DISD The Hub
Lee A. McShan Jr. Elementary has students who come from all around the world.
Some of those students made their way into Arianna Zeb’s class.
Zeb, a fourth-grade teacher, has her students study the countries they or their parents came from and write autobiographies including the history they’ve learned. Many of her students come from immigrant or refugee families and countries like Burma, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Nepal.
After drafting their family trees and interviewing family members about their lives in their countries, they write and take photos of their current lives, families and communities. Then they write out their future hopes and goals.
“The purpose of this project is to help students cultivate a deeper understanding of where they come from and what their future dreams are,” Zeb told The Hub. “Last year there were 12 different languages spoken in my classroom, and this year, we have 10 languages spoken.”
Zeb has won several awards this year for Voices of Vickery.
In September, she won the Junior League of Dallas Innovative Teacher Award for the second time. Early this year, she received one of the awards for the Fullbright Teachers for Global Classrooms from the U.S. Department of State.
