News
Featured 1st Grade Teachers
Jennifer Atkinson - Metz Elementary
We wish to congratulate Jennifer Atkinson, recipient of the prestigious Save Our History grant for the 2006-07 project "Magic of Metz: 90th Anniversary Celebration." Students at Metz Elementary celebrated, collected, and recorded the school's history. Students made connections with the past through oral history interviews with former Metz faculty and students, participated in art projects and writing contests. These activites helped each child to identify with the past through stories and art that are directly connected to their everyday life.
This is not the first grant or award that Jennifer has received. Other grants include:
Game Night Is Groovy - Students were able to use games for learning and to check out on the weekend to play with their families.
We Built This City - Students learned about how to take care of the environment and built their own energy efficient homes out of Lego.
We Are All America - Students performed songs, poems, skits and more about the American experience.
Travel Pals: A Journey For Learning - Students will learn about US geography through 4 stuffed animals that made their way across the great United States.
Jennifer has also been awarded Time Warner Cable's National Teacher of the Year and the History Channel's National Award Winning teacher.
This is Jennifer's ninth year at Metz and and she has served as Chair of the Social Studies Committee at Metz from 1999-2007 and coordinated many school-wide events:
- Veterans Day: Take a Vet to School Day
- Freedom Week: Letter Writing Campaign for the Troops
- Black History Month: Black Music in America
- Chinese New Year Celebration
- Mardi Gras Celebration
- St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
In addition, Jennifer plays an active role in district workshops, planning, and curriculum development - including the writing of the 1st Grade Social Studies IPG’s in 2001. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Education / Minor in Social Studies. She is a professional swing dancer, avid reader, loves live music, and is the proud mother of 17-year old Ian.
Ashley George and Madeline Enriquez - Oak Springs Elementary
First grade teachers Ashley George and Madeline Enriquez from Oak Springs Elementary took their students outside for an interactive Social Studies Alive! lesson to learn why rules are important. After discussing and reading about the importance of rules in our everyday lives in the classroom, Ms. George, Ms. Enriquez, and their students went outside to play a racing relay game. At first there were no rules, and no one knew who won or even what to do. The students were confused. After the rules were given to the students, they knew what to do and how to play. The students realized and learned that rules are helpful and important, even when we play games.
Rogelio Alvarado, Lydia Moreland, and GayAnn Suniga - Ortega Elementary
Rogelio Alvarado, Lydia Moreland and GayAnn Suniga
Social Studies salutes the first grade teachers at Ortega Elementary for their social studies presidents projects. Rogelio Alvarado, GayAnn Suniga, and Lydia Moreland read and discussed many books on the presidents. The students wrote about what they learned and extended their learning by writing about what they would do if they were the president. All of the students wrote their compositions in their best handwriting and displayed them in the hall for all to see what great social studies learning is happening in first grade at Ortega Elementary.
© AISD, 2007 /