Maryland College and Career-Ready Standards 3rd Grade Science Activities

MD.1.0. Skills and Processes: Students will demonstrate the thinking and acting inherent in the practice of science.

1.A.1. Constructing Knowledge: Gather and question data from many different forms of scientific investigations which include reviewing appropriate print resources, observing what things are like or what is happening somewhere, collecting specimens for analysis, and doing experiments.

1.A.1.b. Select and use appropriate tools hand lens or microscope (magnifiers), centimeter ruler (length), spring scale (weight), balance (mass), Celsius thermometer (temperature), graduated cylinder (liquid volume), and stopwatch (elapsed time) to augment observations of objects, events, and processes.

1.B.1. Applying Evidence and Reasoning: Seek better reasons for believing something than 'Everybody knows that...' or 'I just know' and discount such reasons when given by others.

1.B.1.a. Develop explanations using knowledge possessed and evidence from observations, reliable print resources, and investigations.

1.C.1. Communicating Scientific Information: Recognize that clear communication is an essential part of doing science because it enables scientists to inform others about their work, expose their ideas to criticism by other scientists, and stay informed about scientific discoveries around the world.

1.C.1.a. Make use of and analyze models, such as tables and graphs to summarize and interpret data.

1.C.1.d. Construct and share reasonable explanations for questions asked.

1.C.1.e. Recognize that doing science involves many different kinds of work and engages men and women of all ages and backgrounds.

1.D.2. Technology: Investigate a variety of mechanical systems and analyze the relationship among the parts.

1.D.2.c. Explain that models, such as geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, sketches, number lines, maps, and stories can be used to represent objects, events, and processes in the real world, although such representations can never be exact in every detail.

MD.2.0. Earth/Space Science: Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the chemical and physical interactions (i.e., natural forces and cycles, transfer of energy) of the environment, Earth, and the universe that occur over time.

2.C.1. Plate Tectonics: Gather information and provide evidence about the physical environment, becoming familiar with the details of geological features, observing and mapping locations of hills, valleys, rivers, and canyons.

2.C.1.a. Identify and describe some natural features of continents: Mountains; Valleys; Rivers; Canyons.

2.E.1. Interactions of Hydrosphere and Atmosphere: Recognize and describe that water can be found as a liquid or a solid on the Earth's surface and as a gas in the Earth's atmosphere.

2.E.1.a. Describe that air is a substance that surrounds us and contains such things as oxygen, water vapor (gas), pollen, dust, etc.

2.E.1.b. Observe and explain what happens when liquid water disappears: Turns into water vapor (gas) in the air; Can reappear as a liquid or solid when cooled, such as clouds, fog, rain, snow, etc.

MD.3.0. Life Science: The students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the dynamic nature of living things, their interactions, and the results from the interactions that occur over time.

3.B.1. Cells: Explore the world of minute living things to describe what they look like, how they live, and how they interact with their environment.

3.B.1.a. Use magnifying instruments to observe and describe using drawings or text (oral or written) minute organisms, such as brine shrimp, algae, aphids, etc. that are found in different environments.

3.B.1.b. Describe any observable activity displayed by these organisms.

3.B.1.c. Provide reasons that support the conclusion that these organisms are alive.

3.B.1.d. Use information gathered about these minute organisms to compare mechanisms they have to satisfy their basic needs to those used by larger organisms.

3.E.1. Flow of Matter and Energy: Recognize that materials continue to exist even though they change from one form to another.

3.E.1.a. Identify and compile a list of materials that can be recycled.

3.E.1.b. Identify what happens to materials when they are recycled.

MD.4.0. Chemistry: Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the composition, structure, and interactions of matter in order to support the predictability of structure and energy transformations.

4.A.2. Structure of Matter: Identify and describe structures of objects too small to be seen clearly with the unaided eye.

4.A.2.a. Identify and describe minute objects, such as grains of sand and crystals of salt after examining them with a magnifying instrument.

4.A.2.b. Identify and describe the minute features of objects, such as the lines (grain) in a piece of wood and the fibers in a paper napkin after examining with a magnifying instrument.

4.C.1. States of Matter: Provide evidence from investigations to describe the effect that changes in temperature have on the properties of materials.

4.C.1.a. Based on data gathered from investigations, identify and describe the changes that occur to the observable properties of materials when different degrees of heat is applied to them, such as melting chocolate pieces, boiling an egg.

4.C.1.b. Observe and describe the changes cooling causes to the observable properties of materials when they are cooled, such as freezing water in a straw, milk in an ice cream maker.

4.C.1.c. Cite examples of similar changes that heating and cooling have on the observable properties of various other materials.

MD.5.0. Physics: Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the interactions of matter and energy and the energy transformations that occur

5.A.1. Mechanics: Cite evidence from observations to describe the motion of an object using position and speed.

5.A.1.b. Using information from multiple trials, compare the speeds (faster or slower) of objects that travel the same distance in different amounts of time.

5.A.1.c. Using information from multiple trials, compare the distances that objects moving at different speeds travel in the same amount of time.

5.A.2. Mechanics: Explain that changes in the ways objects move are caused by forces.

5.A.2.a. Observe and describe the way an object's motion changes in a variety of situations (rolling a ball, bouncing a ball, dropping a yo-yo, winding up a toy, etc.) and identify what may have caused the change.

5.A.2.b. Describe changes in the motion of objects as they move across different textured surfaces and suggest possible causes for the change.

5.A.2.c. Observe and describe that objects fall to the ground unless something holds them up (gravity).

5.D.2. Wave Interactions: Identify and describe the relationship between a sound and the vibrations that produce it.

5.D.2.a. Based on observations of objects that produce sound, relate vibration to the back and forth motion of parts of the object.

5.D.2.b. Pose questions concerning the relationship between loudness or pitch and the vibration of an object.

MD.6.0. Environmental Science: Students will use scientific skills and processes to explain the interactions of environmental factors (living and non-living) and analyze their impact from a local to a global perspective.