Integrated Studies

Year Level Description

Integrated curriculum and inquiry develop the Year 2 student's skills across a number of subject areas – Geography, Health Education, History and Science – and is closely linked to the Year 2 Learning Journey.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• participate in discussions on a topic by formulating questions and talking about the topic;
• gather information on a topic from a variety of sources;
• use simple data charts to record and retrieve information;
• use simple statements and drawings to report on observations;
• use gathered information to answer questions;
• form conclusions based on observations;
• represent information in a variety of ways.

Geography

The primary focus for Year 2 is to understand the location of the major geographical divisions of the world in relation to Australia.

Students identify the features that define places and recognise that places can be described at different scales. They describe how people in different places are connected to each other and identify factors that influence these connections. Students recognise that the world can be divided into major geographical divisions. They explain why places are important to people.

Students pose questions about familiar and unfamiliar places and collect information to answer these questions. They represent data and the location of places and their features in tables, plans and on labelled maps. They interpret geographical information to draw conclusions. Students present findings in a range of texts and use simple geographical terms to describe the direction and location of places.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• identify various regions of the world and explore connections between themselves and other places;
• locate the major geographical divisions of the world in relation to Australia;
• describe the hierarchy of places, from the personal scale of their home, the local scale of their suburb or town, the regional scale of their state, to the national scale of their country;
• pose geographical questions about familiar and unfamiliar places;
• collect and record geographical data and information, for example, by observing, interviewing or from sources such as, photographs, plans, satellite images;
• represent data and the location of places and their features by constructing tables, plans and labelled maps;
• describe the direction and location of places, using terms such as north, south, opposite, near, far;
• explain the ways people are connected to places through, for example, relatives, friends, things people buy or obtain, holidays, sport, family origin, beliefs, and places of particular significance.

Health Education

The major focus for Year 2 is to ensure that students develop as people who take increasing responsibility for their own physical wellbeing, learning, relationships with others, and their role in the local, national and global community. Students participate in the Life Education Program, which aims to empower children to make informed choices for a safe and healthy life.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• identify why there are rules and expectations in different situations;
• describe how the places where people live, work and play influence health, safety and wellbeing;
• describe some factors that influence someone’s sense of self-worth;
• describe some techniques for effective communication;
• identify some strategies for managing stressful situations;
• discuss medicines as drugs and identify some of the consequences of their misuse.

History

The Year 2 curriculum provides a study of local history. Students explore, recognise and appreciate the history of their local area, particularly Carey, by examining the remains of the past and considering why they should be preserved.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• identify change over time in the local and global community;
• investigate the history of a particular landmark or site, using Carey as a source, and look at what it reveals about the past;
• analyse aspects of daily life to identify how some have changed over recent time while others have remained the same;
• pose questions about the past and use sources provided (physical, visual, oral) to answer these questions;
• examine changes in technology over several generations by comparing past and present objects and photographs, and discussing how these changes have shaped people’s lives;
• identify where the technology used in their grandparents’ childhoods was made compared with the technology they use today.

Science

The program provides practical learning experiences during ​which the students describe, using appropriate language, their scientific observations of the physical, chemical and natural world.

By the end of the year students are expected to:

• identify the Earth’s resources in particular, water, and describe how it is used;
• describe how a resource such as water is transferred from its source to its point of use;
• consider what might happen to humans if there were a change in a familiar available resource, such as water;
• identify actions at School such as turning off dripping taps, that can conserve resources;
• attempt to describe the basic elements of the water cycle;
• explore ways that objects move on land, through water and in the air;
• explore how different strengths of pushes and pulls affect the movement of objects;
• consider the effects of objects being pulled towards the Earth;
• identify, explain and explore simple machines.