Year 2 – Updates
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Unit of Inquiry
How We Express Ourselves – Celebrations reflect cultures and beliefs. (Term 1-2)
In Year 2, we are currently inquiring into the different ways that celebrations reflect cultures and beliefs. We have been thinking about the reasons people celebrate, the ways people celebrate and the themes that are reflected through different celebrations. This is an extremely engaging unit that will allow your child to extend and use their character strengths of creativity, perspective and appreciation of beauty. Students are given the opportunity to choose a celebration of their choice and undertake research into the different themes associated with that particular celebration, e.g. purpose, food, clothing, symbols, date and actions (what people do).
This unit will continue throughout into Term 2, where the children will be able to showcase and present their work during our upcoming Celebration of Learning.
Maths
Numbers – Modelling and Place Value
We have been continuing to work on our numbers up to 100. Students have been learning about the place value of numbers, understanding the digits and the value that they represent. They have also been learning how to show numbers in different ways, e.g. modelling/drawing, standard, expanded and written forms. After Christmas, students will start to explore 3 digit numbers up to 1000.
Measurement – Time
In this unit, students are given the opportunity to explore time as a form of measurement. They learn to read and write the time to the hour and half hour, and describe duration using months, weeks, days, hours and minutes.
Pattern & Function
Your child will start exploring and using their pattern knowledge in the number system, e.g. skip counting. We will be describing number patterns formed by counting in 10s and 1s and looking at the pattern of odd and even numbers.
Language
In language, we have continued to build on our decoding strategies to help us with tricky words when reading. Students have been focusing on chunking letters and sounds together, e.g. mar/ket —> market. They have also been blending sounds by stretching and rereading, with a focus on diagraphs which are two or more letters that make one sound, e.g. ch, sh, th, wh, ng.
As a part of the HWEO unit, your child has started to learn about and use the comprehension strategy of ‘determining important’ information. Students have been exploring different non-fiction books and online resources to gain a deeper understanding of non-fiction text features and information texts. They have been using their research and organisation skills to determine and identify the important information in a text.
Below is parent information about supporting your child with the ‘Determine Importance’ strategy:
Strategy: Determine Importance
Definition
Efficient readers constantly ask themselves what is the most important phrase, sentence, paragraph, chapter or whole text. Students benefit by understanding how to determine the important information, particularly in informational and website texts. Factors such as purpose for reading, knowledge of topic, prior experiences, beliefs and understanding of text organisation will help readers to identify important information in a text.
Students can begin to identify important concepts or ideas from short pieces of texts. Key words, phrases and sentences can then be identified. It is beneficial to begin with informational texts and highlight organisational features that will help students to decipher important information from less important information. These features include; heading, subheadings, titles, illustrations, bolded text, icons, hyperlinks, and font size. Students also need opportunities to determine important information in literary texts.
Thank you for your continued support at home!
*Ideas and strategies are taken from: DC Comprehension and Decoding Strategies document.
Save these Dates:
Celebration of Learning – Friday 14 February 1.30 – 3.00pm
Kidsfest – Tuesday 18 February
