Year 2

Welcome back to all our wonderful Year 2 students and families! As we begin our final term, it's a great time to reflect on the remarkable progress our Year 2 students have made. Their enthusiasm for learning, hard work, and commitment has been inspiring, and we’re so proud of everything they’ve accomplished. 

This term promises exciting new learning opportunities, and we look forward to seeing our Year 2s continue to grow as readers, authors, mathematicians, problem solvers and positive thinkers.

Thank you for your continued support, and let's make this last term a wonderful one!

A Look Back at Term 3

In Term 3 our Year 2 students embraced the excitement of the Commonwealth Games. Building on our previous Community unit, students explored the values of teamwork, inclusion and belonging, while developing an understanding of how people from different countries come together as part of the Commonwealth. It was a fantastic way to strengthen the sense of diversity and community we’ve been building in our classroom.

We also explored the amazing world of Australian animals. A highlight of the term was our exciting excursion to Moonlit Sanctuary, where students observed native wildlife up close and learnt about their habitats and adaptations. Back in the classroom, students combined their research and literacy skills to create impressive Australian animal information posters, showcasing their ability to locate facts, organise information and present their learning in a clear and engaging way. We are so proud of their incredible posters they produced!

Later in the term, we’ll also be preparing our students for their transition to Year 3. Middle School awaits!

Our Exciting Term 4 Inquiry Unit: A Journey Through Time!

Get ready for our biggest adventure yet! This term, Year 2 students will be whisked away in a time machine as we travel through history, exploring three incredible periods from the past. Our journey begins in the age of the dinosaurs, where students will discover fascinating prehistoric creatures, investigate what they ate and where they lived, and learn how scientists use fossils and evidence to uncover the secrets of life millions of years ago. A highlight of this unit will be our exciting Melbourne Museum excursion, where students will come face-to-face with giant dinosaur skeletons and real fossils! Students will also complete a Media Arts stop-motion dinosaur project, design characters and sets before creating their own short film. 

Next, we'll travel to the magnificent world of Ancient Egypt, uncovering the mysteries of pharaohs, pyramids, mummies and hieroglyphs while discovering why the Nile River was the heart of this amazing civilisation. We’ll finish our journey by comparing toys from the past and present, exploring how children’s lives have changed over time through photographs, artefacts and stories. To celebrate our learning, students will take part in a hands-on woodwork incursion, designing and creating their very own wooden toy. 

 It’s going to be a term filled with curiosity, creativity and unforgettable adventures through time!

English

In English this term, we will explore a range of engaging narrative and informational texts linked to our Inquiry themes. Students will continue developing their reading comprehension skills by making predictions, identifying the main idea, making inferences and using evidence from the text to support their thinking.

We begin with the delightful picture book Maisy Jones and the Dinosaur Bones by Lily Murray and Jenny Løvlie. Inspired by the remarkable true story of pioneering fossil hunter Mary Anning, this narrative brings a real historical event to life through storytelling. Students will explore how authors can use real people and historical events as inspiration for fictional narratives, while discovering the fascinating world of dinosaurs and the scientists who uncover clues about the past.

Our mentor text, We're Sailing Down the Nile by Laurie Krebs and Anne Wilson, will take us on an unforgettable journey through Ancient Egypt. As we sail along the Nile, we'll visit magnificent temples, towering pyramids, bustling villages, colourful markets, and the famous Valley of the Kings, discovering the amazing people and places that made Ancient Egypt so extraordinary, all while developing their reading comprehension through rich discussions and engaging mentor text activities. 

Writing

Throughout the term, we will revisit narrative and persuasive writing, allowing students to strengthen and build on the foundations they have already developed this year. Students will also write a procedural text, clearly explaining the step-by-step process they followed to design and create their own wooden toy. 

Maths 

This term in Mathematics, we will continue to build on our knowledge of multiplication and begin to explore the concept of division, using practical activities to show how numbers can be shared equally. Throughout these topics, students will be encouraged to use their skills in problem solving, applying their number knowledge to real-life and open-ended challenges.

Students will also explore fractions, building on their understanding that a fraction represents a part of a whole. They will expand their knowledge of halves from Year 1 by investigating quarters and eighths of common shapes. Additionally, students will use concrete materials to represent halves, quarters, and eighths of a group of objects.

To deepen their understanding, students will be encouraged to look for fractions in their everyday lives, such as counting the number of slices in a whole pizza, having half an apple in their lunchbox, or noting that they leave home in a quarter of an hour. We will also identify the fractions used during our Kitchen Classroom sessions, further integrating these concepts into practical experiences.

We will also be looking closely at the features of 3D objects, learning how to recognise, describe, and classify them in the world around us. We will turn our focus to measurement, exploring capacity through hands-on tasks and comparing how much different containers can hold. 

Year 2 Team

Emma Rae (2A), Rebecca Taylor (2B Mon-Wed) & Carly Toister (2B Wed-Fri)

Important Dates:

Melbourne Museum: Wednesday 14th October 

Disco: Thursday 15th October

Author Visit: Friday 23rd October

Melbourne Cup Public Holiday: 3rd November 

Little Woodworkers Incursion: 30th November and 1st December

Last day Term 4: 18th December