Exploring Earth's systems, ecosystems, and forces
Investigate the natural world through scientific inquiry! The Grade 3 Science curriculum deepens understanding of forces, ecosystems, weather patterns, Earth's systems, and the engineering design process.
Explore scientific concepts through inquiry-based investigations of the natural world
Grade 3 · Science
Investigate how forces, including gravity and friction, affect the motion of objects and how simple machines transfer force.
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
20 specific outcomesMake observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
31 specific outcomesAsk questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
23 specific outcomesDefine a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.
13 specific outcomesGrade 3 · Science
Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive
34 specific outcomesConstruct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
63 specific outcomesMake a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.
67 specific outcomesGrade 3 · Science
Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
20 specific outcomesAnalyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
23 specific outcomesUse evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
24 specific outcomesUse evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.
24 specific outcomesGrade 3 · Science
Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season
20 specific outcomesObtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
31 specific outcomes• Weather: Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard. • Engineering: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
24 specific outcomes