Class Two | Learning Journey & Curriculum Map

Class Two | Child Development

After their first year of formal education, the children in Class 2 visibly grow and change, both outwardly and inwardly. Their school, their
classmates, their teacher, are all very familiar now; they become more confident and, in comparison with the contentment of Class I, more
talkative, louder and more cheeky; they push boundaries more than before; they begin to notice and question things. The authority of teachers
who are clear in themselves about what is acceptable and what is not, is vital now; as the scope for self-directed work and behaviour widens,
boundaries must remain firm. Slowly, through the course of this year and the next, the impulse to just follow - to imitate - will be replaced by the
growing wish for independence. The challenging behaviour of the 8-year-old signals the beginning of that process, which will lead them
eventually to become free thinking, empathetic, responsible adults.

Class Two | Literacy | Writing

Active Learning | Intention Active Teaching | Implementation Active Environments | Impact

● Write in cursive script ● Practise form drawing (running forms) as ● Provide regular opportunities for
● Write digraphs sh, th, ch, wh, ph, gh ee, oo, ei, precursor to cursive. practising running forms leading to
ea, ai ow, ew, aw y as vowel and consonant ● Introduce consonant and vowel digraphs cursive writing.
(extended code) on the blackboard and on cards. ● Provide writing practice of current-
● Write and spell correctly day of the week, ● Always display the day’s date and day of focus digraphs through exercises
months, numbers and other familiar topics the week to familiarise children with drawn from the day’s story.
● Write high frequency words as was, were, are, spellings ● Reinforce spellings of days of the
said, their/ there, have ● Draw attention to word wall or other week, months etc. through regular
● Hear when a sentence starts and stops display of high frequency and tricky words handwriting practise

1
● Use capital letters and full stops when writing daily. ● Plan opportunities for free writing
simple sentences ● Model use of capitals, full stops, question that will include use of high
● Begin to use question marks with some marks and how to recognise a sentence frequency words.
accuracy through voice modulation, games and oral Provide opportunities to note/highlight
● Illustrate with simple text some direct quizzes capitals and full stops and where they
experiences or scenes from stories ● Encourage habit of self-editing by children occur.
● Begin to date their work reading their sentences to check for
● Recognise the basic structure of literature – capitals and full stops
beginning, middle, end ● Provide extension work for more fluent
writers
● Model clarity of pronunciation when talking
to help children hear sounds accurately

Class Two | Literacy | Reading

Active Learning | Intention Active Teaching | Implementation Active Environments | Impact

● Read digraphs sh, th, ch, wh, ph, gh ee, oo, ● Provide cards and other visuals to show ● Provide readers and other visuals
ei, ea, ai ow, ew, aw y as vowel and context of different sounds. to reinforce familiarity with
consonant (extended code) ● Allot time in school day for individual common consonant and vowel
● Read steadily, showing familiarity with sound digraphs

2
 blends reading ● Encourage a library system with
● Recognise days of the week, months, ● Listen to each child read regularly children taking books home.
numbers in written form ● Draw attention to the date on the ● Begin class and individual reading
● Read high frequency words such as was,
blackboard daily. programmes
were, are, said, their/ there, have
● To pause at full stops. ● Read high frequency words and play ● Maintain close working
● Read questions using correct intonation games using the word wall and other relationships with parents to
● Recognise difference between naming and visuals daily promote daily reading practice.
doing words ● Stimulate delight in language using songs, ● Encourage and guide a variety of
● Recognise and spell common phonic poems, skipping rhymes with repetition reading matter. Avoid censorship
patterns. and lengthening lists of items. of reading material.
● Recognise and spell increasing bank of sight ● Provide a ‘cosy corner’ where
● Help children to hear punctuation and
words quiet reading can take place
understand meaning through expressive ● Discuss with your SEND colleague
reading aloud any children who face challenges
● Choose carefully graded reading material and provide appropriate support
for each child
·

Class Two | Literacy | Speaking & Listening

Active Learning | Intention Active Teaching | Implementation Active Environments | Impact

● Recite aloud short verses alone (e.g. Birthday ● Write a personal verse for each child to The class perform plays together at least
verse) and recite some lines of a poem alone recite weekly. 3 times in the year

3
 ● Perform short plays in chorus ● Plan various short plays according to ● The class speak verses and tongue
● Speak simple speech exercises and tongue festivals throughout the year. twisters in rhythmic time daily.
twisters in chorus ● Regularly practise speaking verses and ● The class play games like “What
● Recite the alphabet accurately forwards and tongue- twisters in unison daily letter comes before or what letter
backwards ● Listen to, respond and discuss areas of comes next”?
● Listen to and follow verbal instructions given concern among children ● Children are given regular
by teachers in all subjects ● Stimulate comprehension with questions opportunities to engage verbally
● Recall the main points of a story told by the about content and aspects of language in with the teacher. The teacher
teacher stories models and encourages good
● Retell narratives in the correct sequence, Use an increasingly wide range of vocabulary listening skills.
drawing on the language patterns of stories in oral narratives ● Children recall the story from the
(once upon a time, who, where, what, why, previous day orally as well as using
how) materials such as wax etc. which
● Recognise the basic structure of literature – they can then explain verbally.
beginning, middle, end ● Children can recall stories in their
Experience form in literature through reciting own writing.
rhythmic and rhyming verses

Class Two | Literacy | Curriculum Narrative

During the ‘Writing’ blocks, the children practise their handwriting, starting with capitals and moving on to printed lower case letters and finally
cursive writing. All three are practised so that they can develop neat, well-formed handwriting. When they are practising handwriting, the
emphasis is on the form of the writing itself, rather than the content. In this case, they write out poems that they know by heart, which allows
them to focus on the mechanics of writing and is also very helpful for the children who are not yet reading independently, because they know
what they are writing and so can read it. They continue to practise using letters and their sounds through games like “The Minister’s Cat”, as well

4
as daily recitation of poems, accompanied by movement. In the games, we also work with consonant blends and begin to distinguish between
ordinary and proper nouns (‘names of things’) through the use of capital and lower case letters.

The other main activity in the Writing blocks is composition. It is too early for the children to be writing their own stories – at this age they either
don’t know what to write or everything explodes! – but they can write, in their own words (and without any pressure to spell words correctly),
parts of some of the stories they have heard. It is a good discipline for them to have to remember what happened, put events into the right order
and work out for themselves how things might be spelt. Often in Class 2 we tell The King of Ireland’s Son, and this story provides excellent
material for composition. Many children at this age are very articulate and like nothing better than to talk, so they can put this to good use and
will produce some wonderful pieces of writing. Others, who tend to hold back, will have the opportunity to hear and use other people’s ideas and
also to write down what they are too shy to say. Some of the most fluent writing can come from the children who say the least. Compositions are
prepared by the whole class during the recall part of the Main Lesson and everyone should contribute. They will be able to retell the whole story
and add their own descriptions and details, and to suggest words they could use in their writing, which are then written on the board. Later in the
year, they can be asked specifically, for example, for ‘words that tell us what the sea was like’ or ‘words that tell us what he was doing’ as the first
introduction to grammar, which will continue in a more formal way next year. Most of the children should be reading quite well by the end of
Class 2, and everyone should be able to spell basic words (the, and, but, then etc.) correctly with everything else spelled phonetically, with the
letters in more or less the right order. Children who are not able to do this will need some additional support now, and real learning difficulties
(rather than just late development) will have become apparent. The most important thing is that the children feel confident enough to write what
they want to say without feeling constrained by the need to spell everything correctly. It is noticeable, however, that the ones who like to read
will learn to spell very quickly and their vocabulary will grow fast. It isn’t really possible to teach English spelling through rules, because there are
so many exceptions and illogical spellings, so regular reading for pleasure is an important part of their development and education. Regular
opportunities to read are built into the timetable.

In Class 2, fables are told and contrasted with stories of saints. ‘Saints’ can include people from any culture whose deeds set them above the
ordinary. The children’s sense of right and wrong is beginning to become conscious now and more and more they will have to be responsible for
their own actions in the world. In the contrast between the higher human qualities of the saints and the lower ones, represented by animals such
as the sly fox and the greedy wolf, the children get a sense of the potential nobility of the human being as something that must be striven for
against the temptations of lower desires and temptations. Of course, they are told the stories without this explanation, so that their feeling for
what is noble and good and what isn’t (albeit funny or clever) is allowed to arise naturally