This year NISD was selected to be part of the 2009 Texas Capitol School House project in Austin!  Blattman Elementary and Michael Elementary represented NISD students by presenting legislators and TEA representatives projects using state-funded online databases for their research.  They visited the senate floor and offices of Leticia Van de Putte and Mike Villarreal.

Shown are NISD students and district representatives receiving their certificates

From Left: Jana Knezek, Lisa Moran, David Peterson, Jiaira Camacho, Caren Valenciano, Laura Dessens, Stephen Kofos, John-Thomas DoPorto Daniel Oliva, Anna Cajiga-Pena, Kathleen Brown, John William Moran, Mary Burns Michael, and Graciela Villareal

NISD students with State Representative Menedez 

From Left: Stephen Kofos, Daniel Oliva, Caren Valenciano, Anna Cajiga-Pena, John-Thomas DoPorto, David Peterson, Laura Dessens, and Jiaira Camacho with Representative Mendendez

 

Second grade students from Scobee Elementary have been learning about different countries by participating in a “Passport Around the World” club sponsored by the librarian, Mrs. Moecker.  Using the Facts on File online database and library books to research the countries, the students wrote short reports which were presented to classmates.  They also received a sticker for each country they researched.

 

Fifth Graders at John Glenn recently guided kindergarten students through five learning centers related to pond life.  Student photographers captured learning moments like the one above where a combination of print and electronic library resources were used to explore Denise Fleming’s Small Small Pond.

This multi-media activity involved the use of two copies of the book, an animated reading downloaded from United Streaming, and a follow-up activity that challenges the youngest of our students to match written and spoken words selected from the story. Four related centers included stations for (1) butterfly life-cycle; (2) an online “Create-a-Pond” site; (3) a paper pond to populate with pond creatures; (4) samples of fiction and non-fiction using a pond theme.

Second grade students at Galm Elementary have been learning about fairy tales and how they differ from traditional fantasy through lessons in the library.  Students viewed a United Streaming video of a fractured fairy tale based on The Three Little Pigs. They learned that a fractured fairy tale is one where changes have been made to characters, settings, or plots of traditional fairy tales.  The students then created their own fractured fairy tale with help from using NetTrekker d.i., a district-wide online database.