District 13 Science Curriculum Standards (D)

GRADE 3

A: Nature of Science:

Students will be able to:

1. report on current events involving topics
2. cite examples of how everyday life has been changed by scientific discoveries
3. repeat simple experiments and compare results
4. state that conclusions based on experimentation can change as new data is collected
5. participate in class meetings to share results of scientific experimentation
6. utilize scientific reasoning, strategies, scientific knowledge and common sense to formulate questions, understand and explain a wide range of phenomena
7. use the languages of mathematics and science to describe natural events
B: Process Skills:

Students will be able to:

1. use simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend senses (rulers, balances, thermometers, watches, magnifiers)
2. acquire information from print and non-print sources
3. ask questions about objects, organisms and events in the world around them
4. seek information from reliable sources, including scientific knowledge, observation and trying things out
5. use evidence to construct an explanation
6. identify problems, propose and implement solutions
7. work individually and in teams to collect and share information, ideas and to solve problems
8. understand big ideas and unifying concepts (order, models, form, change, cause and effects)
9. use numbers to count and quantify observations
10. communicate observations through spoken word, writing, graphs, diagrams, maps, mathematical equations, and or drawings
11. measure length, volume, mass, temperature and area
12. make predictions of what might occur in class, small groups, and or individual experiments
13. follow directions to conduct an experiment and demonstrate the ability to:

a. control variables

b. formulate models

c. infer

C: Manipulative Skills:

Students will be able to:

1. identify and use safe procedures when doing science activities
2. choose and use appropriate equipment for an investigative task
3. employ measurement tools using appropriate techniques
4. use computer simulations to acquire knowledge of various topics
5. conduct simple experiments
6. identify and use proper care when handling and storing scientific equipment
7. identify and use proper methods when handling and caring for living organisms
D: Attitudes and Applications:

Students will be able to:

1. exhibit positive attitudes toward participation in science activities
2. recognize others points of view, check own and others, explanations against experiences, observations and knowledge
3. exhibit ways to conserve, preserve and use natural resources
4. identify ways people impact upon plant and animal life
5. exhibit a positive attitude toward the use of scientific inquiry as a way of thinking and problem solving
6. exhibit an understanding of how plants and animals are interrelated and effect one another
E: Science Concepts:

Students will be able to:

1. observe, describe and classify

a) animals and plants by their physical characteristics

b) properties of liquids

c) properties of solids

2. describe fundamental cycles of nature describe the life of plants and animals understand the need for conservation of natural resources
3. identify the dynamics that effect all populations in our world (reproduction, population control, life cycles)
4. identify and describe the interactions among populations of plants, plant-eaters, animal eaters and plant and animal eaters
5. investigate the behavior of light, electricity, and magnetism and how they are interrelated
6. describe the interactions between predator and prey
7. analyze the relationship between humans and the organisms with which they live
8. observe and describe feeding interactions among aquatic populations
9. plan and conduct experiments to determine feeding relationships
10. analyze and predict what might happen to populations if existing feeding relationships are broken
11. describe and apply the concept of subsystem to various activities and devices
12. invent the concepts of solution, filtration, and evaporation
13. describe crystallization from solution
14. distinguish between crystalline and non-crystalline substances

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Last modified on: Friday, October 27, 2000 at 11:23 PM EST