Year 2

Castles

and Dragons…

General Tasks

To help with learning from home the Government has set up the Oak National Academy. This offers 180

video lessons each week across a broad range of subjects from Reception to Year 10 and are free to use. The

Oak National Academy can be accessed here:

https://www.thenational.academy/

In addition, the BBC is running programmes and resources for pupils of all ages, with many famous faces

presenting lessons. These resources can be found here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/learn

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/znwrcqt

Phonics Tasks

One of the key learning in Yr2 is phonics. These are the

letters and sounds individual letters make as well as

groups of letters together. Look at the Phonics Tasks

in your Easter Pack. Please could you do one task per

day.

• Phonics Play – Lots of phonics games and

activities. This can be found at:

https://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/ with the

Username: March20 and the Password: home

• Another phonics page we use is Monster Phonics:

https://monsterphonics.com/ with the Username:

login and Password: homelearning

• The last phonics we would recommend is Oxford

Owl:

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/learn-to-

read-phonics/

Weekly Reading Tasks

There are some really great ideas on previous

project packs so feel free to do the ones you

have not completed yet.

Here are some additional ideas are:

• Read a novel (chapter book) to your child,

such as David Walliams or Harry Potter.

• Listen to a story (BBC bedtime stories – a

new one every day)

• Make a new front cover for a book you

have read. Who would you put on the

front?

Weekly Maths Tasks

Again, look at previous projects for some great ideas

about what Maths you can do daily. Pick one a day.

Here are some additional ideas:

• Set up a tuck shop for daily snacks where they

get given a set amount of money for the day

to buy snacks.

• Make a timetable of the day looking at the

days of the week, as well as the time each

activity is starting. Draw the clock, with the

long hand the minute hand and the short

hand the hour hand.

• Go on a shape hunt. First one to find 3

triangles. Do the same for circles, rectangles,

squares.

Other Weekly Tasks

Science

• Spot some signs of Spring in the garden…

• What animals can you find (be careful to

put them back where you found them….)

PE

• Start each morning with a good wake up!

Daily 30mins exercise by logging onto

YouTube and watching Joe Wicks (PE with

Joe) who is doing it live every morning at

9am. If you miss this time, then previous

exercise routines are on there.

History

• Find ‘Horrible Histories’ on BBC (Internet)

and write 3 interesting things you have

learnt from each program. (there are also

games linked to each one)

Design Technology

• Help make some cakes or biscuits for the

family. Don’t forget to wash up afterwards.

Castles

English

• Write a castle acrostic poem (Activity Sheet 1)

• Poetry - “Anyone seen my Dragon?” (Activity

Sheet 2)

• Read the fun fact sheet on Castles together – then

see how much information you can find by

answering the questions. You may want to work

through the questions with an adult (or older

brother/sister) (Activity Sheet 3)

• Find some pictures of dragons. Which one do you

like best and why? Draw a large dragon egg and

inside it write words that you would use to

describe it. (ferocious or kind, scaly skin or soft

skin Use the words collected in your egg, to write

5 sentences about the dragon inside the egg.

Don’t forget capital letters, finger spaces, full

stops and that it makes sense. Can you use and in

one your sentences and because in another?

Art/Design Technology

• Design a personal coat of arms

(activity sheet 9)

• Colour in sheets on a castle

theme (activity sheets 10)

• Make a dragon puppet. You

could use an old sock, paper or

lolly stick. What would your

dragon say? Who would it talk

to?

• Draw or paint a picture of a

dragon. What colours can you

see? What does your dragon

look like? Can you tell someone

else about your dragon?

History / Geography/RE

• Watch a series of videos and reading

information all about castles,

including attacking a castle and what

they ate.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/search?

q=castles&filter=bitesize Write down

4 things you have learnt from the

videos. (Activity Sheet 4)

• Compare your home to a castle

(Activity Sheet 5)

• Use the Internet to find out how you

became a Knight and answer these

questions. (Activity Sheet 6)

• Find out about castles from this

English Heritage video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

RXXDThkJ3Ew From this Label a

castle (Activity Sheet 7)

• Find castles on the map of the UK and

see if you can add some more.

(Activity Sheet 8)

• Listen to an amazing story about King

David (Activity 14)

PE and Games

• Play some of the games the children of medieval times played (Activity Sheet 13)

Maths

• Fractions – halves and quarters (Activity Sheet 11)

• 3 maths games to play together (Activity Sheet 12)

Music

• Warm up your voice and body by joining in with ‘Sound Parade’, ‘Funky Chicken’ or ‘Clap Your

Hands’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI5t9QbozBQ&t=325s

• Join in with the actions and the words of ‘Castle Song’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEbrwAIEDRI

• Listen to a part of the Jack and the Beanstalk story each day: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/english-ks1-jack-and-the-beanstalk-pt1/zjnc7nb

• Using your voice make different sounds to tell the story eg. happy and sad sounds, walking

sounds, cow sounds, creaking door sounds, climbing sounds, giant sounds

Activity Sheet 1 – Write an acrostic poem about a castle.

An acrostic poem has the topic idea down the left side of the poem. Each letter in the topic word starts the first word

of that line. Here is an example:

Now write one about Castles….

C _________________________________________________

A _________________________________________________

S _________________________________________________

T ________________________________________________

L _________________________________________________

E _________________________________________________

S _________________________________________________

Activity Sheet 2 – Write a poem based on poem “Anyone seen my dragon?”

1. Read the poem “Anyone seen my dragon?” by Roger Stevens. Read it out loud. Focus on the rhythm of the poem.

2. Underline and draw a line to connect the words that rhyme (these are words that sound the same).

3. Now create your own poem based on this one, ie Anyone seen my cat? (or any other animal). Think about using descriptive words such as; hairy, black, fuffy, sleak, etc. Also the type of cat; tabby, rag doll, tortoiseshell, etc. Start with the chorus, then work through the verses about the cats behaviour; She sits and purrs. She sleeps all day. She climbs trees. She brings dead mice into the house.

Anyone seen my Dragon, Daisy?

Anyone seen my DRAGON?

Scary, Scaly

Tall ‘n Taily

Daisy the Dreadful Dragon.

She’s got bad breath.

A temper true.

Eat’s old ladies (children too).

She breathes out fire.

She puffs out smoke.

She’ll singe your hair. She’ll make you choke.

Anyone seen my DRAGON?

Scary, Scaly

Tall ‘n Taily

Daisy the Dreadful Dragon.

She soars about.

She seeks out food.

Makes loud noises (mainly rude).

Yes she’s grumpy.

Yes, she’s smelly.

Big Butt always blocks the telly.

Anyone seen my DRAGON?

Scary, Scaly

Tall ‘n Taily

Daisy the Dreadful Dragon.

And she’s breastly.

And a pest.

But I love her (she’s the best).

Please send Daisy

Back to me.

Treat her well. Or you’ll be tea…

Anyone seen my DRAGON?

Scary, Scaly

Tall ‘n Taily

Daisy the Dreadful Dragon.

Activity Sheet 3 – Fun Fact on Castles

Read the writing and answer the questions.

Activity Sheet 4 – What have you found interesting?

Watch a series of videos and reading information all about castles, including attacking a castle and what

they ate. https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/search?q=castles&filter=bitesize

Draw a picture and write down 4 things you have learnt from the videos.

Activity Sheet 5 – Castle verses Home

Most of us live in a house or flat, not a castle.

Think about how your house is similar and different to a castle.

Think about: My home A stone castle

Doors: Does your front door

have a window?

How does a castle door help

keep enemies out?

Windows: How many

windows does your house

have? What are they made

from?

Walls: How thick are the walls

of your house? What are the

walls of your house made

from?

Defences: How do you keep

people out of your home?

What ways were castles

defended?

Bathrooms: How many do

you have in your house? Do

you have running water?

Lighting: How do you light

your home?

Heating: How did they keep

warm in medieval times?

Home sweet home: How do

you decorate your home? Do

you have carpets?

Bigger is better: How many

rooms do you have in your

house? How many people live

there?

Activity Sheet 6 – How do you become a Knight?

Any free man could become a knight, but the cost of owning a horse and providing your own armour meant that they

mainly came from wealthy noble families. Using the Internet, do some research to help you discover the steps to

knighthood!

1. At what age did a boy begin training to become a knight

2. What was a boy training to be a knight called?

3. Why did the boys training to be a knight play wrestling and tag?

4. What other duties did the boys have to do?

5. What skills would a boy learn?

6. At what age would a boy become a squire?

7. What were the duties of a squire?

8. At what age would a squire become a knight?

9. What happened at the ceremony when a squire become a knight?

Activity Sheet 7 – Labelling a castle

Find the different parts of a castle by watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXXDThkJ3Ew

Use these words:

• Battlements

• Bailey

• Portcullis

• Tower

• Barbican

• Drawbridge

• Moat

• Arrow Loops

Activity Sheet 8 – Castles of the United Kingdom

Use an atlas to find the location of the castles and mark them on the map. Can you find a castle that is not on the list?

Activity Sheet 9 – Designing a shield

Shields were coloured so that knights could be spotted on the battlefield – after all, you don’t want to

attack the wrong person! The shield was an important part of a knighr’s armour. Take a look at the basic

shield designs below. Experiment using different colour combinations on the shields.

A knight’s shield may also have an animal such as a bird or a lion. This would have also appeared

on the cloak covering your armour and cloth covering your horse. Think about which animal you

would like to have on your shield and what it represents about you.

Draw out your shield design and include the animal of your choice.

Activity Sheet 10 – Colouring in sheets.

Activity Sheet 11 – Fractions

1. The whole gummy bear is split into ______ equal parts?

Each part is worth a _________

This can be written as

2. Which pictures show ½ ?

3. Share 20 beanbags equally between 2 containers, then complete the sentence…

The whole is ________. Half of ______ is ______

4. Circle half the cakes Circle half the triangles

5. Fill in the blanks. Use objects to count if needed.

6. 4 friends are sharing a cake

7. Shade ¼ of each shape.

8. Circle the shape that have a quarter shaded.

Activity Sheet 12 – Maths Games to play

Maths Game 1: Count Down! This game is a simple at home version of the TV favourite and can be played with any number of players.

https://youtu.be/RZgkr5_Xn58

What you need to play:

• 4 ‘large number’ cards with the numbers 25, 15, 20 and 10 on them

• A set of cards with the digits 1-10 on them, with at least two cards for each number

How to play:

• Step 1: Set out 4 large number cards (25, 50, 75 and 100) face down and mixed up.

• Step 2: Do the same with the 1 – 10 cards, making sure you have at least 2 cards for each number.

• Step 3: Players take it in turns to select one of the big number cards or one of the small number cards, until

there are 6 cards laid out all together.

• Step 4: Someone who is playing the game needs to generate a 3-digit number. This can be by throwing a dice,

or selecting cards from a pile of 0 to 9 cards.

• Step 5: Once the number has been generated, turn over the six cards and players have to try and get to that

total using any of the six number cards and any of the four operations.

• Each card can only be used once and the winner is the first person to reach the total, or the player who is

closest after a set length of time.

• The game can be adapted for different children, by choosing the numbers on the cards carefully and having

them aiming to reach a 2-digit number, rather than a 3-digit number.

Maths Game 2: Salute

This simple game is all about bringing together verbalisation and maths.

What you need to play:

• Two willing participants

• Cards numbered 1-10 (these can be made from a sheet of paper)

How to play:

• Step 1: The game starts with the two players facing each other.

Each person selects a numbered card and sticks it on their

forehead, so the other player can see.

• Step 2: The person leading the game gives a statement, such as

what the sum of the two numbers is, the difference between

the two or the product of the two etc…..

• Step 3: Each player has to work out what number is on their own

card, based on what is written on the other person’s head and

the rule given.

Maths Game 3: Multiplication Bingo

Bingo is a fun game that can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and this version puts a mathematical twist on

this classic game, as a way to boost multiplication skills.

What you need to play:

• Paper to write numbers down on

How to play:

• Step 1: In this mathematical version of the game, all players write

down 5 numbers, which are multiples of a given times table. For

example: if they were doing the 5 times table, they might write 10, 35,

45, 50 and 60.

• Step 2: A third person can lead the game and call out multiplication

questions from the chosen times table, or they can be written on

cards, jumbled up in a pile for players to take turns picking and reading

out.

• Step 3: If the player has an answer to the question on their bingo

board, they can cross it out. First person to cross out all their numbers is the winner.

Activity Sheet 13 – Medieval games to play

Nine Man Morris

A game for two players using a board as set out opposite.

Each player needs nine coloured counters.

• Players take it in turns to place their counters on the board, anywhere they choose!

• When all counters are placed, players take it in turns to move their counters. A counter can be moved from one circle to another along the lines but may not move into a ‘slot’ already occupied.

• When a player gets three tokens in a row (a mill) they can take any of their opponent’s counters which are not in a mill.

• If all the opponent’s counters are in mills then a player can take any counter.

The game is over when a player cannot move or only has

two counters left.

Oranges and lemons

Say the bells of St.Clements

You owe me five farthings

Say the bells of St.Martins

When will you pay me?

Say the bells of old Bailey

When I grow rich

Say the bells of Shoreditch

When will that be?

Say the bells of Stepney

I do not know

Says the great bell of Bow

Here comes a candle to light you to bed

Here comes the chopper to chop off your head!

Oranges and Lemons

• Four players, two with orange bands and two with yellow bands, form an arch.

• Remaining players line up and pass under the arch as the song ‘Oranges and lemons’ is sung.

• The player who passes under the arch when the words ‘chop off your head’ are sung is taken prisoner. They must then choose which team to join, oranges or lemons? They then line up behind their chosen team.

When all players have been taken prisoner the two

teams hold a tug of war. The winners are proclaimed

the ‘Spring team’ and the losers the ‘Winter team’.

Bocci

Requires two sets of coloured balls (tennis balls work well) and a small Bocci ball (a golf ball is fine).

• Played as two teams on an area of flat clear grass.

• The youngest player from either team rolls the Bocci.

• All other players have two chances to roll their ball to get closest to the Bocci.

The nearest ball gains a point for their team.

Prisoner’s base

The object of the game is to be the

team with the most prisoners at the

end of the time limit. You need at

least ten players on each team and

a large marked out playing area

with a chalked line across the

middle. A prisoner area is also

marked out for each team about 10

metres behind the middle line.

• Each team picks a person to be the prisoner for the opposing team, normally their fastest runner!

• The teams try to free the prisoner by sending a team member through enemy lines and trying to run back without being captured. Both teams can attempt this at the same time.

• If caught, the team member joins the original prisoner in prison.

• Further team members are sent to rescue prisoners. They can choose which prisoner to rescue. Note: the rescuer is safe whilst in the prison.

The winning team is the team with the most prisoners at the end of play.

How many miles to London?

One player is chosen as ‘it’ and is then blind folded.

• Other players stand at a starting line and ask ‘it’ for directions. ‘It’ tells them how many steps to take forward, backwards, left and right they must go. Players must follow these directions.

• ‘It’ is then taken to the starting line and then follows his own directions. When ‘it’ reaches the final destination he must try to touch another player. Players can duck and sway to avoid being touched but must not move their feet.

• If a player is tagged they then become ‘it’.

Activity Sheet 14 – A story about a king to listen to and think about

First listen to this story from the Christian Bible and from Jewish history

about King David:

https://request.org.uk/restart/2020/05/07/bible-quest-david/

Next do some thinking and wondering about these questions and draw a picture

or write words to show your thoughts:

What kind of person was King David?

Why did God choose David?

What words would someone use to describe you?