Year 2 Mainstream 

Celebrating Learning

What we have been up to: 

As we move towards the end of T2, our Year 1/2 Mainstream students have been presenting their “Caring for Country” projects to their classmates. We have been incredibly impressed by the hard work that has gone into the creation of these very diverse projects! We have listened to speeches, looked at posters and diagrams and interacted with miniature models of the different ways students and families “Care for Country” at home or in their communities. We are looking forward to seeing more projects presented in the coming weeks! 

We were also lucky enough to have Amy (Millie’s mum) come and share a presentation about how she ‘Cares For Country’ in her job. Amy is an Environmental Impact Assessor for the Victorian Government, she looks at how important things like renewable energy, roads and other infrastructure have to consider the sensitivities and the environment around big projects in their development. Thank you so much Amy the kids loved it.

Maths:

We have been focussing on the mental computation of basic facts to 20 and their connection to subtraction facts. Students have been applying their addition strategies to subtraction problems. We are beginning to explore the relationship between these facts to larger numbers and how they can help us mentally solve addition and subtraction of two and three digit numbers in readiness of learning vertical addition and subtraction. We have also started exploring different measurements for length, including estimating then measuring using informal and then formal units. 

Literacy:

Students continue to develop their knowledge in phonics through long vowel sounds, including igh (lightning bright), y making the long i sounds at the end of a one syllable word (spy in the sky), and air (airy fairy fair). In writing, we are beginning to look at persuasive texts and how we can convince the reader to see a point of view. Students began by having lots of discussion about different topics, including ‘recycling is not that important’, ‘TPS should be a nude food school’ and ‘Parents spend too much time on their phones’. Everyone has some great arguments to support their position. This will lead us into persuasive writing over the next few weeks.

What’s to come in the next two weeks:

We will be completing our integrated unit over the next few weeks by presenting the last of our “Caring for County” projects.

In Maths, we will continue making the connections between addition and subtraction. Students will continue to develop strategies for the quick and efficient recall of addition and subtraction facts and apply these to vertical addition and subtraction strategies. We will be continuing to measure things in our world, next up is mass. Cooking over the weekend and talking about weighing things to support your children’s learning could be a fun winter activity.

Reading groups continue to review consonant and vowel graphemes and investigate stage 7 long vowel sounds. We will also explore creating persuasive texts about ‘Caring for Country’ in writing.

To reinforce their learning, students could be practising reading at home with their take home readers. Students who are reading other books should also be encouraged to record this reading in their reading diary.