Melton West Primary School

Year 2 News 

English

Reading

In Reading this term, students will be learning how to infer using a variety of fiction and non fiction texts. They will use their prior knowledge and clues in the text, such as pictures and words, to infer how a character may be feeling or why a character may have done something.  Students will also be exposed to character traits, where they will explore different vocabulary words to explain what a character is like. Students will revise asking questions while reading to help them make meaning of a text, where they can use their strategy of inferring to find answers to their questions. Students will also be using their prior knowledge and text clues to help them make meaningful text to self connections, where they connect the story to their own personal experiences. Lastly, students will use key words in a text to help them visualise and create a mental image or movie to further their understanding of a text.

 

Writing

In Term 3, Grade 2 students will be writing realistic narratives, creating well structured stories with a clear beginning, middle, and end. During this unit, we will focus on character and setting development, as well as realistic problems that link with an appropriate and realistic solution. Students will be introduced to using adjectives and strong verbs to make their stories more interesting. The students will use revision strategies to continue adding to and improving their stories. Towards the end of Term 3, students will spend a few weeks looking at Poetry. Students will be shown a variety of different types of poems and given the opportunity to be guided through writing their own poem. They will learn to understand that poems are used to communicate feelings. Students will continue to practise and develop their grammar skills including capital letters, full stops, past/present tense and punctuation. 

 

Mathematics

This term the Grade 2 students will complete multiple units in Mathematics. We will begin the term learning about data, including using tally marks to collect data and represent their findings using bar graphs. The students will then spend a couple of weeks revising addition and subtraction strategies as a continuation of our addition and subtraction unit in Term 2. Our next Number and Algebra unit will focus on multiplication and division where the students will begin to use strategies such as grouping, repeated addition, arrays and sharing. Students will also have some shorter units this term focusing on area, 3D shapes and mass. 

 

Attendance

A friendly reminder that here at Melton West Primary School we strongly advocate that going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s education. As you know, they learn new things every day – missing school puts them behind. If your child is unfortunately sick or absent, you are required to notify our school before or on the day of absence using one of the following methods:

  1. Online: using our Class Dojo IT App to notify and explain the reason for your child’s absence, to their classroom teacher.
  2. Telephone: call our school office and let the staff know your child’s name, class, date of absences and reason of absence.
  3. Face-to-Face: speaking with your child’s teacher on the day or prior to the day they will be absent.

 

Inquiry

In Inquiry, students will be exploring the unit ‘Time Traveller’. They will focus on aspects of daily life to identify how some have changed over recent time while others have remained the same. They will describe personal and family life, a person, site or event of significance in the local community. Students will sequence events in order, using a range of terms relating to time. They will also will use sources (physical, visual, oral) including the perspectives of others (parents, grandparents) to describe changes to daily life and the significance of people, places or events. Students will compare objects from the past and present and create a narrative about the past using terms and a range of sources.  

 

Science

During Term 3 students will be finishing off their Earth and Space unit before beginning the Physical Science unit which will continue to the end of term. During the Physical Science unit students will be learning about light and sound, and how light and sound are produced by a range of sources.

Students will learn about natural and artificial light sources, and will carry out experiments which show that objects need to be illuminated by light in order to be seen. Students will investigate sounds by making predictions on sounds that can be heard inside and outside of the classroom and will explore different ways to produce sound using familiar objects and actions.

 

LOTE-Chinese

Hello Grade 2 students, welcome back to Chinese for Term 3! This term, we'll start by reviewing what we learned in Semester One, such as greetings, numbers, and names. We'll also be learning some martial arts based on the Chinese family structure and age, which we'll practice regularly. Two crucial topics we'll cover this term are correctly pronouncing family member names and addressing a person's age. We'll also be studying colours in Chinese using Kahoot games and Quizlet study to engage our learning. To improve our speaking and language skills, we'll participate in role-playing activities.

 

Art

Welcome to Grade 2 Art, Term 3, 2023! Students will be learning how to apply lines to create a self portrait. They will also look at the shapes required to create individual facial features. Grade 2’s will work on monochromatic colours where they will apply one colour but using different shades and values. Students will refer to the work of professional artists as a reference and guide to help them understand this concept. Grade 2’s will look at the cross hatching technique when using different mediums to ensure they apply solid colour to their art work. They will look at landscape sketching and learn to apply one vanishing point where objects can appear close or far away. Students will also look at the element of pattern and apply their knowledge of colours and lines when creating art. Patterns will include the use of two to four elements, for example; four different colours or four different lines by using different mediums including textiles. Looking forward to another wonderful term of art with Grade 2 students!  

 

P.E.

During this term the grade 2 students will be focussing on the sports of football and soccer to develop the fundamental motor skill of kicking while also still working on catching, throwing, and ball control. Students in the first half of the year were introduced to correct throwing and catching demonstrated across various sports and will now be introduced to correct kicking technique as it is applied to football and soccer. They will be shown how to kick a football, handpass a football, kick a soccer ball to pass, kick a soccer ball to score, and dribble a soccer ball while keeping control of it. In addition to this our students will be given the opportunity to play games of each sport to enhance and develop their skills. By the end of the term students would have been shown and practiced all these skills and will be able to apply them to mini game situations. I can’t wait for a great term with the grade 2 students, they are a fun group and are always a joy to teach! We have plenty of wonderful learning ahead and I am looking forward to all of it.