Year Two News

Dear Year Two families,  

As Term Three is coming to a close, we just wanted to say a big thank-you to the students and to the families for their determination, support and participation this term, both in the classroom and during remote learning. Although times have been difficult, we should take the time to reflect and be proud of the students’ wonderful work. From presenting their artefacts, to publishing their persuasive pieces, to the wonderful homemade clocks, as well as the discos, the show and tell presenters, the chats, the smiles, the introduction of family pets and siblings to listening to Miss Vines’ read alouds and everything else in between. We are so proud of each and every one of our students for their efforts and work in Term Three.  

Reading 

In Reading, the students have been exploring a range of ‘Question and Answer’ relationships when responding to questions about a book. In particular, we have been focusing on answering, ‘On My Own’ questions. This means that the students are forming their own opinions based their background knowledge of the world to make connections with the book. We have been listening to many read aloud books, including ‘How to Babysit a Grandma’, ‘How to Babysit a Grandpa’ and ‘How to Sneak Your Monster into School’. The students have been very knowledgeable in sharing their ideas and experiences when answering questions, as well as having a good laugh and smile when listening to the books being read aloud. By responding to questions about a text, this helps prompt the students’ comprehension of the ideas and concepts within the book. It also encourages students to discuss their thinking and opinion with others about the text. This develops a love for reading. 

Writing 

In Writing, the Year Two students have continued to explore the structure of a procedural text. They have set new writing goals for procedural writing onto Schoolbox and are now working on achieving them. We know that each Procedural text needs a title, a goal, materials, detailed steps and a conclusion, so that a reader can easily follow the instructions given. This week, the students reflected on their Inquiry learning about toys and games and chose a toy or game to write a procedural text on. There were many wonderful examples of different procedural texts written by students. For example, Ruby from 2C and Izac from 2A, both wrote an interesting procedural text on ‘How to Build a Minecraft World’. Eisa and Aditya from 2C wrote a very detailed procedural text on ‘How to Play Chess’. In addition, the students were also given the weekly opportunity to engage in free writing and practising their writing goal. It was wonderful to see the students being risk-takers and writing in different genres including, recounts, a letter to their future selves, guess who quizzes, information reports and narratives. This broadens the students’ writing ability and also increases their writing stamina. Most importantly, it promotes a love for creative writing on topics that interest them.  

Mathematics 

In Mathematics, students have been learning all about how to tell the time on an analogue clock. They have been using their very own homemade clocks, as well as interactive clocks on their iPads to create and interpret different times. We have focused on telling the time to half past, quarter past, quarter to and even telling the time to the nearest five minutes or the nearest minute. The students have learnt how to write the time in two different ways, for example 8:15 or quarter past eight. We have also learnt how to explain our thinking and talk about how we know what the time is based on where the long minute hand and the short hour hand is pointing on the clock. In addition, students have also continued to work on open-ended mathematics questions on Mondays, expanding their thinking skills. The students understand that there can be many different answers to open-ended questions and that it is okay to have different responses to their classmates. 

Inquiry  

The Year Two students are thoroughly enjoying our current Unit of Inquiry, with our Central Idea, ‘Toys and games reflect changes in time and place’. The students have explored our three Lines of Inquiry and have enjoyed learning about different toys that our parents and grandparents used to play with when they were our age. We have talked about why toys and games are made from different materials and resources, depending on how old they are and where in the world they are made. The students are very excited to have the opportunity to create their very own toy or game. They have been working hard to plan out how it will work and what materials they will need. This will link in with our current writing unit as the students will write a procedure on how to play their game. The students will then have the opportunity to present their creation with their classmates.  

Reminders:  

iPads: Please ensure children’s iPads are fully charged every day, ready to use for their learning.  

Homework: During Remote Learning, students should still be completing nightly reading for a minimum of 20 minutes each day (this includes reading on online apps such as PM readers and Epic).  

PM Readers, Mathletics Epic and Reading Eggs are all learning apps that students should be using regularly to support the practise and consolidation of their literacy and mathematical skills taught in the classroom. Completing assigned tasks on these apps are also a part of our Year Two homework expectations.  

Premier's Reading Challenge - Please continue to add student books onto the website using the username and passwords provided by classroom teachers. The challenge ends on September 17th, and we would love to have all our Year Two student’s completing the challenge this year. 

Portfolios – Students are expected to upload at least one piece of work they are proud of each week, on their Schoolbox portfolios. Please ensure students use the ‘Reflection Sentence Starters’ found on the Year Two Schoolbox page to accompany their task. 

If you have any questions, please reach out, as we are always more than happy to help.  

Stay safe and take care during the school holidays,  

Kind regards, 

The Year Two Team