Picture Books to Support the Australian Curriculum: Year 2

Picture Books to Support the Australian Curriculum: Year 2

Every teacher can testify to the engagement received by their students when offered to be read a story. Whether it be from a picture book or novel, stories bring so much enjoyment to children’s lives. The added bonus is that they can also be great tools for linking various content areas of the Australian Curriculum.

I have gathered a list of books that I highly recommend for Year 2 Teachers to use as they are teaching to the Australian Curriculum throughout the year. I have sorted these books into curriculum content areas but you will quickly notice that most of the books link to other content areas making them great tools for the time-poor Australian Teacher. (please note the following list contains affiliate links)

English

Language
Don’t be a Bully, Billy! (Cautionary Tales)
Don’t Tell Lies, Lucy!
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Rumpelstiltskin
Say Please, Louise! (Cautionary Tales)
American Book 429259 The Story of Little Red Riding Hood
Lucy Cousins’ Book of Nursery Rhymes
I and You and Don’t Forget Who: What Is a Prounoun? (Words Are CATegorical)
Mine, All Mine!: A Book about Pronouns (World of Language)
Kites Sail High
Old Black Fly
Pumpkin Soup (Pumpkin Soup)
Hairy, Scary, Ordinary: What Is an Adjective? (Words Are CATegorical)
Many Luscious Lollipops

Literacy
Banana Skin Chaos!. by LILLI L’Arronge
Fairy Tales Gone Wrong: Eat Your Greens, Goldilocks: A Story About Eating Healthily
The Last Book Before Bedtime
Rufus the Numbat
The Shopping Basket

Literature
Beauty and the Beast Stories Around the World: 3 Beloved Tales (Multicultural Fairy Tales)
Cinderella Stories Around the World: 4 Beloved Tales (Multicultural Fairy Tales)
Hansel and Gretel Stories Around the World: 4 Beloved Tales (Multicultural Fairy Tales)
Keep Running, Gingerbread Man
The Korean Cinderella
Rapunzel Stories Around the World: 3 Beloved Tales
Red: A Crayon’s Story
Snow White Stories Around the World: 4 Beloved Tales (Multicultural Fairy Tales)
Multicultural Stories: Stories From China (Multicultural Stories)
Multicultural Stories: Stories From India (Multicultural Stories)
Multicultural Stories: Stories From The Amazon
Multicultural Stories: Stories From West Africa (Multicultural Stories)
This Zoo is Not for You (Ross Collins)
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Warnayarra the Rainbow Snake (Warnayarra Rainbow Snake)
The Wolf’s Story: What Really Happened to Little Red Riding Hood
You & Me, Murrawee

Maths

Measurement and Geometry
Captain Invincible and the Space Shapes
Cherries
Hold on Tight
The Shape Song Swingalong [With CD (Audio)]
Why I Love Summer

Number and Algebra
Scholastic Books-Trade SB-0439598400 The Grapes Of Math Paperback
How Many Legs?
How Much, How Many, How Far, How Heavy, How Long, How Tall Is 1000?
Math Potatoes
Math-Terpieces
One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab
Safari Park (Great Source Mathstart)
Spunky Monkeys on Parade: Counting by 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s (Mathstart: Level 2 (Prebound))
Ready, Set, Hop! (MathStart 3)
Give Me Half! (MathStart 2)
The Doorbell Rang

Science

Biological Sciences
Rounds: Cora Caterpillar (Rounds)
Rounds: Parker Penguin (Rounds)
The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Earth and Space Sciences
Little Bees: The Drop Goes Plop: A first look at the water cycle (Little Bees)
The Little Raindrop (Picture Storybooks)
Why Should I Save Water? (Why Should I? Books)

HASS

Anzac Day Parade Australian Edition
Audrey Goes to Town
The Audrey of the Outback Collection
Bantam and the Soldier (Bantam and the Soldier)
Belonging
The Dog on the Tuckerbox
Grandpa Green
Great Aussie Inventions
Kick it to Me
Memorial (Lothian Australian Favourites)
My Hometown
Nyuntu Ninti: What you should know
Pawprints in Time (Viking Kestrel picture books)
Queenie: One Elephant’s Story
Radio Rescue!
The Road to Goonong
What Was The War Like, Grandma? (Walker Classic)
Wilfred Gordon Mcdonald Partridge
Window
You & Me, Murrawee

Health

This is How We Do It by Matt Lamothe
I’m New Here by Anne Sibley O’Brien
How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen
What’s My SuperPower? by Aviaa Johnson
Calvin Can’t Fly by Jennifer Berne

Let me know if you have any other suggestions to add to this list by commenting below. I’d love to hear from you!!

Happy teaching!!

Organising Science Groups

Organising Science Groups

Assigning roles in science groups can be a helpful way of managing student participation in science investigations.

Notice I say managing participation! Not managing behaviour… Obviously there will inevitably be issues that require teacher support to overcome when children work in small groups but assigning roles encourages participation, develops responsibility and increases accountability among your students.

To keep your students on track we highly recommend using these posters and badges in your classroom – Science Groups Posters, Badges and Labels

Science Groups Posters | Ridgy Didge Resources | Australia

To use the posters and badges follow these simple tips:

  1. Assign a role to each student at the beginning of each lesson. Teachers can determine whether these roles are chosen by the students or themselves. I personally like to assign the roles myself so that students are given the opportunity to have a go at each role.
  2. Despite the roles that have been assigned, students should still be monitored as they work to ensure groups are cooperating and remaining on task.
  3. Posters should be displayed in the classroom for students to refer to as well as badges prepared for students to wear during lessons so everyone is clear on what their role is. These badges can be laminated for longevity, hole-punched and threaded with a safety pin. Science basket labels can be laminated and attached to baskets with zip-ties, blue-tac, Velcro dots or sticky tape.

Following these simple steps will ensure your students are not only staying on track so they remain concentrated on the task at hand (hence more able to learn) but will also ensure they are learning vital life skills to set themselves up for success for life beyond the classroom.

Like the sound of getting your students working purposefully in your science classroom? Sign up to our Free Resource Library to get access to these posters plus plenty more great resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum.

Science Groups Classroom Management | Ridgy Didge Resources | Australia