Topic Overview – Year 2
NC 2014
All living things and their
habitats
 I can explore and
compare the
differences
between things
that are living,
dead, and things
that have never
been alive
 I can identify that
most living things
live in habitats to
which they are
suited and
describe how
different habitats
provide for the
basic needs of
different kinds of
animals and plants,
and how they
depend on each
other
 I can identify and
name a variety of
plants and animals
in their habitats,
including microhabitats
UK Compared With
Africa (Mozambique)





Symbiotic
relationship
between the ant
and the Acacia
tree in the
African savanna
How African
elephants are
adapted to their
environment
Hippo / lion /
zebra
Wetland /
grassland
Carnivore /
Herbivore
School in the Olden
Days
Seven Continents and 5
Oceans



Coral reefs
Coastal
habitats / rock
pools
Epipelagic
compared to
Aphotic zone
Historical Events/ Own
locality (People/Places/
Great Fire of London)
Seasons in the UK
Significant People:
Florence Nightingale
Mary Seacole
Christopher Columbus
Neil Armstrong
Spring
 Tadpoles in the
Summerhill
pond
 Insects living
around the
pond / the plant
life they
depend upon.
 Life cycle of
butterfly /
“Insect Lore”
project.
See
www.insectlore.co.uk
David
Attenborough
Summer
 Tadpoles –
Frogs
 Emerging
butterflies
 Aphantopus
hyperantus
(Ringlet
butterfly)
emerging June
at Summerhill
 Also, Zygaena
filipendulae
Jane Goodall
Rachel Carson
Charles Darwin
Dian Fossey
Topic Overview – Year 2

I can describe how
animals obtain
their food from
plants and other
animals, using the
idea of a simple
food chain, and
identify and name
different sources of
food.



(Six-spot
Burnet dayflying moth)
emerging June
at Summerhill
Nature walks
Wildlife surveys
“Insect Lore”
butterfly project
Autumn
 Hibernating
mammals
 Migratory birds
Winter
 Uk-wintering
birds, waders,
wetland birds,
etc
 Saltholme
Wetland
Reserve
Plants
 I can observe and
describe how
seeds and bulbs
grow into mature
plants
 I can find out and
describe how
plants need water,
light and a suitable
temperature to
Comparison between
UK native/naturalised
plant species and
African native
species.
e.g. UK native
species compared to
Cacti.
Marine plants
Could we have an
‘underwater garden’?
Aquatic plants:
 Anubias nana
 Java ferns
 Cryptocoryne
wendtii
Topic Overview – Year 2
grow and stay
healthy.
Animals, including
humans
 I can notice that
animals, including
humans, have
offspring which
grow into adults
 I can find out about
and describe the
basic needs of
animals, including
humans, for
survival (water,
food and air)
 I can describe the
importance for
humans of
exercise, eating
the right amounts
of different types of
food, and hygiene.
Uses of everyday
materials
 I can identify and
compare the
suitability of a
variety of everyday
materials, including
wood, metal,

African animals
Famous
survivalists, e.g.
Ray Mears

Look at the
lifestyles of, for
example,
Maasai Mara or
Zulu peoples,
compared with
our own.

Compare with
people of the
Maasai Mara or
Zulu tribes, e.g.
our
ceramic/metal

Compare
modern and
olden-days
school dinners

The Bajau
people of
southeast Asia
live almost
entirely on the
water


Agricultural
Revolution
Industrial
Revolution
Famous inventors,
e.g.
Alexander Graham
Bell
Emile Berliner
Topic Overview – Year 2

plastic, glass,
brick, rock, paper
and cardboard for
particular uses
I can find out how
the shapes of solid
objects made from
some materials
can be changed by
squashing,
bending, twisting
and stretching.
kitchenware
compared with
their
earthenware,
etc.
Working Scientifically
 I can ask simple questions about the world around me.
 I can observe closely, using simple equipment.
 I can perform simple tests.
 I can identify and classify.
 I can use my observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions
 I can gather and record data to help in answering questions.
(gramophone)
Harry Brearley
(stainless steel)