3rd Graders Make Work Easier

Third grade students recently finished their summative assessment for their How the World Works unit. Their central idea was work happens when a force causes change.  Students were challenged with creating something that would solve a problem or make life easier.  Students had to address the work that would happen and  the energy needed to help solve the problem or make work easier.  Students could present their creation using any format they chose.
Check out a couple of samples from Ms. Olson's class. These students used Padlet, an online bulletin board, to organize their ideas. Students really exercised their creativity and came up with some pretty innovative ideas!

http://padlet.com/embed/849kiccuee8g

http://padlet.com/embed/1y8amntkfqao

COE Cheetahs Win 3rd Place in Battle of the Bluebonnets!

The COE Battle of the Bluebonnets team took home 3rd place yesterday after a heated competition!  Our team of 5 reading rock stars, led by their coach Mrs. Collings, actually tied for first place with three other schools- several tie breaker questions were needed to settle the competition. In the end we brought home 3rd place medals- our highest finish yet!
Our team practiced well and worked together as a team- and it paid off.  If you see Mrs. Collings or one of these students, be sure to congratulate them on their accomplishment!

Ms. Wike's Class Builds and Programs Robots

Students in Ms. Wike's 3rd grade class recently completed several robotics lessons. First they tried their hand at programming using the game LightBot. This helped build their understanding of using step by step, specific instructions for their robots.  Next, they began building their robots using Lego WeDo kits.  Groups of students selected a project to build and followed Lego's schematics to put it together.  It wasn't always easy! Finally, they programmed their robots to each do a different action. Check out the pictures and videos below. You'll see a hungry alligator, twirling birds, a sleeping giant get raised by a crane and flying airplanes.  Pretty incredible- and they are only 3rd graders! I can't wait to see the things they can accomplish when they set their minds on something!

3rd Grade Economics Fair

3rd Grade students recently held their annual Economics Fair.  As part of their IB How We Organize Ourselves unit, they inquired into the central idea: Economic systems require decisions and choices that impact lives and communities. Students created goods or developed services and invited the school to come to their marketplace. Prior to the fair, all students wrote a business plan &developed marketing.
Students used Vocaroo to record radio commercials and shot a video commercial to air on our morning news program.  Check them out!
Radio Commercials


3rd graders researched options for what they would do with the profits. Groups presented their ideas and  then they voted on their favorites. This year they decided that their proceeds would benefit The Wounded Warrior Project and Austin Disaster Relief. Austin Disaster relief was chosen because they are helping with recovery efforts in West.  The Wounded Warrior Project was chosen because there are several students that parents that are active in the military.  In total, 3rd grade raised about $1500 from their fair for the community!

3rd Grade Creates Cartoons- en Español!

Third grade students have been putting their language skills to use! They are writing comic strips in class using Kidspiration software to show their use of new vocabulary words.  It's pretty amazing that only after two years of Spanish, our students are writing stories in a second language!  We are lucky to have Senora Imperial- our Teacher of the Year- helping us learn both the language and the culture!

3rd Grade Investigates Communities

3rd grade students recently wrapped up their Sharing the Planet unit.  Their central idea was "Human and geographic factors shape communities."  Lots of different learning activities helped build student understanding of this idea.  

Students worked in groups to research various landforms on PebbleGo (one of our library research resources).  

Then,  they created a visual representation that included the important facts and information from their research and presented it to their class.

Students worked in groups and used Kidspiration (mind mapping software) to create Venn diagrams where they compared different types of communities such as rural, urban, and suburban.

Students interviewed a family member about the community they currently live in or where they grew up in order to learn about how that community developed.  Students created a timeline and presented it to the class.

Keith Abbott, a parent and local minister, shared photos and spoke to all of 3rd grade about how the hurricane in Haiti affected the community.

3rd Grade Takes Action!

One of the final projects at the end of 3rd grade's "Who We Are" unit involved the class identifying a problem / issue in the community and taking action. Ms. Davenport's class chose littering. Some students created and performed skits, some made announcements on the morning broadcast, some created a website with Voki characters , some came up with ways to make recycling fun, and others created posters or fliers. 

Awesome job taking action and practicing communication skills!

Check out some of their work! The student designed website with Voki's: http://nolitteringinourcommunity.weebly.com/
Check Ms. Davenport's blog to see a video of the skit! 

A sample flyer:

Third Graders Get "SMART" with Probability

Third grade students have been investigating probability in math, so they utilized the Smart Boards in our village to try it out.  Students played interactive games of chance as an engagement to their problem solving.  Teachers and students agreed it was a great way to test some of their theories out!

3rd Grade Gets a Visit from the Police!

No, third grade students aren't in any trouble!  They've been studying the central idea "Work happens when a force causes change."  Students have been learning about different kinds of forces- energy, physical forces, and even social forces and then investigating ways that change can occur. 
A police officer (who is also a COE parent) stopped by to talk about both the social forces that they deal with on a regular basis- such as Occupy Austin- and the physical forces that are sometimes necessary on the job. Students got to see a real world example how the word force can take on a variety of different meanings!

Stories in Spanish- Written by COE Students!

Third, fourth and fifth grade students have been writing their first mini-stories in Spanish using the TPRS method. TPRS stands for Total Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. Students learn the vocabulary and are exposed to different sentence structures.  Using the framework in a sample mini-story, they worked collaboratively to create their own stories.  Our students are risk-takers in their learning- venturing out and trying new things!  
Check out a couple of samples from Mrs. Moyer's and Ms. Susong's classes!

Walsh Middle School Band Visits COE

Chandler Oaks 3rd-5th grade students were treated to a holiday concert by Walsh Middle School.  It was exciting to see the musical adventures that lay ahead of our students. What a great way to kick off the holiday season!

COES Student Wins Honorable Mention in Essay Contest

One of Chandler Oaks very own students, Saher in third grade, was recently awarded an honorable mention in the Be the Change Writing Contest. She received her award at the state capitol.  We are so proud of Saher! Read an excerpt of  her essay below.

"When I think of Gandhiji's phrase, Be The Change, I feel that I should be the change instead of waiting for others to change. Gandhiji treated everyone equally and with love and respect. He never chose violence and always taught everyone to care for each other. Gandhiji taught everyone to be independent and empower themselves. Gandhiji never gave up on his dreams and had a lot of courage....

                I would give a book to every kid in the world so that we can all learn how to read. I  would teach others to be kind, friendly and to love one another. I would provide water, food and houses for people who have lost everything. I would teach people not to fight because of differences but to talk about it and stop the conflict without hurting each other. I would teach people that no matter what you have, you should always share with others."