Term 3

Weeks One and Two

Literacy

In Term 3 so far, in Literacy we have been engaging in an Alison Lester author study. This how allowed us to discover who authors are and learn more about authors craft. We have been given the opportunity to read and explore a variety of Alison Lester texts, both hard copy and digital. We have been investigating the language used by Alison Lester, including both verbs and adjectives, in her writing. We have been creating word banks of rich language from our mentor texts to use in our own writing. We have been learning about understanding texts in a deeper level by using the Book, Head and Heart template, as well as exploring the authors main idea and their purpose.

Numeracy 

So far this term in Numeracy we have been learning about data. We have looked at what makes a good question when collecting data. We were given the opportunity to look at different representations of data and discuss what the collected data is telling us. We have been practising asking questions, surveying our peers, filling in our data and then analysing it. We have been able to use tally marks and represent our data in different ways, using bar graphs and picture graphs. 

We have also been learning about Multiplication during the start of this term. We have been using some of the vocabulary for multiplication from our mentor texts. We have been able to understand the link between multiplication and equal groups. It has been helpful using concrete materials during our numeracy lessons to solve problems. We have been working on creating equal groups from multiplication number sentences and representing multiplication as arrays to solve number sums and number problems. 

CBL

In CBL so far this term we have been exploring NAIDOC Week. We understand that celebrating NAIDOC Week is an important part of recognising the Indigenous People who were here before us and that discovered the land that we now live on. This years theme is 'Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.' We discussed what the theme means, why it is important to Indigenous Australians and how we can celebrate it. We have been looking at 'Heroes For Change' and have been introduced to Pemulwuy and Vincent Lingiari, two men who stood up for rights of Indigenous Australians. We have also been able to reflect on heroes in our own lives and how we, ourselves, could be a hero for change. We have been engaged with visual representations of the 'Heroes For Change' and responded with art, using Earth tones. 

Personal and Social Learning

During personal and social learning sessions and during other learning areas we explored the Catastrophe Scale. We thought of some problems that we have or may face at school and thought about where we would place them on the Catastrophe Scale between 0 to 5. We then spoke about possible solutions that we could put into practice when we face these problems and what these solutions would feel like, look like and sound like. We are encouraged to refer back to the scale when we face a problem to understand how high or low the problem is on the scale and possible solutions. We are gaining an understanding of what problems we could solve on our own, what problems they could ask a friend for help and when to reach out to a teacher for assistance. 

Weeks Three and Four

Literacy 

In Weeks Three and Four this term we have continued looking at Alison Lester as our author study. We have been engaging with a variety of Alison Lester texts and identifying verbs and adjectives, adding them to our word wall to use in our own writing. We also have been looking at adverbs in Alison Lester's writing and understanding why writers use adverbs. In literacy we have also been learning about synonyms. In our writing we tend to repeat the same words, so we have been identifying synonyms for the words we overuse. 

Before we begin creating our own narrative text we have been learning about how a writer describes a setting and the language that they use to create a visualisation. We then focused on illustrations and how they can provide further detail of the story. We created our own illustrations to support our own writing. 

Sentence types and the use of descriptive language was a focus when reading and engaging with Alison Lester books. We were able to learn how to identify both simple and compound sentences as well as writing them.

As a class, we created a Bump it Up Wall using burgers. Simple writing is a plain burger, the next stage of writing is a cheeseburger and the writing we are aiming for, with detail is a whopper burger. 

Numeracy

In Maths we completed our Data unit. We learnt how to display data. We were able to collect data and choose an appropriate way to display our data. Once we displayed our data we learnt how to compare different data displays. We then formed a survey question, recorded the data using tally marks, recorded our working out and justified our thinking. 

We also began our 2D and 3D shapes unit. We looked at the names of the 3D shapes and learn how to recognise their features. We were able to explain the features including faces, vertices and edges. We engaged in problem solving tasks, applying different strategies to solve the task and justify our thinking. We were able to use a Venn Diagram to compare 2D objects and 3D objects. Comparing their properties and features. We learnt about different pyramids and prisms and identified what 2D shapes, the 3D objects are made up of.

CBL

In CBL we continued learning about the Indigenous Australia Heroes for Change. We looked at the importance of astronomy and star constellations in Aboriginal culture and engaged with the language that the Aboriginal people used in the past that we still use today. We learnt about questioning. Forming and asking questions to deepen our understanding. Asking questions to help us understand. 

We discussed as to why these Aboriginal people for Heroes for Change. What they were passion about, how did they action the change. We became researchers to learn more about fair and unfair. We looked at fairness through the Aboriginal lens as well as situations we may have been in that we felt was unfair.

Weeks Five and Six

Literacy

At the beginning of Week Five we learnt how to develop our oral language. We looked at images and made sense of what we saw by explaining what we saw in the picture, verbally. We then wrote simple sentences explaining what we was in the images. When writing compound sentences, we were able to add detail to our writing. 

We learnt how to revise our own writing. We revised our writing using the checklist: ARMS (add, revise, move and substitute). Revising is all about making our writing better and more detailed. We referred to our Burger Bump it Up Wall to remind us what our writing should look like, with lots of detail and both simple and compound sentences. 

In Alison Lester books, characters and setting are very important. They are inspired by her own life experiences. We brainstormed characters/people that are important to use as well as settings/ places that are important to us, that we may like to write about. Each student in Grade 2 wrote their own narrative, creating a book, inspired by the writing of Alison Lester. Our stories included an introduction including our characters and setting, a problem and a solution. We wrote our narratives and illustrated pictures to add more detail to our writing. 

In Week Six we began our Directional Language Unit. We learnt new vocabulary through mentor texts that included directional language. We began to understand how to respond to and follow instructions and analyse images to show the positions of objects. We are now able to use appropriate prepositional words and match the correct preposition to the action in a picture.

Numeracy

In week six, we completed our 3D objects unit. We were able to show our knowledge of 3D objects by drawing them in our books, labelling their features and creating a 3D object using resources from out classroom. Our learning was tested through a game of 'Who am I?' using the clues to name the 2D or 3D shape. 

We began learning about fractions. We discussed what the word fraction means, how they represent parts of a whole, and we created fraction walls representing 1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, 1/7 and 1/8. We then explored how fractions are formed and we were introduced to the meaning of the numerator and denominator. We matched the fraction of a shaded part to a given shape using numbers and words to explain our thinking. 

CBL

In CBL we reflected of the significance of place and discussed places that are special to us and that we have memories of. We spoke about how personal connection, emotional impact and memorable events are what makes a place special to us. We were able to represent our chosen through drawing a picture, carefully choosing appropriate colours to represent our place. 

We then looked at Aboriginal landmarks and landmarks around Australia. We spoke about what a landmark is; man made and natural and discussed why landmarks are important. We looked at examples of Aboriginal landmarks and their connection to country, activism, spirituality and creation and culture. We then explored these landmarks on a map. 

We looked at examples of Acknowledgement of Country, what they include and what they symbolise. We wrote an individual Acknowledgement of Country, connecting to the land our school is on. 

Weeks Seven and Eight