Year 2: How have people from the past changed the way we live today?

This term, our main have people from the past changed the way we live today?”** We began our history and reading lessons by learning about Mary Seacole and her inspirational work caring for sick soldiers during the Crimean War. We explored how she paved the way for diversity in nursing.

To deepen our understanding of the topic, we participated in a special drama workshop where we enjoyed acting as soldiers and nurses. One of the highlights was putting bandages on each other as part of the role play, and we even learned a Mary Seacole song!

At the end of the workshop, we discussed the life of Florence Nightingale and collaborated to create a timeline of her achievements. The workshop left us with wonderful memories, which we enjoyed recounting as we wrote diary extracts of the event in our writing lessons.

In DT, we learned about structures and worked on designing and making a bed. We had to ensure it was stable and created a design criteria to guide us. We enjoyed testing our beds and discovered that using short cylindrical legs improved their stability and strength.

In English, we were excited to receive a letter from Dorothy Nightingale, a descendant of Florence Nightingale. This inspired us to write our own letters. We also read two biographical narratives: The Extraordinary Life of Mary Seacole by Naida Redgrave and Florence Nightingale by Lucy Lethbridge. Did you know that before Florence Nightingale made improvements, poor soldiers were fed stale and mouldy food and only had a hole for a toilet?

We used our museum learning artefacts to help us explore the past and answer our big question: "How have people from the past changed the way we live today?" These included real letters from Florence Nightingale and graphic representations of the hospitals at the time.

Our High Stakes Project encouraged us to delve deeper into nutrition during our Science topic. To support our school on its Healthy Eating journey, we researched and investigated packed lunches across the entire school. Year 6 children assisted us by carrying out spot checks, and we then created a PowerPoint presentation to share our findings and educate our peers about the importance of a balanced and nutritious diet.

We hope you and your families enjoy a variety of healthy foods over the seasonal break!

Thank you for your support,The Year 2 Team