Amazing Antarctica.

As part of our introduction into our ‘Amazing Antarctica’ topic the children came across some unlikely objects...frozen blocks which seemed to contain something inside.

On closer inspection, the children could see what looked like messages inside. They begin to try to crack the ice so that they could discover what was inside.

The children found diary entries from an unknown source which gave them a glimpse into his adventures. They posed lots of questions and at the end it was revealed that these extracts were from Robert Falcon Scott. Year Two can’t wait to discover more about this famous historical person and the place that he explored!

Geography - Compass Directions.

In order for the children to be able to explore where Antarctica is in the world and in relation to other Continents, we first wanted to learn how to describe the direction.

We had good fun trying to remember the compass points, using phrases such as ‘Naughty Elephants Squirt Water as our North, East, South and West. The children then used this directional language to try to direct a partner to a hidden object.

Art and Design: Sculpture.

 The children were introduced to a sculptor called Marc Quinn who creates sculptures often based on his body. He uses a range of materials including: ice, blood,

metal, plastic and even bread.

The children created a bread mixture and sculpted a hand. These are the children in action.

Visit to Tiverton Museum

The children visited Tiverton Museum to introduce their new topic of 'The Tivertonian and the Tivvy Bumper'. The children were fascinated with all of the artefacts they saw, talking about what life must have been like in the past and how times have changed.

The highlight was seeing the Tivvy Bumper train and imagining what it might have been like to have taken a ride in a steam train.

DT Bridge Project

After learning about the famous bridge engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the children had their turn to be engineers. They worked in small teams to design, build and evaluate a bridge that spanned a 20 cm gap between two tables and would support the weight of a toy train. Each group used a different material to create the bridge (paper, card, Lego,Mobilo and plastic) and had to work together to ensure that it met the criteria for the task. 

It was a great relief when we tested them to find that all of the bridges successfully held the weight of the train! 

We are computer programmers!

The children have been learning about algorithms (precise and clear instructions) and how to design and use algorithms to program a robot. 

They worked in teams to design a map for the robot, give instructions to navigate it to different places, avoiding obstacles along the way.

They have also learned what to do when those instructions didn't work as they intended, looking at their algorithm, adapting and changing it. This is called debugging. 

The children also had a chance to talk about any computer games and programs they know and how they also use algorithms. It was very exciting to see the link to their own lives and maybe inspire them to want to become programmers themselves!