Overview
This curriculum unit, entitled "The Human Impact on the Environment and the Effects on Asthma and Allergies," will be taught to four sixth grade general science classes at Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School in New Haven, CT. Currently, Betsy Ross is the only middle school left in the district. All other schools are kindergarten to eighth grade and then high school. Betsy Ross is an interdistrict magnet school with an emphasis on the arts. It is based on meeting the needs of diverse cultures, learning styles and academic skills. New Haven is a college town, home to Yale University. Despite a rich history, New Haven is victim to poverty in certain neighborhoods and violent crime was at an all time high in 1990, making it one of the highest crime rates per capita in the United States. Efforts have been made to decrease the crime rate in New Haven and with 2009 being its safest year on record. Since our school is an arts magnet school, we draw students from the surrounding suburbs. We therefore, have a school population of diverse ethnicities, races, and socioeconomics. The demographics of New Haven Public Schools are as follows: Asian American: 1.24%, African American: 54.82%, Hispanic: 30.95%, Indian American: 0.05%, White: 11.08%, and Other: 1.86%.
The sixth grade curriculum has four science standards that must be taught throughout the year and these are Ecosystems, Weather, How Technology Impacts Our Waters, and Simple Machines. The following are the content standards for sixth grade science in New Haven: 6.2 - An ecosystem is composed of all the populations that are living in a certain space and the physical factors with which they interact. 6.3 - Variations in the amount of the sun's energy hitting the Earth's surface affect daily and seasonal weather patterns. 6.4 - Water moving across and through earth materials carries with it the products of human activities. 7.1 - Energy provides the ability to do work and can exist in many forms.
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