This week we started a new unit in Maths all about Statistics. So far, the children have revised their knowledge on tally charts from Year 1, drawn their own tally charts to collect a variety of data and then moved onto presenting this data on a block diagram. The children have also been learning to interpret the data and have been answering a range of questions about it. See the PDF attached to see us working practically in Maths this week, collecting data from our friends.
In English lessons this week, the children were introduced to their new stimulus that we will be doing lots of work around over the next couple of weeks. The stimulus is a fiction story called The Tin Forest written by Helen Ward. It is a story of loneliness, hope, creativity and making the best of a situation. It also links to our Science work this half term, where we will be learning about plants.
A couple of our lessons this week involved learning how to use a thesaurus to improve our word choices and expand our vocabulary. Using a thesaurus isn't a Year 2 requirement, but lots of the children are ready for this next step and it will help them to uplevel their writing.
See the PDF attached to see us in action using a thesaurus, working pairs to find exciting synonyms for boring, over-used adjectives such as 'good', 'big' and 'nice'.
In Science this week, we revised our knowledge on seeds and what they are and what they need to grow into a plant. We then considered different types of seeds and the plants that they grow into. For example, we learned that the seed of an oak tree is encased inside the acorn, which grows on the tree and then eventually falls off.
We also learned that the seeds of a fruit are always inside/on the fruit somewhere and the seeds of a vegetable are on another part of the plant. We learned that fruits containing one seed/stone are called stone fruits and the seed is often inside the stone - the stone is there to protect it (just like the seed inside of an acorn)! We worked practically to dissect different fruits, seeing where the seeds appear and what they look like. We used magnifying glasses to look closely at the seeds and create observational drawings.
See the PDF attached for photos of us working practically in Science this week!