Year 2 Supporting Children at Home

Some Y2 parents have been asking about ways to best support their children in preparation for the end of KS1 assessments. The sample tests for KS1 can be accessed via the Government web site (search for 2016 sample tests for Y2). There is also a link to the papers on the “School Run” web site for parents, along with some helpful tips on helping your child learn key skills.

The Y2 teachers have sent home two practice comprehension exercises for the holidays. Please support your child to be able to read key question starters, such as:

  • Where...
  • How...
  • What...
  • Do...
  • When...
  • How do you know...
  • Which word tells you...

Asking your child these questions when looking at home reading books will also be beneficial.

Your child has also been asked to complete all the pages from the Maths book linked to addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Children also need to know key number facts such as:

  • Doubles and their corresponding halves up to double 10
  • 2/5/10 times tables facts
  • Number bonds using numbers up to 20 (eg 12+?=19, 4=18-?)
  • Different combinations of tens and ones making up numbers (eg 42 is 40+2, 30+12, 20+22, 10+32)

The “Top Marks” web site has some useful games and activities to help with these areas.

Regarding SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) practice, an important element is being able to read a sentence and pick out the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. The “Sheppard Software Grammar Tutorial Game” on the Internet can help with this.

Children who are taking their phonics screening test this summer will need to be secure on their sounds and will need to be able to blend sounds together in real and “alien” words. You will have been informed by your child’s teacher if your child is taking this test. There are past papers available on the Government web site (just search for Y1 phonics screening). We use many “Letters and Sounds” games on the Internet to prepare children for the assessment; children in Y2 should be able to cope with activities targeting phases 3 to 6 of Letters and Sounds. The “Phonics Play” web site has some great games at a range of levels.

Finally, we have included a list of fun but educational sites to help your child in their own targeted areas:

  • BBC Bite Size KS1 – an excellent site for different areas of Maths and English; the Max and Molly games have three difficulty levels
  • ICT Games – a good site for Maths and some ideas for KS1 phonics
  • Top Marks – go to the 5-7 section and select Maths or English; good for games linked to children’s own target areas
  • Woodlands Junior – links to many games and activities but take care to choose games at the right age level