Year 2 News

What a fantastic and energetic start to Term 3 it’s been, the students should be so proud of themselves! We can’t believe that we are over half was through the year already!

We’ve already dived into a range of exciting learning experiences. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been up to:

Museum and IMAX

Heading to The Museum and IMAX on the first Friday back sparked the children’s curiosity and got them engaged and excited about our new unit.

Unit of Inquiry – Sharing the planet

This term, we launched a brand-new Unit of Inquiry “Sharing the planet.” Our Central Idea is ‘living things go through a process of change’. Our Lines of Inquiry are:

Recognising common features of minibeasts
Lifecycles the minibeasts go through
How living things change over their lifetime
The relationship between living things

To kick things off, students worked in groups to share their prior knowledge about living things, processes, and change. They expanded on these concepts by brainstorming related vocabulary and ideas. As a class, we discussed what we already know about minibeasts, what we’re curious to learn, and each student came up with their own inquiry question to explore during the unit.

To deepen our understanding and spark curiosity, we embarked on a fantastic excursion to the Melbourne Museum and IMAX theatre. This experience brought our unit to life in the most engaging way.

Throughout the day students rotated through various activities including a guided session with museum educators where they explored the fascinating world of minibeasts. Using magnifying glasses, students examined bugs and insects up close, discovering how these tiny creatures play crucial roles in our environment.

We then explored the Bugs Alive! exhibition where the kids were amazed by the huge variety of insects, spiders, and other tiny animals. It gave them a great opportunity to see these creatures and understand more about their roles in nature.

We also took a peaceful walk through the Forest Gallery and Milarri Gardens, where students observed plants and animals in a beautiful natural setting. It really helped them see how all living things are connected.

A highlight of the day was watching the 3D film “Flight of the Butterflies” at IMAX. The movie followed the amazing journey of the Monarch butterflies as they migrate and told the story of the scientists who spent 40 years trying to figure out where the butterflies disappeared to each winter. It was a perfect way to finish off a day of learning and wonder!

Marvellous Minibeast Incursion

Year 2 students had a truly bug-tacular time during our Marvellous Minibeasts incursion! The day began with plenty of giggles when one lucky student dressed up as a minibeast, showing off different insect features and clever adaptations. It was clear right from the start that our students already knew so much about minibeasts – they confidently shared fascinating facts and asked thoughtful, curious questions.

In the Bugtopia Tent, students carefully fed butterflies and watched in delight as they rested gently on their fingers. Their gentle handling and keen observations showed just how much they understood about looking after living creatures. At the bug tank, students hunted for hidden minibeasts, using spoons to gently scoop them out and placing them in magnifying bug catchers to study their movements and features up close.

The excitement continued at other activity stations. Students used modelling clay to create their own imaginative minibeasts, complete with realistic features and special adaptations.

The students used colourful crayons to draw warning colours they have observed on minibeast they have studied. They observed a butterfly in incredible detail under a powerful microscope, spotting tiny patterns and colours that can’t be seen with the naked eye. They also explored a fascinating collection of preserved bugs set in resin, identifying species and discussing how each one survives in its environment.

This hands-on incursion was packed with curiosity, creativity, and awe-inspiring discoveries. Year 2 students impressed everyone with their existing knowledge and left buzzing with even more facts about the wonderful world of minibeasts!

Issy & Emily

Please enjoy this video of Issy and Emily singing a song they wrote about Minibeasts.

We are very proud of the girls for showing such initiative.

Maths

This term, Year 2 students have been learning about multiplication. We learnt that another way to think about multiplication is ‘groups of’ and have begun working with the multiplication sign. We have also considered repeat addition as multiplication, counting patterns and forming arrays to help with multiplication. We have learnt that 3 x 5 (3 groups of 5) will give us the same answer as 5 x 3, as the numbers in multiplication can interchange. The students took part in a range of hands-on activities to deepen their understanding including a number scavenger hunt where they solved a range of counting sequences, multiplication board games and even learned a catchy Bruno Mars inspired song to help them count by threes.

The students will soon be introduced to division in the coming weeks. To support your child’s learning at home, we recommend regular use of Mangahigh, where weekly tasks are set to reinforce what we’re doing in class.

You can also try a fun and simple game at home called "Roll and Create Arrays":

Roll two dice and use the numbers to create an array. For example, if you roll a 2 and a 5, draw 2 rows of 5 dots, crosses or small pictures.
Then write a matching number sentence such as 2 × 5 = 10 or 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10.
Roll again and repeat!