SCIENCE

Students will develop scientific process skills of observing, communicating, classifying, measuring, predicting, and experimenting.  Through hands-on activities, and discussion, children explore various scientific concepts and begin to understand how science relates to the world we live in.

 Third grade students will investigate:

 Earth Science

·        Landforms: Students will understand the effects of weathering, and erosion on the earth’s surface.  Students will also study landforms including continents, mountains, valleys, plains, and plateaus.  

·        Geology: Students will use physical properties to sort, classify, and/or describe soils, rocks and minerals.  Students will understand the rock cycle and how water interacts with earth materials.

 Physical Science

·        Matter: Students will explore the three forms of matter (liquid, gas, solid).  Through this students will be able to describe properties of matter, and give examples.  Students will also learn that all matter occupies space, and can be recognized through the senses of touch, sight, smell, taste, and hearing.  Students will classify objects or draw conclusions about objects and their characteristic properties (e.g., temperature, color, size, shape, weight, texture, flexibility).

·        Motion: Students will use data to predict how a change in force might affect the position, direction of motion, or speed of an object through the use of hands on experiments.

Life Science

·        Insects: Students will sort, classify, and identify living things using similar and different characteristics.

·        Bones: Students will identify and compare the physical structure of humans and animals.

·        Nutrition: Students will examine a food pyramid and the kinds of food in each category.  Students will also learn about the value of healthy food choices and their effect on the body.