We have had a wonderful half term learning all about space! We have been exploring beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and have been learning what is out there in our galaxy for our theme ‘To Infinity and Beyond!’. We started off our topic with a Discover and Do session with a range of fun activities to begin to build our knowledge of all things space/ We asked a range of questions at the start of our topic and have been answering them throughout the half term.
During Expressive Arts lessons, we learnt about Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ painting and even had a go at creating our own replica of the piece by making a collaborative piece of art! We also listened to Holst’s ‘The Planets’ and compared different movements by listening to the dynamics, tempo and timbre. We took our art outdoors when learning about Andy Goldsworthy for our Seize the Season sessions where we made our own transient art using natural objects. We also learnt how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the boom whackers!
In Science and Technology lessons, we experimented with different materials to see how much light they let through. We also sorted materials into opaque, translucent and transparent. We had lots of fun exploring how the Earth moves around the sun and can explain how we have day and night. We were so lucky to get to try space ice cream! We compared it with real ice cream and decided we loved both! Near the start of half term, we had an amazing visit where a Planetarium was brought to our school. We got to look at all of the planets and learn about the lifetime of a star.
During Humanities lessons we researched a lot about previous astronauts who have visited space! We read a story about Neil Armstrong and watched the video of the first landing on the moon. We learnt about his life and completed a timeline. It was also interesting to research a range of female astronauts who have been to space. We also had fun looking on Google Earth to see what Earth looks like from space. On the last day of term, we had a great time for our Cultural Day where we dressed in our culture’s traditional clothing and got to tell our classes all about it.
In Languages, Literacy and Communication we have thoroughly enjoyed reading and retelling Whatever Next! and Alien Invasion! We innovated the story Alien Invasion! and made up our own ending to the story by changing what happened to the aliens when they landed on Earth. In Mathematics and Numeracy, we have been recognising umbers within 100, sequencing numbers within 100 and adding/subtracting from 2 digit numbers.
In Health and Well-being, we have built up to playing a game of tennis in a group of four. We learnt early tennis skills like balancing a ball on the racket, bounding the ball and holding the racket correctly and serving. We learnt how to be light on our feet and keep our eyes on the ball. We learnt about how astronauts keep their bones healthy when they are in space which was by exercising for 2.5 hours a day and eating healthy meals!
We’ve had an amazing first half term in Year 2 and we can’t wait for the Christmas festivities next term! Have a lovely rest everyone.
