Smashing Science!
When looking at England’s coastline, we talked about how it needed protecting against erosion from the sea. We planned an investigation to test what concrete mixture was the strongest and, today, we tested them.
We placed our samples into bags and labelled them with the ratio of cement:stones:sand used to make it.
We donned our coats and braved the bad weather. We agreed to drop each sample at 10cm intervals and see which broke last and, therefore, was the strongest.
Lots were so strong that they didn’t break even when we were dropping them from 2m! So, we found the highest point we could get to in our school and dropped them from there…
Some still didn’t break. We decided this was a good thing as it means our coastlines are protected by a very strong material.
Homework Review
We tested our Where in the World knowledge during our homework review.
We’d learnt all sorts of facts:
- capitals of countries
- countries of Europe
- countries of Africa
- continents
- oceans
We were particularly impressed with how quickly Albert could name the capitals of the countries he’d chosen and with how many countries of Africa Isaac could name.
Maths
At the start of Year 2, our maths learning has been all about number and place value (understanding the value of a digit depends on its place in the number).
In this lesson, we were being resourceful by comparing numbers using numicon, place value counters and Base 10.
Which sign (< less than, > more than or =) would we use to compare these two numbers?
Living and Learning: Four of the eight Rs for learning
So far, in our Living and Learning sessions, we have thought about the importance of the following 8 Rs – being ready, being responsive, taking a safe risk and being responsible.
As well as discussing these aspects of learning in our specific sessions, we also refer to them at other times to reinforce good learning.
Being ready
As well as being punctual for school at 8:50am, we talked about how to be ready to learn promptly – having your equipment ready, looking at the speaker, having good body language and using a silent voice.
Being responsive
Year 2 are encouraged to respond to feedback in their learning. Using our purple pens, we’ve been improving learning in our books and taking on board any areas for improvement. If the children note some ‘star’ parts of their work, they should be keen to keep doing that.
Being responsible
We’ve been very impressed, after such a short time in Year 2, how the children are taking responsibility by following our new classroom routines, rather than relying on an adult. These might include bringing their library book to school to change on Monday, putting their reading book and signed reading record book in the basket for changing on Mondays and Thursdays, having their PE kit in school on Tuesday and Thursday, taking earrings out for PE on those days, changing the calendar and taking temperature and weather readings. There’s lots of responsibility in Year 2!
Risk-taking
We’ve seen lots of examples of children taking a safe risk in class. This could be putting our hand up even if we’re unsure, having a go at some learning, trying a new meal on our school dinner menu, attempting a word when reading even if we’re not sure and trying a new skill in PE.
Can you remember the next four of the eight Rs for learning?
PE
In PE sessions, we’ve been working hard to improve our ball skills. We’ve been working individually and in pairs to throw, catch and pass a ball. The children are enjoying their PE sessions in Year One and have made great progress already!
Creating Sentences
In Year One, we’ve been busy combining our English and topic learning. The children were given an envelope of words and had to work together to put them in the correct order to form sentences. After this, the children used maps and atlases to write their own sentences.
Gardening
The children have shown a keen interest in our outside garden area.
As part of our maths learning this week, we counted the bulbs and planted them in rows of five.
We picked our ripe cherry tomatoes and shared them at snack time.
Cycle Leeds Learn to ride a bike sessions
These popular sessions are running locally in the half term holiday. Booking is essential for all sessions and can be done by clicking on the appropriate link below.
Children’s Beginners Learn to Ride Sessions
Tuesday 30th October and Thursday 1st November
At Carr Manor Community School (Secondary Phase)
Times: 9am, 10:30am and 12:30
For more information and to book:
https://childrencarrmanor.eventbrite.co.uk
Children’s Improvers – Skills, Circuits & Games!
Thursday 1st November – Carr Manor Community School (Secondary Phase)
Time: 14:00
For more information and to book:
https://childrenimproverscarrmanor.eventbrite.co.uk
Meet Henry
This week, the children have got to meet our class mascot, Henry.
Every Friday, Henry will get the chance to come and stay with someone in the class for the weekend. Don’t forget to bring him back to school on Monday.
He will also bring his diary so it would be great if you could write about what you have been doing with Henry and even add a picture. Then, we can tell the rest of the class all about his adventures.
He’s looking forward to having lots of fun with you!
Where in the world do your family live?
Learning the seven continents has been one of the Year 2 geography objectives in our Where in the world topic. We also had a discussion about where our families live around the world.
It was interesting to hear the different places the children talked about and who in their family lived there. If we weren’t sure which continent it was in, we used the atlas to check.
Let’s see what you can remember (one of our 8 Rs for learning):
- Whose family live in South America?
- Can you name one of the children whose family live in Asia?
- Can you name one of the countries in Europe that was mentioned?
- Why is zero the total for Antarctica?
