Level 2
Welcome to Term 2!
We look forward to another fantastic term together.
Literacy
Reading
This term in Reading, Level 2 students are learning to solve words, maintain fluency and make predictions about text. They will explore strategies to decode unfamiliar words and work to build smooth, fluent and expressive reading. Students will make predictions about what will happen next in a text. Towards the end of the term students will learn to use what they have read and what they already know (prior knowledge) to make simple inferences.
Weekly focus:
Week 1: Solving words & maintaining fluency
Week 2: Solving words & maintaining fluency
Week 3: Solving words & maintaining fluency
Week 4: Solving words & maintaining fluency
Week 5: Predicting
Week 6: Predicting
Week 7: Predicting
Week 8: Inferring
Week 9: Inferring
- How can you decode new words?
- Does my reading sound like my natural talking voice?
- What will happen next in the story?
- Why do I think this will happen?
Writing
Throughout Term 2, students will be focusing on informative and persuasive writing.
During our informative writing unit, students will explore the difference between facts and opinions. Students will explore the writing traits of organisation, sentence fluency and word choice. They will discover the importance of diagrams and paragraphs to enhance the presentation of their writing. Throughout the persuasive unit students will explore points of view and further develop their knowledge of facts and opinions. Students will explore language features to help convenience their readers of their opinions.
Weekly focus:
Week 1: Informative Writing
Week 2: Informative Writing
Week 3: Informative Writing
Week 4: Informative Writing
Week 5: Informative Writing
Week 6: Persuasive Writing
Week 7: Persuasive Writing
Week 8: Persuasive Writing
Week 9: Persuasive Writing
- What is a fact?
- What is an opinion?
- Why do people write informative and persuasive texts?
- What does ‘non-fiction’ mean?
- What text features might you find in an informative or persuasive text?
- What are other types of persuasive devices?
Spelling and Grammar
We will continue to use the school wide Jolly Phonics program which gives students five essential skills for reading and writing: learning the letter sounds, learning letter formation, blending, identifying sounds in words, and tricky words. In grammar we will be learning about nouns, verbs, homophones and tenses.
Weekly focus:
Week 1: wa as in swan and proper nouns
Week 2: ou as in young and plurals
Week 3: air as in hair and possessive adjectives
Week 4: ch as in choir and homophones
Week 5: Long a; ai, ay, a_e and homophones
Week 6: Long e; ee and ea and simple and compound sentences
Week 7: Long i; ie, i_e, igh, y and verbs
Week 8: Long o; oa, ow, o_e and adverbs
Week 9: Long u; ue, ew, u-e and regular past tense
- How can we apply these rules and knowledge to our everyday writing?
Maths
This Term our number focus is addition and subtraction. We will be focusing on strategies such as number facts to 20, doubles, near doubles, split strategy , jump strategy and bridging to 10. Students will also explore the connection between addition and subtraction and will problem solve demonstrating their understanding of the most effective and efficient mental and written strategies. Students will also explore the concept of money identifying the coins and their values. They will apply their knowledge of money to solve simple addition and subtraction problems, by finding totals and giving change.
Within our Measurement and Geometry curriculum, students will be exploring time. We will learn about calendars, (how to use, read and create them), how to tell the time to the quarter hour on both digital and analogue clocks and further develop our knowledge of the months and seasons.
Weekly focus:
Week 1: Addition and months of the year
Week 2: Addition and calendars
Week 3: Addition and calendars
Week 4: Addition and calendars
Week 5: Subtraction and time
Week 6: Subtraction and time
Week 7: Subtraction and time
Week 8: Addition and subtraction, time
Week 9: Money and time
- What is addition and subtraction?
- How can we add and subtract numbers?
- What is the most efficient strategy to solve this problem?
- What strategies can I use to help solve addition and subtraction?
- What are the months and seasons of the year?
- How can I use a calendar to locate important dates?
- How can I accurately tell the time to the quarter hour?
Inquiry
In Inquiry this term, Level 2 are learning about Sustainability through our topic ‘TipToe
through the World’. Students will learn how to reduce, reuse and recycle as they consider the importance of sustainability. They will conduct an experiment to see how long things take to decompose. Students will develop personal sustainability goals as they consider the ethics of sustainability.
These are the level essential questions students will engage in throughout the inquiry unit:
- How can we leave a tiny footprint on the environment?
- Do we know what we can reuse, reduce and recycle?
- How can we set goals and influence others to look after our environment?
What you can do at home
- Read 3-4 times a week with your child. Remember to check for comprehension!
- Cook, play word and number games, art and crafts, ball games, activities outdoors
- Discuss and share the positives about each day
- Enjoy wellbeing activities together as a family
Important Dates
Monday 25th April - ANZAC Day Public holiday
Start of term: Tuesday 26th April
Thursday 28th April - Maroondah Waste Incursion
Friday 29th April - Connect Groups
Thursday 5th May - HEPS Cross Country
Friday 20th May - Connect Groups
23 - 27th May Education Week
Tuesday 24th May - Literacy Day
Wednesday 25th May - School Photos
Thursday 26th May - Open night book fair
Friday 27th May - Education week assembly
Friday 3rd June - Excursion to Gould League
Friday 10th June - Connect Groups
Monday 13th June - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday
End of term: Friday 24th June - 2:30pm dismissal
Communication
Miss Oakes: amy.oakes@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au
Miss Ross: jennifer.ross@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au
Mr. Macpherson: stuart.macpherson@heathmonteastps.vic.edu.au