Grade 3 Science 

In this unit, students will explore weather and climate patterns through observation, prediction, and problem-solving. Students will observe clouds, wind, temperature, and precipitation to make predictions about daily weather. They will also learn the difference between weather and climate and use models to identify global climate patterns. Using this understanding, students will design solutions to help reduce the impact of severe weather events, such as windstorms.

In this unit, students will compare and contrast the life cycles of plants and animals. Students will create models to show that living things share common life cycle stages, including birth, growth, reproduction, and death. Students will also explore how understanding life cycles can help people solve problems that occur when there are too many or too few organisms in an environment.

In this unit, students will explore inherited and acquired traits in plants and animals. Students will analyze traits to understand how they vary, how they are passed from parents to offspring, and how they can change over time through artificial and natural selection. Students will also examine how the environment can influence traits and how certain inherited traits may give animals an advantage for survival.

In this unit, students will develop an understanding of how animals and their environments have changed over time. Students will learn how fossils provide evidence about animals and habitats from the past. By analyzing the traits of animals living today and comparing them to fossils, students will use evidence to make inferences about what ancient organisms and past environments may have been like.

In this unit, students will explore the forces that affect the motion of objects. Students will investigate balanced and unbalanced forces, the pushes and pulls involved in bridge structures, and the effects of gravity and friction. Students will also explore magnetic forces and apply their understanding of forces to design solutions for everyday problems.