Third Grade

As they explore Earth and space sciences, students research Earth’s place in the universe, study space exploration, and conduct various experiments to understand the principles of flight. They engage in design and construction as they create a model of a spacecraft. Students continue to develop their inquiry skills as they observe and identify the characteristics of life and investigate seeds and the dispersal mechanisms of the plants. They then design and test a wind-dispersed seed structure. They also study the characteristics of various arthropods, including structure, function, behavior, basic needs, and growth, and learn to compare them. Students synthesize and interpret their scientific observations as they develop an understanding that plants and animals within an ecosystem are dependent on each other. Students research various ancient and modern-day inventions from all around the world and engage in interactive and creative learning to refine their problem-solving skills. They address various STEM challenges, including design and construction projects to understand the engineering design process. The students learn about forces and changing motion and apply their discoveries and knowledge to the engineering design and construction of the egg-drop vehicles for the end-of-the-year, egg-drop project. Students test and judge their successful application of the learned scientific concepts when their egg-drop vehicle is launched. They design and present a poster explaining the engineering design process, analyze the results, and make suggestions for improvements to their design.