Science 3

Students learn to observe and analyze through hands-on experiments, and gain further insight into how scientists understand our world. They observe and chart the phases of the moon, determine the properties of insulators and conductors, and make a three-dimensional model of a bone. Students will explore topics such as: 

• Weather—air pressure, precipitation, clouds, humidity, fronts, and forecasting. 
• Vertebrates—features of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. 
• Ecosystems—climate zones; tundra, forests, desert, grasslands, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. 
• Matter—phase changes, volume, mass, atoms, physical and chemical changes. 
• Human Body—the musculoskeletal system, the skin. 
• Energy—forms of energy, transfer of energy, conductors and insulators, renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. 
• Light—light as energy, the spectrum, how the eye works. 
• Astronomy—phases of the moon, eclipses, the solar system, stars and constellations, the Milky Way.

Standard Curriculum Items

• A Walk in the Boreal Forest: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• A Walk in the Desert: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• A Walk in the Rainforest: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• A Walk in the Tundra: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• A Walk in the Deciduous Forest: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• A Walk in the Prairie: Biomes of North America Series (Lerner Publications)
• Sunshine Makes the Seasons by Franklyn M. Branley
• The Moon Seems to Change by Franklyn M. Branley
• Graduated cylinder, 100 mL
• Directional compass
• Safety goggles
• Magnifying glass
• Advanced thermometer
• Clay (four colors)

Additional Curriculum Items

Some lessons require additional resources, including common household items:

• Modeling clay
• Directional compass

NOTE: List subject to change.

Total lessons: 72

Lesson time: 60 minutes

You might choose to split the lessons into smaller segments and take breaks as needed. The K12 online lesson tracking system allows you to pick up wherever you left off in any given lesson.