Spring Curriculum Overview- Year 2

Subject		Spring 1	Spring 2
	Art	This half term, the children will explore computer art. They will be introduced to a range of artists such as Seurat and Mondrian and practise their techniques using technology. They will also create pieces of art linked to their topic ‘Castles’. Inspired by their model text in English ‘The Egg’, the children will design and create their own dragon eye made from clay. They will then evaluate their final create and give constructive feedback to each other on how their designs can be improved.	The children will be exploring the local environment through the golden thread theme. They will be comparing Malvern and Brueton park in Solihull and local parks near to where they live. They will be using pictures of the bridges in local parks and creating their own ‘Bridge Over Pond of Water Lilies’ painting using the impressionism technique of Claude Monet.
	Computing	The children will be exploring computer art. They will create, organise, store, manipulate and retrieve digital content. They will use a range of tools in a computer programme to reproduce a style of art. The children will go on to making and editing shapes to create a piece of art and change the shade of colour for effect. Each half term we will recap the importance and features of ‘Online Safety’ where pupils learn to recognise acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, identify ways to report concerns and agree and follow online safety rules. Pupils will have the opportunity to develop their times tables fluency using TTRockstars.	This half term, the children will be using the ‘Preparing for Turtle Logo’ app to create simple algorithms. They will give and follow simple algorithms using commands such as turn half/quarter turn or turn right 90 degrees or turn left 90 degrees. The children will eventually learn how to create, test and debug an algorithm. They will also be creating their own sprite and algorithms using the programme Scratch.
	Design and Technology	Linking to their topic ‘Castles’, in groups the children will design and create a castle with a moving drawbridge. They will then evaluate their final create and give constructive feedback to each other on how their designs can be improved.	Linking to their topic Cadbury, the children will design and create their own chocolate wrapper. They will create their own logo inspired by Willy Wonka and create their own chocolate bar.
	English	Non-fiction: Linking to their topic ‘Castles’, the children will spend time researching castles using books and the internet. They will then explore the features of a non-chronological report and create their own informative book all about castles! Fiction: They will be using various drama techniques over the spring term such as hot seating, role on the wall and conscience alley to immerse into the character’s thought process and to understand how they are feeling. The children will be exploring the fantasy story ‘The Egg’ by M.P. Robertson. The children will be doing short burst pieces of writing in role by keeping a diary about what it is like having a pet dragon. They will lead on to exploring the features of a persuasive letter and plan and compose their own.	Fiction: Linking to their chocolate topic Cadbury, the children will be exploring the story ‘Grendel: A Cautionary Tale About Chocolate’ by David Lucas. They will use the Talk 4 Writing strategy to learn and innovate the story. Poetry: The children will be exploring performance poetry. They will be learning the poem Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen. Non-Fiction: The children will write a recount about their trip to Cadbury World.
	Geography	The children will be using maps to locate local castles. They will create their own dream castle from a bird’s eye view with a simple key.	Linking to their Cadbury topic, the children will locate Birmingham and Bournville on a map. They will compare Bournville village in the 1900s and identify key features of a village and city. The children will discuss life then and now comparing similarities and differences. They will use their previous map knowledge to create a map of Bournville village and plan a route to Cadbury World!
	Guided Reading	In year 2, key guided reading skills are taught through whole class reading using a range of fiction and non-fiction texts; ‘The Tunnel’ by Anthony Browne being the main text focus.	In this half term, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ by Anthony Browne is the main focus.
	History	Linking to their topic ‘Castles’, the children will explore the history of castles. They will research people or events from the past and show an understanding of monarchy. They will research and compare the lives of Queen Elizabeth the II and Queen Victoria.	Linking to their topic ‘Cadbury’, the children will explore the lives of the Cadbury family and their business. For our Golden Thread of the ‘Local Environment’, the children will compare the features of local parks.
	Maths	The children will continue with multiplication and division and explore 2D and 3D shapes.	The children will move onto the unit of fractions. They will explore different strategies using concrete/real objects and move onto a pictorial and then abstract approach to solving fractions of number and shape.
	Music	The children will be introduced to the new unit ‘I Wanna Play in a Band’. They will begin to understand the basic style indicators of Rock music all while mastering the different interrelated dimensions of music.	The children will continue with the unit ‘I Wanna Play in a Band’. The children will gain experience playing the ukulele.
	Physical Education	Outdoor PE this half term is football skills which will be delivered by an external coach. They will learn how to catch and pass a ball safely and learn how to pass and control the ball using their feet.	Indoor PE this half term is tennis which will be delivered by an external coach. The children will learn to throw and catch from one hand to the other and bounce catch into a target with a partner. They will play small-sided games, use hand-eye coordination and racket control.
	Personal, Social, Health Education	Following the Jigsaw scheme unit of work ‘Dreams and Goals’, the children will choose a realistic, achievable goal and discuss ways in which they can reach them. This unit is all about problem solving, teamwork, persevering and celebrating success.	Following the Jigsaw scheme unit of work ‘Healthy Me’, the children will learn ways in which they can keep their body and mind healthy. They will explore what things make them feel stressed and relaxed and activities they can do to help them relax. The children learn about medicine safety and explore healthy eating.
	Religious Education	This half term, the children will learn the story of Zacchaeus and discuss how Jesus was a friend to him and why that might not have been easy. They will also have an Agape workshop.	In this half-term, the children learn about Christianity. They will learn and act out the Easter story.
	Science	The children will explore the unit ‘Materials’. They will work scientifically when investigating materials and conducting experiments. They will explore the best joining materials and create their own castle from recycled objects. They will learn about different male and female scientists/inventors.	This half-term, the children will learn more about plants. They will label the different parts of a plant and observe how seeds and bulbs grow into mature plants. They will observe plants growing in the local environment. They will investigate germination and what plants need to stay healthy. They will keep their own bean diary and grown their own bean plants. They will explore plants that we can eat and how plants change through the seasons. The children will explore what seeds and bulbs need for grown and find out which plants grow from seeds and which plants grow from a bulb.