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

Students practice turning curiosity into a real question or problem that can actually be tested or built. They learn the difference between a question science can answer and one it can't.

Students build or draw a model, like a diagram or physical mock-up, to show how something in nature works or how a design solves a problem. The model helps them explain what they can't always see or touch directly.

Students plan simple tests, gather data, and use what they find to check whether their ideas hold up. This is how scientists work, and third graders practice the same basic process.

Students look at charts, measurements, or observations from an experiment to spot patterns and figure out what the data actually means.

Students use numbers, measurements, and simple patterns to explain what they observe in science. A tally of how many times something happens, or a measurement of how far something moves, counts as scientific reasoning.

Students take what they observed or measured and use it to explain why something happened. The explanation has to connect to real evidence, not just a guess.

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 proof matters more than opinion.

Students read science texts, diagrams, or videos to gather information, then decide what's useful and share what they learned in their own words or drawings.

Students explore what objects are made of and how tiny particles interact to explain everyday physical changes, like why ice melts or why mixing two liquids can create something new.

Students test how pushes and pulls change the speed and direction of objects. They look at why some things stay still and what it takes to get them moving.

Students explore how energy moves and changes form, like heat spreading from a warm mug or light from a bulb. They also learn that energy doesn't disappear; it just shifts from one place or form to another.

Students explore how waves carry energy and information from place to place. They look at examples like sound, light, and water waves to understand how waves move and how people use them to communicate.

Students look at how living things are built and how they work, from the tiny cells inside a plant or animal all the way up to the organs and systems that keep it alive.

Students trace how plants, animals, and other living things swap energy and nutrients in a shared habitat. They also study how those organisms affect each other, from predators hunting prey to plants providing shelter.

Students look at physical traits, like eye color or leaf shape, and figure out which ones get passed from parents to offspring and which ones vary from one generation to the next.

Students look at how living things are both similar to and different from one another, then explore why those differences matter for survival over time.

Students learn where Earth sits in the solar system and study the patterns of how planets and the Moon move. They also look at clues in rocks and landforms that reveal Earth's long history.

Students learn that land, water, air, and living things are all connected on Earth. They investigate how changes in one, like a drought drying up a pond, can ripple through the others.

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

Students identify a real problem, sketch or build a solution, test it, and improve the design based on what they learn from each try.

Students look at how inventions shape daily life and how the needs of daily life push engineers to build new things. A new road, a water filter, or a smartphone changes how people live, and people's problems drive the next invention.