Year 2 Summer 2023-24
DT - Mechanisms - Ferris Wheels.
Last term we were set the task of designing and creating a functional Ferris Wheel. Today we added the pods to the frame to complete our structures. First we designed and labelled a Ferris Wheel. Next we discussed how different components could be joined together, why a wheel needs an axle (to be able to move) and what shape the wheel needs to be in order for it to rotate. We selected materials that we thought were suitable for each part of our structure and explained why? We shared thoughts and ideas based on our own designs to create a functional Ferris wheel as a team. We decorated lolly sticks and attached them to the wheel using glue. We then added more lolly sticks to create the outer frame. We chose a selection of appropriate materials such as: egg boxes and yoghurt pots for the pods and used glue, pipe cleaners, sellotape and cocktail sticks to attach them. We adapted our structures throughout the process, strengthening the frame to support the weight of the wheel and chose different size pods to fit inside the frame as some were too big. Finally we tested our structures to see if they would rotate and that the frame stood freely. We also tested the pods when we rotated the wheel to see if they stayed in place to carry people safely. We will be evaluating our structures next week.
Well done Year 2! You have worked well as a team and understood how to make a structure with a moving wheel.
Literacy- Sharing our Monkey Puzzle Riddles
After completing our riddles, we discussed the type of audience for our riddles, agreeing that younger children would enjoy clues and rhyme alongside guessing the answers. We then discussed the tone of our voice and how our riddles should be read. We finally shared them with nursery and reception children who enjoyed guessing the different animals in our riddles.
Science- UK Habitats
We have learnt about different habitats we can find in the UK. We found out about different animals that live in meadows, fresh water, the sea, woodlands and the coast. We were tasked with organising these animals under the correct habitat.
Our visit to Beamish Museum
Year 2 had a fantastic visit to Beamish Museum. To start the day, we took part in a life in the Victorian classroom workshop, we found out about playground games and went into the classroom where we wrote with slate and discussed the differences from then to now. After lunch, we enjoyed exploring the farm and then into the town. A had great day was had by all!
Ju Jitsu
We started our week off with a ju jitsu session with Mr Woodley. We had great fun learning some basic moves and taking park in paired activities. We were told that the club runs on a Saturday in the Crowther estates, some of us were very interested in joining!
Euros- Our England Strip Designs
Check our our new England kit designs. We had to make sure they featured the 3 lion badge. We look forward to seeing who has won in our class!
Muddy Puddle Teacher- Science
We were lucky enough today to be joined by The Muddle Puddle Teacher, Sarah. We worked outside to consolidate our learning about plants, we enjoyed drawing plants and labelling them, using rope to work as a team to develop parts of a plant, considering seed dispersion and making our own plant guardians that would ensure plants in our area were provided with sun, water and nutrients. It was a great way to end our unit on plants and a fantastic time was had in the outdoors. Thank-you to Mr and Mrs Walker and their daughter Bethan who also took part in our activities.
PSHE- Our School Environment
In our PSHE lesson today we were first faced with quite a mess in our classroom. We talked about how the mess made us feel, we agreed it made us feel mad, unorganised, shocked and upset! We spoke about how a tidy classroom was important for learning and safety. We promptly worked together to put our classroom back together! After which we felt calm and able to work! We spoke about how it is important that school is kept nice for us to enjoy. We then became school ground inspectors! We went for a walk around parts of school. We were tasked with finding parts of school we liked, and those we thought we could improve. We pointed out the cleanliness of our school. tidy cloak rooms, the lovely flower pots outside of the entrance and our new play equipment. We agreed that some things could be improved like sweeping the bark up on the Key Stage 1 yard! We talked about who could help us improve our surroundings and agreed we already do a great job of this too!
Science- Minibeast Hunt
Today in Science, we found out about microhabitats and minibeasts. We discussed different places in our yard where we might find insects and why we would find them in those places. We then took to work to find different minibeasts, we completed a tally and then a bar chart with our results.
Walk around Blackfell
As part of our unit in Geography about mapping skills, we went for a walk around Blackfell. We made notes of key areas. This will help us when we come to make our own maps with keys of our local area.
Be Safe, Be Fit, Be Healthy Week
Lifestyle and Fitness Team
We were joined by Anthony from Sunderland Council's Lifestyle and Fitness team. We spoke about healthy diet and reviewed what a balanced diet was. We found out about how much sugar was in some items and the effects this can have. We then spoke about the importance of movement and went over some simple ways we could keep active and fit.
Curling
Year 2 had a great time curling with Zak from Active Kids. We learnt about the rules and then had a mini tournament in our house teams. We had a great time!
History- What was Grace Darling's life like?
In today’s History lesson we completed a hot seating task. We worked in groups, one person in the group acted the role of Grace Darling, remembering what we had learnt about her so far. Other people in the group then took it in turns to answer questions, we had to think carefully about our answers. We discussed what types of meals she would have eaten, what she would have done with her day and what life would have been life for her living in the lighthouse.
History- Why is Grace Darling famous?
In this History lesson, we have learnt about the events which made Grace Darling famous. We found out about when the Forfashire crashed and how Grace and her farther made two trips to rescue those who were helpless. We discussed how this was a very brave thing to have done, that Grace had risked her own life for others. We then worked in groups to act out the story.
Art - Giuseppe Arcimboldo - Flora
This term we have been learning about the life and work of the famous artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. We worked in groups to recreate one of Arcimboldo’s most famous portraits ‘Flora’ We selected and cut out images of flowers and leaves then arranged them to create our own version of ‘Flora’. We carefully considered which colours would best represent facial features. Finally we explained our choices. Look at our fantastic representation of Arcimboldo's Flora!
Well done Year 2!
Ks1 and Early Years Sports Day
We had a great time competing in this years Sports Day, although competing in the yard and hall due to the rain, we all cheered each other on. This year, Willow were our team winners!
Euros- France!
In school, we are having a competition across classes. Each class has been allocated some different teams. Year 2 have been allocated France, Hungary and Slovenia. As part of our learning this week, we decided to research France. We found out about what foods they enjoy, what famous landmarks they have and some famous footballers. If one of our allocated team wins, our class will get a prize! Go France!
DT - Linkages and Levers!
We have been learning how to make a linkage system in DT, to make a moving monster. First we used a rectangular template, drew around it on card then cut it out as accurately as we could. We repeated this four times. We then had to find the middle of each lever using a ruler. We placed a dot in the centre of each lever. We then pushed a split pin through the middle of the lever and attached another lever at the back to make a cross shape. We repeated this to make another cross. We then placed pencil markers on the outer edges of the first cross and attached the second cross using the same method.
Well done Year 2!
I can’t wait to see your finished moving monsters!
