GLEN RIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Curriculum Guide
Course Title: Grade Three Science
Subject: Science
Grade Level: 3
Department/School: Science/Ridgewood
Duration: Full year
Number of Credits: N/A
Prerequisite: N/A
Elective or Required: N/A
Author: Paula Nesbihal
Date Submitted: Summer 2004
Course Description
The third
grade science curriculum introduces students to the knowledge, methods, skills
and attitudes of scientists. New Jersey
Core Curriculum Standards will be addressed through a study of living things;
matter, energy and forces; the Sun, Moon and Earth; and the Earth’s resources. Students will use processing skills, critical
thinking skills and scientific reasoning skills through reading and responding
to content resources. Hands-on activities will be incorporated throughout each
theme to explore and reinforce concepts.
GLEN RIDGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
SCIENCE
The
Our students will use the scientific method to understand and respond to questions about science, technology, and societal and world problems. Students will be challenged and encouraged to take risks and to develop critical thinking skills as they apply to real-world experiences.
Science
STANDARD 5.1 (SCIENTIFIC
PROCESSES): ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP
PROBLEM-SOLVING, DECISION-MAKING AND INQUIRY SKILLS, REFLECTED BY FORMULATING
USABLE QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES, PLANNING EXPERIMENTS, CONDUCTING SYSTEMATIC
OBSERVATIONS, INTERPRETING AND ANALYZING DATA, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, AND
COMMUNICATING RESULTS.
STANDARD 5.2 (SCIENCE AND
SOCIETY): ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN
UNDERSTANDING OF HOW PEOPLE OF VARIOUS CULTURES HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE
ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND HOW MAJOR DISCOVERIES AND EVENTS
HAVE ADVANCED SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.
STANDARD 5.3 (MATHEMATICAL
APPLICATIONS): ALL STUDENTS WILL
INTEGRATE MATHEMATICS AS A TOOL FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING IN SCIENCE, AND AS A MEANS
OF EXPRESSING AND/OR MODELING SCIENTIFIC THEORIES.
STANDARD.
5.4 (NATURE AND PROCESS OF
TECHNOLOGY): ALL STUDENTS WILL
UNDERSTAND THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOP A
CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE AND PROCESS OF TECHNOLOGY.
STANDARD 5.5 (CHARACTERISTICS
OF LIFE): ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN
UNDERSTANDING OF THE STRUCTURE, CHARACTERISTICS, AND BASIC NEEDS OF ORGANISMS
AND WILL INVESTIGATE THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE.
STANDARD 5.6 (CHEMISTRY): ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE
STRUCTURE AND BEHAVIOR OF MATTER.
STANDARD 5.7 (PHYSICS): ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING OF
NATURAL LAWS AS THEY APPLY TO MOTION, FORCES, AND ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS.
STANDARD 5.8 (EARTH SCIENCE):
ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING
OF THE STRUCTURE, DYNAMICS, AND GEOPHYSICAL SYSTEMS OF THE EARTH.
STANDARD 5.9 (ASTRONOMY and
SPACE SCIENCE): ALL STUDENTS WILL GAIN
AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, AND STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE.
STANDARD 5.10 (ENVIRONMENTAL
STUDIES): ALL STUDENTS WILL DEVELOP AN
UNDERSTANDING OF THE ENVIRONMENT AS A SYSTEM OF INTERDEPENDENT COMPONENTS
AFFECTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY AND NATURAL PHENOMENA.
Curriculum Description
UNIT 1 – ROLES OF
LIVING THINGS
Standards 5.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4
|
Goal: |
§ All students will gain an understanding of the structure, characteristics, and basic needs of organisms and will investigate the diversity of life. § All students will develop problem-solving, decision making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results. § All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology § All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories. § All students will understand the interrelationships between science and technology and develop a conceptual understanding of the nature and process of technology. |
Objectives:
Each student will be able to:
1. Identify the roles that organisms may serve in a food chain. (5.5-A.1)
2. Differentiate between the needs of plants and those of animals. (5.5-A.2)
3. Recognize that plants and animals are composed of different parts performing different functions and working together for the well being of the organism. (5.5-A.3)
4. Develop a simple classification scheme for grouping organisms. (5.5-B.1)
5. Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers through making careful observations and experimentation. (5.1-A.1)
6. Keep records that describe observations, carefully distinguish actual observations from ideas and speculations, and are understandable weeks and months later. (5.1-A.2)
7. Know that when solving a problem it is important to plan and get ideas and help from other people. (5.1-A.4)
8. Develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies. (5.1-B.1)
9. Identify the evidence used in an explanation. (5.1-B.2)
10. Recognize that conducting science activities requires an awareness of potential hazard and the need for safe practices. (5.1-C.1)
11. Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations. (5.1-C.2)
12. Describe how people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology. (5.2-A.1)
13. Hear, read, write and talk about scientists and inventors in historical context. (5.2-B.1)
14. Determine the reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities when doing science. (5.3-A.1)
15. Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as integers, fractions. (5.3-A.3)
16. Select appropriate measuring instruments based on the degree of precisions required. (5.3-B.1)
17. Use a variety of measuring instruments and record measured quantities using the appropriate units. (5.3-B.2)
18. Demonstrate how measuring instruments are used to gather information in order to design things that work properly. (5.4-B.1)
Duration of Time: 10-12 Lessons
Activities:
- Students will compare three young plants under different environments.
- Students will study pill bugs and their preferred environments.
- Students will make a food chain mobile.
- Students will play a game to see how food chains can link to form food webs.
-
All classes will go on a field trip to the
- Students will design and draw a new insect that could hide from predators in the
classroom.
- Students will research and create a presentation on how animals of the rain forest are adapted to their environment.
- Students create models that show how feathers help insulate birds against heat loss.
- Students will watch video Bill Nye the Science Guy – Plants.
UNIT 2 – MATTER, ENERGY AND FORCES
Standards 5.4, 5.6, 5.7, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3
|
Goal: |
§ All students will understand the interrelationships between science and technology and develop a conceptual understanding of the nature and process of technology. § All students will gain an understanding of the structure and behavior of matter. § All students will gain an understanding of natural laws as they apply to motion, forces, and energy transformations. § All students will develop problem-solving, decision making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results. § All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology. § All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories. |
Objectives:
Each student will be able to:
1. Distinguish between things that occur in nature and those that have been designed to solve human problems. (5.4-A.1)
2. Describe a product or device in terms of the problem it solves or the need it meets. (5.4-C.1)
3. Choose materials most suitable to make simple mechanical constructions. (5.4-C.2)
4. Use the design process to identify a problem, look for ideas, and develop and share solutions with others. (5.4-C.3)
5. Sort materials based on physical characteristics that can be seen by using magnification. (5.6-A.1)
6. Observe that water can be a liquid or a solid and can change from one form to the other and the mass remain the same. (5.6-A.2)
7. Recognize that water, as an example of matter, can exist as a solid, liquid or gas and can be transformed from one state to another by heating or cooling. (5.6-A.3)
8. Show that not all materials respond in the same way when exposed to similar conditions. (5.6-A.4)
9. Combine two or more materials and show that the new material may have properties that are different from the original material. (5.6-B.1)
10. Recognize that changes in the speed or direction of a moving object are caused by force and that the greater the force the greater the change in motion will be. (5.7-A.1)
11. Recognize that some forces can act at distance – gravity, magnetism, static electricity. (5.7-A.2)
12. Identify sources of heat and demonstrate that heat can be transferred from one object to another. (5.7-B.1)
13. Identify sources of light and demonstrate that light can be reflected from some surfaces and pass through others. (5.7-B.2)
14. Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers through making careful observations and experimentation. (5.1-A.1)
15. Keep records that describe observations, carefully distinguish actual observations from ideas and speculation, and are understandable weeks and months later. (5.1-A.2)
16. Know that when solving a problem it is important to plan and get ideas and help from other people. (5.1-A.4)
17. Develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies. (5.1-B.1)
18. Identify the evidence used in an explanation. (5.1-B.2)
19. Recognize that conducting science activities requires an awareness of potential hazards and the need for safe practices. (5.1-C.1)
20. Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations. (5.1-C.2)
21. Describe how people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology. (5.2-A.1)
22. Hear, read, write, and talk about scientists and inventors in historical context. (5.2-B.1)
23. Determine the reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities when doing science. (5.3-A.1)
24. Recognize and comprehend the orders of magnitude associated with large and small physical quantities. (5.3-A.2)
25. Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as integers and fractions. (5.3-A.3)
26. Select appropriate measuring instruments based on the degree of precisions required. (5.3-B.1)
27. Use a variety of measuring instruments and record measured quantities using the appropriate units. (5.3-B.2)
Duration of Time: 10-12 Lessons
Activities:
- Classify a variety of objects according to their properties.
- Experiment with water to observe how the three states of matter can be changed.
- Compare and contrast various materials before and after trying to alter their properties.
- Observe what happens when vinegar and baking soda are mixed in a soda bottle with a balloon in place of the cap.
- Make a toy that will show energy causing motion.
- Observe how a thermometer works by placing it in warm water then cold water.
- Model how heat moves through solids.
- Compare how metal, wood and plastic conduct heat.
- Compare and contrast the temperatures of wet and dry items.
- Compare the distance a toy truck has traveled first weighted, then not weighted.
- Measure and compare the distance a toy truck has traveled when placed on ramps of various heights.
- Share a toy that uses a simple machine.
UNIT 3 – SUN, MOON
AND EARTH
Standards 5.9, 5.1,
5.2, 5.3
|
Goal: |
§ All students will gain an understanding of the origin, evolution, and structure of the universe. § All students will develop problem-solving, decision making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results. § All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology. § All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science, and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories. |
Objectives -
Each student will be able to:
1. Observe patterns that result from the Earth’s position relative to the sun and rotation of the Earth on its axis. (5.9-A.1)
2. Recognize and describe the phases of the moon. (5.9-A.2)
3. Describe Earth as one of the several planets that orbit the sun and the moon as a satellite of the Earth.(5.9-B.1)
4. Observe that stars are not all the same in brightness, size and color. (5.9-C.1)
5. Recognize that images of celestial objects can be magnified and seen in greater detail when observed using binoculars and light telescopes.(5.9-D.1)
6. Observe and record short-term and long-term changes in the night sky. (5.9-D.2)
7. Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers through making careful observations and experimentation. (5.1-A.1)
8. Keep records that describe observations, carefully distinguish actual observations from ideas and speculation, and are understandable weeks and months later. (5.1-A.2)
9. Know that when solving a problem it is important to plan and get ideas and help from other people. (5.1-A.4)
10. Develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies. (5.1-B.1)
11. Identify the evidence used in an explanation. (5.1-B.2)
12. Recognize that conducting science activities, requires an awareness of potential hazards and the need for safe practices. (5.1-C.1)
13. Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations. (5.1-C.2)
14. Describe how people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology. (5.2-A.1)
15. Hear, read, write, and talk about scientists and inventors in historical context. (5.2-B.1)
16. Determine the reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities when doing science. (5.3-A.1)
17. Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as integers, fractions. (5.3-A.3)
18. Select appropriate measuring instruments based on the degree of precisions required. (5.3-B.1)
19. Use a variety of measuring instruments and record measured quantities using the appropriate units. (5.3-B.2)
Duration of Time: 10-12 Lessons
Activities:
- Make a sundial.
- Make a star clock and predict the positions of constellations throughout the night.
- Create models of constellations using straws and stickers.
- Use the Science Processor CD-Rom Sun, Moon, and Earth, Investigation 3, “What is a Day?” to observe the rotation of the Earth and watch how that rotation affects the way the Sun looks in the sky.
- Model the revolution of the Earth around the Sun using some students as representatives of constellations visible in the night sky.
- Use a styrofoam ball to model phases of the moon.
- Research a chosen astronaut and present a brief report of their accomplishments.
UNIT 4 – EARTH’S
RESOURCES
Standards 5.8, 5.10,
5.1, 5.2, 5.3
|
Goal: |
§ All students will gain an understanding of the structure, dynamics, and geophysical systems of the earth. § All students will develop an understanding of the environment as a system of interdependent components affected by human activity and natural phenomena. § All students will develop problem-solving, decision making and inquiry skills, reflected by formulating usable questions and hypotheses, planning experiments, conducting systematic observations, interpreting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and communicating results. § All students will develop an understanding of how people of various cultures have contributed to the advancement of science and technology, and how major discoveries and events have advanced science and technology. § All students will integrate mathematics as a tool for problem-solving in science and as a means of expressing and/or modeling scientific theories. |
Objectives:
Each student will be able to:
1. Observe that most rocks and soils are made of several substances or minerals. (5.8-A.1)
2. Observe that the properties of soil vary from place to place and will affect the soil’s ability to support life. (5.8-A.2)
3. Recognize that fossils provide evidence about the plants and animals that lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time. (5.8-A.3)
4. Recognize that air is substance that surrounds us, takes up space and moves around us as wind. (5.8-B.1)
5. Recognize that most of Earth’s surface is covered by water and be able to identify the characteristics of those sources of water-oceans, rivers, lakes, underground sources, glaciers. (5.8-B.2)
6. Observe weather changes and patterns by measurable quantities such as temperature, wind direction and speed, and amounts of precipitation. (5.8-B.3)
7. Observe that when liquid water disappears, it turns into a gas in the air and can reappear as a liquid when cooled, or as a solid if cooled below its freezing point. (5.8-B.4)
8. Recognize that clouds and fog are made of tiny droplets of water and possibly tiny particles of ice. (5.8-B.6)
9. Recognize that some changes of the Earth’s surface are due to slow processes such as erosion and weathering, and some changes are due to rapid changes such as landslides, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. (5.8-C.1)
10. Recognize that moving water, wind and ice continually shape the Earth’s surface by eroding rock and soil in some areas and depositing them in other areas. (5.8-C.2)
11. Differentiate between natural resources that are renewable and those that are not. (5.10–A.1)
12. Explain how meeting human requirements affects the environment. (5.10-B.1)
13. Raise questions about the world around them and be willing to seek answers through making careful observations and experimentation. (5.1-A.1)
14. Keep records that describe observations, carefully distinguish actual observations from ideas and speculation, and are understandable weeks and months later. (5.1-A.2)
15. Know that when solving a problem it is important to plan and get ideas and help from other people. (5.1-A.4)
16. Develop strategies and skills for information-gathering and problem-solving, using appropriate tools and technologies. (5.1-B.1)
17. Identify the evidence used in an explanation. (5.1-B.2)
18. Recognize that conducting science activities requires an awareness of potential hazards and the need for safe practices. (5.1-C.1)
19. Understand and practice safety procedures for conducting science investigations. (5.1-C.2)
20. Describe how people in different cultures have made and continue to make contributions to science and technology. (5.2-A.1)
21. Hear, read, write, and talk about scientists and inventors in historical context. (5.2-B.1)
22. Determine the reasonableness of estimates, measurements, and computations of quantities when doing science. (5.3-A.1)
23. Express quantities using appropriate number formats, such as integers and fractions. (5.3-A.3)
24. Select appropriate measuring instruments based on the degree of precisions required. (5.3-B.1)
25. Use a variety of measuring instruments and record measured quantities using the appropriate units. (5.3-B.2)
Duration of Time: 10-12 Lessons
Activities:
- Test a greenhouse model.
- Create a model of the water cycle.
- Draw a picture labeling the parts of the water cycle.
- Listen and respond to the story Oliver and the Oil Spill. Students will complete observations of pollutants in water and try various methods of clean up.
- Write letters to the editor of local newspapers identifying a community pollution problem and possible solutions.
- Wear away rocks by rubbing them against each other.
- Test the absorption of water through different kinds of soils.
- Work in groups to plan strategies for caring for Earth’s resources. Ideas should be presented to the class through commercials, posters, skits, songs, Power Point presentations, or other methods to educate others.
- Watch video Bill Nye the Science Guy – The Water Cycle.
- Conduct a town council meeting promoting recycling.
List of Texts,
Resources, and/or Literature:
· Houghton Mifflin Science Kit - Discovery Works - Level Three
·
Videos – Bill
Nye The Science Guy – Plants and The Water Cycle
· Literature – Oliver and the Oil Spill by Aruna Chandrasekhar