“
I can make a gift to my alma mater, but that would only be a drop in a large endowment bucket. At Harlem Academy, I know my gift is going to make a difference in the life of a child.
”
Grade Six
Earth Science.
Students begin the Astronomy unit researching the history of the subject. Students discover how the Earth’s motion relates to day and night, the seasons, and the changing night sky. They reproduce constellation patterns, create a three-dimensional model to explore stellar distances and magnitudes, and build instruments for celestial navigation. Close partnerships with the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium and the Rutherford Observatory at Columbia University strengthen this unit.
The Weather and Water unit serves as an early introduction to physics and chemistry, with a focus on meteorology and the Earth’s atmosphere. Students track weather patterns in New York City and explore severe weather patterns around the world. Students learn about the Earth’s atmosphere, kinetic energy, and heat transfer. Experiments introduce students to the thermodynamic process of radiation and convection, which are critical to understanding weather formation.
In the Geology unit, students focus on how weather continuously shapes the Earth’s landscape. Students learn about continental drift and plate tectonics and construct a model of the Earth’s layers. They also replicate the formation of the three types of rock and discover how heating, cooling, compression, and weather create a perpetual rock cycle. Students map and measure the forces that result in earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building and model the explosive events that make plate margins volatile.
Tweet
