In third-grade science, grandchildren spend time designing and conducting experiments in their classrooms. These investigations include multiple steps and go beyond the simple observations they carried out in earlier grades. In life science, third-graders learn about plants and animals and the structures that allow them to grow and survive. They also learn about different groups of animals – such as mammals, reptiles, and amphibians – and where they are found. In earth science, children explore the properties of rocks, minerals, and soils, and learn the characteristics of different types of landforms – mountains, valleys, and plains – and the geologic forces, including earthquakes, that affect them. They also discover what causes Earth’s seasons. In physical science, students continue to learn about matter, and new terms, such as
atom, are introduced. As they experiment, students practice measuring mass and volume using balance scales and graduated beakers. They also study thermal energy, light, and force. In lessons throughout the year, students read and interpret simple graphs and tables.
Careers. Third-grade science textbooks introduce students to a variety of careers in science,
including entomologists (who study insects); animal behaviorists; astronomers; and paleontologists (who study fossils and ancient life). As they learn, help science-minded grandchildren expand their imagination about the careers they might pursue and what they might do in those jobs.
• Peggy Christian and Barbara Hirsch Lember’s
If You Find a Rock (Voyager, 2008) uses poetic text to celebrate rocks of many varieties. Your grandchildren’s understanding of these materials can help build a foundation for geology units to come.
• Third-grade science textbooks help students examine the life cycles of different animals. A book like Molly Aloian and Bobbie Kalman’s
Insect Life Cycles (Crabtree, 2005) can illustrate these concepts for your grandchildren in an engaging way and help them build upon what they've already learned.
• Understanding the role oceans play in the water cycle is an important part of the third-grade science curriculum. For an animated look at the water cycle and how it works, visit
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency online.
• Scientists often develop new technologies to solve problems or serve people's needs. Charise Mericle Harper’s
Imaginative Inventions (Little, Brown, 2001) will help grandchildren reflect on how a variety of inventions filled a want or need that people had.
Home Is Where the Hearts Are. Your grandchildren will probably study the human body in third grade, including the human heart. They might conduct experiments measuring their own heart rates at rest and after exercise. At home, have your grandchildren compare the heart rates of children (their own) with that of an adult (yours). Before they start, ask them to make a hypothesis, or educated guess, about which heart rate should be faster. Then help them compare their results to their theory. (Typically, the smaller the organism, the faster the heart rate).
Which Way Does the Wind Blow? Third-graders are likely to learn about weather sometime during the school year. One area they might study is wind, and its strength and direction. When you go for a walk with your grandchildren, point out compass settings to help the kids learn their directions, then ask them to try to identify which direction the wind is coming from.
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