May 25, 2018

Dear Parents,

In Literacy this week, we have continued our novel study of Charlotte's Web.  For Making Words this week, we used the following letters: z u c k e r m a n s f a r m to make various other words.

We practiced our words of the week by writing sentences to go with each word.  There was a big focus on using capital letters at the beginning and end punctuation.

  

Words of the week May 28 - June1

dry           want         house          black     our

In Math this week, Ms. Cvach's group has been looking for patterns in the hundreds chart.  It's interesting how many different patterns we were able to find!

We also played Salute in groups of 3 or 4 students.  It's a tricky game but it feels great when you figure out which card you are holding on your forehead!

In Math with Mrs. Kenna's group we have been practicing our skills to improve subtraction. Here is a list of the strategies we have been practicing:

"Neighbour numbers"  13-12 where the answer is always 1

"Take away 1 is the number before"  18-1 = 17

"Teen numbers like to count up" 19-13; for these types of equations we start at 13 and count up to the bigger number. (6)

"Count back in your head" 21-3; hold up 3 fingers and count back on the number line in your head

Subtraction can be tricky! Students are not used to counting backwards or the abstract concept of counting things that have left or are no longer there. You can help at home by asking about the above strategies and giving your child practice equations to do. 

We also are working on problem solving. Here are two ways students can show what they know. 

Have a wonderful weekend in the sun!

Ms. Cvach and Mrs. Kenna

May 18, 2018

Dear Parents,

It has been a beautiful week of sunny weather and the children participated in several outdoor activities.  First, we went on our Early Spring Walk.  We were observing the changes that have happened outside now that Calgary's Spring season has finally arrived.  We noticed the following things:

• The leaves are beginning to grow on the trees and bushes
• Bulb flowers such as tulips and daffodils are in full bloom 
• Bushes and trees that will eventually bear fruit are in full blossom
• Lots of birds have returned to the pond from their Winter migration
• The grass is turning green
• Insects are beginning to come out of their Winter hibernation

The following day we went back to the area where we found ladybugs coming out of their Winter hibernation a few weeks ago and they were still there.

The day after that we went downtown for our Urban Experience field trip.  The children participated in an indigenous program called "Tipi Tales" and learned about how the Blackfoot people lived long ago before settlers came to this area.

We also went up the Calgary Tower.  The children were very excited about the glass floor.  You can see all the way down to the ground. 

We took a walk down Stephen's Avenue then visited the Devonian Gardens.  We saw a pond full of Koi and played on the playground.

We took a ride on the LRT.  The children thought that was pretty cool.  

 We enjoyed tales from Blair- the Indigenous Leader of our session at the Glenbow Museum.

We explored the down town core and how our city is beautified through nature and art.

 

A HUGE thanks to all of the parent volunteers that helped to make this trip a great success.

Our words of the week for May 22-26 are:

ride       won't      your          pretty       said

Have a great weekend

Ms. Cvach and Mrs. Kenna

May 11, 2018

 

Dear Parents,

It has been a busy and exciting week at Cranston School.  We had Music Monday where we finally got a chance to see our wonderful Cranston Choir perform.

In Literacy this week we have continued reading Charlotte's Web.  We worked in groups to come up with some wonders that we have about spiders.

We wrote in our journals and then wrote sentences using this week's word wall words.  We are trying really hard to print neatly, organize our work on the paper, use upper and lower case letters correctly and use appropriate punctuation. 

For our making words lesson this week, we made words using the following letters :  a  a  i  o  u  l  s 

s n t t with a focus on the combination "tion".  All the letters together make a mystery word from Charlotte's Web that means "greetings".

We practiced our printing skills some more by copying a beautiful poem for Mom for Mother's Day.  We also made some beautiful flower art to go with it.  We hope you enjoy it!

The words to study for next week will be:  brother, sister, teacher, over, under

 

In Math this week we did another tricky word problem.  It was about making different combinations of animals on Zuckerman's farm.  Here are a couple of examples:

Another thing we did this week was to practice taking photos with iPads to prepare for next week's field trip.  We will be doing a little scavenger hunt and the children will be taking pictures of the things on the list.

In Gym this week we learned some new badminton skills.  

We ended our week with a Quest Theater production and another round of Club Friday!  Have a wonderful weekend in the sun and we wish all the moms a very Happy Mother's Day :-)

Ms. Cvach

Mrs. Kenna

May 4, 2018

Dear Parents,

We can hardly believe that it is already May.  Summer is just around the corner!  In Literacy this week, we wrote in our journals.  Some of the children are beginning to write paragraphs!  Here are a couple of examples:

Our words for next week will be:

• because
• am
• made
• can't
• from

You may have noticed that they are getting trickier, so a little more studying may be necessary!

In Social Studies we read a Blackfoot legend about how the Prairie Anemone (Crocus) Got Its Fur Coat.  We then drew some beautiful pictures to go with the story.  Ask your child to retell the story to ensure that they comprehend what happened.

.

We began a novel study of Charlotte's Web and did a few related activities.

We have been spending a lot of time learning about what it means to subtract in Math.  The children have been finding it pretty tricky, so it would be a good idea to practice it at home.  Begin subtracting with numbers no bigger than 10, then if your child finds that easy, you can subtract numbers from 20.  See what strategies they are using i.e.  counters, fingers, counting back or counting forward from the smaller number in their heads.  Perhaps they can even do some of it automatically!

Here is a strategy you can use if your child is needing more support:

We are super excited about our upcoming field trip to the Glenbow museum and for the rest of our urban experience.  Please return your forms ASAP and pay on line using your CBE account.