The City School

curriculum of year 2

Dialogues between THE VISIBLE AND THE INVISIBLE

Children in Year 2 work on consolidating active listening and conversing more coherently as a group. During this year the children develop the idea of self reflection and what it means to be an active participant in your own learning. Critical thinking is encouraged and facilitated through Project explorations and curricular work, with time dedicated to considering theories and questioning the world around them. Children continue to develop and refine their methods of communication, both orally and written and begin to review their own work in small groups to help facilitate the process of metacognition.

Mathematics

Number Sense & Numeration | Measurement | Geometry and Spacial sense | Pattering & Algebra | Data Management & Probability

As the children continue to build a strong foundation in Mathematics, their mental math develops to automaticity and fluency with number bonds, increased confidence and a growth mindset whereby mistakes are valued as learning opportunities. Learning landscapes extend to those of early multiplication and equal groups.

The strands of measurement, geometry and spatial sense, patterning & algebra and data management and probability are elaborated and extended. The children explore the relationships between repeated addition and subtraction, skip counting and multiplicative reasoning with ever increasing numbers to a hundred and two hundred. Project investigations integrate mathematics seamlessly, for example, exploring the Fibonacci sequence in animals’ horns or claws, to the height, depth and frequency of waves.

Literacy

Language Arts skills are taught in an integrated manner. Children read, write, speak and listen daily to become effective and confident communicators. Whole class workshops for reading and writing introduce children to strategies for thinking when reading and develop crafting techniques for writing. Small guided sessions allow for practise and consolidation. Children are immersed in our ‘Word Inquiry Programme’ where they consider the structure of the English Language and with a balance of phonology, morphology and etymology, the children question, develop hypotheses and acquire spelling rules that support both accuracy in reading and spelling.

Children are encouraged to recognise what good readers do and the different ways you think when reading. Making connections, asking questions, visualize and inferring are some of the comprehension strategies the children are supported in using in Year 2.

Health and Physical Education (PE)

The Year 2 program offers children opportunities to apply their fundamental movement knowledge to increasingly sophisticated games and fitness-based activities. The children are introduced to the three major aspects of Athletics: running, throwing and jumping, where the focus is on proper running technique, execution of horizontal leaping and landing, and throwing for power and accuracy. In addition, the children continue to refine their ball control abilities using both their hands and feet through a series of soccer and basketball skill-building exercises and activities. In the second half of the year, the Year 2 children are introduced to invasion-style games which allows us to inquire into what it means to be a good teammate and what sportsmanship looks like, while also discussing simple game strategy.

Music

Intstrumental work | Rythm & Movement | Musical Structure | Singing | Listening

In Year 2 the curriculum continues to introduce activities in a way that develops musical skills in all areas through singing, movement, listening and instrumental work. The children use songs and movements to understand the concepts of pitch, beat and rhythm, before transferring their knowledge to the Orff instruments and later to the Recorder. Listening activities using a variety of musical styles and genres help strengthen the children’s understanding of musical structure as well as allowing them to use their imagination through art work and movement activities.

PROJECT OF YEAR 2

Dialogues between the visible and the invisible

At ELC, children learn through an overarching project topic. In-depth projects help children to develop effective questioning, problem-solving and collaborative skills and fostering creativity, to understand not only the what, but the why and how as well, to make sense of the world around them. Children who are engaged in project work show early development in academical thinking, which benefits them in their future studies.

The project for Y2 is ‘Dialogue between the visible and invisible’. The immense value of the unseen and often-ignored invisible worlds has been recognised by scientists, artists and philosophers. Stretching our thinking beyond the realm of the visible, the children discover micro-worlds and invisible landscapes within and around. With increasing awareness of different forms of energy and their enchanting interactions and transformations, the children develop theories as they better understand the world around us.