Enduring Understandings - important ideas that students should carry with them years beyond the instruction received this year.

• Constancy and Change: Although most things are in the process of changing, some properties remain constant (i.e. the speed of light). (Earth/Space Science)
• Our knowledge of space changes as new technology enables further discovery. (Earth/Space Science)
• Rocks have properties that reflect how they were formed and the minerals of which they are made. (Earth/Space Science)
• Interdependence: Living things interact with one another and their environment for existence and balance. (Life Science)
• Order and Organization of Systems: A system consists of components/parts that interact. (Physical Science)
• Chemistry is the study of the world around us, of chemicals, and how they interact. (Physical Science)

Essential Questions - most important “big picture” questions students should be able to answer after completing learning activities.

• How are scientists able to describe, classify, and compare materials? How can mixtures be separated? What causes physical and chemical changes in materials? How can physical and chemical changes be identified? How can changes be recorded? What happens when one part of the system is taken away? What happens to a substance when heat is added?
• What are the physical properties of rocks and minerals? What are some uses of rocks and minerals? How can we find out what organism lived in the past? What properties are in a mineral?
• What are the different states in which water can be found?
• What are some objects that can be observed in the sky? How does the motion of the Earth cause day/night and seasons? What are the components of our solar system? How far apart are the components in our solar system? What are some of the important events in space history? What technology is currently being used or developed for space exploration? How do the Sun help provide for our needs?
• How has technology changed our lives? What are some careers that involve science and technology?
• How can we make sure an investigation is done the same way each time? How can we make sure our data is accurate? How can we visually represent data? How can data be graphically represented? How does data help us make better predictions? How can models help complete a scientific investigation? What are safety procedures to follow when completing an investigation? What tools are available to help gather data?

Standards  
Highest Frequency Standards High Frequency Standards Other Standards & E-skills

 
Standard 1: Students apply the process of scientific investigation and design, conduct, communicate about, and evaluate such investigations.
Standard 1 Benchmarks:     Grades 3-5 
1. design, plan and conduct a variety of simple investigations (for example: formulate a testable question, state a hypothesis, make systematic observations, develop and communicate logical conclusions based on evidence
2. select and use appropriate tools and technology to gather and display ( for example: graphs, charts, diagrams ) quantitative and qualitative data related to an investigation (for example: length, volume, and mass measuring instruments, thermometers, watches, magnifiers, microscopes, calculators, and computers)
  
Standard 2: Physical Science: Student know and understand common properties, forms, and changes in matter and energy. (Focus: Physics and Chemistry)
Standard 2 Benchmarks:     Grades 3-5
1.  objects have physical properties that can be measured (for example: length, mass, volume and temperature)
2.  measurable physical properties can be compared before and after effecting a change to verify a change has occurred and used to predict its outcome in similar circumstances
3.  matter is made up of parts that are too small to be seen 
4.  matter exists in physical states (solid, liquid, gas) and can change from one state to another
5.  there are different types and sources of energy ( for example: light, heat, motion) 
6.  electricity in circuits can produce light, heat, sound and magnetic effects
7.  there are different types of forces (for example: gravity and magnetism)
8.  changes in speed or direction of motion are caused by forces

Standard 3: Life Science: Students know and understand the characteristics and structure of living things, the processes of life, and how living things interact with each other and their environment. (Focus: Biology – anatomy, Physiology, Botany, Zoology, Ecology)
Standard 3 Benchmarks:     Grades 3-5
1.  each plant or animal has different structures and behaviors that serve different functions in growth, survival, and reproduction
2.  green plants need energy from sunlight and various raw materials to live, and animals consume plants and other organisms to live 
3.  human body systems have basic structures, functions and needs (for example:  digestive, respiratory, circulatory, skeletal, muscular)
4.  there is interaction and interdependence between and among nonliving and living components of ecosystems ( for example: food webs, symbiotic and parasitic relationships, dependence on rainfall, pollination)
5.  life cycles vary from organism to organism (for example: frog, chicken, butterfly, radish, bean plant)
6.  fossils can be compared to one another and to living organisms according to their similarities and differences
7.  there are similarities and differences in appearance among individual organisms ( for example: plants vs. animals, vertebrate vs. invertebrate )

Standard 4: Earth and Space Science: Students know and understand the processes and interactions of Earth’s systems and the structure and dynamics of Earth and other objects in space. (Focus: Geology, Meteorology, Astronomy, Oceanography)
Standard 4 Benchmarks:     Grades 3-5
1.  fossils are evidence of past life 
2.  natural processes change Earth's surface (for example: weathering, erosion, mountain building, volcanic activity, earthquakes and floods)
3.  many of the Earth’s resources can be conserved, recycled and depleted
4.  weather is different from climate 
5.  most of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, that most of the water is salt water in the oceans, and that fresh water is found in rivers, lakes, underground sources and glaciers 
6.  water exists on Earth in different states (solid, liquid, gas) and changes from one state to another (for example: evaporation, condensation and precipitation) 
7.  there are basic components of the solar system  (for example: Sun, planets, moons)
8.  the Earth and Sun provide a diversity of resources (for example: soils, fuels, minerals, medicines and food)
9.  the rotation of the Earth on its axis, in relation to the Sun, produces the day-and-night cycle and the orbit of the Earth around the Sun completes one year  

Standard 5: Students understand that the nature of science involves a particular way of building knowledge and making meaning of the natural world.
Standard 5 Benchmarks:     Grades 3-5
1.  when a science experiment is repeated with the same conditions, the experiment generally works the same
2.  models are used to represent events and objects (for example: comparing a map of the school to the actual school; a model of the Earth to the Earth itself )  

Grade 3 Essential Vocabulary
 

District 11 Diamond Units/Lessons Overview - includes information about the purpose, goals and structure of these sample instructional units:

Science Leveled Readers Complete Library - includes over 300 online books with audio