What this course is built on
This course follows the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Grade 3 science, 19 TAC §112.5. The standard has thirteen strands. Four cover how scientists work. One covers the big ideas that repeat all through science, like patterns and cause and effect. Eight cover the science itself. Every strand is taught this year.
The units are named for what the child learns, in plain words. They follow the order of the strands. A textbook is one company’s sequence. The standards are the requirement. We write the lessons to the standards.
The state asks that at least 60 percent of science time be spent investigating. That means asking questions, planning, and doing safe work with real things. That is why every lesson has a hands-on investigation and why the lessons are short on reading.
What your scientist will be able to do
- Use a hand lens, ruler, thermometer and scale and read each one right.
- Tell a solid from a liquid from a gas, and say what happens when each is heated or cooled.
- Show how pushes, pulls, magnets and gravity change how things move.
- Name the planets in order and explain how Earth, Sun and Moon move.
- Explain what a food chain is and what happens when a link breaks.
- Point to a fossil and say what it tells us.
The year
41 lessons in nine units. Weeks are intent, not contract.
| Unit | Title | TEKS strand | Lessons | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Scientist’s Toolkit | 1 to 4 | 7 | Weeks 1 to 6 |
| 2 | Stuff and What It Is Like | 6 | 6 | Weeks 7 to 11 |
| 3 | Pushes, Pulls and Magnets | 7 | 5 | Weeks 12 to 15 |
| 4 | Energy All Around | 8 | 4 | Weeks 16 to 19 |
| 5 | Sun, Earth and Moon | 9 | 3 | Weeks 20 to 22 |
| 6 | Weather and a Changing Earth | 10 | 5 | Weeks 22 to 26 |
| 7 | What the Earth Gives Us | 11 | 3 | Weeks 27 to 29 |
| 8 | Living Things and Where They Live | 12 | 5 | Weeks 29 to 33 |
| 9 | Animal Bodies and Life Cycles | 13 | 3 | Weeks 34 to 36 |
How a lesson works
- Try this first. A small puzzle you can tap through. It gets the thinking started.
- Today’s story. Three short paragraphs. A button reads it aloud.
- Five steps. The idea, one piece at a time.
- Hands on. A real investigation with a list of what you need.
- Three rules. The big ideas, short enough to remember.
- Poppy’s quiz. Six questions with the reason behind each answer.
- Talk about it. Two questions to say out loud or write down.
Safety
Hands-on work happens with an adult nearby. No open flame. No mixing of store-bought chemicals. No tasting of lab materials. Wear eye protection when a lesson says to. Wash hands after. Tell an adult about every spill, cut or surprise right away, however small.
Nothing is saved about your child
These pages do not ask for a name, an email or a login. Scores and answers stay on the screen and disappear when the page closes.
What to keep on the shelf
Most of the year runs on kitchen and classroom things. This is every item named in the Grade 3 investigations.
- A bag of clean, dry household trash from one day
- A baking tray
- A ball
- A balloon
- A big open space like a yard or gym
- A bird book or picture chart
- A blue paper for Earth
- A board or stiff cardboard
- A book
- A bowl
- A bowl of warm tap water
- A bowl of water
- A box
- A bucket
- A classroom or house to explore
- A clear cup
- A clear cup with a ruler taped to the side
- A clear jar with a lid
- A clipboard or book to write on
- A coin
- A cup of garden soil
- A cup of water
- A dark room
- A dark room or a cardboard box
- A few pieces of grass or moss
- A few small objects
- A flashlight
- A homemade wind vane from a straw, a pin and paper
- A lamp with the shade removed
- A lima bean seed
- A long piece of yarn
- A long string or hallway
- A marble or small ball for the Moon
- A marker
- A marker for labels
- A measuring cup
- A notebook
- A paper and a pencil to record
- A paper cup
- A paper towel
- A partner
- A pencil
- A pencil, a leaf and a coin
- A plastic bag
- A printed map of Texas
- A refrigerator
- A room at home or school
- A rope or string
- A rubber band
- A ruler
- A ruler or a tape measure
- A shady spot
- A shell or leaf
- A sink with a tap
- A small paper cup
- A small rock
- A smooth floor
- A sponge
- A spoon
- A sunny window
- A sunny windowsill
- A tennis ball or orange for Earth
- A thin board
- A timer
- A tissue
- A toy car or wagon
- A toy house
- A tray
- A trusted adult to interview
- A tub of water
- A weather website or newspaper page
- A white paper for the Moon
- A window or yard to watch
- A wooden block
- A yellow hat for the Sun
- A zip bag
- An empty box
- An old tool or photo
- An outdoor thermometer
- Bar magnet
- Bean seeds or grass seed
- Binoculars if you have them
- Books
- Cardboard
- Celsius thermometer
- Chopsticks
- Clay
- Clipboard or paper
- Clothespins
- Coin
- Cold tap water
- Colored pencils
- Cork
- Craft sticks
- Cup of tap water
- Damp sand
- Digital scale
- Dried beans
- Dry bean seeds
- Eight index cards
- Flashlight
- Foil
- Gloves
- Glue
- Hand lens
- Ice water
- Index cards
- Markers
- Masking tape
- Metric ruler
- Modeling clay
- Notebook
- Paper
- Paper and pencil
- Paper clip
- Paper clips
- Paper towel
- Paper towels
- Pencil
- Pencil and paper
- Pennies
- Pictures of insects
- Plaster of Paris from an adult
- Red paper for lava
- Room-temperature water
- Ruler
- Ruler or tape measure
- Safety goggles
- Sandpaper
- Scissors
- Scissors with adult help
- Seeds or a plant
- Small bowls
- Soil
- String
- Tape
- Tape measure
- Ten paper cups
- Three boxes or bins
- Three cups
- Three ice cubes of the same size
- Three people
- Three plates
- Timer
- Toy blocks
- Toy car
- Tweezers
- Two bar magnets
- Two clear cups
- Two paper cups with soil
- Two paper plates
- Two paper towels
- Two small cups
- Two small potted plants of the same kind
- Two zip bags
- Warm tap water
- Water
- Wooden craft stick
- Your hands