What's Happening In Grade 2
Life In Grade 2
What an incredibly exciting and eventful term it has been for the Grade 2 students! There have been many engaging learning opportunities and a wide array of fun activities that have taken place over the course of Term 2.
A major focus has been the implementation of Classroom Systems supporting our School Wide Positive Behaviours. Each Monday all the Grade 2s came together to share their ideas about the expected behaviours that should be shown across our classroom learning space. This involved looking at our four values of Learning, Respect, Resilience and Teamwork and the varying learning settings within our classrooms. We successfully created our Grade 2 Classroom Matrix and have a display between the two classes to showcase our collaborative work. Students have also been receiving their Buzz Classroom Awards, spinning the wheel and enjoying their hard-earned rewards, acknowledging their positive behaviours.
In English, we have focused on Explanation Texts for both reading and writing. Students have been taught about the purpose of an explanation text, identifying its structure and understanding the language features. They are now familiar with terms like ‘macro, linking and time connective sentences’ and have utilised Stephen Graham's seven describing perspectives to aid them in crafting descriptive sentences. To ensure that our learning is practical, we incorporated real-life examples of explanation texts such as: ‘How to Sharpen a Pencil’, ‘How to Cross a Road Safely’, and ‘Why Our Heart Beats Faster When We Exercise’. Students have made significant progress in their learning and will continue to be strongly encouraged to apply their knowledge with increased independence and confidence.
In Mathematics, we spent the first part of the term continuing the concept of Place Value, focusing on two and three-digit numbers. Students demonstrated a developing understanding of place value by participating in various interactive activities to enhance their learning.
In the second half of the term, our emphasis has shifted towards Addition and Subtraction. Through a variety of strategies such as 'make to ten', 'jump strategy' and 'partitioning', students were able to further solidify their knowledge whilst tackling problem-solving activities.
In our non-number component of mathematics, students focused on Time and Location and engaged in a variety of activities to enhance their comprehension of these. As a class, we collaborated on creating a calendar and added important events and birthdays. Students showed considerable effort to learn how to tell time accurately by recognizing quarter to, and quarter past times. In the location-based activities, students guided each other from one area of the school to another using a range of directional language.
Our focus for Inquiry in Term 2 is Chemical and Physical Science. It has been fun working together as a Grade 2 team. We have engaged in many discussions and students were given the opportunity to ‘unpack’ the curriculum achievement standards for Level 2 and contribute their ideas and knowledge of key words and concepts. Together we co-created our milestones for our learning this term. By building this together it has allowed students to see where they are heading and what they need to do to reach their destination. To set the scene for this new learning and topic; we created a ‘volcanic explosion’ in our first lesson, which fostered the students' excitement and wonder. Following this we explored ‘Zoonomy’, the verbs and many skills that we need for our learning. Some of our key skills include Remembering, Understanding, Analysing and Evaluating. These key terms help students gain a deeper understanding of the learning and investigating needed. We definitely have some future scientists among us!
Other exciting events took place around the school during Term 2 bringing joy to everyone. The Athletics Day was particularly thrilling as students demonstrated remarkable resilience and teamwork while participating in various events. This occasion saw an abundance of smiles and ribbons being shared, with the red house taking the win for 2024! Additionally, a delightful Mother’s Day celebration was organized, with students inviting their mothers/carers to join in a special parade followed by fun classroom activities. Let’s not forget the Science Expo and the fabulous scientific and engineering activities that so many families enjoyed in each classroom!
We also have something to look forward to on the last day of term as we have the Colour Fun Run which will no doubt be an exciting day!
On behalf of the Grade 2 team we thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement throughout this term and are looking forward to a great second half of the year!
Anna Kourkoulis 2A
Hanna Mercado 2B
Jessica Mercieca 2B
Grade 2 Teachers
