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What does a student learn in ?

This is the year science becomes about asking questions and testing them, not just learning facts. Students plan small investigations, look for patterns in what they see, and explain results using evidence. They study weather, animals, forces like push and pull, and how the land changes over time. By spring, they can ask a science question, run a simple test, and tell a parent what the results show.

  • Asking questions
  • Simple investigations
  • Weather patterns
  • Animals and habitats
  • Forces and motion
  • Earth changes
Source: Connecticut Connecticut Core Standards
Year at a glance
How the year usually goes. Every school and district set their own curriculum, so treat this as a guide, not official pacing.
  1. 1

    Thinking like a scientist

    Students start the year learning how scientists work. They ask questions about things they notice, plan simple tests, and record what happens so they can talk about it later.

  2. 2

    Forces, motion, and energy

    Students push, pull, and roll objects to see what makes them speed up, slow down, or change direction. They also explore how energy moves through light, sound, and heat.

  3. 3

    Living things and their habitats

    Students look at plants and animals and the places they live. They notice how living things get what they need from their surroundings and how traits pass from parents to their young.

  4. 4

    Earth, sky, and weather

    Students track the sun, moon, and weather over time. They look for patterns in the sky and on the ground, and they study how land, water, and air shape the places people live.

  5. 5

    Solving real problems

    Students take on a design challenge. They pick a problem worth solving, sketch ideas, build a model, test it, and make changes when something does not work.

Mastery Learning Standards
The required skills a student should display by the end of Grade 3.
Science and Engineering Practices
  • Asking Questions and Defining Problems

    Students learn to ask questions that science can actually test and spot problems that engineering can solve. It's the habit of turning curiosity into something worth investigating.

  • Developing and Using Models

    Students build or draw a simple model (like a diagram or labeled sketch) to show how something in nature works or how a design solves a problem.

  • Planning and Carrying Out Investigations

    Students plan a test, collect information, and check whether their idea holds up. This is how scientists figure out if they are right.

  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data

    Reading a chart or table, students look for patterns in the numbers or results and explain what those patterns mean.

  • Mathematics and Computational Thinking

    Students use counting, measuring, and simple math to back up what they notice in science. Instead of just saying something seems bigger or heavier, they use numbers to show it.

  • Constructing Explanations

    Students use what they observed or measured to explain why something happened. The explanation has to be backed by real evidence, not just a guess.

  • Engaging in Argument from Evidence

    Students look at two different explanations or solutions, then use facts and observations to argue which one holds up better. Think of it as a science debate backed by real evidence, not just opinion.

  • Communicating Information

    Students read scientific information from books, diagrams, or charts, decide what it means, and explain it to others in words or pictures.

Physical Science
  • Matter and Interactions

    Students look closely at what everyday materials are made of and explore why some substances mix, dissolve, or change when they interact with each other.

  • Motion and Stability

    Students explore how pushes and pulls make objects speed up, slow down, or change direction. They look at what keeps things steady and what sets them moving.

  • Students explore how energy shows up in different forms, like heat, light, and sound, and trace where it goes when something moves, glows, or makes noise. Energy doesn't disappear; it just changes from one form to another.

  • Waves and Information

    Students study how waves, like sound and light, carry energy and information from one place to another. They look at real examples, such as how a phone screen or a speaker works.

Life Science
  • Structures and Processes

    Students look at how living things are built and how they work, from the tiny cells inside them to the organs and body systems those cells make up.

  • Ecosystems

    Students trace how food, water, and energy move through a living community, from plants to animals to decomposers. They also look at how organisms depend on each other to survive.

  • Students look at traits like eye color, leaf shape, or fur pattern and figure out which ones got passed down from parents and which ones vary across a family.

  • Biological Evolution

    Students compare living things to spot what they share and what makes each one different. That investigation builds toward understanding why life on Earth looks the way it does today.

Earth and Space Science
  • Earth's Place in the Universe

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

  • Earth's Systems

    Students study how Earth's land, water, air, and living things connect and affect each other. They look at how a rainstorm shapes soil, how plants filter air, and how one change ripples through the rest.

  • Earth and Human Activity

    Students learn how people change the land, air, and water around them, and how events like floods, earthquakes, and wildfires affect where and how people live.

Engineering, Technology, and Applications of Science
  • Engineering Design

    Students spot a problem, sketch out a few ways to fix it, then test their ideas and improve them until one works well enough to use.

  • Links Among Engineering, Technology, and Society

    Students explore how inventions change everyday life and how the needs of a community shape what engineers build next.

No state assessments at this grade
Students take their next one in Grade 4.
National Monitoring

NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

Federally administered sample-based assessment in reading, mathematics, science, and writing. NAEP results inform state-by-state comparisons rather than individual student or school accountability.

When given:
biennial in winter
Frequency:
every two years
Official source
Common Questions
  • What does science look like this year?

    Science this year is mostly hands-on. Students ask questions, run small experiments, look at what happened, and try to explain why. They cover living things, weather and Earth, forces and motion, and simple engineering projects where they build something and improve it.

  • How can I help with science at home?

    Notice things together and ask why. Watch ice melt in a glass, track the weather for a week, plant a seed in a cup, or build a paper bridge that holds pennies. Five minutes of wondering out loud teaches more than a worksheet.

  • My child says they are not good at science. What should I do?

    Science at this age is not about right answers. It is about guessing, testing, and changing your mind when something surprises you. Praise the guess and the try, not the result, and the confidence usually comes back.

  • How should the year be sequenced?

    A common path is to start with life science in the fall while the weather is still good for outdoor observation, move to Earth and weather in winter, and finish with physical science and an engineering build in spring. The practices like asking questions and using evidence run through every unit.

  • Which parts usually need the most reteaching?

    Two areas tend to stick: telling the difference between an observation and a guess, and using evidence to back up an explanation instead of just stating an opinion. Build short routines around both from week one and revisit them in every unit.

  • Do students need to memorize a lot of science vocabulary?

    Some words matter, like habitat, force, energy, and evidence. But memorizing long lists is not the point. Students should be able to use a word correctly when they explain what they saw, not recite a definition on a quiz.

  • What does a strong engineering project look like at this age?

    A clear problem, a simple design students drew first, a build using everyday materials, and at least one round of testing and fixing. The fixing part matters most. A first try that fails and a second try that works better is a success.

  • How do I know students are ready for next year?

    By spring, students should be able to ask a testable question, plan a simple investigation, record what happened, and explain the result using what they saw. If they can do that with a new topic they have not studied, they are ready.