Year 2 News
Year 2 Text Study
The World’s Most Pointless Animals
This term, our Year 2 students have been thoroughly enjoying their first text study using the book The World’s Most Pointless Animals. The class has had a wonderful time exploring the interesting and unusual animals featured in the book while developing their reading and writing skills.
As part of the unit, students have been learning how to write information reports about the animals they studied in the text. The animals we have learnt about are, the Dung Beetle, Blobfish, Naked Mole Rat, Three-toed Sloth, Pufferfish, Pink Fairy armadillo, Parrotfish, Leafy Sea dragon, Narwhal, Zooplankton and the Axolotl. They explored how information texts are organised and used clear headings to present their ideas, including Habitat, Physical Features, and Did You Know? sections. This helped students organise their facts and present their research in a clear and engaging way.
Students also learnt how to include a labelled diagram to support their writing. They practised carefully drawing their chosen animal and labelling key features, helping them to communicate information visually as well as through words.
Another important focus of the unit was learning how to edit and improve their writing. Students revisited their work to add more detail, clarify their ideas, and check that their information was accurate and clearly explained.
They also had the opportunity to assess their own work using a prepared rubric, helping them reflect on their learning and identify areas they did well and areas they could continue to improve.
Throughout the text study, students were introduced to a range of exciting new vocabulary. Words such as subterranean, navigators, hovering, involved, and regenerate helped expand their language and deepen their understanding of the animals they were studying.
The students have absolutely loved exploring this fascinating book and have shown great enthusiasm when sharing the interesting facts they discovered. It has been wonderful to see them grow in confidence as writers and researchers while learning so many new words and ideas. Our first text study has been a fantastic success, and the students should be very proud of the knowledge and skills they have developed.
Inside Out Celebration Day
How we express ourselves
Communication is influenced by feelings and emotions.
On Monday the Year 2 students celebrated the end of their Unit of Inquiry with a fantastic Inside Out Celebration Day. It was wonderful to see so many students arrive at school dressed as their favourite Inside Out characters, including Joy, Anger, Sadness, Fear and Disgust. The costumes were creative and colourful, and the excitement in the classrooms was clear from the start of the day.
We began the morning with a range of fun and engaging activities. Students completed a craft activity where they traced their hand and added the Inside Out characters to each finger. They also enjoyed completing an Inside Out themed word search and spent time reflecting on the learning they had completed throughout the unit completing their reflection sheet. Our teachers loved capturing special moments from the day, and teachers enjoyed taking photos of the students for their portfolios.
After recess, it was time to transform our classrooms into a movie theatre. The blinds were pulled down to make the room nice and dark, and students enjoyed VIP seating with couches and beanbags. While watching the movie, students also enjoyed the special treats that had been sent along for the day.
During the movie, Mrs Stoppa took the opportunity to run a lockdown drill. The timing was perfect as the blinds were already down and the room was quiet and dark. The students did an excellent job following instructions and remained so quiet that you would not have known any students were in the classrooms.
After lunch, students completed their Inside Out reflections and continued with other activities related to the unit. It was a wonderful way to celebrate all of the learning that had taken place.
A big thank you to our Year 2 parents for helping prepare the children for this special day. Your support helped make our celebration such a memorable and enjoyable experience for everyone.
What We Are Learning Next
Phonics Plus
We will learn to read the sounds and letters ‘ie’ and spell the words ‘tie’, ‘lie’, ‘die’, ‘pie’, ‘magpie’.
We will learn to read, spell and explain the meaning of compound words and suffixes ‘progressive -ing’ and ‘plural -es’.
We will learn to read text to build fluency and make meaning.
We will learn to read the sound and letter ‘y’ and spell the words ‘spy’, ‘shy’, ‘fly’, ‘my’, ‘cry’.
We will learn to write sentences using known GPCs and high-frequency words.
We will learn to read the sounds and letters ‘y’, ‘ie’ and spell the words ‘sly’, ‘sky’, ‘necktie’, ‘crying’, ‘reply’.
We will learn to read, spell and explain the meaning of suffixes ‘plural -es’, ‘past tense -ed’ and compound words.
We will learn to read the sounds and letters ‘igh’ and spell the words ‘right’, ‘night’, ‘bright’, ‘fight’, ‘sigh’.
Text Study
This week we begin our new text studies. We will be looking at two Bob Graham’s books.
How to Heal a Broken Wing and How the Sun got to Coco’s House.
We will be looking understanding how images contribute to storytelling, analysing how colour creates mood and conveys feelings and examining key elements illustrations.
EMP
During our Maths sessions we will be covering both subtraction and addition algorithms (with no regrouping) and learning about length using informal units. We will then be moving to consider place value and three-digit numbers.
PYP
Following on from our successful first unit, we will now be moving on to Who we are – A balanced lifestyle is influenced by the choices people make. In this unit, we consider various aspects of ensuring we lead a healthy lifestyle, by considering both mind and body.
Taking Action
We have been so proud of the wonderful action that has been made at home following on from our class book study on The World’s Most Pointless Animals. The children really enjoyed learning about many interesting animals, and some created their own information texts at home as a result. We really loved seeing the engagement and enjoyment this text provided the students.
