English

In English this week, we continued our work on the Stick Man book. The children explored how the characters were feeling at different points in the story and used emotive language to describe these moments. We focused on writing in the past tense, thinking carefully about how to show emotions through words and phrases.

The class produced some wonderful sentences, describing how Stick Man felt terrified when he was swept away by the dog or was heartbroken when he couldn’t find his family. We were really impressed with how thoughtfully the children chose their vocabulary to help the reader understand the characters’ feelings.

Our daily phonics sessions continue to play an important role in developing the children’s reading and writing skills. This week, we have been using Fred Fingers to sound out and spell words, especially trickier ones with more sounds. We’ve also spent time blending sounds to read unfamiliar words more fluently and practising our Red Words – these are words that don’t follow regular phonetic rules and need to be remembered by sight, such as “said,” “because,” and “come.”

The children have also been writing sentences independently, working hard to remember their finger spaces, capital letters, and full stops. They are making fantastic progress in becoming more independent and confident writers. If you have a few minutes at home, going over Red Words or encouraging your child to sound out words using their Fred Fingers can make a big difference. Even a short practice each day helps reinforce what we’re doing in school.

Reading

Reading at 3: Every Friday at 3, our doors will open for you to come in and enjoy a quiet read with your child. This will be for the full 15 minutes, and we kindly ask that children are not taken home early during this time.

Reading folders: Some children are bringing home two books – one of these will be a Read Write Inc (RWI) home book, which we ask them to read three times throughout the week to help build fluency. These books will be changed by an adult.

The second book (with the coloured sticker) should be changed independently by your child – ideally first thing in the morning.

Some children have moved onto the Accelerated Reader programme and will be able to change their books once they’ve completed the quiz online.
AR login: Click here
Parent Guide: How to use Accelerated Reader

Please ensure reading folders are placed in the trays each morning so that we can read with your child and update their books when needed.

Chilton Heroes Reading Certificate – Each week, one child per class will be recognised for their fantastic reading in our Chilton Heroes assembly.

Maths

In Maths this week, we have been diving deeper into our unit on statistics and graphs, and Year 2 have shown fantastic enthusiasm and curiosity throughout. We began by learning how to use tally charts to collect information accurately. The children practised counting carefully in groups of five and enjoyed carrying out their own mini–class surveys to gather data. They quickly discovered how useful tally marks are for keeping information neat, clear, and easy to read.

Next, we used the data from our tally charts to create pictograms. The children learned how each picture can represent a number, and they worked hard to make sure their symbols were drawn clearly and spaced correctly. They loved seeing how the information changed when it was presented in a colourful, visual way, and they became more confident in answering questions about their graphs—such as identifying the most popular choices and comparing different categories.

We also explored Carroll diagrams, which helped us sort objects and numbers based on different rules. The children enjoyed the challenge of deciding where each item belonged and explaining their reasoning to their partners. This really helped develop their logical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Thematic

In our Thematic learning this week, we continued our topic on The Great Fire of London, and the children have really enjoyed stepping back in time to imagine what life was like in 1666. We began by “interviewing” different characters who might have experienced the fire—such as bakers, shopkeepers and children. The class prepared thoughtful questions and took turns role-playing these historic figures, using clues from our lessons to give realistic answers.

After gathering ideas through the interviews, the children used what they had learned to write in role, imagining themselves as people who lived during the Great Fire of London. They focused on describing what they might have seen, heard, and felt during the event, using emotive language to bring their writing to life. Many children wrote about the panic of escaping burning homes, the bravery of helping neighbours, and the sadness of losing treasured belongings.

We were incredibly impressed by how well the children used historical detail and powerful vocabulary to create vivid, dramatic pieces of writing. Their work showed real empathy and a growing understanding of what this important event would have been like for the people who lived through it.

Home learning

This week we would like children to solidify their Maths learning by collecting some data on something they have at home and presenting it on one of the charts we have learnt about this week. For example, this could be sorting toys into a carol diagram!

Dates to remember

4th December – Year 5 Pegwell Bay Trip

5th December – Year 2 and 4 Come Dine with me (Sapphire 11.30, Cornflower 11.45, Team Aqua 12.30 and Team Topaz 12.40)

8th December – Year 3 to Royal Harbour

10th December – No swimming this week, Year 5 will have PE as usual

10th December – Christmas Fair 3.15pm-4.15pm

11th December – Year 4 to Maidstone Museum

12th December – Reception Nativity at 9am in the hall

15th December – No PE this week

15th December – Year 1 Nativity at 9am in hall

16th December – Year 3 and 4 Church Performance at 10am and Year 5 and 6 Church Performance at 2pm, both at St Laurence Church

16th December -Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 Christmas Parties – children to wear Party Clothes to school

17th December – Year 2 Nativity at 9am in School Hall

17th December – Year 3, 4, 5, and 6 Christmas Party Day – children to wear Party Clothes to school

17th December – Christmas Dinner Day

18th December – Year 2 and 3 to watch the Pantomime at St Lawrence College

18th December – Christmas Jumper Day

18th December – Final day at school; school finishes at 2pm and there will be no after school club

 

Thank you all for your support and we hope you have a lovely weekend! 😊

 

The Year 2 Team

Miss Maddy Kennedy – Team Sapphire – maddy.kennedy@chiltonprimary.co.uk

Mr Josh Belsey - Team Cornflower - joshua.belsey@chiltonprimary.co.uk