Year Two is an exciting time for children at St Michael’s Infant School. They are encouraged to develop greater independence in their learning, reflect upon their own progress and apply their blossoming skills through interesting, cross-curricular topics. We regularly take children's learning out into the school grounds or link it to a real-life experience, such as a trip to Wisley Gardens or recreating the Great Fire of London.
Each day your Year Two child will carry out learning in mathematics. This is taught using a structured approach which moves from real life resources (the 'concrete') to drawings and diagrams (the 'pictorial') and finally to written methods (the 'abstract'). This makes sure that children develop a deep understanding of the number system and the calculation strategies they are learning. At home you can help your child by getting them to develop their mental maths skills such as recalling number facts and working out the answers to simple calculations based around the four main operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. This is because regular practice in this area supports children's ability to solve problems more quickly and check whether their answers are reasonable.
Literacy activities also take place daily. These include: structured spelling sessions, handwriting lessons and guided reading. Additionally, there are extended literacy lessons three times a week which focus on comprehension, grammar or writing skills. Reading for pleasure is something we encourage through our daily story times, inviting book corners and visits to the library. Please make sure your child's library book is returned each week so they are able to choose a new one.
Reading with your child at home is still the most important thing you can do to support your child's learning at school. As the reading books become longer and more complex, a good strategy is to listen to your child read just a few pages and allow time for talking about the book and discussing any unfamiliar words. We also encourage the children to think about likes and dislikes about books that they have read and make links to other books that they may have read. Although your child will now be reading more independently it is still important to read to them, as this will allow them to access books that may be at a higher reading level. this will help to encourage them to read for pleasure.
Each class has a weekly PE lesson with Mr Sanders from MSport Active. The children relish this opportunity to be active. They will also have one other PE session taught by their class teacher. Please make sure earrings are removed, long hair is tied back and PE kits are in school everyday.
Thank you for your support.
