What does a student learn in StateMaine,GradeGrade 3,SubjectScience?

Students come up with questions about how the world works that could be tested with an experiment, or spot a real problem that could be solved by building or designing something.

Students build or draw a model, such as a diagram of clouds or a simple bridge design, to show how something works or why it happens.

Students plan a simple test, collect information from it, and use what they find to check whether their idea holds up.

Students look at data from a science activity and explain what it shows. They spot patterns, like which plant grew tallest or which material got hottest fastest.

Students use counting, measuring, and simple math to back up their observations and explain what they found. A measurement or a number makes a science idea easier to test and share.

Students back up their explanations with evidence from what they observed or tested, not just what they think sounds right.

Students look at two different explanations or solutions, then use evidence to argue which one holds up better. Think of it as a science debate where facts do the persuading.

Students read short science texts, look at diagrams or data, and decide what information is worth keeping. Then they explain what they found in writing or discussion.

Students explore what everyday materials are made of and why they behave the way they do. They look at how tiny particles interact to explain things like melting, mixing, and dissolving.

Students test how pushes and pulls change the way objects move, and explore why some things stay still while others speed up, slow down, or change direction.

Students explore how energy shows up in different forms, like light, heat, and motion, and track what happens when it moves from one object to another. Energy doesn't disappear; it just changes form or moves somewhere new.

Students explore how waves move energy from place to place, like sound traveling through air or light bouncing off a mirror. They also look at how waves carry information, the way a phone signal or radio wave does.

Students examine how living things are built and how they work, from the tiny cells inside a leaf or skin to the bigger systems those cells form together.

Students trace where food energy comes from and where it goes, following the path from sunlight to plants to animals. They also look at how living things in the same place depend on and affect each other.

Students look at how traits like eye color or height are passed from parents to children, and notice why siblings can look similar but not identical.

Students look at how living things are alike and how they differ, then explore why those differences matter for survival over time.

Students study where Earth sits in the solar system and how the sun, moon, and planets move in predictable patterns. They also look at how Earth itself has changed over a very long time.

Students look at how land, water, air, and living things work together on Earth. They explore how changes in one, like a flood or a drought, can shift what happens in the others.

Students explore how things people do, like building roads or burning fuel, change the land, water, and air around them. They also look at how storms, floods, and earthquakes affect where and how people live.

Students identify a real problem, sketch or build possible fixes, then test each one and improve it until it works better. That's the engineering design loop in action at this grade level.

Students look at how inventions change daily life and how everyday needs push engineers to build new things. A new tool can reshape a community, and a community's problems can spark the next invention.