Year 2 Curriculum Overview
Welcome to Year 2! Our curriculum is filled with hands-on projects and immersive experiences designed to ignite curiosity and inspire young minds. From performing diary entries in a TV studio as we relive the drama of the Great Fire of London, to interviewing a Second World War evacuee, our children will step into history and bring it to life. They’ll become storytellers for Blue Peter, chefs designing healthy meals for the school menu, and environmental champions creating outreach programmes for the local councillor. Whether exploring nocturnal animals for the Headteacher’s Blog or building parachutes in the Eggy Challenge, every term offers a new adventure that blends learning with real-world impact.
Curriculum Map
Project Based Learning Focus
Autumn Term
Term1
Disasters and Triumphs:
Performing our Great Fire of London Diary Entries in the TV Studio
Through exploring a range of fictional diaries, the events that led to the fire, and designing their own escape boats, the children will consider how life has changed and which significant individuals played a role in shaping our knowledge of key events.
Term 2
The Second World War:
Interview with a Second World War Evacuee
Immersing themselves in a Second World War theme day, the children will learn what life was like as an evacuee, the skills needed to write their own letters, and pose their own questions to someone who was evacuated to Devon during the war.
Spring Term
Term 3
Fairy Tales:
Fairy Tale for Blue Peter
Children will read, re-tell, and perform a range of well-known fairy tales before composing their own story to send to Blue Peter to earn their own Blue Peter badge.
Term 4
Food Glorious Food:
Creating a meal to add to the school dining service menu
Looking at what we can do to support our overall health, the children will work with their school chefs to create a dish that includes variety, balance and uses locally sourced ingredients.
Summer Term
Term 5
Animals and their Habitats:
Headteacher’s Blog – Everything you need to know about nocturnal animals
With a focus on the evolution of the Peppered Moth, the children will develop their vocabulary and knowledge of the world by looking at both learning and the language of information texts. Through this opportunity to explore non-fiction writing they will then create their own piece for the Head Teacher’s Blog based on animals known for adaptation.
Term 6
Building Communities: Creating a community outreach programme to share with the local councillor
As well as a focus on the school and local community, the children will learn they are part of a much larger community of people around the world. They will make their own plans on how to provide positive outreach including care-home visits, litter picking, food bank donations and re-wilding. The vision and its successes will then be shared with the local councillor.
Key Texts
Autumn Term
Term 1
Term 2
Spring Term
Term 3
Term 4
Summer Term
Term 5
Term 6
Literary Form
Autumn Term
Term 1
The Great Fire of London: Narrative Non-Fiction
Term 2
The Day the Crayons Quit: Picture book
Interview with a Shark & Other Ocean Giants too: Narrative Non-Fiction
Spring Term
Term 3
Rapunzel: Traditional tale
Favourite Mixed-up Fairy Tales:
Contemporary Traditional Tale
Term 4
Mini Rabbit Not Lost: Picture book
Oliver’s Vegetables: Picture book
Summer Term
Term 5
Moth: Narrative Non-Fiction
The Big Book of the Blue: Non-Fiction
Term 6
Out and About: Poetry
Here We Are: Narrative Non-Fiction
Support Texts
Autumn Term
- Vlad and the Great Fire of London by Sarah Cunningham
- Utterly Me, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child
- The Diary of a Killer Cat by Anne Fine
- Interview with a Shark & Other Ocean Giants too by Andy Seed
- Interview with a Kengaroo & Other Marsupials too by Andy Seed
- Leaf by Sandra Dieckmann
- Dear Mr Postman by Ruth Merttens
Spring Term
- Jack and the Beanstalk by Iona Treahy
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears By Lauren Child
- The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
- Hansel and Gretel by Michael Morpurgo
- Eat your Peas by Kes Gray
- The Quick and Easy Cookbook by Caroline Denny
- Mini Rabbit Not Lost by John Bond
- Cake by Sue Hendra and Paul Linnet
Summer Term
- Moth. An Evolution Story by Isabel Thomas and Daniel Egnéus
- One Night, Far From Here by Julia Wauters
- Rabbit & Bear: Rabbit’s Bad Habits by Julian Gough
- The Last Wolf by Mini Grey
Term 6
- Tidy by Emily Gravett
- Greta and the Giants by Zoe Tucker
- Clean Up by Nathan Byron
- Watch Me Bloom by Krina Patel-Sage
- The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems by Jane Crebbin
English Writing Outcomes
Autumn Term
- Letter writing
- Interviews
- Setting descriptions
- Fact-files
- Letter writing
Spring Term
- Writing in role
- Explanatory writing
- Composing a narrative
- Menu writing
- Instructions/ Recipes
- Persuasive writing
- NMM
Summer Term
- Non-Chronological Texts
- Book Reviews
- Writing to Inform
- Poetry
- Recounts
Maths
Autumn Term
NCETM
- Numbers 10 to 100
- Calculations within 20
NCETM
- Fluently add and subtract within 10
- Addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers (1)
- Introduction to multiplication
- Review Unit
Spring Term
NCETM
- Introduction to multiplication continued
- Introduction to division structures.
NCETM
- Shape
- Addition and subtraction of two-digit numbers (2)
- Review Unit
Summer Term
NCETM
- Money
- Fractions
- Time
- Position and Direction
- Review Unit
Term 6
NCETM
- Multiplication and Division – doubling, halving, quotative and partitive division
- Sense of measure – capacity, volume, mass
- Review Unit
Science
Autumn Term
Uses of Everyday Materials: Building our escape boats
- Waterproofing materials wax investigation
- Float or Sink?
- Fire Safety: Melting and Moulding
Uses of Everyday Materials: Anderson Shelters
- Comparing materials and their properties
- Man-made or natural?
- Tough and flexible materials
- Testing rigidity
Spring Term
Plants: Jack’s Beans
- Spreading seeds
- Hydroponics in the classroom
- Growing a bean plant
- Parts of a plant
Animals, Including Humans: How to stay healthy
- We’re all animals
- Off-spring
- Healthy Hearts Investigation
- Taste-test: are foods really ‘good’ or ‘bad’?
- What is a balanced diet?
- A balanced plate
Summer Term
Living Things and their Habitats: Amazing adaptations
- Dead or alive?
- Sorting and classifying – Butterflies and moths
- Research creatures in their habitats and ask: why do these things live there?
- Animal adaptation research
- Life-cycles
Living Things and their Habitats: Transferring Energy
- Exploring the allotment – micro-habitats
- Making a bug-hotel
- Farming and food chains
- Transfer of energy through the food-chain
History
Autumn Term
Disasters and Triumphs through time
- Disasters and Triumphs timeline
- Sequencing the events of the Great Fire of London
- How fire safety has changed
- Samuel Pepys
- John Evelyn
Devon in the Second World War
- Mystery suitcase
- Life as an evacuee in Devon
- Exeter/ Barnstaple during the Blitz
- Interviewing an evacuee
- Dame Caroline Haslet
Spring Term
History of my school and community Scrapbook
- History of my school and our community
- Continuity and change
History of my school and community Scrapbook
- Family and local interviews – how has school life changed?
- Would you prefer school then or now?
Summer Term
Industrialisation & Communication
- How have the ways in which we communicate changed over time?
- Differences between the 20th and 21st Century
Amazing Activists
- What is an activist?
- Wangari Maathai
- Arthur Wharton
- Tsuda Umeko
Geography
Autumn Term
Let’s Explore London
- Locating London on a map
- Identifying landmarks
- Digimaps: London now and then
The UK in WW2
- The UK, countries and capital cities
- London and Exeter/Barnstaple in WW2
- Human and physical features
Spring Term
My Local Area
- Villages, towns and cities
- Making a map and key
Understanding Kenya
- Locational & Physical: Comparing the differences between UK and Kenya
Summer Term
Fieldwork: Traffic Counting
- What is fieldwork?
- Planning
- Evaluation
Term 6
Around the World
- Revisit 7 continents and identify countries within them
- Characteristics and key features
Religious Education
Autumn Term
Christianity
- What is the Bible?
- Who reads the bible and when?
- What stories does it tell?
- Why are these stories important?
Judaism
- What is the Torah?
- Who reads it and when?
- What stories does it tell?
- Why are these stories important?
Spring Term
Conflict and peace
- Understand why conflict occurs
- Resolution and peace building
- Living in a globalized world
Hinduism
- Who are Hindus?
- Who do they ‘worship?
- What is rebirth?
- What are symbols associated to Hinduism?
Summer Term
Humanism
- What stories are told to humanists that teach us values?
- Link with fables and fairy tales
Term 6
Let’s Get Thinking
- What does it mean to be brave?
- Is it ok to be different?
- Is there a time when we shouldn’t share?
- Key text: Frog is a Hero
Art
Autumn Term
Term 1
Great fire of London Marbling
Poppy printing
- Drawing poppies
- Designing your poppy print
- Engraving the relief print
- Printing our poppy
Spring Term
Term 3
Hunderwasser
Term 4
Still life flowers
Summer Term
Term 5
Henri Rousseau – Jungle
Term 6
Cacti Observation
Music
Autumn Term
Hands, Feet, Heart
- Exploring simple patterns
- Style: Afro-pop, South African
- South African music
Ho, Ho, Ho
- Dynamics and tempo
- Style: A song with rapping and improvising for Christmas
- Festivals
Spring Term
I Wanna Play in a Band
- Exploring feelings
- Style: Rock
- Playing music together
Zootime
- Musical stories
- Style: Reggae
- Reggae and animals
Summer Term
Friendship Song
- Music that makes you dance
- Style: Pop
- Songwriting
Reflect, Rewind & Replay
- Exploring improvisation
- Style: Classical
- The history of music
- Learning some of the language of music
Computing
Autumn Term
Computing systems and networks – IT around us
- Features of IT
- IT in school and beyond
- IT Safety
Creating media – Digital photography
- What makes a good photograph?
- Using tools to change an image
Spring Term
Summer Term
Physical Education
Autumn Term
Gross motor
- Balance
- Strength
- Jumping
- Hopping and skipping
- Throwing
- Catching
- Kicking
Basketball
- Passing
- Catching
- Dribbling
- Shooting
- Attacking play
- Defensive play
Spring Term
Gymnastics
- Performing body shapes
- Rolls
- Jumps
- Sequence of movement
Dance
- Emotions (Mirroring)
- Food
- glorious food (sequence of movements)
- Mini Rabbit, Not Lost (travel)
- Kitchen Disco!
- Making a dance to a stimulus
- Making and performing a dance
Summer Term
Cricket/Rounders
- Rolling and stopping
- Throwing underarm and catching a ball
- Bowling a ball underarm
- Bowling a ball overarm
- Fielding – catching, developing and identifying the different fielding techniques and developing fielding skills in different situations
Term 6
Athletics
- Preparing for sports day
- Sprint
- Throwing and long jump
- Relay
Design & Technology
Autumn Term
Structures: Great Fire of London Escape Boats
- Designing the structure
- Assembling
- Testing and evaluating
Cooking & Nutrition: WWII Recipes
- WW2 eggless sponge
- Wartime loaf
- Cabbage soup
Spring Term
Structures: Baby Bear’s Chair
- Exploring stability
- Strengthening materials
- Designing and making
Cooking & Nutrition: Balanced Diet
- Making a dish for the school menu
- Evaluating dishes
Summer Term
Eggy Challenge
- Designing the parachute
- Building the parachute
- Testing the parachute
- Evaluating the parachute
Mechanisms: Making a Moving Animal
- Pivots, leavers and linkages
- Designing
- Making
PSHE & SMSC
Autumn Term
Relationships & Friendship
- Making connections
- Emotions and feelings
Relationships & Friendship
- Conflict resolution
- Managing emotions
Spring Term
Health & Wellbeing
- Rules
- Trusted adults
Health & Wellbeing
- Rules
- Trusted adults
Summer Term
Living in the Wider World
- Our community
- Jobs
Living in the Wider World
- Interests and hobbies
- Using the Internet
Spanish
Autumn Term
- Greetings
- Numbers 11-20
- Hobbies
- Days of the week
- Navidad
Spring Term
- Pets
- My home
- Common foods
- My family
Summer Term
- Zoo animals
- Wild animals
- Farm animals
- The body
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