Third grade continues to use the unifying
concepts taught in grades K-2 including evidence, explanation, measurement,
order and organization, and change. Students at third grade focus on the study
of systems as their unit of investigation. They learn that a system is an interrelated
group of objects or components that form a functioning unit. The natural and
human designed world is complex; it is too large and complicated for students
to investigate and comprehend all at once. The third grade program allows students
to identify small components of a system for in-depth investigation. Each investigational
unit addresses a particular system. Plants, soils, earth/moon/sun, and the human
body are each investigated as systems. The following explanations characterize
the strands at the third grade level.
The Nature of Science Strand
helps students understand the human dimensions of science, the nature of scientific
thought, and science's role in society. Students develop an understanding of
patterns in systems, which in later grades allows them to understand basic laws
and theories that explain how things work in the world. Teachers build on students'
natural inclination to ask questions and investigate their world. Cooperative
groups of students conduct investigations that begin with a question and progress
toward finding and communicating an answer. Stories, films, videos, and multimedia
resources introduce women and men from diverse groups who have contributed to
science. These examples highlight how scientists work, showing how they pose
and answer questions, the procedures they use, and their contributions to science,
technology, and society.
Students experience science
in a way that engages them in active building of ideas and explanations, and
gives them more opportunities to develop the ability to do science. Teaching
science as inquiry requires a learning environment that engages students in
hands-on activities and investigations. For example, if students ask each other
how plants can survive in a particular environment, they might want to identify
and compare the various environments where plants naturally occur. To develop
the ability to do scientific inquiry, students plan and conduct a simple investigation,
use simple equipment and tools to gather data, use data to construct reasonable
explanations, and communicate evidence and explanations to others.
Students become interested
in technology as they design projects, use tools well, measure things carefully,
make reasonable estimations, calculate accurately, and communicate clearly.
They should begin to enjoy opportunities to clarify a problem, generate criteria
for an acceptable solution, suggest possible solutions, try one out, and then
make adjustments or start over with a new proposed solution. It is important
for students to find out that there is more than one way to design a product
or solve a problem. They also learn that some designs and solutions are better
than others. To accomplish this, several groups of students can be asked to
design and solve the same problem and then discuss the advantages and disadvantages
of each solution with other students. Students see that solving one problem
may lead to other problems. They are introduced to the balance between constraints
and social impact.
A variety of
experiences give students an initial understanding of various science-related
personal and societal challenges. The National Science Education Standards (page
138) state "Central ideas related to health, populations, resources, and
environments provide the foundations for students' eventual understandings and
actions as citizens." Students learn that resources are the things that
we get from the living and nonliving environment to meet human needs and wants.
For example, they also learn that natural resources are limited and should be
respected and used wisely. When students investigate making soil through composting,
they learn that resources can be extended through recycling and wise use.
The focus for third grade students
is on identifying systems and patterns in systems. Systems are the units of investigations.
A system is an interrelated group of objects or components that form a functioning
unit. Students learn to identify portions of a system to facilitate investigation.
Systems have boundaries, components, resources, flow and feedback. Guide student
learning to continue to emphasize the unifying concepts previously introduced
including evidence, explanation, measurement, order, organization, and change
as well as the introduction at grade three of systems. The strands provide a context
for teaching the content goals.
Strands: Nature of Science, Science as Inquiry, Science and
Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
| Competency Goal 1: The learner
will conduct investigations and build an understanding of plant growth and
adaptations. |
| Objectives 1.01 Observe and measure how the quantities
and qualities of nutrients, light, and water in the environment affect
plant growth.
1.02 Observe and describe how environmental conditions determine how
well plants survive and grow in a particular environment.
1.03 Investigate and describe how plants pass through distinct stages
in their life cycle including.
- Growth.
- Survival.
- Reproduction.
1.04 Explain why the number of seeds a plant produces depends on variables
such as light, water, nutrients, and pollination.
1.05 Observe and discuss how bees pollinate flowers.
1.06 Observe, describe and record properties of germinating seeds. |
| Competency Goal 2: The learner
will conduct investigations to build understanding of soil properties. |
| Objectives 2.01 Observe and describe the properties
of soil:
- Color.
- Texture.
- Capacity to hold water.
2.02 Investigate and observe that different soils absorb water at different
rates.
2.03 Determine the ability of soil to support the growth of many plants,
including those important to our food supply.
2.04 Identify the basic components of soil:
2.05 Determine how composting can be used to recycle discarded plant
and animal material.
2.06 Determine the relationship between heat and decaying plant matter
in a compost pile. |
| Competency Goal 3: The learner
will make observations and use appropriate technology to build an understanding
of the earth/moon/sun system. |
| Objectives 3.01 Observe that light travels in a straight
line until it strikes an object and is reflected and/or absorbed.
3.02 Observe that objects in the sky have patterns of movement including:
3.03 Using shadows, follow and record the apparent movement of the sun
in the sky during the day.
3.04 Use appropriate tools to make observations of the moon.
3.05 Observe and record the change in the apparent shape of the moon
from day to day over several months and describe the pattern of changes.
3.06 Observe that patterns of stars in the sky stay the same, although
they appear to move across the sky nightly. |
| Competency Goal 4: The learner
will conduct investigations and use appropriate technology to build an understanding
of the form and function of the skeletal and muscle systems of the human body. |
| Objectives 4.01 Identify the skeleton as a system
of the human body.
4.02 Describe several functions of bones:
- Support.
- Protection.
- Locomotion.
4.03 Describe the functions of different types of joints:
- Hinge.
- Ball and socket.
- Gliding.
4.04 Describe how different kinds of joints allow movement and compare
this to the movement of mechanical devices.
4.05 Observe and describe how muscles cause the body to move. |
