EMP (Explicit Maths Program)

Grade 2 students have been working hard on both addition and subtraction using the standard algorithm for two-digit numbers without regrouping. We have been learning the process for solving these problems and remembering our key strategy: “ones first, tens next!” We use this to ensure that when we add or subtract two-digit numbers, we always start with the ones column first and then move to the ten's column.

Many students have been drawing on the skills they developed in Grade 1, such as counting on for addition and counting back for subtraction. It has been wonderful to see students applying these strategies with increasing confidence.

Everyone is becoming more confident when solving two-digit addition and subtraction problems, and we are very proud of the effort students are putting into their learning!

Fact Fluency Practice

As part of our EMP Maths program, Grade 2 students practise fact fluency every day. Students are continuing to build their automatic recall of addition facts both up to 10 and beyond 10. Each day we rehearse these facts orally as a class, and students are then given two minutes to answer as many facts as they can correctly. This quick daily practice helps students develop confidence, speed, and accuracy with their basic number facts.

It has been fantastic to see the progress students are making. Some Grade 2 students are now almost completing the entire page within the two-minute time, with all their answers correct! We will continue to work on building our fact fluency throughout Grade 2. We also encourage students to jump onto Numbots and Times Tables Rock Stars at home to get some extra practice and strengthen their recall of number facts!

High-5 to our superstar Sai (pictured above) in Grade 2! She works so hard every day to beat her personal best during fact fluency practice – what an amazing effort!

InitiaLit (Literacy)

Spelling!

Students have been reviewing spelling rules that they have been explicitly taught. Recently, we have been focusing on the different ways we can spell words that contain the phoneme /ē/. Students learnt that the /ē/ sound can be spelt in different ways, including ‘ee’, ‘ea’, and ‘e_e’ (bossy e). Students practised filling in the blanks with the correct spelling for the /ē/ sound and also had a go at building words using all three different ways of spelling the phoneme /ē/. This helps strengthen their understanding that the same sound can be represented by different spelling patterns.

Grade 2 students also reviewed a tricky word: people. We learnt a fun little song to help us remember how to spell it! Our students loved singing along, and perhaps they can sing it for you at home and teach you how to spell people too!

Grade 2 students recently completed their first spelling progress monitoring assessment. This data helps teachers plan reteach lessons and tailor small-group instruction to meet students’ needs. Our results also showed that, as a cohort, students are still building their mastery of tricky words. We encourage students to practise the following tricky words at home for extra practice!

Comprehension and Fluency!

During our comprehension and fluency lessons, students have been introduced to different types of texts. Over the past two weeks, we have been learning about persuasive texts. Students discussed the purpose and features of persuasive texts, and the difference between an opinion and a fact. We read two texts, My Favourite Season and Pet Day, and discussed the purpose of each and the features we could identify.

As part of our comprehension and fluency lessons, students also practised echo reading (where the teacher models reading and students repeat), choral reading (where the class reads together), and paired reading (where students read with a partner), focusing on reading accurately, carefully and with expression.

Growing Grammar!

In our grammar lessons, we have been focusing on pronouns. Students have learnt what a pronoun is and when and how to use them in writing. We have explored pronouns such as I, you, he, she, it, we, they, him, her, and them.

Students practised using pronouns orally in a variety of sentences and then completed activities where they chose the correct pronoun for each sentence. They have become so confident with pronouns that they are now applying these skills across different contexts, independently identifying pronouns not only in their own writing but also when reading texts.

This growing understanding is helping students make their writing clearer and more fluent, and we will continue to build on these skills in more complex writing activities.

Storybook - ‘Pete the Sheep’

Our most recent storybook has been Pete the Sheep. This story follows a shearer named Shaun and his sheep, Pete, who create their very own sheep salon and give the other sheep some very cool haircuts. Students loved the story and added three new words to our word towers; sensational, success and admiring!

After reading and discussing the story, students used their imagination to plan how the story could continue. There were many excellent and creative ideas! It is wonderful to see students using their imagination and creativity to grow their love of writing.

Handwriting

Grade 2 students have continued to develop their handwriting during our explicit handwriting lessons. Over the past two weeks, we focused on the roundabout letters: q, g, e, and s. Each week, students are also reminded how to sit correctly on their chairs and hold their pencils properly to support neat and accurate handwriting.

Our student Nyra (pictured) models the correct posture: feet flat on the floor, back straight, and pencil held correctly. Maintaining the correct posture helps students form letters accurately and supports their overall handwriting development.

We use the Victorian font in all our handwriting lessons. Each letter, both uppercase and lowercase, has its own handwriting formation prompt to help students identify where to start (entry point), the direction to follow, and where the letter finishes (exit point). Here are the handwriting formation prompts for the letters we have recently learnt:

Humanities

Students continued to explore technological developments and how they connect the world. Recently, we looked at the 1969 moon landing. Students discussed how this event was communicated globally and the important role Australia played in ensuring millions of people around the world could watch the moon landing on their televisions at home.

Respectful Relationships

Grade 2 students have been finishing up our first Respectful Relationships topic: Emotional Literacy. We began by discussing what an act of kindness is and why it is important. Our final activities focused on Acts of Kindness. Students shared examples of acts of kindness they have received and given, and how these acts make people feel.

Students Aaron, Akech, Reva, and Girlor performed a role play where two students fell over outside and two others came to help them and check they were okay and offered them help. It was wonderful to see our students demonstrating our school value of kindness through their role play.

Reminders

Please ensure you are reading with your child every night. Students can borrow take-home books from their classroom libraries on their designated library days.
Students are required to wear a hat during Term 1. While we have plenty of shady areas for play during recess and lunch, we still encourage all students to wear a hat.
We encourage families to work together to get students to school on time. Classes start the day with morning circle time, and we would love all students to be at school by 8:45am so they don’t miss out.
Continue to use Numbots, Times Table Rock Stars, and Aussie Decodables at home. Logins were provided at Meet and Greet—please contact your child’s classroom teacher if you need a copy of their login details.

Thank you to all our wonderful Grade 2 parents and families for your ongoing support and dedication to your child’s learning and wellbeing. We are so proud of how well our Grade 2 students have settled and all the learning they are doing!

Warm regards PLC 2,

Ms. Broskie, Mr. Watkins, Ms. Cope, Ms. Diaz, Ms. Kelly, Ms. Madigan, Ms. Anastasi, Ms. Cadzow, Ms. Hanson, Ms. Elliot, and Ms. Claire

The Fortnight Ahead