Year 2 Term 1 Overviews

Year 2 Term 1 Overview

To all our Year 2 families,

Welcome back to all our returning families and a warm welcome to DCC for our new families. This year we have 10 fantastic teachers in the Year 2 team: 

Learning Specialist: Anne

Learning to learn

As a cohort we have been spending the first few weeks of the term setting our classrooms up for success for the year. The students have been learning about our school values (Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Kindness, Learning) and expectations through our routines and lessons. It has been fantastic to watch the children connect and form new relationships in their new classroom environments. 

Term 1 Curriculum:

Reading This term in reading, Year 2 students will develop their reading skills through decoding (solving words), fluency (noticing and using punctuation to make meaning) and engaging with a range of comprehension (understanding) strategies. Students will identify the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts, infer reasons for character change (feelings and traits), make connections by comparing and contrasting amongst books in a series, as well as talk about the important information in an organised summary after reading, ensuring to select the information that is most important. To support the development of reading, students will engage in guided reading sessions, reading conferences and independent reading.

Writing 

This term in Writing, Year 2 students will develop an understanding of themselves as a writer, they will explore how writers construct personal recounts to share an experience or event with others. Students will use a ‘Writer's notebook’ to document their ideas (seeds) which they will then use later in their writing. For this process to be effective, students are encouraged to bring seeds from home such as; movie tickets, photographs, brochures, tickets. Students stick these into their writers notebooks and they become seeds for their future writing. Students will be guided through the writing process which involves collecting ideas, planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. We will also be looking at using correct punctuation, forming letters correctly and recording sounds in the unknown words. 

Mathematics 

This term in Maths, Year 2 students will be looking at the following areas; Measurement, Number and statistics. Throughout the measurement unit  your child will be exploring hour and half hour times. Students will also represent multiplication and division by grouping and dividing collections into halves, quarters and eighths. Place value will be a core focus area throughout the whole year. This term students will be focusing on counting to and from, and ordering numbers up to 1000, performing simple addition and subtraction problems using a range of strategies and recognising increasing and decreasing number sequences involving 2’s, 3’s, 5’s and 10’s. In statistics students will be collecting, representing and interpreting a range of data that they will collect. Students will create different graphical representations of data (using software where appropriate) and compare the different representations amongst their peers. 

Units of Inquiry 

This term in Units of Inquiry, Year 2 students will explore the theme of Collaboration through an inquiry into identity, creativity, and wellbeing. The unit will focus on understanding what collaboration is, where it happens, and how we can work effectively with others. Students will reflect on their unique qualities, talents, and passions, while investigating how to nurture themselves physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Through this inquiry, students will develop resilience, build healthy relationships, and make thoughtful choices. They will also explore the role of the arts in self-expression, creativity, and communication, deepening their understanding of how collaboration supports growth and change

Artefacts

Throughout this year, students will be asked to bring in an artefact or a picture of their artefact to share with their class.  This should be something that is special and meaningful to your child.  A timetable has been created and was sent home in Week 2 for Term 1.  When your child is preparing to bring their artefact to school it would be helpful if you could please discuss the following questions to support them to share during class;

• Why is this artefact special and important to me?
• How does looking at this artefact make you feel?
• Where did you get this artefact from / where was this photo taken?
• How does this artefact connect with my strengths and interests?

Each class is creating an ‘Artefact Book’ that will be added to throughout the year within the classroom and the students are excited to be a part of this experience. 

Ways to Help Your Child At Home:

Home Reading - We have started our Home Reading program. The expectation is for your child to bring their Yellow reading log inside their reading satchel to school each day. When students arrive at school, they are to change their book for another text (at their level or one below). Take home books are for enjoyment and for your child to practise their reading strategies, and are not meant to be a challenging task for your child. After your child reads their book, they are to log it in their yellow reading journals themselves. This will be checked by their teacher once a week to track how they are going. 

Learning Apps - This year students will have access to Wushka, IXL and Seesaw.  These apps are currently in the process of being set up and you will receive the login details for these as soon as they become available.   Once you receive the login details for these apps your child will be able to log in and utilise these programs at home to support their learning in mathematics and literacy.