​During our maths lessons this week we are learning about division.
At the beginning of the week we used counters, cubes and our whiteboards to learn how to share into equal groups. We had to read the task card and then share the objects into what the task card asked.
 
We know that equal groups mean that each group has the same amount in.
 

​After watching a video on how to use the lines and where to position the drawing on the paper, we sketched our favourite vehicle.  We then used watercolours to add colour and control how light and dark the colour is.

​During History this week we compared trains from Victorian times to modern day trains.  The children looked at books, videos and pictures of trains from the Victorian and discussed all the things that they found that we don’t see on modern day trains.  They decided if they would like to travel by a train in the Victorian times or a train today.

​Before the Christmas holidays Year 2 learnt how to sew. 
First, we created our design and then transferred this on to the material and learnt how to sew using a running stitch. Finally, we evaluated our design.

​We watched a fire escape video which explained all about the importance of discussing your escape route in advance, how to check if a door is hot, how to avoid smoke, and how to call for help. We then attended a virtual workshop hosted by the London Fire Brigade to learn all about Fire Safety.
The children then filled in a sheet to show what can be dangerous in the home.

​In Year 2 we are looking at the amount of traffic in our local area and the affects it has on our school. 
We went on a walk to the corner of Mansell Street to look at the traffic.  We completed a traffic survey and tallied all the vehicles we saw in 5 minutes.  We then used our senses to describe the area.
Back in class we used the data we had gathered to make a pictogram using 2simple on the computers.

​We looked at books, videos and pictures about life after the Great Fire of London to find out how London was rebuilt. 
We learnt that In October 1666, King Charles appointed architects including Sir Christopher Wren, to start rebuilding London.

• Some streets were widened or straightened.
• All houses had to be constructed of brick, though some use of wood was allowed in practice.
• The grander houses sometimes had doorways and windows in stone. Some are still present in London today.
• It was made easier to get water from the River Thames to the houses close by.

We imagined that we were hired by King Charles II to design a new London.
We were asked the questions:

• How will the houses be safer?
• What will the houses be made from?
• What will the streets look like?
• How much space will there be?

 
We then designed our own street scene taking into account all we had learnt about how London was rebuilt.

​After we visited St Pauls Cathedral we sketched the dome in A3 using pencils and looked at the effect of light and shadow on the building and tried to incorporate it into our sketch.
We then recreated our done onto an A5 piece of paper and imprinted it onto our printing block.
We then learnt how to use the roller to cover the printing block in printing paint and transfer to paper.  We talked about how we used 4 different colours to print with layering the darker colours on top of the lighter colours.
We then had a go ourselves and printed our mono printing of St Pauls Cathedral.

​During History this week we compared fire fighters from 1666 to 2021.  The children looked at pictures of fire fighters in 1666 and the equipment that was available to them.  They then went outside and used syringes as fire squirters to re-enact putting out a fire in 1666.  We then looked at books and watched a video of fire fighters today putting out a fire.  As a class we discussed the differences and thought about why and how this has changed our lives today.

​During Science this week we explored how to make an absorbent material non-absorbent.
First, we washed a piece of paper using watercolours to show how the piece of paper absorbs the water.  We then used wax crayons to draw a picture on the paper and painted over this with the watercolours.  The children noticed that the part of their picture that had been drawn with wax crayons did not absorb the water.