Report Writing in Year 2
This week in Geography and English, Year 2 have been learning all about Kenya and its capital city, Nairobi. The children discovered that Kenya is a country in Africa and that many people there speak English and Swahili. They also learned that Nairobi is a large, busy city with over 4 million people living there!
The children were fascinated to find out that Nairobi National Park is one of the only national parks located so close to a capital city. They enjoyed learning about the amazing wildlife found in Kenya, including lions, giraffes, zebras, rhinos and elephants. We also explored Kenyan foods, weather, schools, and homes, comparing them to life in the UK.
Today, the children used all of their Geography knowledge to write fantastic non-fiction reports about Kenya or Nairobi. They worked hard to include headings, facts, descriptive vocabulary and neat presentation in their writing.
We were incredibly proud of the children’s enthusiasm, creativity, and excellent use of facts throughout their reports. Well done, Year 2!
SATS week
We have made it to the end of a very long yet very positive week.
I am so proud of how the children have arrived each day, focussed and ready to do their best. They have been keen to show off their knowledge and showcase the progress they have made this year.
Today, we have enjoyed a more relaxed day with each other. We have played games and shared snacks; celebrating the end of SATS week.
I would like to say a huge ‘well done’ to all the children. I would also like to thank all the parents who have continued to support and who have sent their child in with some treats today.
I hope you all have a happy and healthy weekend.
PE – The Big School Workout
We had a fantastic time joining schools across the country for The Big School Workout with Joe Wicks during Mental Health Awareness Week.
The children loved taking part in the live workout and showed brilliant enthusiasm and energy. There were lots of smiles as we exercised together and thought about how being active can help us feel healthy in both our bodies and minds.
We talked about how exercise can help us:
- feel happier and calmer
- build confidence
- improve our focus and concentration
- look after our mental wellbeing
It was wonderful to come together as a class and enjoy such a positive shared experience.
Help at home by taking a short family walk, dancing to music in the kitchen or doing a quick workout together. Even a few minutes of movement can help boost our mood and energy levels.
Let’s Talk About Money!
Did you know that Leeds launched the UK’s very first City of Maths in January 2026? This exciting two-year initiative (running through 2026 and 2027) aims to transform how people think and feel about maths. There will be lots to look forward to, including a permanent maths-themed playground, puzzle hunts, city-wide events and free resources for schools!
We are incredibly proud to share that our Year 3 class has been selected as the very first class, out of 800 schools, to take part in Asda’s Molly’s Money Adventure: Let’s Talk About Money!
The children had a fantastic time exploring the world of money, learning about spending, saving and making smart choices in a fun and engaging way. They showed great enthusiasm, asked thoughtful questions and represented our school brilliantly.
What a wonderful opportunity to be part of such an inspiring project. We can’t wait to see what comes next on our maths journey!
Help at home:
Discuss through their activity booklet that has been sent home.
Reading – Non-fiction Explorers
We’ve been exploring non-fiction books in our reading lessons this week. We enjoyed learning how to navigate different texts to find information quickly and independently.
The children practised using:
- contents pages to find the right section
- headings and subheadings to help locate information
- glossaries to understand technical vocabulary
Help at home by encouraging your child to use the contents page when exploring non-fiction books. You could also look for unfamiliar words and explore their meanings using the glossary.
Superworm
This week our book focus was a favourite amongst nursery- SUPERWORM! by Julia Donaldson
Superworm has lots of different jobs and is very helpful towards his friends, but we need to watch out for that sneaky Wizard Lizard!
We’ve tried really hard to be minibeast hunters this week and have looked so hard for some worms but they have been hiding. We think it’s because its been so dry. But we will keep looking for some next week!
Our caterpillars have been busy building their chrysalides. We’ve put them into the butterfly garden. Will we get to see them hatch? Watch this space!
The Bug Collector
This week, we’ve been reading The Bug Collector by Alex Griffiths.
This book follows George as he visits a wildlife museum and discovers the fascinating world of bugs. After his visit, he collects all the minibeasts from his garden and puts them in jars, but they don’t seem very happy.
After reading the book, the children enjoyed being minibeast explorers in our own garden. However, they made sure to return the creatures safely to their natural habitat. We also finished off making our own bug house using the hand drill and putting up the sign in our ‘Air Bee ‘n’ Bee.’ I’m sure George and his Grandad from the story would be very impressed with us.
Reading – The Amazon Rainforest
This week, Year 5 have been learning all about deforestation impacts on the Amazon Rainforest. To do this, we’ve used an advert by Greenpeace UK called ‘There’s An Orangutan In My Bedroom. There is also a book for this story by James Sellick. Here’s a link to the video if you wish to watch it at home together:
there’s a rang tan in my bedroom – YouTube
In this advert, we find a confused yet inquisitive orangutan in a girl’s bedroom. It seems to be messing up her living space and becomes very annoyed seeing a chocolate bar and some shampoo containing palm oil. After initial anger, the girl becomes invested in why the orangutan is in her room. She learns that the orangutan has nowhere else to go as there are humans in the Amazon, destroying it’s home. The girl feels sympathetic and motivated to then help the orangutan with this issue. Finally, she calls for anyone watching to join the fight against deforestation and for us to be wary and mindful of the items we’re buying for our homes.
The learning from Year 5 around this issue has been fantastic. For example, we began by thinking about how the girl’s emotions change through the video and why this may be (shown below).
Then, we decided to do some acting of our own. The children split into groups and had some time to plan out their recreation of the advert. They then performed to the rest of the class, and all acts were absolutely brilliant! After lots of positive and constructive feedback, we created some reflective statements to use when performing.
When performing, it is vital to look up at the audience.
When performing, it is vital to share speaking parts equally.
When performing, it is vital to project your voice and use actions.
We were so proud of our performances, so we decided to take it one step further – to perform to the whole school in Friday’s collective worship! Year 5 were absolutely fantastic and had clearly taken their feedback on board. Here are some pictures of the performance!
Help at home:
Watch the video at home together. Is there anything you could do to support the prevention of deforestation? Next time you go to the supermarket, are there options that don’t contain palm oil? Maybe a healthier alternative over a chocolate bar, too?
Perhaps you could explore James Sellick’s book on this issue – There’s a Rang-Tan in my bedroom.
Maths – Measuring
This week in maths, we’ve been developing our understanding of measuring length and height. We learnt that length tells us how long something is from one end to the other, while height tells us how tall something is from the bottom to the top. The children enjoyed exploring these ideas practically and were keen to investigate objects around the classroom.
We began by discussing how people can measure using non-standard units. The children discovered that we can use almost anything to measure, as long as we follow some important rules:
• the units must all be the same size
• the units must be placed in a straight line
• the units must touch each other with no gaps
Using multilink cubes, the children measured a variety of classroom objects including books, pencils and pens. They worked carefully to line up their cubes accurately and count each unit correctly. We quickly noticed that if the cubes were not touching or were different sizes, the measurements would not be fair or accurate.
The children enjoyed comparing objects and discussing their findings using mathematical vocabulary such as longer, shorter, taller, smaller, longest and shortest. It was wonderful to hear so many thoughtful mathematical conversations taking place in our classroom
As our learning developed, we explored what happens when an object does not measure exactly to a whole number of cubes. We discussed how mathematicians sometimes need to measure to the nearest unit. The children showed great perseverance when estimating, counting carefully and deciding which measurement was the closest.
We then introduced centimetres as a standard unit of measurement. The children were fascinated to learn that centimetres are always the same size, wherever you are in the world. This helped us understand why standard units are so useful when measuring accurately and fairly. Using centimetre cubes, the children measured a range of objects and began recording their measurements in centimetres.
It’s been lovely to see the children demonstrating fantastic curiosity and enthusiasm for their learning, working collaboratively with one another.
Help at home by looking for opportunities to measure objects around your home together. You could begin by using non-standard units such as blocks, coins or paperclips before moving on to a ruler to measure in centimetres. Encourage your child to compare objects and describe them using mathematical vocabulary. You could also challenge your child to estimate the length or height of an object before measuring it carefully.
Update
What a week of revision we have had this week. The children have been amazing ensuring they are ready for their SATS next week; I have been so impressed with their maturity.
Just a reminder that Year 6 children are invited into school at 8.15am next week for breakfast club (Monday-Thursday).
This weekend, please try to have a relaxing time. Perhaps you could play at the park, go on a bike ride, have a movie day or go on a nature hunt. Children have done the hard work and deserve a weekend of whatever makes them happy.
Next Friday, we will be having a celebration day in Year 6 to mark the end of SATS. Children can bring in some games of their choice (please nothing expensive) and some snacks to share (please no nuts).
Have a happy and healthy weekend everyone.