Curriculum

                                                  

Literacy:

A literacy lesson in Year Two aligns with our whole-school instructional model TILER, which consists of:

• A ‘Tune-in’ to introduce the lesson focus.
• A ‘Launch’ phase to explicitly teach and model a variety of reading skills and strategies.
• ‘Explore Phase 1’ which allows students to practise the modelled skills and strategies on a text while being guided by the teacher.
• ‘Explore Phase 2’ where students independently practise the skills and strategies they have learnt through an activity.
• A ‘Reflection’ phase where students discuss and share what they have learnt in alignment with the lesson focus.

Our Reading lessons integrate our narrative writing this term. We are learning to identify, discuss and compare text features, such as plots, characters and settings of a range of literacy texts by Australian, Indigenous or world authors. We look at how narrative texts are structured and the types of language features they use.

This term, students will be explicitly instructed in:

• A range of reading fluency and comprehension skills and strategies such as making connections and summarising.
• Spelling rules and conventions with a particular focus on compound words and prefixes.
• The spelling and use of a range of high-frequency words. 
• The phonological relationships between sounds and letters.
• Grammatical skills including the use of nouns, adjectives and verbs, as well as sentence structure.
• Skills of writing including expanding simple sentences, boundary punctuation and the features of narrative texts.
• Handwriting to promote improved legibility and spacing.

Mathematics

Our Mathematics lessons will also align with our TILER instructional model. This will entail gradually supporting students to become more independent in their use of a range of mathematical skills and strategies. This will involve:

• Tune-in activities to promote number fluency.
• Explicit modelling of key mathematical skills and strategies, through worked examples.
• Independent practice that promotes understanding of core concepts through game-based activities or open-ended problem-solving tasks. 
• A reflection and whole-class discussion on the lesson focus and new knowledge gained.

In Term 1, we will be covering the following areas in Mathematics:

• Place value - understanding the value of digits according to their place within a number, and supporting students to count, compare, record and rename numbers in a range of different ways.
• Additive thinking - explicitly teaching strategies to support students’ ability to add and subtract numbers.
• Multiplicative thinking - supporting students to understand the connections between mathematical operations and to think multiplicatively, for example, using repeated addition to solve multiplication problems.
• Statistics - formulating questions, gathering data, representing results and interpreting the findings in a meaningful way. 
• Time - supporting students’ ability to interpret and use information from calendars.
• Measurement - using formal and informal units to measure the length of a range of everyday objects.
• Space - understanding the features of 2D and 3D shapes, and how the two are related.

There will also be weekly revision lessons, where we revisit mathematical concepts previously taught. This will assist students in transferring information to their long-term memory, to promote a deeper understanding of concepts taught.

Inquiry

Our Inquiry focus this term is ‘Our Place in the World’. Throughout the unit, students will: 

• Learn about the features of our planet including its hemispheres, continents and location within our solar system.
• Investigate and reflect on the events, foods, cultures and traditions of other countries and of Australia. 

Through this unit, students will improve their ability to think critically and respectfully about multiple perspectives and acquire a deeper understanding and appreciation of various cultures.