11 Alive’s Donna Lowry Visits Dunbar’s Classroom

Ms. Allaisia Cotton, 2^nd grade teacher from Dunbar Elementary School, requested classroom materials through DonorsChoose.org and received her request with a visitation by Donna Lowry from 11 Alive News. The website, DonorsChoose.org, allows donors to browse and make donations anonymously to the classroom-based projects of their choice. Donna Lowry surprised the students and delivered the donated materials to Ms. Cotton’s classroom, which included a Weather Activity Tub, Force and Motion Activity Tub, and much more.

The students enjoy learning information in the classroom, but additional materials for hands-on activities and experiments enhance their learning as they are able to conceptualize and synthesize the information. As a group, they excel most when they are allowed to “do.” They are enthusiastic about science and eager to begin applying their knowledge to experiments and projects.

Dunbar’s second grade science curriculum is centered on life cycles, forces and motion, weather, and matter. Ms. Cotton requested six different activity tubs that will allow students to conduct experiments, make observations, and even begin to design their own experiments based on questions that they generate!

“This project is so important for my students because it helps close the gap between interest and understanding,” Ms. Allaisia Cotton says. “My students can regurgitate the facts, but the resources I have requested in this project will help to propel them into a true understanding of the content. It is so inspiring to see their natural interest in science, but I want to provide them with the resources they need to understand the content so thoroughly that they could teach it to their peers.”

Ms. Cotton and her 2^nd grade class was featured on 11-Alive’s Random Acts of Kindness on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.

– Written by Tomiko Cobb, Media Specialist & Communication Ambassador at Dunbar Elementary