5th grade use technology to learn about the past

Mrs. Birrel's 5th grade class are engaged in learning about the tools and technology from the past. They are learning how the past has influenced the present by using computers to view photos of medical and other equipment from the 19th and 20th Centuries. Working together in small groups, they are able to talk about the old fashioned equipment and compare it with the tools and technology of today and realize that what we have today has evolved from the things that were used in the past.

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

5th Grade Students Design a Green City

5th Grade students finished their Sharing the Planet unit last month. The inquired into the central idea Using and conserving resources alters our relationships with communities and environments. To show their understanding at the end of the unit, students were given the real world task of creating a "Green City" that would run entirely on alternative energy. In their presentation, students had to discuss the impact on the community and environment as well as the conditions that must be necessary for the alternative energy forms to successfully power the city. Check out some samples below from Mrs. Walker's class:

4th Graders Take a Virtual Tour of Texas- and Send Postcards!

Students in 4th grade recently took a virtual bus tour through the regions of Texas. They took notes on each region as then went. Students used Padlet, an online bulletin board tool, to collect their notes and thoughts. As an assessment, they created a postcard on a Google Drawing and wrote a letter about their favorite region, using facts and details to back up their reasons. See Ms. Barrios' class hard work below:

5th Grade Explorers Trading Cards

5th Grade recently wrapped up their Where We Are in Place and Time unit where they investigated the central idea "Human discovery and exploration shapes the individual and the world." After studying several different explorers, they made trading cards to show what they learned.  Students researched what motivated the explorers and what their impact was.  Students in Mrs. Kim's class used Microsoft Publisher to put together their cards, while students in Mrs. Walker's class utilized Google Docs.  Check out some of their awesome work below:

Links to Mrs. Walker's Class Explorer Trading Cards

1.  http://goo.gl/NgIEkW

2.  http://goo.gl/WAq1Kq

3.  http://goo.gl/PjKS9O

4.  http://goo.gl/riJCF2

5.  http://goo.gl/2KJKo4

6.  http://goo.gl/S47UKs

7.  http://goo.gl/lfvk2o

8. http://goo.gl/WIo182

9. http://goo.gl/Lf05Km

10.  http://goo.gl/1dPlFd

11. http://goo.gl/BfTC6g

12.  http://goo.gl/IcMbO6

13.  http://goo.gl/fgnEQw

14.  http://goo.gl/fWYbW1

15.  http://goo.gl/Fhhbxf

16.  http://goo.gl/A5mbfm

17.  http://goo.gl/OFjit6

18.  http://goo.gl/dD8sbN

19. http://goo.gl/jC1LlR

20.  http://goo.gl/jMFgiF

21.  http://goo.gl/Wj8Nah

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!

4th Grade Investigates the Uses of Water

4th Grade students in Ms. Barrios' class searched for uses of water and categorized them using an online Web 2.0 tool called Padlet. Students saw how much water we use for "fun/entertainment" and decided that sometimes that is actually wasting water. They took action and decided to come up with ways to conserve water in their everyday use so they wouldn't feel so bad using "fun water" during the summer. What an awesome example of doing something with your learning! This activity is part of their "Sharing the Planet" unit where they are exploring the central idea, The availability of usable water affects people's opportunities.

Check out their work!
http://padlet.com/wall/id8man1tis
http://padlet.com/wall/63vuhykvfw
http://padlet.com/wall/ewcm57a424
http://padlet.com/wall/mk84okcmms

5th Grade Presents: Artists, Musicians & Authors That Reflect Our Values

Students in 5th grade just completed a research project as part of their How We Express Ourselves unit. The were studying the central idea Art, music and literature can express the values and influence the culture of the time. Students were asked to research an artist/author/musician that reflected their values and present to the class. Students passion came though in their presentations and we were able to learn a lot about what they value and find important.  In this example, you can see that Caleb is passionate about I.M. Pei's architecture- he even dressed up as him!

5th Grade Gets Inspired by Art

5th Grade is currently in their How We Express Ourselves unit of inquiry. 

Their central idea is:  Art, music and literature can express the values and influence the culture of the time
And the lines of inquiry:
1. Art reflects the values of a time period
2. The legacy of artistic contributions
3. How artists craft their art, music & literature to convey their message

Students looked at a variety of pieces of art then wrote a creative writing piece inspired by one of the works of art.  Once students are done with their piece, they will compare their story with what actually inspired the artist to create the piece.  Have you studied these pieces before?  What message do they convey to you?  

Kindergarten Paperslides

Kindergarten students recently wrapped up their Where We are in Place and Time IB unit. Their central idea was: Homes are unique all over the world. They inquired into: types of shelter, the difference between home & shelter, and organisms without a home. As their summative (end of unit) assessment, students did a "paperslides" project. The students picked an organism and drew them with and without a home. The students then recorded their slides and explained their learning.  Check out a few samples below:

4th Grade Living Leader Museum

During 4th grade's How We Organize Ourselves unit, they studied the central idea: Conditions within a community dictate the types of leaders that emerge. One of their activities was to construct a Leader Living Museum. The 4th grade students used their research skills to learn more about important leaders, then developed speeches using the information from their research. Each student created a poster with their leader on it, and other students could "push a button" and hear the speech of that leader.

4th grade wonders: what does it take to be a good leader?

4th grade's How We Organize Ourselves unit explored the central idea: Conditions within a community dictate the type of leaders that emerge. To help students understand this big idea, they hosted a panel of leaders. We had members of the community- our PTA president, Mrs. Olesen, Cristy Crowder and Ms. Welebob as well as Ms. Haynes and Ms. Herbst. Students asked the panel of leaders questions about what it takes to be a leader, qualities of a leader and how they became leaders. Students asked some great questions and were able to make connections to some of the leaders and leadership types they had been learning about in class.

Kinder Uses Google Earth to Take a Virtual Field Trip

Kindergarten students have been learning about homes in their Where We Are in Place and Time unit.  They are investigating the central idea: Homes are unique all over the world.  To begin their unit, they used Google Earth to enter in student's addresses and look at their homes.  The children viewed the homes using the street view, and using clues, tried to figure out whose home they were looking at. As the unit goes on, students will be talking about the different kinds of homes and why they are built like they are (materials, location, etc) as well as what the difference is between a home and a shelter.  Tools like Google Earth allow us to take virtual field trips and learn about the world around us- even far away places that we could never visit during the school day!

5th Grade Studies Explorers

5th grade students were investigating the central idea "Human discovery and exploration shapes the individual and the world." during their  Who We Are in Place and Time unit. They used their research skills  to inquire about a European Explorer.  In collaboration with their partner, they used their communication skills to write a newsletter about their findings.  A variety of publishing tools were used including Word, Power Point, and Google Docs.  

4th Grade Students Take Action - On Their Own

4th Grade has been studying how the availability of clean water affects people's opportunities.  After diving into this unit, students took matters into their own hands!  THIS is what it is all about.  These students are the IB learner profile in action, and we couldn't be more proud of them! The note below confirms that parents are seeing some pretty amazing things too.

  

Ms Haynes,
I just wanted to share this picture and story with you.  Ms Gray taught the
students this past week about families in Honduras who didn't have clean
water; they kids had to do a project describing how their lives would be
different if they had to walk two miles to get clean water and had to
figure out how their family would handle it.

After learning about this the kids, on their own, decided they wanted to
raise money to send to Honduras for clean water.  They, again without any
help from parents, decided to sell lemonaid and sno cones.   They
determined who would bring what, how much to charge, and when they would do
this.   All came home very excited on Thursday and us parents realizing
they were very serious helped them pull this together on Friday.

They raised over $75 in just a few hours.  According to Ms Gray, $25 gives
a person clean water for life.  Because of their efforts they gave 3 people
clean water for life!

I just wanted to share this with you, one because I'm proud of them.  Two,
and most importantly, Ms Gray not only educated these kids but she also
inspired them.   Ask any of them and they can tell you exactly what is
happening in Honduras, about why not having clean water is bad, and how
lucky they are.   IB education does work and will help create some amazing
kids!
Thanks
Julie

Second Grade Responds to Problems

Second grade students have been investigating the central idea "Societies respond to problems with action" during their How We Organize Ourselves unit.  One problem that is current to our students is safety!  We recently wrapped up two weeks of safety reminders.  Second grade took the opportunity to teach us about the problems we face at the crosswalks and how to do it safely.  They researched the problem, then decided how they would take action. Students in Mrs. Koester's class decided to make a Power Point and Ms. Birrell's and Ms. Kenisell's classes made public service announcement videos.  2nd grade presented at the assembly this morning to help other students make safe choices.  Check out their work below! 
Other second grade classes are also investigating problems - look for some of their projects soon!

The Crosswalk Problem

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!

4th Grade Graphs their Origins

4th Grade recently wrapped up their Where We Are in Place and Time unit where they studied the central idea "Opportunities and challenges motivate people to migrate."  In addition to looking at some of the reasons others migrate from one place to another, they also investigated their own family's country and continent of origin.  After tallying the results in their class, they made a graph of their results in Excel.  Check out a couple of examples below!

Read Around the World

Student Council members worked together to recruit guest readers among their family, friends, and community.  The students advertised the event on broadcast and at school assemblies.  They also introduced the speakers and helped make sure everyone had what they needed on the day of the event.  Student Council's goal for the event was to create an appreciation of other cultures and languages from our community which therefore helps Chandler Oaks become a No Place for Hate!  The event was a success!

Second Grade Inspired by Sesame Street & Wil.i.am

Second Grade has been exploring what it means to be human in their Who We Are unit.  Their central idea, "Humans manifest their characteristics differently" has led to some great learning about which characteristics we share, which ones we don't, how we define success, and how our characteristics contribute to our success or failure.  They were inspired by a song that was featured on Sesame Street.  Singer Wil.i.am performed his song "What I Am" with several characters from the show. Second grade thought this was a great way to demonstrate what they've been learning, so they showed the video and sang along at our Friday Assembly last week.  Check out their performance, as well as the original video from YouTube. 
Link to lyrics