Term 2 Wrap Up!

Term Two is rapidly coming to an end. The finals of the Super Scientist will be held next Tuesday and Daniel from Room 27 has been selected to represent Year Two. Good luck to Daniel! 

Room 14 was well represented by Neve and Naomi. Their high quality presentations demonstrated a good depth of understanding of their Science concepts. They excelled by connecting with their audience through good eye contact, confidence when speaking and by adding some clever humour. Thank you to all parents and carers for making this extension activity a huge success.

ENGLISH

Over the past four weeks we have been investigating persuasive texts and how writers and advertisers sway others to agree with their opinion. Students have been learning to state their opinions on various topics and to decide if they agree or disagree. They then need to give their three strongest reasons to support their opinion. Parents can practice these skills at home by having children express their point of view and provide reasons to support and justify their position.

“Talk” homework will be placed on the homework sheets next term. Parents can discuss the topic with their child in readiness for our Thursday 'Big Write' session. The aim of this is to assist students to develop a wide range of topic specific vocabulary and ideas in readiness for their writing. Please see me if you need further details.

Guided Reading is a part of our daily Literacy Blocks. This provides me with an opportunity to teach students specific strategies to develop their reading. The books are then sent home for students to develop their expression, fluency and confidence. Parents can also ask questions from the side panel in each book to further extend their child's understanding of the text.

I encourage all families to ensure reading continues through the holidays to ensure children do not digress. Why not take some time to visit the local library and check out the free holiday activities while you are there?

MATHS

This term we have investigated 2D shapes and 3D objects. The students are now quite skilled at describing their features and drawing 3D objects.

As you would have seen on the blog our emphasis is now on fractions. Please read the hints provided on the previous blog to assist your child further.

Mental Maths continues to be a part of our daily routine. Each day we practice counting forwards and backwards, and adding numbers together quickly. Students who have a solid grounding in these basic skills are better able to solve more complex problems. The following website has a great article and suggestions about the importance of basic number facts and some simple ideas on how parents can support their children. https://www.mumsnet.com/learning/maths/why-mental-maths-is-important 

HASS

Following on from our investigation of historical and significant sights in and around Perth, we are now turning our focus to larger Geographical features. We are using maps and world globes to locate and name the continents, oceans, equator, etc. The students have been singing the following song to assist them to memorise the continents.
The Continents Song
There are seven,
There are seven,
Continents, continents. 
North and South America.
Europe, Asia, Africa.
Australia.
Antartica.

This is sung to the tune of Frere Jacques.

SCIENCE

As you would have seen from the previous blogs, our focus has been on learning and comparing the life cycles of plants and small animals. The acronym MRS GREN has helped us to understand the seven life processes of all living things. Let me introduce you!
Movement
Respiration
Sensitivity
Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition

HEALTH

Developing resilience through the 'Bounce Back' program has been a big focus this term. The Life Education Van was also instrumental in reminding students the keys to being a good friend, healthy nutrition and personal safety. These themes will continue to be a focus as we work through the student workbooks which were provided following the incursion.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND mathematics 
(stem)

Have you seen the photos on the blog? We followed the STEM process to investigate how bell towers are constructed and can hold the weight of a bell. Students went through a number of steps to plan, create, make and reflect on their designs. They were challenged to connect their designs to real structures and to consider the successes and the improvements needed for future designs. Judging by their finished towers, we have some budding engineers amongst us!

Mathematics: Fractions

Over the past few weeks we have been learning about fractions. The Western Australian Curriculum focus in Year Two is for students to understand halves, quarters and eighths of objects and collections. The students have completed a number of activities to demonstrate their understanding of creating fractions using objects. The activity that most students enjoyed was when we made fraction pizzas (pictured below). 

We are now working on developing our skills to divide collections into halves, quarters and eighths. Parents can assist their children by giving them word problems such as: If I had 20 lollies and I need to give my brother a quarter, how many will I give him?

Collaborative Life Cycle Presentation

Last Friday, students worked in their home teams to complete a Science activity. Students performed their roles of: Chairperson, Gofor, Time Keeper and Recorder to work constructively to create and then present a poster about an animal's life stages.

Science: Life Cycles of Small Animals

In Science, we have been investigating and comparing the life cycles of different animals. We made life cycle wheels which show the different stages of an animal's life. Each student explained their life cycle to their home group.

Life Education Van Incursion

On the 8 June, Room 14 visited the Life Ed Van. Harold the Giraffe made a special appearance to talk to the students on the topics of making friends, healthy eating and personal safety. We investigated the food circle, played games and designed a poster to promote the eating of fruit. We will now complete an activity book in class, which reinforces our learning.

Merit Award Winners

Congratulations to Tylah, Marisa and Eadson who were the merit award winners on 9 June.