Third Grade

How can we protect animals when their habitat changes? (1st Edition)

15 lessons | 18 days of instruction

Students explore the topic of what animals need to survive and how animals are affected when their habitat changes. In the first focus question, students collect evidence from videos to make a claim that animals need air, food, water, and shelter to survive. They use this knowledge to design and test different classroom habitats where live roly-polies (pill bugs) can survive. In the second focus question, students analyze data from camera traps on animals living in different habitats. They read about marine habitats and make a claim about how well a marine animal would survive in a different habitat. In the third focus question, students compare fossils with modern-day animals to make a claim about the type of habitat the animals lived in. They compare and contrast an extinct animal with a living animal using information from a reading. In the fourth focus question, students use games to simulate change in habitats and to make a claim that when habitats change, animal populations can go down. They learn through a reading that wildlife corridors can help protect animals when their habitat changes. In the final focus question, students engage in a two-part summative assessment. In the written assessment, students analyze data and construct explanations about how well different animals survive in a city, and what fossils can tell us about habitat change. Students are then challenged to apply what they have learned about science and engineering to build and test a tunnel that can stop salamanders from being killed when crossing roads.

Learn more in the Unit Storyline

how do weather and climate affect our lives? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 20 days of instruction

In this module, students solve problems caused by weather and explain weather phenomena. In Lessons 1 through 4, students figure out how to predict a good time to fly a kite. In Lessons 5 through 8, students explain the phenomenon of snow in the month of July. In Lessons 9 through 12, students solve the problem of a roof blowing off a building in a hurricane. In the science challenge, Lessons 13 through 15, students recommend the best time and location for a soccer tournament.

Learn more in the Unit Storyline

what explains similarities and differences between organisms? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 19 days of instruction

In this module, students will examine variation of inherited traits in individuals, as well as how the environment can affect expression of individuals’ traits. Students also explore patterns of life cycles, and how traits can provide organisms a reproductive advantage. In Lessons 1 through 4, students explain the phenomenon of visible variation among plants of the same species. In Lessons 5 through 7, students explain the phenomenon of differences in expression of traits in three sugar maple seedlings caused by environmental factors. In Lessons 8 through 10, students investigate animal life cycles to predict how milkweed bugs will change over time. In Lessons 11 through 13, students explain the phenomenon of white snapdragons outcompeting yellow ones in a mountain meadow. In the science challenge, Lessons 14 and 15, students explain the phenomenon of brighter colored guppies in one stream compared to another.

Learn more in the Unit Storyline

how can we use patterns to predict motion? (2nd Edition)

15 lessons | 19 days of instruction

In this module, students investigate the effects of contact and non-contact forces applied to objects and make predictions based on patterns in data and patterns of motion. In Lessons 1 through 4, students gather evidence about the effects of balanced and unbalanced pulls to support a prediction of the results of a tug-of-war game. In Lessons 5 through 7, students observe patterns of motion and investigate the motion of a model swing to predict the future motion of children on a swing set. In Lessons 8 through 12, students define the constraints on a solution and criteria for success for a solution to a trash-sorting problem. They investigate magnetic and static electric forces as possible non-contact forces to use in the solution and compare proposed solutions to the problem. In the science challenge, Lessons 13 through 15, students investigate the effect magnets have on a steel swing to help evaluate proposed solutions against criteria and constraints of a new swing design.

Learn more in the Unit Storyline