Castle
Primary School
Aim High
Friendship
Courage
Excellence
Respect
Equality
Determination
Inspiration
We learn trust, understanding, sympathy, empathy, honesty and compassion
We learn to be brave to try new things and do what is right
We learn to try our hardest to be the best we can be
We learn to take care of each other and our environment
We learn to be fair with each other
We learn to believe in ourselves and persevere
We hope to be excited in our learning and aspire to do our best
Year 2
Welcome from Mr Jackson and Mrs Donougher
17/7/20
Impossible though it seems we have reached the end of the school year! Although we didn't get to spend as much time with the children as we would have liked we wanted to take the opportunity to say how much we have enjoyed teaching Year 2 this year and huge thanks to the parents for the fantastic engagement with home learning. Whilst there will be some areas to "catch up" in the Autumn term the children have covered the majority of work we would have done in school. If you want to do any work with your child over the holidays we are leaving everything on the website so you could have a look at any areas you missed or revise those which were a bit tricky. Also Education City logins will still work over the Summer so you can try any of the activities on there.
We have made short videos to say goodbye and good luck to our classes which you will find below. We wish the children every success as they move into the Juniors and hope to see them frequently when they return to school in September (we are easy to find as we are staying in the same classrooms as this year). There is also a video from the Year 3 teachers welcoming the children and introducing themselves.
Although we have missed seeing the children there are many happy memories for us of the past year including our favourite topics like the Great Fire of London, our trip to see an orchestra in Chichester, the visit of an astronaut and of course the amazing performances the children gave in the Nativity. Above all we have enjoyed watching your children grow and learn in their time with us. Thank you for all your support during the year. It has been difficult at times dealing with a new way of learning but your kind words and messages have made all the difference. Have a great summer and we hope to see you soon.
Mr Jackson & Mrs Donougher xx
Bye Bye 2D!
Thanks 2J.mp4
Welcome to Year 3.mov
Our final home learning of the term is here with a writing activity for George's Marvellous Medicine and some subtraction problems involving regrouping.
If you requested the revision booklets for the holidays and haven't collected them yet they are available from the school office until the end of Tuesday next week.
In addition there are some holiday suggestions below if you are at a loose end!
Summer Reading Challenge
The Hampshire library service are running their annual summer holiday reading challenge. Details can be found on their website (link below).
Trek to Tokyo
To commemorate the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which have been postponed until 2021, Hampshire SGOs would like to challenge families to keep active by engaging in the ‘Trek to Tokyo’. This is a 6-week challenge for the summer holidays, asking pupils to complete daily physical activities and creative challenges throughout the week.
Pupils can earn miles for each activity completed and record daily miles on a chart as they Trek towards Tokyo. Each week, a new booklet can be downloaded from the Energise Me website www.energiseme.org.
Bronze, Silver and Gold Certificates will be awarded when you reach certain milestones en route!
You can share your activities on the following social media platforms:
Twitter:
@HampshireSGO
@SGOFareham
Facebook:
@HampshireSGO
Instagram:
@hampshiresgos
A record sheet and the activities for weeks 1 and 2 can be found below. Also the launch video can be found at. https://youtu.be/UsHIBSXxjss
Trailblazer Summer Activities
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Year
I have to finish with my favourite joke....
Why did the banana go to the doctors?
Because he wasn't peeling very well!
16/7/20
Another visitor to Old Portsmouth - here is what Lizzie saw.
Our geography work today continues our mapping topic. There is a PowerPoint on viewing from above and another which sets the children the task of creating their own map of the school grounds from an aerial photo using some of the map symbols from yesterday's activity.
Our English task today is to start to create a new recipe for a Marvellous Medicine. The children need to think about what they would choose and what effect it would have on Grandma!
Maths today tackles subtraction using the vertical method where the tens and ones need to be regrouped. Use the cut out hundreds, tens and ones sheet which was posted earlier in the week and watch the "How to.." video from Mr Jackson.
Thursday Maths
Here is another set of science activities in the Starters from STEM series.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why should you be careful when it's raining cats and dogs?
You might step in a poodle!
15/7/20
It was great to hear that some of the children have been to Old Portsmouth to try out some of our geography activities. Patrick and Elijah look like they had a good time there.
The geography activity today looks at map symbols. The first page of the PowerPoint shows some map symbols and their meanings jumbled up. There is also a separate sheet you can download and cut out the symbols to match the definitions. Page 2 of the PowerPoint has the answers. There is also an activity to draw some of the symbols and to make your own.
Writing today uses the ingredients from George's Marvellous Medicine to encourage the children to write instructions using time connectives.
In maths we are going to practise vertical addition either regrouping the ones or the tens. Today this will involve word problems where the children need to work out what the vertical addition will look like before completing the sum.
Wednesday Maths
The final "Hometalk" activity sheet of the term is here to encourage conversations with the children (not that some of them need any encouragement!)
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do fishermen catch at night?
Starfish!
14/7/20
As part of the transition process you should have received an email today inviting your child to come in next week and meet their new teacher. In addition the Year 3 teachers have made a short introductory booklet including some photographs which is attached here.
We will be making a short video to wish our current classes well for the future in the next few days which will be posted here. If your child wants to record an end of year message we would be delighted to receive them by email or on Seesaw.
Today in George's Marvellous Medicine we are looking at the characters of George and Grandma. The focus is on what they might be thinking and what they could say. There is also some handwriting to try.
In maths we will continue to look at vertical addition which involves regrouping. Today we will look at regrouping 10s into hundreds for 3 digit addition and also recapping regrouping the ones. There is another video lesson here from Mr Jackson.
Tuesday Maths
Well done those of you who wrote postcards about your virtual trip to Old Portsmouth. Here is the postcard Nathan wrote.
Today's activity involves a map of Great Britain. Watch the PowerPoint and label the map with the names of countries, capital cities and seas.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Which is the best day to cook bacon?
Fry - day!
13/7/20
Welcome to our last week of home learning before the Summer break. This week we have a geography project on Old Portsmouth, maths will focus on addition and subtraction including regrouping and our English work is based on the book "George's Marvellous Medicine." There will also be news later in the week about a Summer PE project and how you can get involved.
For those who are enjoying the BBC Bitesize activities the timetable for the week is here.
For reading this week the activities are based on "The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch" by Ronda and David Armitage. If you don't have the book the story is here along with an activity booklet.
Writing this week is based on Roald Dahl's book "George's Marvellous Medicine." There is a link here to the first part of the story.
The plan for today is here along with a copy of the blurb on the back of the book. You can also use the introduction in the video clip when discussing what might happen in the story.
Our maths focus is adding and subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers where regrouping is required. This builds on our work last week so if you missed the maths last week have a look at those activities before you try the new ones for this week.
Today we start with how to answer an addition question using the vertical method when the ones column adds up to more than 9. The plan below starts with a regrouping game, moves on to adding 2 digit numbers regrouping the ones and then looks at adding 3 digit numbers with regrouping of the ones. For a step by step explanation watch Mr Jackson's video.
Monday Maths
If you saw the post on Friday you will know that our Year 2 geography topic would have been based on a trip to Old Portsmouth. Here is a link to take a virtual tour and some photos of places we would have looked for on the trip. If you are able to take your child to Old Portsmouth try to find the locations in the photos and visit the Round Tower, Square Tower, Cathedral and Garrison Church. Also look out for the sights and sounds of Old Portsmouth, particularly those out on the water.
Whether you take a real or virtual trip the activity today is to write a postcard to someone describing the exciting places you might visit in the area.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How do you make a bandstand?
Take away their chairs!
10/7/20
Next week we will be posting activities related to our Geography topic based on Old Portsmouth and particularly the area known as Spice Island. This would usually be based on a class trip to the area which we have not been able to do this year. We are posting a web link which will allow you and the children to do some research and complete the activities "virtually" but if you are able to physically visit the area that is even better!
The areas we would normally visit include the round tower, square tower, Cathedral, Garrison Church and the streets leading to the edge of Spice Island where you can see the Spinnaker Tower just across the water. We also look at the traffic on the water which might include ferries and naval vessels. If you are able to visit we have included some photos below of things you might look out for.
Activities will be posted on Monday and will also include some mapping skills which are not related to Old Portsmouth. We hope you enjoy either a "real" or "virtual" trip!
Our Horrid Henry topic ends today with a letter of complaint to Miss Battle Axe about Henry's behaviour using those adjectives and verbs we have been practising this week. You can use the attached letter plan to help if you like.
To conclude our vertical addition and subtraction topic this week we have some word problems today. The children need to read the question and work out how to turn it into a vertical calculation. They also have to decide whether to add or subtract.
eg. There are 13 pencils in the drawer. Sara placed 24 more pencils in the drawer. How many pencils are now there in total ?
This would be an addition question 13
+24
Watch Mr Jackson's video to find out more.
Friday Maths
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What insects are always complaining?
Grumble bees!
9/7/20
Some great posters from Cecilia, Jack and Libby today of their favourite lessons and events during Year 2. Do share yours with us - the activity was posted yesterday.
In addition to the memories of Year 2 we would also like the children to complete an activity today to tell their new teachers a little about themselves. The Into Year 3 activity allows the children to share some of the things they enjoy and also to think about what they would like to get better at. We will be completing this activity with the Year 2 children who are in school today as well.
The Year 3 teachers have prepared a booklet with some photos to welcome their new classes and share some information about what it will be like in the Juniors. This should be sent out in the next few days.
The lesson based on Horrid Henry for today is here. Today we are looking at verbs and adverbs.
We have had some questions about exclamation sentences and exclamation marks! As part of the 2014 National Curriculum schools were instructed to teach Year 2 children that an exclamation sentence or exclamative sentence could only start with the words "what" or "how." Many authors disagreed as exclamation marks are often used to end sentences which start with other words.
We now teach that an exclamation sentence must start with "what" or "how" but exclamation marks can be used at the end other types of sentence to express strength of feeling or surprise.
So the sentence "What an amazing meal!" would be an exclamation sentence. "That was disgusting!" is a statement but can have an exclamation mark at the end to show strength of feeling. There is a video link here which gives some examples of sentence types.
Maths today covers vertical subtraction and looks at moving from using physical tens and ones or pictures to the abstract method. Once again there is a video to demonstrate how this works.
Thursday Maths
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day (thanks to Matthew in 2J for this one)
What do you call a magician who loses his magic?
Ian!
8/7/20
As we approach the end of the school year we usually ask the children to reflect on their favourite activities and events during Year 2. Although we sadly finished the year in school much earlier than usual we are sure the children will have a number of memories.
We would like the children to design a poster containing some of those memories which they can give to either their new teacher or their Year 2 teacher (or both!) It can be photographed and put on Seesaw or brought in when we return in September.
Content might include favourite lessons, our class trip, the Nativity, favourite songs, topics they have particularly enjoyed, etc.
We look forward to seeing what they come up with!
Our writing lesson today looks at adjectives as we ask the children to describe Horrid Henry. We have also asked our children at school to come up with their own Horrid Henry style names such as Non-stop Nathan, Adventurous Anthony and Dangerous Dylan! Have a go and let us know what you come up with!
Today in maths we will be introducing subtracting 2 and 3 digit numbers.
Wednesday Maths
We have another set of science based activities from STEM. These include one of our Year 2 Summer topics, The Great Plant Hunt, from Kew Gardens. The resources for this including the plant identikit can be found by clicking on the link within the activity plan.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day (from the Horrid Henry Joke Book!)
How do you make an apple puff?
Chase it round the garden!
7/7/20
One of the most popular topics we have done in Year 2 has been The Great Fire of London. The children might be interested in watching the daily live streams from the Museum of London on this topic which started today. These daily programmes can be accessed on their website and are on throughout this week.
If you watch live you are able to ask the presenters questions as they share the story using artefacts from the Fire! Fire! exhibition at the museum. Don't worry if you can't make the live stream as the programmes are available afterwards on YouTube. The first part, "How it began," is here.
Our Horrid Henry writing today looks at using prefixes to describe Henry and his brother Peter. The plan is here along with some worksheets which might be useful. There is also some handwriting practice for the week.
Our maths today looks at vertical addition with and without pictures. We also look at how you turn a number sentence such as 25 + 14 = into a vertical addition question which the children sometimes find tricky. There is another "How to ... " video from Mr Jackson to take you through the parts of the lesson.
Tuesday Maths
Continuing our series of conversation starters here is another set of Hometalk activities.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the chicken get sent off during the football match?
For persistent fowl play!
6/7/20
Over the last few months we have endeavoured to provide you with a range of home learning on the website, Seesaw and Education City covering key aspects of the Year 2 curriculum. This has been largely based on the excellent BBC Bitesize resources with additional activities covering a broad range of subjects. We have also set challenges on Seesaw and work on Education City which cover areas we would have taught in school during the Summer term. Over the next few weeks we will continue to use BBC Bitesize but will also include some English, maths and topic work which is not covered on Bitesize but forms an important part of our Castle Primary Year 2 curriculum. This week we will look at vertical addition and subtraction of 2 and 3 digit numbers with some "How to ... " videos from Mr Jackson. English will be based on the Horrid Henry stories with some activities from Mrs Donougher. Also our history topic on The Mary Rose will look at life on board the ship.
Many of you have requested the revision booklets on reading, grammar and maths to use over the holidays. If you have asked for the booklets they are now available for collection from the school office. If you have not requested copies but would like them please let us know as we are only photocopying them to order to avoid wasting paper. Also the children will still be able to log in to Education City over the holidays. Although we will not be setting homework all the activities remain available to use.
The BBC Bitesize schedule for the week is here.
Our reading book for the week is "The Rainbow Fish." There is a link to the story here if you don't have the book and also a booklet with a range of activities for the children to try.
Writing this week is based on the popular Horrid Henry stories by Francesca Simon. There are 5 lessons for the week and today we have included some resources to help complete Lesson 1.
In maths this week we will be looking at 2 and 3 digit place value including addition and subtraction using the vertical method. Those of you who attended our maths workshop earlier in the year will know that we teach maths using the CPA approach (Concrete - Pictorial - Abstract). The lessons this week will have a video of Mr Jackson explaining how we would teach this topic in school. There is a copy of the plan here along with the resources needed. You can create your own if you are not able to print them. There are also some suggested questions but you can make up your own. Be careful that none of the columns add up to more than 9 as we are not "crossing the boundaries" or "regrouping" in this lesson. This will be taught next week.
It is important not to miss out the pictorial stage as the children need to understand what each digit means. If they simply start adding columns of numbers they may not realise the value in each column. The pictures help them understand whether they are adding ones, tens or hundreds.
Monday Maths
We would usually be going on a trip to the Historic Dockyard at this stage of the year to visit the Mary Rose. Although we can't do that at the moment it is possible to take a virtual tour of the ship. The website link is here and the children can carry out their own research if they wish.
On the trip we would have taken part in a workshop to find out about life on board and the different jobs you might do. A link to the relevant section of the website is here.
There are also some activities here to make a model of the Mary Rose and finger puppets to act out life on board. We also look at how ships communicated at the time and have included the flag alphabet which would have been used. See if you can write your name using the flags or write a message for your teachers to decode.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a cow on a trampoline?
A milk shake!
3/7/20
The final writing lesson of the week based on "This Is How We Do It" asks the children to produce their own book using noun phrases and commas in lists.
Our Friday maths challenges are here.
The final edition of music ideas from Hampshire Music Service is here. Next week BBC Bitesize will be looking at the arts including further music activity suggestions.
Cryosphere Funbook looks at all the frozen water to be found on planet Earth. Use the link to find out more about the free activities.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What's a banana's favourite type of shoe?
Slippers!
2/7/20
Today our writing looks at writing lists and using commas. Here is the plan to go with our book of the week and also a shopping list activity (which some of you may have already seen on Seesaw earlier in the week).
Can you have a go at writing your family shopping list for the week using commas in a list?
Use this template to write them. You can do this as several sentences rather than having one long list. Remember to write and instead of a comma before your last item.
For example,
We need bananas, grated cheese, milk and oranges.
We need orange juice, cereal and butter
. We need crisps, strawberries, mushrooms and pasta.
In maths we are continuing the theme of capacity and reading scales.
We have another edition of Trailblazers from the Hampshire Outdoors team which is attached. Lots of ideas for things to do outdoors.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day (from Molly is my school group!)
What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear!
1/7/20
In response to a number of questions about where the children should be with their learning we have emailed some information to all parents which can also be found here if you didn't receive the email.
In order to give you some idea of what your child should have covered and be able to do by the end of Year 2 we have summarised the end of year expectations from the National Curriculum. Due to many of the children finishing Year 2 in March there may be gaps in their learning. Whilst we have tried to cover some of these through home learning there may still be areas the children need to work on so this list will hopefully help you if you want to do a little work over the summer. At the start of Year 3 the teachers will start by covering key work from Year 2 before moving on to the Year 3 curriculum to make sure that any gaps in learning are filled in.
Our writing today looks at asking questions and revising a range of question words (who, what, where, how, etc). There are also some extra activities looking at question sentences.
Today in maths we look at measuring capacity.
Our Explorers topic this week looks at the wonderful world of worms! There are some activity ideas here along with a link to "Superworm" by Julia Donaldson. If you can't find any real worms (or would rather not!) you could try hiding bits of wool around the garden to represent the worms and the children have to see how many they can find.
The BBC Bitesize science topic this week looks at dinosaurs. Here is the link and an activity to match each dinosaur to its description.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How do you cut the ocean in half?
With a sea - saw!
30/6/20
Our English lesson looks at nouns and adjectives today with a focus on our book "This Is How We Do It." We have also included an extra activity on sentence types.
The main focus for maths today is measuring in kilograms. We are also looking further at reading scales, this time on thermometers.
For our scientists today we have some further ideas from STEM to try out. The baking soda rocket sounds exciting!
Also here is the next in the series of P4C conversation starters to try with your child.
29/6/20
As we approach the end of the school year we have had a number of emails asking about teachers for next year, what will happen in September and what children entering Year 3 would normally be expected to know. You should find out this week who your child's teacher will be in September and from what we have heard in recent days there is an expectation that all children will be back at school. We certainly hope so and are planning for that scenario but there is still a degree of uncertainty.
You will also be receiving an end of year report for your child as usual but it will only reflect progress up to 20th March when lockdown began. In addition we will be sending you a list of what children are expected to achieve by the end of Year 2 in reading, writing and maths which might be useful if you would like to do a little school work with your child over the summer break. All the work provided for home learning will have contributed towards these expectations but we are very aware that not everything we cover at school can be replicated at home. When the children start in Year 3 the teachers will be making sure that they are secure in the key areas on the list and also teaching anything that was not covered before moving on to the Year 3 curriculum. We have some revision booklets covering aspects of maths, reading and grammar from the Year 2 curriculum. If you would like copies of these let us know and we will leave them at the school office for you to collect.
If you have any questions do let us know and we will endeavour to answer them!
This week we will continue to use BBC Bitesize as the basis for daily home learning. The timetable for the week is here.
We have another book of the week with associated activities. This week the story is "Peace At Last" by Jill Murphy. If you don't have the book then there is a link here. Also we have included a booklet of activities. If you don't have the facility to print it at home let us know and you can collect a copy from school.
Our writing activities this week are based on the book "This Is How We Do It." The plan for the whole week is here.
Please note the link in the plan to access the story on YouTube is incorrect. To see the whole story use this link.
We are also including a comprehension activity and another on handwriting and letter formation.
Maths this week continues to look at measure, covering mass and volume. As well as the Bitesize activities we will also be posting work on reading scales.
History this week focuses on the work of Mary Seacole who, like Florence Nightingale, nursed wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. The Bitesize link is here along with some additional activities.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What is yellow and dangerous?
Shark infested custard!
26/6/20
As we come to the end of another week it has been very pleasing to see how many children are still engaged in home learning despite the amazing weather! Please do continue to use Seesaw, Education City and the website as we provide learning activities which will help the children to be ready for Year 3 in September. It has also been great to see topics if interest followed by the children in addition to the home learning tasks.
Today BBC Bitesize has a French lesson on food and drink. There is also another activity here covering some of the French we tried earlier in the year at school.
For the final day of National School Sports Week we have some activities entitled Artistic Sports.
The last lesson from our Each Peach Pear Plum story involves creating an I Spy zig zag book of the characters from the story. We have included some pictures of nursery rhyme characters which you can print and hide around the house. Also there is some further practise of verbs and nouns.
Friday is maths challenge day on BBC Bitesize. Follow the link below and give them a try.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a giant in a phone box?
Stuck!!
25/6/20
Today for National School Sports Week At Home we have some Adventure Sport activities.
Lesson 4 of Each Peach Pear Plum looks at directional language (prepositions). There is also an activity to practise past and present tense.
In maths we continue the theme of measuring but this time looking at comparing the mass of objects.
Our Hampshire Music Service activity this week has the theme of "Underwater."
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What is a hedgehog's favourite food?
Prickled onions!
24/6/20
Day 3 of National School Sports Week At Home. Today it's team sports so may require some parental involvement! We were delighted to hear that one of our children intends to recreate school sports day at home this week complete with many of our traditional sports day activities such as the egg and spoon race and welly throwing!
Lesson 3 of Each Peach Pear Plum explores rhyming words and encourages the children to write their own rhyming sentences.
In maths today we are solving problems involving height and length.
For our young scientists we have some new STEM activities today. The jelly race looks fun!
At school today we will be looking out for all the different materials that are around us and where we find them in the environment.
What materials do we notice – brick, tarmac, concrete, wood, glass, plastic, grass, hedges, trees. What is the same about these materials and what is different? Can you describe what they feel like?
What mini beasts will we find there? Will we find the same mini beasts in all the different environments and all the materials or will some mini beasts prefer some particular places?
Is there anywhere you don’t find any mini beasts? I wonder why that is?
Use the ‘Materials’ power point and spotter sheets to help with your investigation and have a go at home.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What's the biggest mouse in the world?
A hippopotamouse!
23/6/20
Day 2 of National School Sports Week At Home features aiming skills. Send in a photo if you try any of the activities. Also if you post on social media include the hashtag #NSSWtogether.
Lesson 2 of our English topic using Each Peach Pear Plum today looks at the nursery rhyme characters who feature in the story. How many of the original nursery rhymes do they (and you!) know? We have also included some additional resources to help you complete the lesson.
There are also some more activities here linked to our Stick Man story and some work on rhyming.
In maths today we are comparing length and height. The BBC Bitesize link is here along with several measuring activities. The children need to pay careful attention to where the ruler starts as it is not always on zero.
For those who have enjoyed the Hometalk activities which provide starting points for conversations with your children there is a new resource here.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill?
To get to the bottom!
22/6/20
This week is National School Sports Week At Home and the Youth Sport Trust have teamed up with Sky Sports to create free resources for schools, parents and children. The attached letter tells you more about it and has a link so that you can sign up for free and take part in the week long events. We will also post some of the resources each day this week, starting today with the Parents Guide and Athletics. Do let us know if you take part.
Continuing our theme of stories by Julia Donaldson in recent weeks we have some reading activities to go with her story "Stick Man." If you don't have the book you can watch and listen to the story here.
Our new book for writing this week is Each Peach Pear Plum. As usual there are daily lessons and a link to view the story online if you don't have the book.
The BBC Bitesize timetable is here along with some maths ideas. The theme is measurement this week including solving problems involving length and height.
The history topic today looks at the life and work of Florence Nightingale. Along with the information on BBC Bitesize watch the "Magic Grandad" video below.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a magician's dog?
A labracadabrador!
19/6/20
One of the most important topics we cover in our Computing lessons at school is internet safety. As so much of the children's learning is online at the moment there are some activities to reinforce this on BBC Bitesize.
The final lesson on What The Ladybird Heard looks at writing directions. Nathan has been busy making a Duplo version of the map used by the robbers. There is also a PowerPoint which you might find useful.
Friday is Maths Challenge day and you can find the link here.
There is also another shape activity and some work on symmetry.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What is a cat's favourite colour?
Purr - ple!
18/6/20
We hope you've been enjoying "What The Ladybird Heard" this week. The children at school were doing lesson 3 yesterday, using bossy verbs and creating their own directions for the robbers. Here are some pictures of them in action!
Lesson 4 is all about time related vocabulary and verbs for instruction.
We have also included some handwriting and some further activities on bossy (imperative) verbs.
Maths today uses knowledge of shape properties to create patterns. As well as the BBC Bitesize videos and activities we have included a few more pattern exercises.
The latest lesson ideas from Hampshire Music Service are called Marvellous Me and focus on long and short notes. The musical clips are all contained within the PowerPoint - just click on the links.
Thanks to Lizzie and her mum who have sent in some more suggestions for resources which can be used at home. Deliberate Travel have created a range of activity books to help children learn about different countries around the world. The website link is here so that you can choose your own country. We have also included the book for Brazil as two of our Y2 children have a particular association with that country.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What's the fastest way to count cows?
Use a cowculator!
17/6/20
We have our weekly science activities from STEM today. They include creating a sundial, building a boat and writing secret messages.
Lesson 3 of "What The Ladybird Heard" looks at the directions the thieves were planning to follow in order to steal the prize cow. We have included a copy of the map to help with this drama based session.
Directions involve imperative verbs which we refer to in Y2 as bossy verbs. Here is an activity to work on these involving Mr Chatterbox and Little Miss Bossy. The children rather like the idea of being bossy and not having to be too polite ("Fold the paper in half" rather than "Please could you come over and fold the paper in half!) There is also another Inference Iggy activity and some handwriting practise.
For maths we are looking at sorting shapes and continuing to discuss the properties of 2D and 3D shapes. Here are some activities to try.
Our key worker groups at school have been making Mug Bug Hotels this afternoon as part of a topic on minibeasts and their habitats. You might like to give this a go at home.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day (courtesy of Mrs Anstee!)
What did the cheese say when he looked in the mirror?
Halloumi!
16/06/20
Following on from the reading activities last week based on "Winnie and Wilbur Stay At Home" we have some new activities using the well known story "Room On The Broom" by Julia Donaldson. If you don't have the book at home there is a link here to a reading of the story on YouTube.
Lesson 2 of "What The Ladybird Heard" looks at describing words. There is an activity sheet here to help start the lesson. Also below are some handwriting and phonics activities to try.
Today in maths we look at the properties of 3D shapes. Use the animations on BBC Bitesize along with these activities.
Our geography topic on Antarctica can be found here along with a template for writing a postcard about what it might be like to visit or live there. You could even make your own penguin using these ideas and templates!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do penguins wear on their heads?
An ice cap!
15/06/20
Welcome to another week of Year 2 Home Learning. Our new book this week is "What The Ladybird Heard" by Julia Donaldson. If you don't have the book here is Mr Bartlett to tell you the story.
The Ladybird Heard mp4.mp4
The plans for the week are here with the usual 5 lessons for the week. There are also some resources you could use to help with Lesson 1.
The schedule for BBC Bitesize this week is here.
The focus for maths is shape and pattern. Here are some activities for you to try to revise the properties of 2D shapes.
The BBC Bitesize History topic looks at William Shakespeare. The children wrote fact files about William Shakespeare's life back in February so hopefully will remember something about him. Along with the video and wordsearch on Bitesize there are some extra activities here and a link to a Horrible Histories video where Shakespeare goes to a modern day primary school. With the fact file and reading comprehension sheets the children can choose which they would like to use (some contain more information or require more reading) and perhaps write their own information sheet about his life and works.
A number of you responded to the Hometalk activities we posted last week so here are some more for you to try.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
A farmer asked his sheepdog to fetch the sheep down from the meadow. When he had finished the farmer asked his dog how many sheep there were.
"40" replied the dog.
"But I only have 37 sheep" said the farmer.
"Yes" agreed the dog "but I rounded them up!"
12/06/20
Maths today has a football theme as BBC Bitesize has teamed up with Premier League Primary Stars. The activities look at the language of position and direction including a video, quiz and worksheet activities. The link and worksheets can be found here.
Today is the final lesson from The Silent Red Book. Choose one of the challenges or you could try all 3!
We have had something of a drawing theme this week on the website. Here are some more activities you might like to try.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What happened when the football pitch was flooded during the game?
The teams brought on their subs!
11/06/20
The latest edition of music resources from Hampshire Music Service is attached today called Read, Write and Remember Music. It introduces musical notation through using pictures and symbols. As usual all the musical links and resources are contained in the PowerPoint.
Lesson 4 of The Silent Red Book explores the use of conjunctions to extend sentences. If you haven't tried them yet there are some activities to practise conjunctions posted on Tuesday and Wednesday. There is also a further activity here.
There are more ideas for learning about fractions on BBC Bitesize today. They have teamed up with NRICH to provide an excellent video and practical tasks to explain half and quarter. The video is presented by children with some practical demonstrations. There are also some further activities here which include a dice game.
We have seen a number of fantastic drawings on Seesaw this week. Here are some pictures from Rachel and James, along with Ella showing her certificate as she took part in a successful World Record attempt. Ella was one of 45,611 participants who joined in to #DrawWithRob on the 21st May creating a record for the world's largest online art lesson. Find #DrawWithRob on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to improve your drawing skills.
10/06/20
English today is Lesson 3 of The Silent Red Book (plans can be found in Monday's post). The focus today is on exploring the feelings of the characters and building vocabulary. The recording sheet for this activity if you want to use it is here or you could create your own pictures and thought bubbles. There is also another activity sheet to practise using conjunctions.
Maths activities to find half of shapes and sets of objects can be found on BBC Bitesize along with some extra activities below.
The science starters and activities from STEM have proved very popular so we are including some new ones for this week. There is also a science lesson on BBC Bitesize today.
The Y2 children who are currently attending school in the key worker group are learning about minibeasts and their habitats. Here is an identification chart we have been using which you could try in the garden or on a walk. How many of these minibeasts can you find?
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What did the hat say to the sock?
I'll go on ahead, you go on foot!
09/06/20
Our topic work today takes us to San Francisco in North America. Use the information on the BBC Bitesize videos and then create a poster showing people why it would be a great place to visit. You might also talk about similarities and differences with where we live.
Today is lesson 2 of The Silent Red Book looking at building vocabulary to describe feelings and also using conjunctions to extend sentences. There is an activity here to provide further practise at using conjunctions.
We are also including a reading activity working on inference skills which features a character called Inference Iggy who the children have met before in Year 2.
In Maths the fractions topic continues with some work on non-unit fractions. The BBC Bitesize link is here along with some activity sheets.
9th June is Empathy Day. There is a video here explaining what it is all about and also a link to some Empathy Day activities. A number of online activities will be available during the day for both children and adults. In addition we have included some Philosophy 4 Children resources which provide some conversation starters you could try with your child.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What did one strawberry say to another strawberry?
If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be in this jam!
08/06/20
Here is the BBC Bitesize timetable for the week. There are some great activities this week - watch out for Science on Wednesday which involves using your socks!
One area of the curriculum which has been more difficult to support for some of you at home has been reading as the children don't all have access to the range of books we have at school. One solution is to use the free access to Oxford Owl which has a huge library of ebooks including many of the books we use in our school reading scheme. The link is below - simply follow the instructions to register (which is free) and start reading.
One of the books you can access is a brand new Winnie the Witch story all about having to stay at home. There are a number of activities you can try as well as reading the book which can be found here.
The Bitesize Maths this week looks again at fractions. Although we covered this about 5 weeks ago it is very useful to revise as fractions are a key topic when the children move into Key Stage 2. The link to the Bitesize page and the accompanying worksheets are here.
Our new starting point for writing is called The Silent Red Book. As usual there are 5 lessons (one for each day). The plan is here along with the recording sheet for Lesson 1.
The History topic on Bitesize today looks at the life of Elizabeth Fry. There are some additional resources here for you to use alongside the topic.
Thank you to those who have sent in videos for the Virtual Choir of "Singing All Over The World." If you forgot or would still like to take part the deadline has been extended to Friday 12th June. It would be great to have a few more Y2 singers to join the Junior Choir on the Virtual Choir video.
Finally thanks to Lizzie who has sent in a brilliant link to help with drawing (Mr Jackson needs to watch it!) Draw with Rob is a series of tutorials from children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph who shows you step by step how to produce amazing drawings. If you try it do send in some examples of your pictures and also any recommendations for activities the children could try at home.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why was the broom late for school?
He over-swept!
5/06/20
The Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service have asked us to share their new online resources with you as they are not able to visit schools at the moment. As well as important safety information there are some fun activities for the children as well.
Friday is Maths Challenge day so give these a go.
Today the final lesson in our Handa's Surprise story is for the children to come up with their own story, perhaps using their own name. We would love to share some of them so do send them in via email or on Seesaw. Also there is an activity to work on suffixes.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What are twins' favourite fruit?
Pears!
04/06/20
We know lots of you enjoy science and technology activities (especially Matthew who has requested more!) so here are some fantastic ideas from STEM. Mr Jackson is particularly keen on the chocolate melting activity!
In Maths we are revising odd and even numbers. Here is the link to the BBC Bitesize resources and some activities to try.
Also for a bit of fun here is a 4 in a row game to try. Answer the questions and place your counters. Perhaps you could challenge your parents!
Day 4 of Handa's Surprise looks at making lists and writing a party invitation. We have also included a spelling practise activity.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What lies in a pram and wobbles?
A jelly baby!
03/06/20
We have another instalment of the excellent Hampshire Music Service resources today called "You Got Rhythm."
Remember that if you would like to appear in the next Castle Primary Virtual Choir video the resources were posted on Monday and you have until the end of the week to send in your videos. Here is what "Singing All Over The World" looks like (and sounds!) with the Junior Singers.
Maths looks at division by grouping today and can be found using the BBC Bitesize link. We have included some extra activities for the children to try as well.
English continues the Handa's Surprise story looking at writing simple noun phrases. If you would like further reading and writing opportunities Elijah has come up with a great idea.
He has done some work on rhymes and poetry today, inspired by the book ‘Never Shake a Rattlesnake’.
You could try to find a favourite book containing rhyming words and identify them as Elijah has done. Also have a look at the activities below based on a poem called "I wouldn't."
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What is a pirate's favourite subject?
Arrrt!
02/06/20
As the amazing weather is continuing we have some Trailblazer activities from the Hampshire Outdoors Team today. If the children are getting tired of walking the same routes on their daily exercise and you are looking for ideas to engage them this is the place to look. They can even make a boat out of natural materials to sail in the washing up bowl or the bath!
There are also details about 30 Days Wild, a national nature challenge for the 30 days of June. As you can see James has already discovered this.
The theme for Maths today is sharing (division). There are the usual links on BBC Bitesize with some additional activities here.
The second lesson of Handa's Surprise encourages the children to sequence the story and use adjectives to describe the fruit. The plan for the week appeared in yesterday's post and there are some further activities here including templates for stick puppets to act out the story and a bingo game.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What's bad tempered and goes well with custard?
Apple grumble!
01/06/20
Welcome back to the last half term of the school year! We hope you have been enjoying the sunshine during the past week as well as enjoying learning Mrs Donougher's monkey dance. We are looking forward to seeing your videos this week (for those that want to)! As you will no doubt be aware schools will be opening more widely today for YR, 1 and 6 but we still don't know when Y2 children will be returning to the classroom. Until that happens we will continue to provide a range of home learning tasks on the website, Seesaw and Education City. As more classes are returning to school the Y2 teachers will be required to spend more time with the key worker groups. Usually when one teacher is in school the other will be available to support home learning but there are days where both of us are in school teaching. We will still provide daily updates to the home learning but on those occasions we are both in school there may be a delay in approving submissions to Seesaw or answering emails.
Following the success of our first Virtual Choir a few weeks ago the Y2 children have the opportunity to feature in another one along with members of our Junior Choir. Some of the Junior Choir have recorded "Singing All Over The World" which is a song the Y2 children have learned at school. The words and the "How to..." video are here if you would like to have a go. I need videos sent to me by the end of Friday 5th June if your child would like to take part.
This is what you need to do...
Here are the words and 2 versions of the song.
The one which says with singers has a choir singing the words which you can use to practise.
Once you are ready to record you need to do the following.
- You will need to play the backing track on one device (eg. A laptop or tablet) and listen to the track with headphones.
- Get someone to video you singing the song along to the track on another device such as a mobile phone. It is important that we just hear your voice and not the backing track as well on the recording. Make sure you have the phone orientation in portrait NOT landscape.
- When you get to the section of the song that splits into 2 parts sing the tune as you normally would (some of the Junior Choir are singing the other part).
- Send the video by email to a.jackson@castle.hants.sch.uk or click the following link to Dropbox and upload it to the folder https://www.dropbox.com/request/8F9qPNYbiqSdswMwh6ct
If you would like a demonstration of what to do here is a video showing each of these steps.
Mr J 
Junior Virtual Choir 2.mp4
Singing All Over The World (with singers).mp3
Singing All Over The World (backing).mp3
We will continue to make use of the excellent BBC Bitesize resources. The timetable for the week ahead is here.
Maths this week will look at counting in 10s and division/sharing. There are some activities to try on Bitesize and some additional work below.
Our new book this week is called "Handa's Surprise." The plan has 5 lessons (one for each day) and can be found here.
Our History today comes from the Y1 Bitesize planning and looks at Queen Victoria. Either select Y1 on BBC Bitesize to find the relevant video clips, etc or click on the link below. The activities include a comprehension worksheet and also a template to make your own royal crown. There is also a link to a Horrible Histories song called "Tricky Vicky!"
Handwriting focuses on some of the key words the children will use regularly in their writing. There are a number of sheets here which can be used over the course of the week or if you can't print them out at home simply copy the words onto paper to practise.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Who invented fractions?
Henry the Eighth!
21/5/20
Today is the final day before half term. Whilst it has been a very strange and challenging time we are immensely grateful for the support of parents and families as we all try to manage a new way of delivering education. The work the children have produced at home and the kind words we have received make a difficult situation so much easier to deal with. Therefore we would like to award Star of the Half Term to all of our wonderful Year 2 community!
The monkey dance- the whole dance
We hope you are enjoying learning Mrs Donougher's dance routine this week. Here is the whole routine of the monkey dance so you can practice it all together! If you need longer to practice before sending in your videos you can send them in after half term and if you're feeling creative, even change some of Mrs Donougher's moves to your own if you like! We can’t wait to see them! 😄🐵🐒
We will not be posting further home learning after today until Monday 1st June so would like to wish you a safe, healthy and enjoyable half term week.
Friday is Maths challenge day. As last week the first 3 challenges are aimed at Year 2 but if you want to try the others do give them a go. The answers are attached as well in case you need them! There are also a couple of 5x table activities including making your own Fortune Teller.
Lesson 5 of Oliver's Vegetables asks the children to use all the skills they have practised through the week to create sentences with a day of the week, adjectives and synonyms. There is also the usual daily handwriting sheet and an Oliver's Vegetables wordsearch.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a bear with no teeth?
A gummy bear!
This beautiful video was shared by Ella on Seesaw (found by her mum). Hope you all enjoy it.
21/5/20
On BBC Bitesize today there is a computing activity to help learn about code and algorithms. This was a topic we looked at in the classroom in March so would be very useful to revise. The direct link to the Bitesize page is here.
Maths today moves on to the 5 times table and the link to the Bitesize clips and interactive games is here. There are also some other activities to reinforce counting in 5s.
Oliver's Vegetables Lesson 4 looks at words with similar meanings (synonyms) and adverbs which often have -ly endings. These can be added to the adjective sentences from earlier in the week to create a more descriptive phrase eg. "Oliver carefully swallowed the crunchy carrot."
There are additional activities on adjectives and adverbs here along with a handwriting sheet practising contractions.
Part 4 of the monkey dance
Here is the actual part 4 of the monkey dance to the song ‘I wanna be like you’ sang by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs. This is the last bit of the dance to learn! 🐵🐒😄
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What did the spider do on the computer?
Made a website!
20/5/20
We hope you are enjoying learning Mrs Donougher's dance from Jungle Book. Part 3 will be posted today so get those dancing feet ready and remember you can make a video of your dancing and post it on Seesaw or send it in to us.
Lesson 3 of Oliver's Vegetables looks at days of the week - don't forget to use a capital letter. In addition we have some phonics games practising digraphs and some handwriting revising the possessive apostrophe we looked at last week. For those who enjoy colouring and have access to a printer there are also some colouring pictures from the Oliver's Vegetables story.
For Maths today the focus is on learning the 2x table. Click on the link to visit the BBC Bitesize page where you will find a video clip and some activities to help practise the 2x table. There are also some additional activities here to have a go at as well.
We know the science topics we have posted have been popular with the children from the photos we have seen and also from the activities you have come up with yourselves. Here is an activity for making your own fossils out of salt dough.
Part 3 of monkey dance
Here is Part 3 ( ignore me saying part 4) of the monkey dance to the song ‘I wanna be like you’ sang by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs. We would love you to join in and when you’ve had a go at learning the dance send in videos so we can see your monkey antics! 😄🐵🐒
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How do you know if there is a dinosaur in your fridge?
The door won't shut!
19/5/20
Our story of the week, Oliver's Vegetables, has been popular already with a number of you. Here is some work by Cecilia and James from Lesson 1. Today's lesson is all about adjectives and simple noun phrases. The plans can be found in the post on 18/5/20.
In addition we have some further activities on using adjectives along with our daily handwriting exercise.
Maths today continues the repeated addition/multiplication theme, this time looking at how we can use arrays. Use the animations on BBC Bitesize (link below) for an explanation on how they work.
We also have a new music activity to share with you from Hampshire Music Service. This week even though the sun is shining the children are encouraged to put on their wellies and move to the music! There is also an activity putting different amounts of liquid in glasses or bottles to produce different notes. Do send in your rainy day photos if you decide to give it a go.
Monkey dance Part 2
Here is Part 2 of the monkey dance to the song ‘I wanna be like you’ sang by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs. We would love you to join in and when you’ve had a go at learning the dance send in videos so we can see your monkey antics! 😄🐵🐒
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What's the fastest vegetable?
A runner bean!
18/5/20
Welcome to another week of Home Learning in Year 2. We continue to be delighted and amazed by the work the children are producing at home, not just using the activities on here but also their own projects. Well done to the children and especially the parents for the fantastic efforts you are making.
The BBC Bitesize timetable for the week is here. As always there is additional work each day on Education City, extra activities on this page of the website and it's great to see so many of you on Seesaw.
Our new story this week as a starter for writing activities is "Oliver's Vegetables" by Vivian French. If you don't have a copy you can hear the story using this link.
Here are some activity sheets which can be used with Lesson 1. If you can't print them out you can always draw your own pictures and labels.
Maths this week will be looking at multiplication using a method called repeated addition. There are video clips from BBC Bitesize explaining how to do this. We are also encouraging the children to learn and practise their 2x tables.
Our handwriting/spelling today looks at words spelt with an "a" which sounds like an "o" eg. watch, wander, want. There are also some activities to revise homophones - words which have the same pronunciation but different meanings or spellings.
For those of you who particularly enjoy science and technology activities here are some ideas - thanks to Lizzie's parents for the link to these.
Monkey dance
Join Mrs Donougher in a silly monkey dance to the song ‘I wanna be like you’ sang by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs. Monday to Thursday this week Mrs Donougher will teach you each part for you to join in with! We would love you to join in and when you’ve had a practice send in videos of yourself!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How do trees get on the internet?
They log in!!
15/5/20
If you haven't already come across The Jolly Pocket Postman told by Mrs Donougher on Seesaw then here it is for you to enjoy. If you would like to send Mrs Donougher or Mr Jackson or other children in Year 2 a letter or postcard that would be greatly appreciated! You could write it about your time at home or pretend you are some place else like a rainforest. You could either write it, take a photo and upload it via Seesaw or email or if it’s not inconvenient send it in the post to the school address (this may take some time before we receive them) but would still be greatly appreciated! 😄
The Jolly Pocket Postman Part 1
The Jolly Pocket Postman Part 2
The Jolly Pocket Postman Part 3
Jolly Pocket Postman Part 4
The Jolly Pocket Postman Part 5
Here is a further handwriting activity to go with those earlier in the week on suffixes.
We have some maths challenges from White Rose Maths for you today. Challenges 1,2 and 3 are aimed at Y2 children but if you want to try any of the others do have a go (family help is allowed!) There is also a certificate for completing a challenge and an answer sheet if you should need it.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Mikey.
Mikey who?
Mikey doesn't fit in the keyhole!
Have a great weekend.
14/5/20
Thursday's English activities include the next lesson of "We're Going On A Bear Hunt," using exclamation marks on BBC Bitesize and a game to practise prepositions which is attached here. To play the game you will need the script to give directions to your child and also the picture sheet. There is also a PowerPoint to remind them how prepositions work.
There is also another handwriting activity based on suffixes.
Our maths theme today is number bonds to 100. The BBC Bitesize activities are here.
Here is a further Rainbow Number Bond activity you might like to try. Follow each colour to create the number sentence eg. red could be 0 + 100 or 100 + 0.
Earlier this year the Y2 children took part in the Premier League Primary Stars programme in PE and also through classroom based lessons. Here are some challenges and a poster to fill in as each challenge is completed. There is also an activity to design your own avatar and colour in the Premier League trophy.
We also teach Philosophy 4 Children (P4C) across the school to encourage deeper thinking from the children and increase confidence to take part in discussions. Here are some great activities to try at home such as giving an answer and asking what the question might be!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the music teacher need a ladder?
To reach the high notes!
13/5/20
For those of you looking for a Wednesday workout we have a special video today from Year 1 teacher Mrs Blackwell. As well as teaching at Castle Primary Mrs Blackwell is a qualified dance fitness instructor. She has made a workout video for Year 1 which she would also like to share with us in Year 2.
Better When I'm Dancin'.mp4
There are more ideas for We're Going On A Bear Hunt which can be found in Monday's post. Jack has been enjoying the story and as his picture shows "It's (definitely) A Bear!"
Handwriting for today covers spelling of suffixes. There is also an activity to reinforce apostrophes.
Maths looks at subtracting 2 digit numbers and the activities are here. There is an explanation and also the answer sheets on BBC Bitesize if you need them.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a sleeping bull?
A bulldozer!
12/5/20
Our writing topic has got off to a great start this week based on the book “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt.” Henry takes us on a tour of all the obstacles met in the story with his bear, James has produced a storyboard, Summer has mapped the whole story and made a video, Barin has painted the story whilst Lizzie has literally walked through every obstacle in her path!
The activities for the week appear in yesterday’s post.
Summer.mp4
Lizzie4.mp4
Maths on BBC Bitesize today looks at adding 2 digit numbers. The activities are here.
Today’s handwriting continues to link closely with our key Year 2 spellings and covers words where the “u” sound is made with the letter “o” (other, money, nothing).
We also have a grammar activity for you looking at apostrophes for possession. There is a PowerPoint explanation and activity sheet along with a BBC Super Movers video.
Mr Jackson’s Joke of the Day
What colour do cats like best?
Purr – ple!
11/5/20
Welcome to a new week of home learning! Here is the BBC Bitesize timetable for the week. We know from feedback on Seesaw that a number of these activities are popular with the children. We will also continue to add other links and activities to the website and Seesaw which you might like to try.
The writing work based on "The Gruffalo" was very popular last week. This week we are using "We're Going On A Bear Hunt" which is also the story read by Mr Bartlett in the Assembly folder on the website (do have a look at his retelling in the school grounds). The plans have again come from the Hampshire English team - do send in some pictures of your hunting!
If you would like to do some handwriting there will be a new activity each day this week which links to Year 2 spelling words. Either print it out and complete the sheet or simply copy the words onto paper.
For maths this week we are looking at adding and subtracting 2 digit numbers. The activities also come with an answer sheet if you want to check the methods used. Also refer to the presentations, games, etc on BBC Bitesize.
Hampshire Music Service have produced another home learning pack this time on the theme of a journey to the Moon. All the links are in the Power Point for music, stories, etc.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What was the first animal in space?
The cow that jumped over the Moon!
7/5/20
Today we feature some work from the small group of children who are currently attending school either full time or part time. Like many of the home schooled children in Y2 this week they have been doing a range of activities based on the story "The Gruffalo." The activity today was to describe where each animal in the story lived.
Maths for today looks at adding and subtracting. There is a video explanation of the method and an activity sheet.
Friday 8th May is the 75th anniversary of VE Day and there will be many events commemorating the end of World War 2 in Europe. If you would like to mark this event with your child there is a powerpoint below explaining the significance along with some activities you might want to try. Thanks to Lizzie's mum for pointing us in the direction of these resources.
As it is a Bank Holiday on Friday there will be no work posted tomorrow. Enjoy the long weekend and we will be back with further ideas for home learning on Monday.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
When do astronauts eat?
At launch time!
6/5/20
We are delighted to share with you our first ever Castle Primary School Virtual Choir. Featuring our Year 2 children we present A Cat Sat On A Mat.
Thanks to all those who practised the song and recorded videos. If anyone else in Year 2 now feels they would like to join in as well you can still send your video and an updated Virtual Choir will appear at the end of the week (including the video I received just as I published this one!)
Maths today looks at related addition and subtraction facts. Again there is a video to use along with the activity.
Summer, Matthew and Caspian have continued the excellent work on The Gruffalo. If you haven't come across the activities yet they are in the post on 4/5/20.
There is also a set of spelling activities today. Have a go at making the corrections and only look at the answers afterwards!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What type of music are balloons scared of?
Pop music!
5/5/20
A great start to our new book of the week, The Gruffalo, as you can see from Lizzy and Barin's pictures along with some speech bubble writing from James. You can find the writing activities for the week in the post from yesterday.
Additional maths activities for today look at comparing addition and subtraction number sentences. There is another video to use alongside the activity which helps explain the processes.
Alice has been having fun outdoors with her brother on a scavenger hunt. One went with mum while the other with dad, taking a long walk around Portchester to find different things which included a red door, white car, motor home, postbox, shop, foot bridge, castle, church and bus stop. It was very close but Alice’s brother made it home 2 minutes before her!
If you have any outdoor activities you would like to share let us know. There are some suggestions in the Hampshire Outdoors newsletter below. The shadow drawing looks fun!
4/5/20
For the Star Wars fans out there "May the 4th be with you!"
Here is the weekly schedule from BBC Bitesize for those of you who are enjoying the activities and video clips.
We have seen lots of writing inspired by "The Day The Crayons Quit" last week. The new book for this week is "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson. The link to the plan is below and if you don't have the book there is also a video of Mr Bartlett reading the story in the Assembly Time folder on our website.
The additional maths activities we are posting this week (along with BBC Bitesize and Education City) focus on number bonds for addition and subtraction. There is an activity and also a video link that will explain some of the processes.
Thanks for the children's videos of "A Cat Sat On A Mat" which are fantastic. Mr Jackson is busy putting them together to publish hopefully on Tuesday. If anyone else wants to join in the videos need to be sent in by 5pm on Monday.
It's great to see all the things that the children have been growing. Rachel's sunflowers have started to grow already and she is keeping a chart to measure their progress.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call Chewbacca when he gets chocolate in his hair?
A chocolate chip Wookie!
Part 3 of the story the Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
Part 2 of the story Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch.
Part 1 of the story Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch.
1/5/20
So here we are in May already! We hope you enjoyed the Hampshire Music Service video in tribute to Captain Tom’s 100th birthday.
Today we include some ideas for science as from the photos we have received it is a popular subject amongst the children.
English today is lesson 5 of “The Day The Crayons Quit” (published in the 27/4/20 section on this page). We continue to see some fantastic writing posted on Seesaw. For those who would like some additional handwriting practise there are some suggestions here. If you can’t print the sheets then try copying them out onto paper. You could also make up some of your own sentences.
The Maths activities complete our revision this week on the topic of Fractions.
Mr Jackson’s Joke Of The Day
Why wouldn’t the crab share his sweets?
Because he was a little shellfish!
30/04/20
Thank you for all your feedback on Seesaw, the emails we are receiving and the Virtual Choir videos. These have been great ways to keep in touch and in addition we are going to be giving you a phone call over the coming days just to say hello and also answer any questions you might have about home learning or other school related matters. If we can’t get through (we are aware many of you are juggling working from home as well) we will leave a message.
English today is lesson 4 of “The Day The Crayons Quit” (published in the 27/4/20 section on this page). We have seen some excellent writing already based on the book as you can see. Some of the children have also tried the "Silly Sentence" challenge on Seesaw.
The Maths activities are here to continue our revision of Fractions along with a PSHE activity about feelings and emotions.
We know the children (and parents!) are trying to keep as active as possible under the current restrictions so here is a link to BBC Supermovers which combines exercise with learning about English, Maths, PSHE and Languages.
Mr Jackson’s Joke Of The Day
Two hedgehogs are in the road by a zebra crossing.
One says "Don't cross here!"
The other one replies "Why not?"
"Look what happened to this zebra!"
29/04/20
Thanks to those who have already returned their Virtual Choir videos. They sound great. Please can you try to send them to me by the weekend if possible.
We are aware that some parents have had difficulty printing out some of the activities we have posted on the site as they don’t have easy access to a printer. A lot of the activities can be done without the need to print as you can simply write the answers on a piece of paper or draw out what you see on the screen. The BBC Bitesize activities all have instructions for what you can do if you can’t print the sheets. Here are some pictures of Ella and Charlie doing just that whilst Elijah made up his own practical money activity.
For those of you now using Seesaw it is even easier as you can write on the screen and submit the work to the Y2 teachers. A number of the worksheets are on Seesaw as well as on the website along with other challenges and activities. Harlow completed the science activity on the screen and submitted it to Mrs Donougher and Mr Jackson whilst Oliver sent a picture of what he was doing inspired by the history on Bitesize. Henry sent in his answer to Mrs Donougher’s maths challenge and Bonnie (along with her brother) shared their own activity idea all about their tortoise.
As you can see we have had an excellent response to Seesaw. If you are not yet using it please submit the permission form either by email or sign the consent on Scopay.
English today is lesson 3 of “The Day The Crayons Quit” (published in the 27/4/20 section on this page) and Maths activities are here to continue our revision of Fractions.
A number of you enjoyed the music resources published before Easter from Hampshire Music Service. Here is the latest topic all about the instruments of the orchestra.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How does the Man in the Moon cut his hair?
Eclipse it!
28/04/20
Today we are launching our brand new Year 2 project to try and create our own virtual choir. It would be great to have as many of you as possible involved but if you would rather not appear in the video that is fine - you can still enjoy watching your friends or just singing the song to yourself at home. This is what you need to do...
Here are the words and 2 versions of the song.
The one which says with singers has a choir singing the words which you can use to practise.
Once you are ready to record you need to do the following.
- You will need to play the backing track on one device (eg. A laptop or tablet) and listen to the track with headphones.
- Get someone to video you singing the song along to the track on another device such as a mobile phone. It is important that we just hear your voice and not the backing track as well on the recording.
- Send the video by email to a.jackson@castle.hants.sch.uk or click the following link to Dropbox and upload it to the folder https://www.dropbox.com/request/8F9qPNYbiqSdswMwh6ct
If you would like a demonstration of what to do here are 2 videos showing each of these steps.
Virtual Choir instructions Part 1
Virtual Choir instructions Part 2
A Cat Sat On A Mat (with singers)
Use this track to practise the song and especially to work out how long the introduction is.
A Cat Sat On A Mat (backing track)
Use this track when you are ready to record the song. Make sure you wear headphones.
If you have any time left after singing and posting what you are up to on Seesaw then follow the BBC Bitesize link on yesterday's post where you will also find the English plans for the week based on the story "The Day The Crayons Quit." Here are also some maths activities to reinforce work on Fractions.
Barin has been busy planting her sunflower seeds and has also produced an amazing glittery map of the UK which she is labelling.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why do giraffes have long necks?
Because they have smelly feet!
27/4/20
Welcome to a new week and some exciting new developments for Year 2 home learning. You should by now have received an access code to log in to Seesaw either on a computer through the Seesaw website or on a device using the Seesaw class app. I know a lot of you have already done so and it has been great to see the amazing work you have been doing at home. Please also continue to send photos and videos to publish on this website if you would like to share what you have been up to. There are a few more examples later in today's post. You and your parents are clearly doing an amazing job which will make such a difference when we all return to school.
The other new development is that we would like to create our own virtual choir for Year 2. For those who wish to take part we are going to be recording a song we all know well, A Cat Sat On A Mat. Full instructions will be published on this page and also on Seesaw on Tuesday 28th April including the song and backing track.
We have had good feedback about BBC Bitesize and so will be continuing to recommend the activities along with other daily suggestions. The timetable for this week is
If you are looking for further activities we have a unit on the book "The Day The Crayons Quit" which we would have been using at school this week in normal circumstances. There are suggestions for 5 activities so one each day this week. Also there is a link to the story on YouTube if you don't have the book at home.
Maths this week will be revision of our work on Fractions. There are 2 activities posted below and some games on Education City to have a go at. Thanks to those of you who flagged up that a timer has appeared on some of the Education City games which some of the children are not fond of! This should now have been removed again but let us know if it reappears.
Here are some more examples of your brilliant work at home. Elijah the scientist has been making a lava lamp, Harlow has some very thoughtful ideas about how the situation with Covid-19 has made her feel, Jack has made some amazing animals as part of the Australia topic and Paige has been exploring the history of Portchester showing what an excellent historian she is.
Lava lamp
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why do bees have sticky hair?
Because they use honey combs!
24/4/20
One of our main topics for the Summer term in Year 2 is learning about how plants grow. We usually plant bean seeds and keep a diary over a number of weeks observing what happens.
It would be great if the children could have a go at growing something (it doesn't have to be beans) and keep their own diary, perhaps including some photographs as well. Below is an example of how the beginning of the diary might look along with an activity to label parts of a plant.
Here are a couple of maths activities for you to try and there are some reading and spelling games on Education City.
We hope you have enjoyed some of the excellent activities on BBC Bitesize along with the other ideas we have suggested. As we have said previously there is no expectation to complete them all (but you can if you want!) and hopefully there is something to appeal to everyone.
Lizzie had a go at the PSHE emotional expressions which as you can see she is rather good at! She also used her skills as a historian when interviewing her Grandpa who served with the Grenadier Guards at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. She also made a 3D puzzle of Tower Bridge and practised her measuring skills.
Charlie has produced some fantastic models of the favourite things he learned about in the Australia topic. You should be able to spot the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Great Barrier Reef, koalas, Joeys and some Aboriginal art. Evie continues to be very busy and this time has sent in a Lego word search successfully completed. Meanwhile Rachel has turned into a weather presenter having made a map and weather symbols to go with the weather diary she has been keeping. She also made an Australia map featuring some of the main landmarks and can be seen playing the didgeridoo!
Henry has demonstrated his scientific knowledge and skills to build a complicated electric circuit.
Electric circuit.mp4
Cecilia has also been trying BBC Bitesize. Here are her vegetable characters - lovely use of alliteration and describing words.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What animal can jump higher than the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
All animals - bridges can't jump!
23/4/20
We love to sing in Year 2 and many of the songs we use at school come from the Sing Up website. This organisation has now created a home learning section which is free to access featuring songs and activities you can try with your children. You can click on the Getting Started tab on the site or just explore for yourselves.
On Education City today there are some Science activities and also some work on money. The activities below focus on place value and use of the greater than/less than signs.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
How many seconds are there in a year?
12
January 2nd, February 2nd. March 2nd ....
Amelie has had an exciting time watching her caterpillars grow into beautiful butterflies. Ella has been learning about the solar system with her brother and written a lovely acrostic poem about friends. Harlow has been getting creative with play dough having followed the recipe and done all her own measuring.
22/4/20
Thanks for the photos and videos which have been sent in and appear below. Today in addition to Education City and BBC Bitesize we have some Maths activities and some ideas for discussing emotional wellbeing.
Alice has been creating a time capsule and going on a noun hunt, Oliver has been learning about Australia and Bonnie and her mum have been creating some amazing art work. If you would like to have a go at the time capsule activity the link is here (thanks to Alice's mum for the idea).
James and his family made rockets, Summer is going to teach you how to sign the alphabet and Oliver has a song to share.
Rockets.mov
Sign language.mp4
Music.MP4
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call an alligator detective?
An investi - gator!
21/4/20
As yesterday we are recommending you use the BBC Bitesize resources (link below in 20/4/20 section) along with the work set on Education City. In addition we have some spelling activities for you - Tic Tac Toe, Roll The Dice and Wordsearch. Try using some of the words the children have learned during Year 2. There is also a list attached which we gave out at parents evening with the Y2 key spelling words. With the Wordsearch activity perhaps the children could create one and ask someone else in the family to solve it.
Here are a few more pictures which have been sent in from Year 2. Summer has been very busy creating a weather diary, James has made a beautiful bird as part of his Australia topic and someone else you might recognise has been doing a bit of music practise!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why do ducks make good detectives?
They always quack the case!
20/4/20
Welcome back after the Easter break! As you should be aware from the email sent a couple of weeks ago we will be starting to use a platform called Seesaw which should make it easier to share ideas, photos, etc and for people to keep in touch. If you haven't already done so please confirm permission for your child to access Seesaw by Wednesday as we would like to launch by the end of this week and send out access codes. You can either complete the consent letter and email it to a.jackson@castle.hants.sch.uk or click the online consent through scopay.
A copy of the letter is attached below.
A new resource for schools goes live on Monday 20th April from BBC Bitesize which we will be using. Each day there will be suggested activities in a range of subjects. The timetable for the first week looks like this:
You can access the activities using the following link. There are some on screen activities and also others that require pencil and paper to complete. We are not expecting the children to do all the activities each day and there will still be homework set on Education City along with suggestions on this page about other things you might try.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the tap dancer give up?
He kept falling in the sink!
03/04/20
So today is the last day of the Spring term ... it hasn't quite worked out as we expected! We continue to be delighted to see what the children have been up to and there are some more pictures below which have been sent in. Over the next 2 weeks we will take a break from posting activity suggestions on the website. Hopefully you have plenty of resources still to make use of either on this page or other activities you have discovered. The new term starts on Monday 20th April when we will resume our daily suggestions for the children. We are also looking at other ways to communicate with you all. In the meantime feel free to continue to send things in by email over the next 2 weeks.
Our resource of the day comes from the Hampshire Outdoor Team who have some excellent suggestions for outdoor learning. Also musician Nick Cope is hosting afternoon get togethers on Facebook with songs which appeal to both children and parents (thanks to Abbie and her mum for the suggestion). There is also Mrs Donougher's entertaining song further down this page to enjoy. She has now challenged Mr Jackson to post one as well!
Mr Jackson's (Easter) Jokes of the Day
What do you get if you pour boiling water down a rabbit hole?
Hot cross bunnies!
What happened to the Easter egg when it heard a funny joke?
It cracked up!
How can you tell which are the oldest rabbits in a group?
Just look for the grey hares!
Happy Easter!
Mr Jackson & Mrs Donougher x
A wide range of work going on in Year 2 today. Cecilia and Bonnie have produced some beautiful Seder plates for RE. Evie played an amazing assortment of instruments as she took on the music challenge. Tegan was also being creative making a papier mache Aboriginal lady as part of her Australia topic work (and big sister Niamh couldn't help joining in with a koala).
Abbie has produced some fantastic writing about Australia, part of which is shown here. She also came up with some colour coded writing featuring all the things we have been practising in grammar. Mrs Jackson thinks Abbie should have her job as English Manager!
Mrs Donougher’s sing along
I hope you all enjoy this video and that it will hopefully make you smile! Apologies for the abrupt ending, I went blank with the end line of the song!
Thank you to Lin Bone for teaching me this song.
Thank you to Lin Bone for teaching me this song.
02/04/20
We are enjoying the pictures of what some of the children are busy doing at home. Here is what Elijah, Henry, Ella and Evie have been up to.
We have another music activity for you today from Hampshire Music Service. This one is called Easter Fun and is a Powerpoint with links you can click on to get to the musical clips. A number of you have said how much you have enjoyed doing music as Lizzie is demonstrating!
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the teddy bear say no to dessert?
Because he was stuffed!
01/04/20
Today we have a picture of Leo working hard on his Australia topic. Do keep sending us your pictures as we love to see what the children are getting up to. Also if the children wish to contribute to Joke of the Day then email them in to us. Education City activities can be found under the Classwork rather than Homework tab today.
For those of you able to get outdoors in the garden or taking your daily exercise there are some activities below from the Field Studies Council. Some of them can even be completed by simply looking out of a window if you are stuck indoors.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What did the left eye say to the right eye?
Between us, something smells!
31/3/20
It has been good to hear how busy some of you have been. Cecilia and her family have made this fantastic bug hotel. Alice has been learning about bones and Lizzie has been trying some of the capacity activities.
We would love to see pictures of what you have been up to.
Suggestions for today include The Philosophy Man who is doing daily questions for kids to explore at home.
https://www.thephilosophyman.com/brainsqueezersweek1
Also STEM science has loads of great ideas for experiments you can do at home along with some activities for maths.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What do you call a dinosaur wearing a blindfold?
Do-you-think-he-saw-us!
30/3/20
Welcome to Week 2! Below today's post you will find suggestions for work the children could do in the week ahead. There are some Maths activities for capacity and greater than/less than, along with ideas for English. We have included the next part of our Geography topic on Australia which follows a week in the life of a boy called Ethan and his family who live in Sydney. There is a Powerpoint and some photos which need to be used to complete the activity sheet. Finally our RE topic is Easter and the Passover. Again there are Powerpoint presentations which can be used to complete the activities.
In addition there will again be daily Education City work to complete. We are able to track the work completed by each child on Education City which will give us an idea of what has been covered when we eventually get back to school. If you can't get on because you have lost your password please let us know by email.
Mrs Donougher and Mr Jackson
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Cow go.
Cows go who?
No silly. Cows go moo!
Maths
English
Geography
RE
27/3/20
Back in January we took the children to a concert at the Chichester Festival Theatre as part of our music topic which also included learning about the story of Peter and the Wolf. Tonight at 7pm the Royal Opera House will be showing a ballet version of the story on their YouTube page.
https://www.youtube.com/royaloperahouse
If you are looking for stories to share with your children then author David Walliams is currently making a story available each day for free. Use the link below - today at 11am you can hear a story from his best selling book "The World's Worst Children 2!" For those who are unfamiliar with his books they will appeal to anyone who enjoys Roald Dahl.
https://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/
Some new suggestions for work at home will be uploaded to this page on Monday and daily Education City homework will appear Monday - Friday.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
What is brown, hairy and wears sunglasses?
A coconut on holiday!
26/3/20
Hopefully despite the restrictions you are able to get out at some point to enjoy the sunshine. Today there are some suggestions for keeping active through cricket and football if you have any garden space you can use (or even indoors!)
In the Autumn Term Year 2 had the opportunity to work with a cricket coach in PE lessons. This came about through the Chance To Shine project and below are some activities you could try at home.
We also recently started working with coaches from Pompey in the Community on the Premier League Primary Stars football programme. Here are some activities you might try.
These websites have a wide range of activities so give them a try. Remember if you find anything which other parents might be interested in, or just want to say hello, then let us know through the following email
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why is Cinderella so bad a football?
Because she keeps running away from the Ball!
25/3/20
Today's theme is music and meditation. One of our former Year 2 staff members, Mark Bishop, now teaches at a Primary school in Devon and has started to post videos of the meditation sessions he does with KS1 children. Follow the link below for "Chilling with Mr Bishop!"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn5GM5dSWLQ
Hampshire Music Service have developed a resource called Keep Calm and Make Music for use at home. The KS1 activity is "Walking the Dog." This is a powerpoint which contains links on YouTube for all the music clips you need and instructions for what to do.
There will hopefully be more music next week as Mr and Mrs Jackson plan to record some of the songs we have done with the children this year if we can get the technology to work! These will be posted on the website so that the children (and you!) can sing along.
Mr Jackson's Joke Of The Day
What did one snowman say to the other?
Do you smell carrots?
Walking The Dog
24/3/20
Good morning to the Year 2 community. I gather from yesterday that there were some issues getting on to Education City due to huge demand across the country. Those of us at school did manage to log on eventually so please keep trying as there are daily activities being set there covering aspects of the curriculum which we would have been teaching over the coming weeks.
Also I have been contacted by a parent about a yoga studio in Fareham which has begun offering free online yoga sessions for children. Search for LV Yoga on Facebook.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why did the banana go to the doctors?
It wasn't peeling very well!
23/3/20
Hope you are all well and have that timetable ready for home learning this week! There are new activities on Education City today and at 9am you can join Joe Wicks on his YouTube channel for a bit of PE. Also there are a couple of new links for webpages with useful activities to keep the children busy. To add to the entertainment (!) we will be posting Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day starting today.
Mr Jackson's Joke of the Day
Why couldn't Mr Perfect open the piano?
All the keys were inside.
20/3/20
Many thanks to parents and families for the kind words and messages we have received today. It means a great deal to the staff. We very much hope to see our Year 2 community back together before too long.
Thanks also to those of you who have already sent in suggestions for websites and resources to help the children at home during the closure. These will be added to the Year 2 web page over the coming days. I am looking forward to my morning PE workouts with Joe Wicks starting on Monday!
Mr Jackson
19/3/20
Supporting Websites
Because large numbers of children are going to be self-isolating, many websites have opened access for parents. In light of this, Year 2 are going to be providing links to resources to help support learning during this time.
We will also be posting homework on Education City on a daily basis from Monday 23rd March.
For those who are currently in school we will be sending home some resources to get you started including a research project on Australia. If your child is currently at home these resources will be posted on this page later today.
If you need to get in touch about anything (eg forgotten Education City password) please email me at a.jackson@castle.hants.sch.uk
Also if you come across any good web links for activities we can share with other parents please let me know and I will post them on this page.
Wishing you all the best at this difficult time and looking forward to a return to normality!
Year 2 team
Twinkl
Twinkl offers a range of activities across the whole curriculum. In order to access Twinkl resources, go to twinkl.co.uk/offer and enter the code UKTWINKLHELPS
PhonicsPlay
This website supports key learning in Phonics to support reading and spelling. Free access is currently available using the following details:
Username: march20 Password: home
This will work on most platforms. There is a new version about to be released which will work on all phones and tablets so if you can't get it to work immediately then try again in the next few days.
Oxford Owl
Oxford Owl for Home is offering free games and activities including a wide range of ebooks so that the children can continue to read at home.
PE lessons with Joe Wicks
The "Body Coach" Joe Wicks will be broadcasting a daily PE workout starting on Monday at 9am on his YouTube channel. Information can be found at https://www.thebodycoach.com/blog/pe-with-joe-1254.html
Orchard Toys
A range of free worksheets and activities across the curriculum.
Australia reseach project
English activities
Maths activities
This half term we will be doing PE on a Thursday. Please ensure your child has their PE kit in school.
The children will have a weekly spelling test on a Friday when they will also be given a new set of spellings to learn for the following week. Please encourage them to practise at home.