Third graders' study of 19th and early 20th century American history emphasizes the ways in which Americans have persevered and demonstrated ingenuity in improving their lives. For their related immigration unit they visited the Tenement Museum downtown, where they explored apartment exhibits of immigrant families from a variety of countries, learning about the challenges they faced and their experiences in their new country. Back at school the boys participated in a Mock Ellis Island activity, where they role-played  going through processing at Ellis Island at the turn of the 20th century. 

Our sixth grade astronomers took their parents on visually arresting journeys through the far reaches of the universe when they recently presented their Digital Universe Space Shows. The boys had identified and researched an astronomy topic of particular interest, and used the writing process and cutting edge technology to create the shows, which they narrated live in the Otto-Bernstein Theatre.

The Digital Universe blends English, science, and technology curricula into an interdisciplinary unit in which the boys take advantage of access to research-grade tools to create their presentations. Throughout the winter, they investigated the cosmos using OpenSpace, the front-end software that interfaces with the Digital Universe Atlas: a vast aggregation of real-time astronomical data captured through advanced telescopes by dozens of organizations across the globe and represented in virtual 3D.

It is July 4,1776. You have just walked into a session of the Continental Congress formed by a group of representatives from the 13 colonies. In Huzzah! Huzzah! second graders deliver a musical play about the signing of the Declaration of Independence and founding of America. The production coincides with the boys' study of the New York colony and the city's critical role during the American Revolution.