Year 2 - Hedgehogs

Welcome to Hedgehogs class page!  

My name is Miss Drake and I am the Hedgehogs Class Teacher.

Transition to Fairfield Junior School

Underneath I have included a link that the junior school have shared with us.  As transition is very different this year this interactive map, and short video clips of different areas around the school, will allow the children to take a virtual look around the inside of the school building and areas that they will be using when they attend.

New Reading App 

https://readingeggs.co.uk/

This is a great website/app for the children to practice their phonics and reading. You can access it on the website or download it as an app on your tablet. Sign up and you can get a 30 day free trial, then its £6.99 a month, but you can cancel at any time. Once signed up, the child can take a little test and it will then cater the rest of the games, songs and books for their level. There are rewards to collect along the way! Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

Summer and Transition

wb 06.07.2020 / wb 13.07.2020

As we move towards the summer holiday, for the final home learning tasks we are going to be focusing on the theme of Summer and Transition.  As there isn’t long left this half term, I will add a few more activities to these during the coming week to keep you busy next week too…so keep your eye out for these.  I hope that you enjoy the activities I have suggested and as always I look forward to getting to see everything you have been doing!

Mrs Ellis

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating words ending in ‘ge’.  Your words to practise are;

age, huge, change, charge, bulge, village

For this week’s spelling activity complete the ‘ge’ words and then have a go at using them in a sentence.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words starting with the ‘ph’ sound, your words to practise are;

phone, phonics, photo, dolphin, graph, sphere

Your activity this week is the ‘ph phoneme spotter’ read the postcard and pick out any ‘ph’ words.  Can you make a list of all the words you can find?

Here are some more spellings and spelling activities to keep you busy next week too…

For Miss Drake’s group the rule you can think about is changing the y to an i when we add es.

Some words to work on are: flies, tries, replies, copies, babies, carries

I’ve added a sheet below to have a go at too, all about this spelling rule.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group your sound to focus on is ‘ew’

Some words for you to work on are; grew, chew, flew, threw, new, drew

Have a go at some of these free online games for Phase 5 phonics –

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/uk/game/list/phonics-games-phase-5

Reading activities

This week’s comprehension activities I have included below are based around the season of summer and the beach.

Get your grown up to see how many of the Year 2 common exception words you can read.  Can you have a go at writing some sentences using some of these words?  Remember these are words you should be able to spell too, so think really carefully about your spelling!  

English

Here are some writing ideas for this week…

As we are coming to the end of the year you might want to think back to all the things that have happened in Year 2.  Can you think about what your favourite memory from the year is?  Draw a picture and write some sentences to go with it.  You could then think about your time in school from when you first started…what is your favourite memory from being at FINS?

When your writing here are some things to think about;

• Make sure you have capital letters, finger spaces, full stops and that you have checked your sentences make sense
• Can you use conjunctions to make your sentences more interesting e.g. when, if, that, because
• Trying to vary your sentence openers so that they don’t all begin in the same way
• Have a go at using adjectives in your sentences to tell me about your memory/memories

You could have a go at drawing a ‘Friendship sun’.  Draw the outline of a sun and add your friend’s names inside it.  Under their names write some words to describe what makes that friend special e.g. caring, considerate, kind etc.  You might then want to use these words in some descriptive sentences about your friends.

Imagine that you are now a Travel Agent.  Create your own page for a holiday brochure/leaflet to advertise a holiday.  It could be anywhere of your choice, a holiday in this country or a holiday abroad.  Things to think about…

• Your destination (remember to include an inviting picture, you really want people to want to go there!)
• What is there to see there?
• Where will people go when they are there? Beaches, amusements etc.
• Where will people stay? A caravan, hotel, B&B etc.
• What important information do people need to know before they travel there?  If it’s somewhere abroad what language do people speak?  What currency do they use?
•  You might also include some information about how much it will cost.

Maths

Have a go at making number bond rainbows.  Begin with number bonds to 20 e.g. 12 and 8.  You might then want to have a go with bonds that total 100 e.g. 60 and 40.  I’ve attached a picture below to show you what I mean.

Have a go at the time activity.  Read the times off the clock faces and finally draw your own clock faces with the correct time.

Can you create a summer shape picture (perhaps a little like the one below) In your picture can you include the following 2D shapes; circle, triangle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon.  You can either draw your shapes straight onto your page or you might want to draw your shapes onto coloured paper and cut them out to stick down and create your picture.

I’ve added some more maths mats for you to try.  As before these are all revision of things we covered earlier in the year.

Topic 

Here are some topic ideas for you to have a go at this week…

• Design your own ice cream flavour or summer smoothie.  Have a go at coming up with your own flavour of ice cream or summer smoothie.  Think about what ingredients you might want to go into it and include an ingredients list.  Draw a picture/diagram and include some labels to explain your creation.  You might want to tell me why you have chosen these flavours and ingredients.
• Use a paper plate to create your own seaside themed plate.  I’ve included some images below to give you some ideas.
• Create a summer picture or collage, you could use natural materials or whatever craft materials you have available at home.

Home learning

Farming - Food

wb 29.06.2020

Thank you so much to everyone for a great week on our Farming theme.  Once again I have received so many lovely photographs and emails letting me know what everyone has been doing.  I’m so pleased that so many of you have enjoyed the theme as we are continuing it this week with a focus on food.  I’m looking forward to hearing from you all throughout the week.

Take care,

Mrs Ellis

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating words ending in ‘il’.  Your words to practise are;

pencil, fossil, nostril, stencil, April, civil

For this week’s spelling activity have a go at this interactive quiz.  Can you select the correct ‘il’ spelling to complete each of the sentences?

https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks1/english-spelling/year-2-ending-with-il/

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words starting with the ‘wh’ sound, your words to practise are;

what, when, why, wheel, white, whisper

For this week’s spelling activity first you will need to read the short passage and pick out any ‘wh’ words.  For the second part of the task can you come up with some questions using the different ‘wh’ question words?

Reading activities

This week I have included two different reading comprehensions.  One is based on Harvest around the world and the other is based on Fairtrade.

English

The link I have included below explores Food and Farming.  There is lots of information including a range of facts, images to look at, some short video clips to watch and links to other useful resources.

https://www.theschoolrun.com/homework-help/food-and-farming

Have a go at making a poster to promote British Farming.  Remember to think about:

• What message you want your poster to give.  How will you make this clear?
• Giving your poster a title e.g. British Farming
• Making your poster eye catching
• Only including important information  

Maths

Below there are another set of Maths mats to try.  It’s great to see how well everyone has been getting on with these and that you have remembered so many of the maths concepts covered.

Challenge…

How many different ways can you arrange 3 eggs in an egg box? (a half dozen box)  Can you think of any patterns or systems that might help you to solve the problem?

Topic

Here are some topic ideas for you to have a go at this week…

• Create a junk model farm vehicle
• If you have the resources available you might want to plant some seeds, you could plant cress heads, beans, flowers etc.  After you have done your planting have a go at writing a set of instructions to explain to someone else what they would need to do.
• Think about what we need to eat and drink to ensure we have a balanced diet.  Draw a healthy food plate which includes all the different things we need to ensure we have a balanced meal.
• Create your own farm board game…what will the rules be for your game? What will the aim of your game be?  How many players are there?

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating words ending in the suffix ‘ful’ or ‘less’.  Your words to work on this week are;

helpful, thoughtful, forceful, careless, painless, penniless

This week’s spelling activity asks you to add –full or –less to make different adjectives.  You will then need to choose which words to use to complete the sentences.  Once you have completed this have a go at using the words in your own sentences.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words containing the ‘aw’ sound, your words to practise are;

paw, yawn, straw, shawl, laws, dawn

I’ve attached two different activities for you to try below. The first is a phoneme spotter story, read the story and see how many ‘aw’ words you can pick out.  The next activity asks you to use the ‘aw’ words to complete the sentences.

Reading activities

Below you will find a reading comprehension called The Farmer and His Sons to have a go at.

I’ve also included a cloze activity based on Sheep.

English

Imagine that you are a Farmer.  Think about all the things you already know about farmers and what they have to do, use any books you might have at home and watch the video clips below.  Write a diary entry for ‘A day in the life of farmer’.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zs97tfr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIPaIucCwN8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHCbTJW3zls

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zxbkq6f

Remember to think about:

Writing the events in the correct order, starting in the morning.

Think carefully about all of the different jobs the farmer has throughout the day.  Which animals do these jobs involve?

Describe where the farmer does these things and what these jobs might involve.

How might these jobs make the farmer feel? E.g. which are his/her favourite jobs?  Why?  Are some of the jobs especially tiring etc. 

Which animals are the farmers favourite?

Maths

As before, I’ve had lots of people telling me that they have really enjoyed the Maths mats so I have included a few more of these below.  Remember that this should all be revision of things we have covered earlier on in the year.

Have a go at the word problems I have attached below.  Each of these are based on addition or subtraction and they all have two steps in order to solve the problem.  Think carefully when reading the question about which operation it will be and what the different steps in the question are.

You might want to ask the people in your house about what their favourite farm animals are in order to create your own pictogram or bar graph of the results.

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating on words ending in ‘al’.  Your words to work on are;

loyal, total, arrival, normal, virtual, medal

Again I have included an activity for you to try.  You can begin by having a go at writing the ‘al’ sound, then add ‘al’ to complete the words, use the ‘al’ words to complete the sentences and then finally write your own sentences using the given ‘al’ words.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words containing the ‘ue’ sound, your words to practise are;

barbeque, glue, statue, rescue, due, value

I’ve attached an activity below for you to try.  Write the correct words under the pictures and then have a go at writing some sentences using the words.

Topic

Here are some topic ideas for you to have a go at this week…

Design, plan and make your own Scarecrow.

Make a series of seasonal collages using either natural or craft materials (depending on what you have available) … it would be interesting to think about the farm items that could be available at the different times of the year e.g. grasses, seeds etc.

Use junk modelling materials to create your own model farm.

Make farm animal masks.

Make a poster based on your favourite farm animal – include some key facts and information that you know about the animal.

Reading activities

Below you will find a reading comprehension based on Worms.  As with the ladybird activity from last week, here are three different versions, they begin with the easiest version and get progressively harder.  Remember to record your answers in full sentences.

English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Jnk3XApKBg

Watch and listen to the story of Superworm.  Write your own story about a different animal that becomes a superhero.

You might find it helpful to plan your story before you write it.  You could do this by drawing pictures using the suggested format below.

Here are some things to think about when planning/writing your story:

• What will the new title of your story be?
• Who will the characters be?
• Will your superhero meet the same animals as Superworm does?
• Can you use alliteration?  E.g. Wonderful worm is wriggly and slimy, Wonderful is long and thin.
• What will happen at the beginning, middle and end?

Maths

Lots of people really enjoyed the Maths mats so I have included a few more of these below.  Remember that this should all be revision of things we have covered earlier on in the year.

Have a go at creating your own worm number line counting up in steps of either 2s, 5s, 10s or even 3s.  They could look a little like the example I have shared below.

Here are some links to some online games to work on your times tables, your 2s, 5s and 10s in particular.  Some of these games you will have seen before.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/mental-maths-train

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/times-tables/coconut-multiples

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/504/Super-Maths-Bowling-Multiplication

Topic

Here are some Worm based topic ideas for you to have a go at…

You could have a go at making a worm house.  I’ve popped a couple of pictures below to give you an idea however, you might choose to use some different materials to create yours depending on what you have available.

Write a character description for Superworm.  The picture below will help you to think about what to include.

Think about how many different ways Superworm is used in the story.  Can you make a new page where

Superworm helps a different animal?

Can you design a superhero costume for Superworm to wear?

Draw your own Superworm comic strip.

Use spaghetti and paint to create worm pictures.

WB 08.06.2020

Minibeasts - Ladybirds

Thank you so much to everyone who has been in contact this week, it has been a super start to the new half term.  I have loved hearing about and seeing what everyone has been getting up to and all of the exciting learning that has been happening!  This week we are continuing to look at Minibeasts and Ladybirds in particular.

Mrs Ellis

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating on words beginning with ‘wr’ that make an /r/ sound.  Your words to practise are;

write,  wreck, wrap, wrong, wren, wrist

I’ve included an activity below for you to try.  Add ‘wr’ to complete the words and then use the words to complete the sentences.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words containing the ‘ir’ sound, your words to practise are;

girls, shirt, twirl, first, skirt, stir

I’ve attached an activity below for you to try.  Have a go at writing the ‘ir’ sound, complete the words by adding in the ‘ir’ sound and then finally write the correct ‘ir’ words under the pictures.

Reading activities

Below you will find a reading comprehension based on Ladybirds.  There are three different versions, they begin with the easiest version and get progressively harder.

English

https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/ladybird-facts/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPUazqh63kE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvHWxDjfFB8

Above I have attached some videos and other information to read based on Ladybirds.  Use the information to create your own Ladybird fact file.  You might decide to begin by taking some notes, like we have practised in school, to help you to remember the most important information you want to include.  It might also be useful to use the Ladybird comprehension from this week’s reading activity.

Here are some things to think about when planning your fact file;

• Give your writing a title
• Include an introduction that explains what your writing is about
• Split your writing into different paragraphs.  Can you include subheadings?
• Try to use topic related vocabulary e.g. aphids, predators, larvae
• Include a range of facts
• Finish your writing with a conclusion to round up your fact file

Maths

For our first maths activity this week I have included three different ‘Maths mats’ for the children to have a go at below.  The mats each have a range of questions which cover several concepts which we have worked on this year.  These should be a great way to revise these different skills.

I’ve also added below some ‘Minibeast challenge cards’ these are a range of word problems to try.  Remember to think carefully about the important elements of the question which will help you to work out what type of calculation you need to do.

Topic

Here are some ideas for different topic activities.

You might want to make your own ladybird.  You could make your ladybird out of whatever you wish or you could choose to create a picture of a ladybird, whichever you prefer.  I’ve included some photos below to give you some ideas.

You might also wish to create your own red and black collage using whatever materials you have available to you at home.

If you haven’t already, you could go on a minibeast hunt.  You might choose to record what you find using a tally. 

Follow the link below to watch the short video clip on minibeasts before having a go at taking the quiz to see what you know.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/z6882hv/articles/z9fkwmn

Spellings

This week Miss Drake’s group are concentrating on words ending in –tion, your words to practise are;

election, lotion, invitation, eruption, fractions, station, junction

I’ve included an activity below for you to try.  Complete the sentences by selecting the correct word ending with –tion.

Mrs Williamson / Mrs Ellis’ group this week you are focusing on words containing the ‘oy’ sound, your words to practise are;

boy, toys, joy, soya, annoyed, royal, enjoyed

I’ve attached an activity below for you to try.  Complete the sentences by adding in the correct oy words.

Reading activities

Below I have included some Minibeast reading activities.  Firstly you will need to read the report on Minibeasts.  There are then two activities.  The first is the “Minibeast Cloze” this is a slightly simpler activity where you will need to complete the report based upon what you have read.  The second is the “Minbeast Comprehension” here you will need to answer the questions using the information from the report.

English

Watch the video below about the life cycle of a butterfly.  Write factual sentences to describe what happens at each stage of the cycle; egg, larva, pupa, butterfly.  Think about the language that is used to describe what is happening at the different stages, are there any new words that you didn’t know the meaning of before you watched the video?  Can you include any of these in your sentences?

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=life+cycle+of+a+butterfly+video+ks1&docid=608020584034533749&mid=C05F72407AB87AC2FD5FC05F72407AB87AC2FD5F&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

Maths

Our focus this week is on odd and even numbers.  Below I have included an introduction to odd and even numbers, some activities to try and finally some links to online games that you might want to play!

Here are some odd and even games to try;

Topic

Below are some possible Minbeast topic ideas you might want to have a go at …

You could create your own collage of a caterpillar or butterfly.  You might want to use craft materials you have available at home or you could collect some natural resources from outside to create your collage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY

Watch the video above of the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

1. Write your own retelling of the story.
2. Draw or paint the food items that the caterpillar eats.
3. Make a home for the caterpillar.

Thanks Jessica for your lovely writing. Thanks to Lydia for all your hard work, here is some of her writing, spelling practice and Maths. Thanks to Ella for her writing about the video clip. Some more great work from Roxy today, she has certainly been keeping busy.

Keep sending me your emails Hedgehogs it's so nice to hear from you. 

Reading at home!

I have created class logins for you to read a whole range of FREE books on Oxford Owl

Please make use of the free books on here during your time at home. Follow the link below 

username: pupil1234 password: year1

What a lovely morning we have had in Hedgehogs. The children have all come in some lovely costumes. Well done parents. 

Today the children worked collaborative to make pancakes. They weighed out ingredients, chopped toppings and did the most important part - ate them. 

This afternoon in golden time the children enjoyed spending most of their time doing activities around the Titanic. I am so pleased with their enthusiasm for the topic and enjoyed sitting back and watching them all learning whilst clearly enjoying themselves. 

Happy New Year! 

This is half term our topic is ‘time travellers.’ In it we are being historians and learning all about the Titanic. The children have already made an excellent start and are showing lots of enthusiasm. Esme and Lydia have already done some extra work at home about it, well done girls. Thanks also to Alfred and Lilly T who have brought in some very useful books about the Titanic. If you have anything at home please send them in with your child. 

At the end of Christmas church we visited St Peter’s church to allow us to look at how the church celebrates Christmas. We compared this to how the children celebrate. Reverend Carl told the children about the importance of the Advent Reef, the crib and the three kings. The children were then given the opportunity to explore the church where they enjoyed looking at the stain glass windows and were able to identify some important Christian figures in the pictures such as Mary and Joseph. Finally they performed some of their songs and dances from our nativity. A big thank you to those grown ups who were able to join us. 

Hedgehogs have been doing a fantastic job this week. They worked so well as a team following the process that Jane Perkins uses when making her artwork. 

They have brought in materials, sorted them into the relevant colours and begun to make the different parts of the world using the sorted materials. It was lovely to hear them getting excited about the continent they were working on and I was impressed at how they looked in the Atlas to see what sort of colours they needed to include. Great work Hedgehogs.

To celebrate Children In Need in Hedgehogs we investigated the perimeter of Pudsey using different equipment. Thanks to all of you for your donations.

On Friday we also had our Marble treat and enjoyed a pyjama party where we enjoyed a couple of treats and had a good sing along to music from Greece. Next Marble treat the children have requested a fancy dress party which I am sure will be equally as fun.

To finish our topic on ‘Go Wild’ this week we our learning about Africa. The children have been researching African animals, finding out where Africa is and finding out about some famous landmarks in Africa. They have also looked at African patterns in clothing and animals and then had a go at making their own African patterns using different mediums.  

Myself and Hedgdhogs have enjoyed ourselves out in Forest School this afternoon. The sun was shining down on us and the temperature was warm for October. 

Lots of the children had a go at making Halloween inspired spider webs, some of the girls worked together to put up a shelter whilst others enjoyed practicing their balance and climbing skills.

This afternoon we have learnt a bit about Mandrils and compared them to the gorilla in our class story ‘The Gorilla who wants to grow up.’ We learnt that they both live in Africa in the rainforest and that a group of Mandrills and Gorillas are called a troop. We also learnt that each troop has a leader. We learnt that Mandrills are about 3 feet tall making it the largest monkey. It has very distinctive colours including a colourful bottom which helps to attract females. 

After learning about the Mandrill the children had a go at using pastels to copy Henri Rousseau’s painting of a Mandrill. 

As part of our topic ‘Go Wild’ the children have been learning about the French artist Henri Rousseau. They looked at some of his different paintings, in particular his famous tiger painting ‘Surprise.’ Using this our focus the children have then used oil pastels to create their own tiger picture. 

Today the children were extremely active. They have been trying their hardest to run as many laps of the circuit as they can do in 3 minutes. I wonder if they will be able to beat their personal best when we try again later in the year. 

RuggerEds Week 1

What a great first rugby session we had today. The children learnt how to hold the ball correctly, to use tiger hands when catching and how to make a try along with a few other skills. A huge thanks to Joe and Jacob for making the session so much fun, the children and I are looking forward to what we will learn next week. 

The Gruffalo 

This half term our talk for writing unit will be based on The Gruffalo. The children will be using ideas from the familiar text in order to write their own monster tale. Today your child will have come home with a copy of our talk for writing story map. Please ask your child to use it to help them retell you the story. 

First of all I would like to say welcome to Year 2. It sounds like the children had a lovely summer and were very busy. They have had a great start back to the year, you should all be very proud of how well they have settled in. 

This half term our topic is Go Wild! We started our topic off today with a super starter where the children explored lots of different activities all about plants and animals. We set up some experiments and posed some questions to explore in the topic. See our photos for more information.