Year 2

Reading:

During this term in reading we began by fostering a love of reading with our start 

up program. In the classroom we built up our classroom libraries and worked on our routines and structure of the reading block, including the expectations of independent reading. Students were reintroduced to the take

 home reading system, where students began to take home “just right” texts as interest books. We then moved on to our unit of retelling. Students were  shown how to make an accurate prediction with evidence from the text. Students then  used vocabulary from the text to retell the important information, in the order that it was read, and included the beginning, middle, and end. Students loved the repeated  exposures to a familiar text and have been working to expand their abilities to be able to retell.

Writing:

In writing we began the year with our writing startup program. 

Students were shown the expectations of a grade two writing lesson, as well as different independent writing tasks they can complete at the end of or in between lessons, using the writing center to foster a love of writing. We then moved onto our unit on fairy tale narratives.

 Students were guided through the construction of a narrative, including the orientation where we introduce the characters and setting, the problem of the story with its related events, and a solution where the problem is solved and all the events are addressed. Students thoroughly enjoyed the unit and will continue their work on narratives later in the year. 

Maths:

In Maths, we began the year with our Maths startup program. 

Students were shown the expectations of a grade two Maths lesson, as well as, warm up games and the mathematical tools within the classroom to support them. We then moved onto our unit on Time. Students worked on identifying and ordering the days of the week, months and seasons of the year. We then moved on to the parts of an analogue clock, and telling the

 time to o’clock and half past. After Time, the focused moved to counting. Students worked on counting by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. Both Time and Counting will continue throughout the year. To finish off the term we have been focusing on Place Value. Students have been working on identifying the place and value of numbers, including, hundreds, tens and ones. This topic will be revisited later in the year.

Art

We have had an excellent first term learning to use the beautiful new art room! It has been fantastic to see the Year 2s working so well together in familiarising themselves with the space, as well as a variety of art materials and techniques.

This term we have experimented with a range of materials to explore basic colour theory. We have learnt about the primary, secondary and tertiary colours, and why we categorise them as shown on the colour wheel. The Year 2s explored value in terms of colour (intensity and saturation), creating monochromatic self-portraits with watercolour paints.

Following this, the students displayed great curiosity in mixing primary colours to create and name secondary and tertiary colours, as well as adding different amounts of black and white to create shades, tints and tones. We’ve had a lot of fun investigating what happens

 when you mix and blend, using modelling clay, cellophane and acrylic paints to make  colourful artworks! This includes fabulous still life paintings, inspired by Post- Impressionist artists Paul Cézzane and Paul Gaugin.

We are currently finishing off a project making painted ‘cushions’ and cannot wait to share them. Thank you for all of your enthusiasm and focused work this term Year 2s. I look forward to more exciting learning in Term 2!

LOTE

Thank you for a fantastic start to the year! In term one, the grade ones and twos learned basic language skills in the Chinese Mandarin 

language, including listening and speaking, recognising sounds and pronunciation. They learned about some Chinese cultures such as the Chinese New Year

celebrations and traditions, like red envelopes, lanterns and fireworks. 

 They also learned Chinese vocabulary and phrases about bodies. Throughout the term, the students were involved in various activities such as using chopsticks, and learned to sing Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Chinese. They also explored stories of legend such as the race of the Chinese zodiac animals.

PE

Thank you to the grade 1&2 students for a 

fantastic start to the year. We covered many different components of Physical Education this term such as over arm and under arm throwing with accuracy and distance, catching balls from a range of sizes and feel and even one and two-handed strikes where we learned how to use cricket bats, hockey sticks, T-Ball equipment and tennis resources. Students were able to help learn off each other through many large and small group activities and could gain a great understanding on the correct techniques associated with these skills. Great work 1&2 cohorts!

Science

Throughout the term 1 Biological Science strand, Grade 2 students been studying the animal world with a 

focus on the external features of animals and how these features are suited to 

their environment. Students have looked at the different, and varied, habitats that animals live in, such as oceans, forests, deserts, rivers and Polar Regions, and 

have explored what happens when habitats change and animals no longer have their needs met due to various

 natural and man-made influences.  Students have been involved in many interesting learning activities, including videos, songs, sorting activities, drawings and fact files, and through exploring the creatures that live around the school!