Learning in Term Two

InitiaLit (Reading and Viewing, Speaking and Listening and Spelling)

Reading lessons: Students will continue focusing on comprehension and fluency with new vocabulary introduced and discussed each lesson. They will complete a series of related learning experiences connected to the shared text on narrative and informative genres. The students will also be focusing on persuasive texts, asking questions and predicting what will happen in the text. 

Spelling lessons: Students will continue to build their phonemic knowledge of sounds this term as well as develop their understanding of suffixes and how they are added to “base words”. They will continue exploring spelling rules for digraphs, trigraphs, long vowels and learn more "Tricky words” that do not follow regular spelling rules. Learners will be encouraged to articulate the sounds and apply them to words within each lesson. 

Story Book lessons: Students will participate in repeated reading of a rich, quality texts, such as the Snail and the Whale, by Julia Donaldson and Pete the Sheep by Jackie French. Learners will have opportunities to discuss new vocabulary and sort words into their parts of speech or “helpful word towers” that are displayed in the classrooms which include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Students will continue participating in learning tasks that unpack the characters within the text and the plot to build literal and inferred understandings.

Grammar: Students will learn about types of adjectives, like those describing appearance, texture, sound, taste, smell and emotions. Understanding adjectives is crucial as they help enrich writing by providing vivid details and creating a clearer picture in the reader's mind. Students will also learn how to use adjectives both before and after nouns, as well as how to effectively use multiple adjectives separated by commas to add depth to their descriptions. Additionally, they will practice identifying and constructing noun groups, which enhances their ability to structure sentences and communicate ideas more precisely.

To support your child’s learning at home, you can: 

• Ensure your child reads every day for 10-15 minutes from their school readers and aloud to an adult or older sibling at least once a week. 
• Ask your child what their “Tricky Words” are for the week and test them on spelling these orally. 
• Point out and discuss examples of verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns and adjectives in books, signs, and other reading materials.

Writing

In Term Two, Year Two students will be immersed in the writing genres, Persuasive and Procedural. While exploring persuasive writing, students will learn the difference between fact and opinion and how to give reasons to support their opinion. They will also explore the use of persuasive devices, such as emotive words and phrases, multimedia and repetition. As the final transfer, students will create a persuasive piece to convince readers on why we should protect the environment, linking to their Inquiry unit. While exploring Procedural texts, students will enhance their understanding of using accurate descriptions to communicate instructions, the purpose of procedures and link it to real-life concepts, such as science experiments, instructions and recipes.

To support your child’s learning at home, you can:

• Involve your child in cooking from recipes at home, drawing attention to the single words or phrases that are the instructions.
• Play ‘Would you rather?’, by provided a situation such water is better than soft drink, then ask your child to give reasons for their choice
• Practicing handwriting and letter formation. Encourage your child to write for enjoyment (writing letters, stories) and help them to focus on their handwriting when completing Home Learning tasks.

Speaking and Listening 

This term, learners will engage in conversation and debate to persuade others that their opinion is correct. This will be linked with our Literacy topic of persuasion. Learners will provide explanation and reason for their opinion and will explore the use of persuasive devices in conversation. 

In Mathematics, learners will be encouraged to similarly reason their answer to explain how they arrived at that conclusion and how they know they are correct. This will ensure learners are using appropriate mathematical language to explain the concepts.

Finally, learners will continue to engage in G.E.M chats throughout the term. This will include building emotional and social skills such as gratitude, empathy, mindfulness and emotional literacy. Through the Resilience Project, learners will engage in short G.E.M chats that focus on a different skill each week. They will be encouraged to reflect on appreciating others and voicing their gratitude aloud.

To support your child’s learning at home, you can: 

• Discuss the emotions felt when faced with challenging situations. Explore situations on how to overcome those strategies. 
• Ask learners to explain their thinking when completing Home Learning activities. 
• Engage in conversation about topics and practice debating both points of view.

Maths

Throughout Term 2, Learners will engage in a comprehensive exploration of various mathematical concepts aimed at deepening their understanding and proficiency. This term will see them mastering the intricacies of time, including reading clocks and articulating time expressions such as o'clock, half past, quarter past, and quarter to times. Learners will also delve into the realm of fractions, discerning and interpreting the significance of halves, quarters, and eighths in geometric shapes and collections, laying a robust foundation for future mathematical pursuits. 

Furthermore, they will hone their arithmetic skills, solving simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of efficient strategies, while also exploring the connection between these two operations. Finally, students will embark on a journey into probability, identifying everyday events involving chance and describing outcomes as 'likely' or 'unlikely,' thereby developing critical thinking skills essential for navigating real-world scenarios. This term promises to be a period of significant intellectual growth and achievement as students immerse themselves in these captivating mathematical explorations.

To support your child’s learning at home, you can:   

• Log in and practise Mathletics regularly
• Engage your child in cooking using measuring skills to apply fraction skills into everyday contexts
• Measure lengths and calculate the area of items from around the home

Inquiry

In Term Two, learners will explore the concepts behind the inquiry question, “How might we influence our environment?” These concepts include understanding how to be sustainable through the Global Goals of ocean and water through various hands-on activities. Learners will be encouraged to reduce plastic use by bringing nude food to school. In Week 5, learners will also go on an excursion to CERES to explore a local wetland and understand water cycles and the impact humans have on them. They will experiment at school with water testing strips to see how clean our water is. As a final transfer, learners will bring in their empty cans and bottles to recycle and raise money to donate it to a charity of their choice. 

To support your child’s learning at home, you can: 

• Discuss with your child what sustainable practices on resources look like at home. 
• Analyse where materials in your house come from.
• Adopt sustainable practices of water saving and bring nude food to school.

The Resilience Project

During Term Two, students in Level 2 will be delving deeper into The Resilience Project. This term we will continue looking at the three key pillars which cultivate positive emotion; Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (also referred to as GEM) while linking this in with Emotional Literacy. 

We will be having many discussions or GEM chats based around these wellbeing areas which help build resilience. Students will learn about self-regulation strategies as a way to manage challenging situations in the classroom, playground and beyond.

We will learn about the school values of Integrity, Respect, Initiative and Global Empathy and how these four values are followed in the classroom and throughout the school. We will explore, discuss, and demonstrate the expectations of behaviour.

The Behaviour Matrix

The Level 2 classes have been working collaboratively to design a Behaviour Matrix which will provide clear guidelines and expectations of how we behave within the school and classroom. Students are exploring; classroom, walkways, playground, toilets, assembly and Specialist classes. We expect that all students will carry these expectations with them as they pass through the school gates.

To support your child’s learning at home, you can:

• Have conversations around being confident and resilient and what this looks like at home, in a club and at school. 
• Always praise them when they have made a positive choice, such as packing away their toys, setting the dinner table, helping with dinner, completing their reading or home learning. (You may like to set up a reward system at home). 
• Praise your child when they independently ‘have a go’ at something, even if the outcome was not successful. Take unsuccessful moments or moments as an opportunity to talk about how we all learn differently and to have a growth mindset.