Grade 3:

Force, Motion, and Energy
3.2  Understand simple machines and their uses. Key concepts include:

• types of simple machines (lever, screw, pulley, wheel and axle, inclined plane, and wedge)
• how simple machines function
• examples of simple machines found in the school, home, and work environment

Matter
3.3  Understand that objects can be described in terms of the materials they are made of and their physical properties. Key concepts include:

• objects are made of smaller parts
• materials are composed of parts that are too small to be seen without magnification
• physical properties remain the same as the material is reduced in size

Life Processes
3.4  The student will investigate and understand that behavioral and physical adaptation allow animals to respond to life needs. Key concepts include:

• methods of gathering and storing food, finding shelter, defending themselves, and rearing young
• hibernation, migration, camouflage, mimicry, instinct, and learned behavior.

Living Systems
3.5  Understand relationships among organisms in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. Key concepts include:

• producer, consumer, decomposer
• herbivore, carnivore, omnivore
• predator-prey

3.6  Understand that environments support a diversity of plants and animals that share limited resources. Key concepts include:

• water-related environments (pond, marshland, swamp, stream, river, and ocean environments)
• dry-land environments (desert, grassland, rainforest, and forest environments)
• population and community.

Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems
3.7  Understand the major components of soil, its origin, and importance to plants and animals including humans. Key concepts include:

• soil provides the support and nutrients necessary for plant growth
• topsoil is a natural product of subsoil and bedrock
• rock, clay, silt, sand, and humus are components of soils
• soil is a natural resource and should be conserved

Earth Patterns, Cycles, and Change
3.8  Understand basic sequences and cycles occurring in nature. Key concepts include:

• sequences of natural events (day and night, seasonal changes, phases of the the moon, and tides)
• animal and plant life cycles

• the origin of energy that drives the water cycle
• processes involved in the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation)
• water supply and water conservation

3.10  Understand that natural events and human influences can affect the survival of species.  Key concepts include:

• the interdependency of plants and animals
• human effects on the quality of air, water, and habitat
• the effect of fire, flood, disease, erosion, earthquake, and volcanic eruption on organisms
• conservation, resource renewal, habitat management and species monitoring

3.11  Understand different sources of energy. Key concepts include:

• the sun's ability to projece light and heat energy
• natural forms of energy (sunlight, water, wind)
• fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) and wood
• electricity, nuclear power; and renewable and nonrenewable resources

Date Entered: March 6, 1998
Date Updated: January 9, 2001