St. Peter's Catholic Primary School

We love to read!  We aim to help children develop into fluent readers with good comprehension skills. In our classroom, we have a reading corner where children can enjoy/choose a book, and a reading display showing recommended texts and children's favourite books. We expect children to read at home each night and for this to be recorded in their Reading Records which will be check in school every Monday. We also love it when children bring in good reads to share with the class.

We aim to promote a love of reading, so as well as taking home a phonics or Fluency reading book, children can also choose a book to take home and read for pleasure. They are also welcome to read books they have at home too. The ‘Little People, Big Dreams’ series is often popular with our Year 2 children, as well as Roald Dahl’s stories. We have also compiled a list of books that link to our learning in Year 2. The children see these books on their Knowledge Organisers. Click on the document below to find the full list of books. 

Year 2 phonics is based around spelling rules and patterns. By the end of Year 2 we aim for children to spell many of the words within their writing correctly. We have lots of resources available in our classroom to support children when they are writing such as working walls and spelling mats. In Year 2 children become independent writers.

In Year 2, we build upon the Phonics learning from EYFS and Year 1, we will continue to follow the National Curriculum Spelling programme, Little Wandle. Please use the phonics websites at the bottom of this page to continue practising your child's phonics.

In the Autumn term your child will take home two books as they did in Year 1. The children will take part in Guided Reading sessions throughout the week. At home, your child should be reading to an adult at least 3 times per week and this should be recorded in their Reading Records.

1. Phonics Phased Book - This book is matched to your child’s individual phonics level. Your child’s teacher makes continuous phonics assessments based on their reading throughout the year, these assessments will inform your child’s phase level. All words contained within this book should be decodable for your child.

2. Reading for Pleasure Book - This book is chosen by your child from their class library. It is a book for children and parents to share together. The aim of this book is to promote a love of reading.

Children will then move on from Phonics and focus on Fluency. At this point children will move onto Fluency levelled books. Each week your child will then take home 3 books:

1. Fluency Reading Book - This book is matched to your child’s reading level. This is the book that is read during guided reading sessions in school. Your child’s teacher makes continuous reading assessments based on their reading throughout the year, these assessments will inform your child’s reading level. These books are split into 6 chapters and they will usually take around 2 weeks to read. We ask that you don't read beyond where we are in school so that we can move as a group in class and then this can be revisited and practised at home.
2. Reading Skills Book - This book will contain mostly decodable words for your child, however there will be some more challenging words. This book will expose children to a wider range of vocabulary and spelling patterns.
3. Reading for Pleasure Book - This book is chosen by your child from their class library. It is a book for children and parents to share together. The aim of this book is to promote a love of reading.

​Books will usually be changed on a Monday however, texts/emails will be sent out regularly to keep you updated. Children should keep their reading books in their book bags as they could be reading them with an adult on any day in school. 

Recommended Reading Books for Year 2:

Please click on the image below to see a list of 50 books recommended for Year 2.

Year 2 maths builds on knowledge and skills from Year 1. We become more fluent with our basic number facts such as bonds to 10, 20 and 100, doubles and halves and 2, 5 and 10 times tables. We build fluency through completing maths skills daily. Children also develop their problem solving and reasoning skills as well as becoming more independent learners. We always start new concepts using concrete apparatus in order to develop conceptual understanding, we then progress to pictorial representations and then more abstract methods and recordings. Here is an example. This is how Year 2 learn to solve 2 digit + 2 digit addition.

Learning in Key Stage 1 is Teacher assessed. This means, that at the end of Year 2, the class teacher will judge whether children have reached the expected standard (Age Related Expectations) based on their independent work in class. Children also complete tests to help inform this judgement. End of Key Stage One tests are no longer a statutory requirement. Children at St Peter's will complete the optional tests in Year 2 in order to help teachers assess their learning, just as children complete assessments in all other year groups (Year 1 - 6). These tests will take place at the end of each term.

Children will receive homework on a Friday. Usually, this is a piece of Maths or SPAG homework and spellings to learn. The homework is due in on a Tuesday and should be returned by this day to be marked. Children have a week to learn the spellings sent home and will be tested on these the following Friday. Occasionally, homework may differ and children may be asked to complete a comprehension task or homework based on our learning in another curriculum area. All homework is talked through with the children when it is set.

We expect children to read each night and for this to be recorded in children’s reading records. They must read at least three times a week and this should be recorded in their Reading Record.