Grade 3 Science Curriculum
Family-facing version of the grade 3 science curriculum
Goals
The purposes of scientific investigation and discovery are to satisfy humankind’s quest for knowledge and understanding and to preserve and enhance the quality of the human experience. Therefore, as a result of science instruction, students will be able to achieve the following objectives:
- Develop and use an experimental design in scientific inquiry.
- Use the language of science to communicate understanding.
- Investigate phenomena using technology.
- Apply scientific concepts, skills, and processes to everyday experiences.
- Experience the richness and excitement of scientific discovery of the natural world through the collaborative quest for knowledge and understanding.
- Make informed decisions regarding contemporary issues.
- Develop scientific dispositions and habits of mind.
- Develop an understanding of the interrelationship of science with technology, engineering, and mathematics.
- Explore science-related careers and interests.
Quarterly Overview of Grade 3 Science
The objectives and outcomes for each unit are common across FCPS and based on the Virginia Standards of Learning. The pacing by quarter and by week provides an example of how the curriculum can be organized throughout the year. Teacher teams may adjust the pacing or order of units to best meet the needs of students.
Units and Details
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that adaptations allow animals to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment.
- Investigate and understand that aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems support a diversity of organisms.
Students will understand:
- Animals have structures and behaviors that help them survive in their environments
- Every plant and animal depends on other organisms and nonliving factors to survive in an ecosystem.
- Scientists design and build models to explain observations of the natural world.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Synthesize data to identify short-term and long-term term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e. environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.)Explain how scientific understand.
- ings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Apply understanding of how organisms' interactions with their environment can lead to change (behavioral and physical adaptations).
- Analyze interdependent relationships between producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.
- Explain how relationships lead to balance or imbalance within ecosystems (e.g. food chains).
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand how materials interact with water.
- Investigate and understand that there is a water cycle and water is important to life on Earth.
- Investigate and understand that natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
Students will understand:
- Many substances interact with and in water.
- Water is essential to Earth processes. The water cycle is a model that illustrates how water is conserved within environments.
- Water is a limited natural resource essential to Earth’s processes and should be conserved
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Synthesize data to identify short-term and long-term term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e. environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Predict and test how different materials will interact with water based on their properties.
- Propose a practical application for materials based on their interaction with water.
- Investigate the causes and effects of variations in the water cycle.
- Connect water cycle processes to local or regional climate patterns.
- Analyze the interconnected effects of human activities on air, water, and habitats.
- Evaluate multiple solutions to reduce human impact on ecosystems, considering benefits and drawbacks.
- Plan and propose solutions to conserve water or improve environmental quality within a community.
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that soil is important in ecosystems.
- Investigate and understand that natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
Students will understand:
- Soils play an essential role in ecosystems.
- Conservation practices can lessen the effects of human activity and natural disasters upon the environment.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Synthesize data to identify short-term and long-term term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e. environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Analyze how specific soil components impact different organisms in an ecosystem.
- Propose sustainable practices for maintaining or improving soil health in various environments.
- Analyze the interconnected effects of human activities on air, water, and habitats.
- Evaluate multiple solutions to reduce human impact on ecosystems, considering benefits and drawbacks.
- Plan and propose solutions to conserve water or improve environmental quality within a community.
Students will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of scientific and engineering practices.
- Investigate and understand that the direction and size of force affects the motion of an object.
Students will understand:
- Forces affect the motion of an object.
- Machines help people accomplish tasks by changing the direction or size of a force.
Extended Standards
In addition to the Virginia Standards of Learning named above, students who receive Full-Time Advanced Academic Services engage with these extensions.
- Synthesize data to identify short-term and long-term term consequences.
- Explain implications of data considering multiple perspectives (i.e. environment, ecosystems, people, communities).
- Explain scientific understandings through a concept or “big idea” that supports interdisciplinary connections (i.e. change, systems, patterns, relationships, etc.).
- Explain how scientific understandings gained from investigations/experiments apply to real world problems, issues, and scenarios.
- Communicate scientific information using evidence and data to support a claim, conclusion, or thesis statement.
- Design and conduct investigations to determine how changes in force or mass affect an object's motion.
- Evaluate simple machines for their effectiveness in changing force or direction for various tasks.
Assessments
Student assessments are part of the teaching and learning process.
- Teachers give assessments to students on an ongoing basis to
- Check for understanding
- Gather information about students' knowledge or skills.
- Assessments provide information about a child's development of knowledge and skills that can help families and teachers better plan for the next steps in instruction.
For testing questions or additional information about how schools and teachers use test results to support student success, families can contact their children's schools.
In Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), grade 3 tests focus on measuring content knowledge and skill development.
