Welcome to our Year 2, Owl Class page 

Class Teacher: Miss K Fairbrother 

Support Staff: Mrs D Tebbutt, Miss K Mistry

PE Days: Monday and Thursday 

In Owl Class we work hard on embedding our skills from EYFS and Year 1 and further build upon our foundations before we head into Year 3 and Key Stage 2.

Please click on the link below for all the information on what we are learning about this half-term.

Week Ending 28th November 2025

In History Year 2 have written a wanted poster about the person they think is most responsible for the gunpowder plot.  They chose between Robert Catesby, King James I and Guy Fawkes and wrote the reasons why they were to blame.  The majority of the children believed Robert Catesby was mostly to blame because it was his idea.

In Science, they have been learning about the importance of hygiene and how quickly germs spread.  We watched a video about what germs look like under a microscope and why we should wash our hands regularly during the day.  They used glitter on their hands to represent germs and tried 3 different methods to wash it off to show how effective soap and water is to clean our hands. 

In PSHE, we read Augustus and his smile which is a story about a tiger who thought his smile was lost until he realised, he only had it when he was happy, so he did things to make his smile come back.  The children discussed what they do when they have lost their smile too.

Week Ending 21st November 2025

This week year 2 have been planning a poem base on the poem "Missing : Daisy - Anyone seen my dragon?" The children have thought of their own unusual pets and will be writing a poem in the same style.

In Science, they learnt about different food groups found on the eat well plate and used this information to design a balanced meal in the form of a lunch box. They thought about what fruits and vegetables to include, what their carbohydrate and protein might be and some wanted to include some dairy.

In History, they have written a letter to Lord Monteagle including information he may have been given. In 1605, he received a letter warning him not to go to the Houses of Parliament because of the dangers on the 5th of November. This was shared with King James I, ultimately leading to the discovery of Guy Fawkes hiding with the barrels of gunpowder. Caught red-handed!

In RE, they have been learning about Christingle which is a symbol of the importance of Jesus to Christians and a service is held in some churches during advent where Christingles are made and lit.

• Orange: Represents the world.

• Candle: Symbolises Jesus as the Light of the World, bringing hope to those in darkness.

• Red ribbon: Represents the love of God and the blood of Jesus.

• Sweets or dried fruit: Represent the fruits of the earth and God's creations (the sweetness and goodness of God)

Week Ending 14th November 2025

In Science, they learnt about their heart and how and why it beats faster during exercise. They tried to find their pulse (sometimes successfully!) and count how many beats per minute when they were resting. They then worked in groups to do various exercises for one minute and write down how their bodies reacted.

In PSHE, they have been talking about bullying. They looked at the different kinds of bullying that it was defined as behaviour that purposefully tried to upset someone on many occasions (or Several Times On Purpose S.T.O.P) They were given scenarios and had to decide if it was bullying and why. They read the story 'Something Else' which highlights that we are all different but that we shouldn't be treated differently or excluded because of that.

In History, they have been sequencing the key events from the gunpowder plot. Exploring what happened from the conspirators making their plot to how it failed and what became of Guy Fawkes. The children wrote sentences about each event

Week Ending 7th November 2025

In History, they have been learning more about Guy Fawkes and writing key facts about him and why he was important to the Gunpowder Plot.

• Guy Fawkes - also known as Guido Fawkes

• Born April 13th 1570 in York

• He was a Catholic

• He worked with Robert Catesby to plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament with the King inside.

• He knew how to use gunpowder.

• He was caught red handed on 5 th November 1605, in the cellar of the Houses of Parliament.

In Science, they read a story called 'Hom' where a boy is washed up on a deserted island and meets a creature called Hom. They live on the island and become best friends so they looked at all the basic things they needed to survive but also what they had that gave them a happy life too, so they could distinguish between needs and wants.

In Art, they have been learning about creating shades by adding black to a colour and making tints by adding white to a colour so that the colour slowly changes

Week Ending 31st October 2025

This week Year 2 have been learning to add and subtract one digit numbers from 2 digit numbers crossing a 10. They have used part whole models, rekenreks and base 10 to support them.

They have started their new unit of History 'Why do we remember the 5th of November.' This week they learnt about why the Gunpowder Plot happened. They learnt about who was king at the time and that King James I ruled that people should only be Protestants which upset people who were Catholic. They wrote about what the conspirators might have said to each other when they were plotting.

In Science, they are learning about humans. This week they focused on their life cycle and how humans grow and change. They discussed what humans are able to do at different stages of their life.

Week Ending 17th October 2025

This week year 2 have been adding and subtracting - making a 10 first, using equipment such as base 10 and counters. The children knowing their number bonds to 10 helps them to do this.

In Geography, they completed an end of term quiz to help recall some of this half term's learning. The children were good at remembering the names of the 7 continents and some of the 5 oceans.

Here are the links to the songs of they want to sing them at home https://youtu.be/K6DSMZ8b3LE and https://youtu.be/X6BE4VcYngQ

In PSHE, the children drew a picture of something that is special to them and shared it with their peers explaining why it was special. They had to listen carefully to each other's ideas and show them that what they were saying was important. They discussed the importance of helping others by reading the story The Enormous Turnip and talked about ways we help each other at school.

Week Ending 10th October 2025

Year 2 have learning to add two numbers by making ten first. They have been using counters and ten frames, base 10 equipment and part-whole models to help them understand this concept.

They have evaluated their castles in DT, deciding what they liked about their design and what they could do differently next time.

In Geography they investigated the produce that was sold in a greengrocer in Devon and found out if was grown locally to the shop, or somewhere else in the UK. 3

In Science, Owls investigated making ice melt quickly using salt. They observed changes over time and recorded what they saw. Foxes will do this investigation next week. The children will understand why people put salt down on icy paths in the winter!

Week Ending 3rd October 2025

This week Year 2 have been adding and subtracting number bonds for 10, 20 and 100 thinking about fact families 

e.g. 2+8 = 10, 8+ 2 = 10 therefore 10-2 =8 and 10-8 = 2

They have used bar models and part whole models to represent these facts.

In Geography, they have learnt how sugar is produced in the UK and where it comes from.  They looked at a variety of different products to see how many spoons of sugar they contained.  Some foods were very surprising!

In DT, they have finished off the mechanisms on their castles and started decorating them.  They are thinking about evaluating their designs and what they could have changed to make it work better.

In Science, they considered the questions 'Can paper be strong?' and worked together in groups to create bridges out of paper that would allow a toy car to pass over it without it collapsing.  They used layers and folding to successfully make strong bridges!

Week Ending 26th September 2025

Maths: Year 2 have been counting in 2s, 5s and 10s.  They have been able to spot missing numbers on number tracks and look for patterns when finding multiples.  They have also been counting forwards and backwards in 10s from different numbers such as 68 to understand that only the tens should change and not the ones.

Science: The children investigated whether materials could change shape.  They used wax, which they learnt was a solid, and understood that when it was heated up the particles are no longer tightly packed together, and they move to create a liquid.  They put solid wax in moulds, we heated it, then the wax quickly cooled and had formed its new shape.  

 

Geography: They have been learning about the export of fruit this week, in particular bananas, which is a popular fruit in the UK.  They followed the harvesting of bananas from a plantation in Costa Rica and learnt the steps involved in the cleaning, inspecting, boxing up and shipping to the UK. 

 

DT: The children have started to plan their castle model using paper and tubes to create the drawbridge using a pulley system. Cardboard boxes will still be needed for next week.  Thank you!

Week Ending 19th September 2025

In English in Year 2, they have been learning the text 'How to trap a dragon' using Talk for Writing actions. They then started thinking about their own mythical creature that they could trap, and they wrote about why. They decided what they would use to trap their creature and wrote a list of what they needed.

During their Maths lessons, the children have been using base ten to partition 2-digit numbers in different ways. They have also been finding missing numbers on number lines that have intervals of 10 and 1.

In Science, they considered the question: Are all fabrics waterproof? They tested a range of fabrics to see if they absorbed water, then used wax crayon to make absorbent fabrics waterproof! Sometimes it didn't work, so the children had to make sure their layer of wax was thick!

In Geography this week, Year 2 looked at the export of cheese from a dairy farm from Devon who exported their cheese all the way to Australia! They used maps to plot a route by boat and looked at the continents they would pass to get there.

In DT the Year 2 children have designed castles this week ready to make a castle next week which uses levers or hinges. Any box donations would be appreciated for this, cereal boxes are perfect, thank you!

Week Ending 12th September 2025

In Maths, they have continued their work on place value, with a focus on comparing numbers e.g. 10+5 < 25 and then ordering numbers from smallest to greatest and greatest to smallest.  They can talk about how many tens a number has to help them decide if it is smaller or greater.

In English, after reading Jack and the Beanstalk last week, they have written some of their own settings for the top of the beanstalk.  They drew their setting and thought about what adjectives they could use to describe it.  Then, they wrote descriptive sentences using their senses.

In Geography, the children were exploring the question 'Why are there so many dairy farms in Devon?' They looked at the area of Devon on a map and some pictures of the farming areas.  They were identifying human features and physical features.  They then looked at the differences in temperature, rainfall and sunshine compared the rest of the UK.

 

During our Science lessons  they investigated the question 'Are hard materials absorbent?' and explored hard materials such as wood, metal, plastic and rock.  

 

In DT, they are exploring levers and hinges this week. They made a card which showed an egg hatching, so they used a hinge to open and close the egg.  The children enjoyed deciding what would hatch from their eggs!

Week Ending 5th September 2025

In Maths Year 2 have been learning to understand the value of each digit in 2-digit numbers using base 10 equipment and part whole models. They have been comparing the numbers and deciding which numbers are greater or less. In English they have read the traditional story Jack and the Beanstalk, created story maps to re-tell the story and have begun collecting adjectives to describe the setting of the castle. In Science they tested absorbency of different types of paper to see which were the best for cleaning up spillages. In Geography the children discussed where dairy products come from. They followed a farmer in Wales on a dairy farm who showed the process involved for milking cows, refrigerating the milk, collecting it to take to factories where it is pasteurised and bottled up to go the shops.