For immediate release: April 22, 2008
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta today announced the winners of the Bank's 2007-2008 Lesson Plan of the Year contest.
Sherilyn Narker of Druid Hills High School in Atlanta, Ga., won first place. Three lesson plans tied for second place. The second-place winners are Matthew Daniel of Cannon County High School in Woodbury, Tenn.; Tanya Hanson and Tom Glaser of South Dade Senior High School in Homestead, Fla., and Hialeah–Miami Lakes Senior High School in Hialeah, Fla. respectively; and Dawn Owens and Lisa Rutner of West Port Middle School in Ocala, Fla. Third place went to Maxine Casey of Monroe County Career Technical Center in Monroeville, Ala.
The Lesson Plan of the Year contest challenges middle and high school educators to develop lesson plans featuring Federal Reserve publications, Web sites or multimedia materials. The contest is designed to introduce educators to Federal Reserve materials and resources.
The five finalists each received a $1,000 savings bond, which was awarded by their respective Atlanta Fed office—Atlanta, Birmingham, Jacksonville, Miami and Nashville. At today's ceremony in Atlanta, the first-place winner received a $1,500 savings bond, the three second-place entries each received a $1,000 savings bond (teams with more than one entrant split the award), and the third-place winner received a $750 savings bond.
Narker's first-place entry, "Live from Atlanta, It's?The Ben Bernanke Show!" asks groups of students to develop a talk show pilot. Using Fed materials, the groups create presentations about the Federal Reserve System that they present to the show's host, Fed Chairman Bernanke.
Daniel's entry, "The Fed Casher Show: Consumer Call–In Show," uses a radio call-in show format where consumers call the Fed for advice. Hanson and Glaser's lesson, "Rating the Rates: The Fed's Role in the Larger Economy," teaches students about interest rates. Owens and Rutner's entry, "Banking and Budgeting for Exceptional Student Education," focuses on teaching banking basics. Third-place winner Casey's lesson, "A Car for College?" is an exercise in saving, interest rates and budgeting.
A panel of judges composed of staff from the Federal Reserve Banks and educators evaluated each entry on the use of Federal Reserve materials, originality and creativity, accuracy, quality of documentation, adherence to project guidelines, organization, ease of replication or adaptation, relevance to standards and writing style.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta serves the Sixth Federal Reserve District, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia and parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. As part of the nation's central banking system, the Atlanta Fed participates in setting national monetary policy, supervises numerous commercial banks and provides a variety of financial services to depository institutions and the U.S. government. The Atlanta Fed offers economic and financial education outreach to teachers, students and others through a variety of programs and activities.