CURRICULUM STATEMENT Year 2 - Firbank Grammar School

JUNIOR SCHOOL,
BRIGHTON CAMPUS
CURRICULUM STATEMENT
Year 2
EST
1909
FIRBANK
GRAMMAR
Firbank Junior School, Brighton Campus, is an authorised International Baccalaureate World School. It offers the Primary Years
Programme from ELC 3 through to Year 6.
IB mission statement
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more
peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end the IB works with schools, governments and international
organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. These programmes encourage
students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences,
can also be right.
IB learner profile
The aim of all IB programmes is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared
guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world.
IB learners strive to be:
Inquirers; Knowledgeable; Thinkers; Communicators; Principled; Open-minded; Caring; Risk-takers; Balanced; and Reflective.
The PYP curriculum model

Programme of Inquiry (POI)
As far as possible all subject areas relate to the programme of inquiry. Over the course of a year each grade level completes six units
of inquiry, one from each transdisciplinary theme.
The Year 2 units of inquiry (UOI) are:
Term 1 Term 1 & 2
Transdisciplinary Theme: Who we are Transdisciplinary Theme: Where we are in place and
time
Central Idea:
Choices we make have an
impact on our relationships.
Central Idea:
Our lives are similar and
different to those of other
generations.
Lines of inquiry:
• Our relationships
• How positive choices can
nurture relationships
• Rights and responsibilities
Lines of inquiry:
• Generations
• Why and how things change
over time
• How we know about the
past, present and future
Concepts: Causation, Responsibility Concepts: Reflection, Change
Term 2 Term 3
Transdisciplinary Theme: How the world works Transdisciplinary Theme: How we organise ourselves
Central Idea:
We use our senses
to interact with our
environment.
Central Idea:
People choose different
systems to get from one place
to another.
Lines of inquiry:
• Our senses and how we
use them
• Why our senses are
important
• What to do with limited or
no sense
• Technology designed to
enhance the senses
Lines of inquiry:
• Types of transport
• Different transport systems
Concepts: Function, Causation, Concepts: Form, Function, Connection
Term 3 and 4 Term 4
Transdisciplinary Theme: Sharing the planet Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves
Central Idea:
An ecosystem is a
constantly changing
community of living things
interacting with another.
Central Idea:
Cultural beliefs and values are
reflected through traditions.
Lines of inquiry:
• The similarities and
differences between living
and non-living things
• Characteristics of local
ecosystems
• Connections within
ecosystems
Lines of inquiry:
• How artefacts symbolise
beliefs and values
• How traditions reflect beliefs
Concepts: Change, Connection Concepts: Perspective, Reflection

Language
Reading
In Year 2, the students are encouraged to read independently and respond to imaginative and informative texts. Students are exposed
to unfamiliar vocabulary and will use strategies for working out the meaning of unfamiliar words in context. The students use text and
diagrams to locate and interpret both literal and inferred meaning. Students begin to make more personal connections with the text and
are encouraged to relate text with real life experiences. As students become independent readers, they self correct and use punctuation
cues to gain a deeper understanding of the text.
Writing
Students in Year 2 are provided with authentic contexts in which to write for a range of purposes. Students select content, form and
vocabulary depending on the purpose and audience for their writing. They use appropriate structures to organise the subject matter and
the grammatical features of these structures are reinforced. They spell frequently used words accurately and make use of known spelling
patterns to make attempts at spelling unfamiliar words.
Speaking and Listening
In Year 2 students are provided with authentic contexts in which to produce spoken texts. To add emphasis when communicating, students
have the opportunity to demonstrate they are able to speak clearly by varying their volume and modifying their tone and pace. They make
relevant comments and ask clarifying questions to facilitate communication. After listening to short live or recorded presentations, they
recall some of the main ideas and information presented. They listen to others and respond appropriately to what has been said.
Mathematics
Number
Students model place value of whole numbers from 0 to 1000. They order numbers and count to 1000 by 1s, 10s and 100s and skip count
by 2s, 4s and 5s to 100, starting from any whole number. Students form patterns and sets of numbers based on simple criteria such as
odd and even numbers. They order money amounts in dollars and cents and carry out simple money calculations. Students describe
simple fractions such as one half, one third and one quarter in terms or equal sized parts of a whole object, such as a quarter of a whole
object and subsets (e.g. half of a set of 20 items). Students add and subtract one and two-digit numbers. They also use strategies to
assist in mentally solving addition and subtraction calculations. Students describe and calculate simple multiplication as repeated addition
and division as sharing.
Measurement, Chance and Data
Students estimate, measure, compare and record length, area, volume, capacity and mass using some formal units. They recognise the
need for formal units of length and use the metre and centimetre to measure length and distance. Students use a calendar to identify the
date and name and order the months and the seasons of the year. They use informal and formal units to compare and order the duration
of events and tell the time on the half-hour. They read and record time in hours and minutes in digital and analogue notation and make
comparisons between time units. Students gather, organise, display and interpret data using column and picture graphs. Students order
familiar events in terms of probability between impossible and certain, to predict chance.
Space
Students identify, describe, sort and model particular 3D objects and 2D shapes. Students recognise and describe symmetry, asymmetry
and congruence in these shapes and objects. The students represent and describe the position of objects and recognise whether a single
transformation produces a congruent or similar shape. Students specify location as a relative position, including left and right and interpret
simple networks, diagrams and maps involving a small number of pints, objects or locations.
Working Mathematically
Students ask questions and use appropriate mental or written strategies, and technology, to solve problems. They use appropriate
terminology to describe and link mathematical ideas, check statements for accuracy and explain reasoning.

Art
In Art, Year 2 students learn skills, techniques and processes with two and three dimensional art media. The new skills are learnt and
added, in a sequential way, to previous learning. Their understanding and use of the PYP learner profile and attitudes and the values
contained in them, is applied in the art situation. Concepts which are a part of the classroom program of inquiry are linked where possible,
to Art. In Term 1, the class unit of inquiry into homes, their design and building materials, will initiate art activities. Concepts of Form and
Texture will be a particular focus. Reference will be made to the work of artists, past and present where relevant. Through the year in Art,
there is an emphasis on enjoyment and confidence. The students learn skills and techniques which can be applied in diverse ways. In
Art, individuality of expression is valued and celebrated in each child.
Music
All classroom Music lessons are voice-based. In singing before they begin to read, students internalise music and can begin to work with
it meaningfully very quickly. Students are led to recognise and name musical elements in a structured and sequential way, in accordance
with known child developmental stages. Early lessons begin with the building of a repertoire of songs, usually accompanied by a game,
meaning that students are willing to repeat them often! Once they are familiar with the repertoire, they are led to discover elements that
occur in many of the songs, using “solfa” names (so, mi and la etc), hand signs and rhythm syllables to name these, before learning to
read and to write them. They are then ready to begin to use the elements create their own simple compositions and improvisations, and
to recognise these in listening samples. Students in Year 2 begin to consolidate their music reading skills through recorder-playing in
Semester 2.
Physical Education
Demonstrating the PYP learner profile and attitudes, and the values gained from these, is an integral part of the Physical Education
Programme. The emphasis is on participation, enjoyment and for each student to challenge herself and to aim for her personal best.
Students learn about safety, healthy bodies, fair play, following rules, talking turns, sharing equipment, looking after equipment and
wearing the correct sports uniform. Understanding the value of a healthy lifestyle and the ability to discuss how one’s body feels before,
during and after exercise is part of the programme. Students regularly engage in vigorous physical activity through fun and fitness tracks,
relays and shuttle races, to enhance personal fitness, strength, agility and mobility. Students participate in distance running culminating
in a class House Cross Country challenge. They also participate in a modified House Athletics Competition where they sprint, hurdle,
throw for distance, jump for distance and height and relays. Students play games such as Kanga Cricket, rounders, modified netball,
basketball and soccer and have the opportunity to invent their own games. Specific skill development includes ball handling, working with
small apparatus (e.g. hoops, ropes, bean bags), gymnastics, dance and swimming.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Students use computers in the classroom and the ICT Lab for a variety of purposes. They are introduced to basic robotics using Beebots.
They learning how to create, test, modify and store instructions to control the movements of the Beebot. They also learn to program the
Beebot by using single instructions, a sequence of instructions and repeated sequences. Students discover that information exists in a
variety of forms, including text, still and moving pictures, charts and sounds and that different media are used for different purposes. They
continue to express themselves using digital stories with “2 Create-a Story” and begin to also use “Photostory” to take action and share
their learning experiences. “Super Duper Music Looper” is introduced for music creation and this is incorporated into the development of
media. Students develop research skills using ICT and learn to confidently navigate software interfaces.
Religious Education
Religious Education, in the early years, aims to provide students with an introduction to the traditions and stories from the bible. Students
are guided through their learning by reading key bible stories and learn about God’s character and purpose, through the experiences of
many people who encountered God. Relating the positive personal qualities of Jesus to their own lives and His message of good news
is elemental to R.E. lessons at this level, where it is all about their personal experience. Connections are made, where appropriate, to the
PYP learner profile, attitudes and programme of inquiry.
Mandarin
Firbank is introducing Mandarin (Chinese) as an additional language form 2011. All learners benefit from having access to different
languages and as a consequence, access to different cultures and perspectives. Communication skills in a language other than English
foster intercultural knowledge and awareness of language as a system. Students will develop skills of listening, speaking, reading, viewing,
writing, and the use of body language, visual cues and signs. The intercultural knowledge and language awareness dimension develops
students’ knowledge of the connections between language and culture, and how culture is embedded throughout the communication
system. The understandings are universal and are gained by comparing languages, including English.