 

 


Take a look at our curriculum letter above to find out what we will be learning about.

 


 

Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

On Tuesday, we went on a trip to Blackpool. When we got there, it was drizzling a little and the tide was in, so we couldn't see any sand on the beach! Instead, we went for an explore along one of the piers and some of the children were fascinated by the fact you could see the sea underneath the pier! We then went for our dinner, which was a delicious portion of fish and chips, followed by an ice cream with sauce. Most of the children thought the food was delicious and one child even stopped a member of staff and said "This fish is delicious!". Once our bellies were full, the tide had finally gone out and we could get onto the beach. We built sandcastles, played frisbee, flew kites, dug holes and so much more. After that, it was time for a dip in the sea, the children absolutely loved getting soaking wet, diving and jumping through the waves! We all had an amazing day and we were all very sleepy on the way home, as you can see from some of the photographs...

 


Artist Visit - James Naughton

 

We had a special visit from a professional local artist called James Naughton. He talked to us about he art work and the different techniques he uses. He then did a workshop with us and showed us step-by-step how to produce a landscape painting with mountains in the distance. We really enjoyed being artists ourselves. 

 


Bolton School KS1 Activity Festival 

Some children from year 2 went to a sports competition at Bolton School. they had to take part in a circuit of different activities that tested out different skills. They had a great time and earnt lots of points!

 


Blackpool Zoo

Last week we went on a trip to Blackpool Zoo. We saw lots of different wild animals and saw the types of habitats they live in. We had a great day , apart from when the seagulls tried to pinch our sandwiches at lunchtime!

 


Climbing Wall

We all had a turn on the climbing wall that came to school this week. Lots of us felt scared at first, but once we had had a go, we found our confidence and lots of us made it up to the very top! Some quotes from the day: "This is my best day ever!", "My knees are shaking", "I got all the way to the top, I am not scared anymore!".

 


History Day 2022
 

For our local study, we learned about a fellow Boltonian, Samuel Crompton. We learnt that he was the inventor of the Spinning Mule which was a machine that made it easier to produce cotton yarn and thread. In honour of Samuel Crompton, and the impact his invention had on the textile industry, we had a go at weaving. Take a look...


We Made Sandwiches!

As part of our Paddington's Passport theme unit, we decided that Paddington needed to try some different sandwich fillings, other than just marmalade. So we thought about different ingredients and we designed a new sandwich for him to try. We then made our sandwich and of course we had to test it out and evaluate whether it was good enough to give to Paddington.


We are reading these books in class this half term:

Splat The Cat : Scotton, Rob, Scotton, Rob: Amazon.co.uk: Books
Splat the Cat by Rob Scotton

Norman the Slug with a Silly Shell : Hendra, Sue, Linnet, Paul:  Amazon.co.uk: Books 
Norman the Slug with the Silly Shell by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet

Tinga Tinga Tales: Why Elephant Has a Trunk - Scholastic Kids' Club 
Why Elephant Has a Trunk by Tinga Tinga Tales

Commas Say Take a Break : Author Michael Dahl (author), : 9781515840558 :  Blackwell's 
Commas Say Take a Break by Michael Dahl

Amazon.com: Ruff Luck (Tom and Jerry Wordless): 9781515882763: Harbo,  Christopher, Jeralds;Scott, Jeralds;Scott: Books 
Tom and Jerry by Christopher Harbo & Scott Jeralds

 

Spellings for test on Friday 27th May

The possessive apostrophe

 

  1. Megan’s
  2. Ravi’s
  3. the girl’s
  4. the child’s
  5. the man’s
  6. the woman’s
  7. the school’s
  8. a dog’s
  9. a teacher’s
  10. a postman’s

Click the logo to find this week's sound:

           


This video is all about how you can help your child read at home. 

 


Year 2 Bluebells archive documents

COVID-19 (coronavirus) absence

Year 2 Snowdrops Documents


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

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