Science / Textbook
Grade 3 Science
The textbook for Science Fenns. 41 lessons in nine chapters.
TEKS §112.5
Inside the book
Nine chapters
Each chapter is a TEKS strand. Each lesson links to its own page.
Chapter 1 · TEKS strand 1 to 4
The Scientist’s Toolkit
Safety, tools, questions, data and sharing. The habits every other unit leans on.
1. Safe ScientistsThe rules that keep every investigation fun.TEKS 3.1C2. Tools in Your HandHand lens, ruler, thermometer, scale and timer. Pick the right one.TEKS 3.1D, 3.1E3. Ask a Question, Then LookStart with a thing you noticed. Plan a way to find out.TEKS 3.1A, 3.1B4. Tables and GraphsPut what you found in order so the pattern shows.TEKS 3.1F, 3.2B, 3.2C5. Models and Their LimitsA model helps you see. A model also leaves things out.TEKS 3.1G, 3.2A6. Share What You FoundExplain with evidence. Listen well. Disagree kindly.TEKS 3.3A, 3.3B, 3.3C7. Inventors, Helpers and Science JobsHow discoveries change life, and who does this work.TEKS 3.4A, 3.4BChapter 2 · TEKS strand 6
Stuff and What It Is Like
Measure it, sort it, melt it, boil it, and build with it.
8. How Warm? How Heavy?Measure temperature and mass and write the numbers down.TEKS 3.6A9. Magnets and SinkersWhich things stick to a magnet? Which sink or float?TEKS 3.6A10. Solid, Liquid or GasThree states. One test for each.TEKS 3.6B11. Melting and FreezingHeat it and watch. Cool it and watch.TEKS 3.6C12. Boiling and CondensingWhere does the water on a cold glass come from?TEKS 3.6C13. Build with the Right StuffPick materials for their properties. Say why.TEKS 3.6D, 3.1G, 3.2DChapter 3 · TEKS strand 7
Pushes, Pulls and Magnets
Forces start motion, stop motion and change motion.
14. Pushes and PullsForces you can feel and forces you can see.TEKS 3.7A15. Magnets Reach OutA force that works across a gap.TEKS 3.7A16. Gravity Pulls DownWhy everything falls the same way.TEKS 3.7A17. Change the MotionSwings, balls and wagons. Push harder and see.TEKS 3.7B18. Design a Ramp RunPlan a fair test of how far a car rolls.TEKS 3.7B, 3.1BChapter 4 · TEKS strand 8
Energy All Around
Light, sound, heat and motion. Spot them everywhere.
19. Light and SoundTwo kinds of energy you sense every minute.TEKS 3.8A20. Heat and MotionThermal and mechanical energy at work.TEKS 3.8A21. Faster Means More EnergyHow an object’s speed changes what it can do.TEKS 3.8B22. Energy DetectiveFind the energy in a room, a yard, a kitchen.TEKS 3.8A, 3.8BChapter 5 · TEKS strand 9
Sun, Earth and Moon
Who goes around whom, and the order of the planets.
23. Sun, Earth and Moon OrbitsEarth circles the Sun. The Moon circles Earth.TEKS 3.9A24. Model the OrbitsBuild the three-body dance with a lamp and two balls.TEKS 3.9A, 3.1G25. The Planets in OrderEight planets, one order, one memory trick.TEKS 3.9BChapter 6 · TEKS strand 10
Weather and a Changing Earth
Weather in different places, soil from broken rock, and fast changes.
26. Weather in Two PlacesCompare temperature, wind and rain at the same time.TEKS 3.10A27. Weather ToolsThermometer, wind vane and rain gauge.TEKS 3.10A, 3.1D28. Where Soil Comes FromBroken rock plus old plants and animals.TEKS 3.10B29. Volcanoes and EarthquakesFast changes that rebuild the land.TEKS 3.10C30. LandslidesModel how a hillside lets go.TEKS 3.10C, 3.1GChapter 7 · TEKS strand 11
What the Earth Gives Us
How we use natural resources and how we make them last.
31. Resources We UseBuilding, farming, moving and making.TEKS 3.11A32. Why We ConserveWhat happens when a resource runs low.TEKS 3.11B33. Reduce, Reuse, RecycleThree small habits with big results.TEKS 3.11CChapter 8 · TEKS strand 12
Living Things and Where They Live
Weather, food chains, floods, droughts and fossils.
34. Weather and AnimalsMigration and hibernation.TEKS 3.12A35. Weather and PlantsDormancy and the seasons.TEKS 3.12A36. Food ChainsFollow the energy. Then remove a link.TEKS 3.12B37. Floods and DroughtsWho wins and who loses.TEKS 3.12C38. Fossils Tell the PastTexas fossils and what they show.TEKS 3.12DChapter 9 · TEKS strand 13
Animal Bodies and Life Cycles
Outside structures and how living things grow and change.
39. Outside StructuresGiraffe necks and duck feet.TEKS 3.13A40. Insect Life CyclesBeetles and crickets compared.TEKS 3.13B41. Plant Life CyclesRadishes and lima beans, seed to seed.TEKS 3.13BStandards map
Where each TEKS statement is taught
Plain-words summaries of 19 TAC §112.5. The state wording is on the Texas Education Agency site.
| TEKS | What it asks | Taught in |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1A | Ask questions and define problems from observations, text, models or investigations. | Ask a Question, Then Look |
| 3.1B | Plan and run descriptive investigations. Use engineering practices to design solutions. | Ask a Question, Then Look, Design a Ramp Run |
| 3.1C | Use safe practices and safety equipment. | Safe Scientists |
| 3.1D | Use tools: hand lenses, metric rulers, Celsius thermometers, wind vanes, rain gauges, graduated cylinders, beakers, digital scales, magnets, timers, terrariums, cameras. | Tools in Your Hand, Weather Tools |
| 3.1E | Collect observations and measurements as evidence. | Tools in Your Hand |
| 3.1F | Build graphic organizers: tables, bar graphs, line graphs, tree maps, concept maps, Venn diagrams, flow charts, input-output tables. | Tables and Graphs |
| 3.1G | Build models of things, processes and ideas, or a prototype for a solution. | Models and Their Limits, Build with the Right Stuff, Model the Orbits, Landslides |
| 3.2A | Name the advantages and limits of models. | Models and Their Limits |
| 3.2B | Find features, patterns and sources of error in data. | Tables and Graphs |
| 3.2C | Use math to compare patterns. | Tables and Graphs |
| 3.2D | Judge a design against criteria. | Build with the Right Stuff |
| 3.3A | Explain and propose solutions using data and models. | Share What You Found |
| 3.3B | Share explanations alone and in groups. | Share What You Found |
| 3.3C | Listen to others and discuss respectfully. | Share What You Found |
| 3.4A | Explain how discoveries and inventions affect society. | Inventors, Helpers and Science Jobs |
| 3.4B | Explore STEM careers through museums, libraries, companies and mentors. | Inventors, Helpers and Science Jobs |
| 3.5A | Use patterns. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5B | Cause and effect. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5C | Scale, proportion and quantity. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5D | Parts of a system. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5E | Energy flow and cycling of matter. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5F | Structure and function. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.5G | Stability and change. | Woven through every unit |
| 3.6A | Measure and record temperature, mass, magnetism and sink or float. | How Warm? How Heavy?, Magnets and Sinkers |
| 3.6B | Sort matter into solids, liquids and gases. Solids hold a shape. Liquids and gases take the shape of the container. | Solid, Liquid or Gas |
| 3.6C | Predict and record state changes from heating and cooling: melting, condensation, boiling. | Melting and Freezing, Boiling and Condensing |
| 3.6D | Combine materials by their properties to build or improve objects, and justify the choice. | Build with the Right Stuff |
| 3.7A | Show and describe forces by contact or at a distance: magnetism, gravity, pushes and pulls. | Pushes and Pulls, Magnets Reach Out, Gravity Pulls Down |
| 3.7B | Investigate how pushing and pulling change position and motion (swings, balls, wagons). | Change the Motion, Design a Ramp Run |
| 3.8A | Name everyday energy: light, sound, thermal, mechanical. | Light and Sound, Heat and Motion, Energy Detective |
| 3.8B | Investigate how an object's speed relates to its mechanical energy. | Faster Means More Energy, Energy Detective |
| 3.9A | Model the orbits of Sun, Earth and Moon. | Sun, Earth and Moon Orbits, Model the Orbits |
| 3.9B | Put the planets in order from the Sun. | The Planets in Order |
| 3.10A | Compare weather in different places at the same time: temperature, wind direction, precipitation. | Weather in Two Places, Weather Tools |
| 3.10B | Explain how soils such as sand and clay form from weathered rock and decayed plants and animals. | Where Soil Comes From |
| 3.10C | Model rapid changes: volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides. | Volcanoes and Earthquakes, Landslides |
| 3.11A | Explain how people use natural resources: building, farming, transportation, making products. | Resources We Use |
| 3.11B | Explain why conserving natural resources matters. | Why We Conserve |
| 3.11C | Conserve by reducing, reusing and recycling. | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle |
| 3.12A | Explain how temperature and precipitation affect animals (migration, hibernation) and plants (dormancy). | Weather and Animals, Weather and Plants |
| 3.12B | Describe energy flow in a food chain and predict what happens when a link is removed. | Food Chains |
| 3.12C | Describe how floods and droughts help some organisms and hurt others. | Floods and Droughts |
| 3.12D | Identify fossils as evidence of past life, including common Texas fossils. | Fossils Tell the Past |
| 3.13A | Explain how outside structures of animals help them survive (giraffe neck, duck feet). | Outside Structures |
| 3.13B | Illustrate and compare life cycles (beetles, crickets, radishes, lima beans). | Insect Life Cycles, Plant Life Cycles |