Third Grade Videos

I hope you enjoy these videos from our school year.

2022 - 2023

On this page are videos from some of this year's science lessons.  Students will be reflecting on inquiry-based observations, activities, investigations and experiments in order to increase their understanding of science instruction. Interpreting, analyzing, and interacting with science is a critical aspect in the classroom and can be seen in these videos.  It is my intention that these videos spark conversations at home about science and what we are learning in the classroom.  

*FYI - THIS WEB PAGE IS BEST VIEWED FROM A LAPTOP OR DESKTOP - WHEN VIEWING FROM A MOBILE DEVICE SOME IMAGES MAY APPEAR TO BE CUT OFF.  Some formats that I use to create these videos give me control over the music volume when students are talking and some do not. I apologize if some students are harder to hear. 

Science Topic:  LIFE CYCLES

LEARNING GOAL:  Throughout these lessons, students will learn about and be able to explain that all animals have a life cycle that includes being born, developing into an adult, reproducing, and eventually dying.  Students will understand that the details of life cycles vary from one organism to another, note changes that occur during the growth and development of some animals and plants, and be able to sequence the stages of life of selected plants and animals.

Stop Motion Clay Animation - Life Cycles

Third graders have been working in groups to create a stop motion clay animation video of the life cycle of an animal.  There are 7 different videos below, one for each group's stop motion clay animation master piece. I am so proud of their hard work, determination, and creativity. 

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Science Topic:  ELECTRIC CIRCUITS

LEARNING GOAL: Throughout these lessons, students will learn about and be able to explain what electricity is and how electric current flows in a circuit.  Students will be able to wire a basic circuit.  Students will be able to explain the difference between series and parallel connections.  Students will be able to build simple circuits to light a bulb and turn on a motor including an on /  off switch.

Electric Houses

Over the course of several weeks, the girls have been working to design their own rooms for an electric house. They included items that need to be electric and they are wiring them to actually work. There are lights, buzzers, and motors. Their creations are amazing!

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Creating a Paper Circuit in a Light-Up Card for a Friend

The girls learned how to make a paper circuit with a battery, copper tape, and an LED lightbulb. They used their knowledge to design a card for a friend that lights up with an on off button. (Watch out Hallmark!) Each student gave a card and each student received a card. The students presented their cards to their friends who were thrilled to receive these personal notes of kindness.

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Lighting a Lightbulb

We are learning about electric circuits. The girls learned about how circuits work, how batteries work, and how lightbulbs work and were then given the challenge to use ONLY 1 battery, 1 wire, and 1 lightbulb to create an electrical circuit that will light the lightbulb. I did not give them directions, just the information that they need to figure it out on their own. Like Thomas Edison, it took the girls many tries, but they were persistent and resilient! I love how you can see their expressions when the lightbulb turns on for the first time and how they cheered for their friends when they got it to work too. Wonderful work!

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Science Topic:  SPACE

LEARNING GOAL:  Throughout these lessons, students will discover the interconnection of our Earth, Moon and Sun as well as learn that our Earth is part of a large solar system.  They will understand that there are 8 planets that orbit the sun in their own specific paths. 

Solar Ovens

The girls learned about solar heat through this project based learning experience. After learning about the purpose for solar energy and how it works, the girls were given materials to build solar ovens in groups but they were NOT given directions. They needed to work together to create their own design. They tested their ovens by melting a Hershey's Kiss, they took the temperature of their oven every 5 minutes, and watched the temperature rise and soar well above the temperature outside. They recorded their data in their solar oven lab notebook then they brainstormed ways to improve their solar oven.  The record temperature today was 105 degrees and the temperature outside was 47 degrees. I am so proud of the enthusiasm, hard work, learning, and "energy" the girls put into this project. GREAT WORK!  The first video in this section is from the days the girls were building the solar ovens.  The second video is the day they tested the ovens. 

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Blubber Experiment

How do animals survive the winter in the cold waters?  Many of them have a layer of Blubber.  Today we simulated blubber by using shortening and created a shortening hand and a bare hand to place in ice water.  We wanted to see if they felt the same or different.  One inquisitive student wanted to know what it would feel like with just a bag and no blubber so we tried that too. Another student was wearing color changing nail polish and it was AMAZING to see how one hand's polish changed colors and the other did not!!!!!

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Moon Craters

Students did an experiment that simulated how moon craters are made.  They dropped different size, and weighted balls (to represent meteors) into a container of rice, flour, and cocoa powder that simulated the Moon's surface.  The girls observed and measured the width and depth of the craters as well as the ejection rays that were formed.  As you can see in the video, the students did a lot of the recording for this movie! My favorite line in this song is, "Tonight I dare you to dream.  Go on believe impossible things whenever anyone says there's something you can't do.ause after all, there's an American Flag on the Moon."

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Phases of the Moon

After learning about the phases of the moon, the girls used Oreo cookies to represent the different phases the moon goes through in a cycle of about 28 days. It begins as a new moon, and then gets bigger into a waxing crescent, then a first quarter moon, then a waxing gibbous, and then a full moon. At this point it begins to decrease into a waning gibbous, then a last quarter moon, a waning crescent, and then into a new moon to start the cycle again. Added bonus - the girls got to eat Oreos at the end. :)

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Sundials

Students learned about how sundials work and they got a chance to see the AIS Sundial.  The girls became human gnomons.  (The stick part of the sundial.)  Unfortunately the first time we had scheduled for this lesson it was not the most sunny day so we talked about what happens when it is not a sunny day and we could not see our shadows and how that demonstrates an imperfection in using a sundial to tell time. I'm glad we got to take advantage of today's sunny weather.  

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.

Exploring Shadows

Question: Can shadows move? Students experimented with a light source (a flashlight) to find out how shadows can move. They also experimented with changing the direction and length of the shadows. 

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First Day of Science:

Wiggle Worm Experiment

Question:  How can I make a worm move? Watch and find out!!!   The students made their own paper "worms" and measured how long they were.  They watched as the worms they created twisted, curled, and grew as they dropped water on top.  They measured the worm again to see how much it grew. Please enjoy this video from our time in science .

*If you click this video and it doesn't work, try clicking the YouTube button on the bottom right of the video. I love feedback...please let me know if you enjoy this video.