Science

About this course

Third grade is where science starts reading like a textbook instead of a story. The life science unit covers classification, cell parts including mitochondria, plant systems, photosynthesis, vertebrates and invertebrates, adaptations, food chains, ecosystems, life cycles, and inherited traits. Earth science works through the planet's structure, rocks and minerals, soil formation, weathering, volcanoes, fossils, the water cycle, and predicting weather from cloud types. Physical science handles properties and states of matter, physical versus chemical change, mixtures and solutions, forces, friction, all six simple machines, energy transfer, sound, and light. Space covers the sun, moon, inner and outer planets, rotation and revolution, seasons, constellations, and galaxies. The body unit runs through the skeletal, muscular, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, nervous, and immune systems plus nutrition and rest. Chemistry takes up elements, the periodic table, atoms, molecules, compounds, acids and bases, and the responsible handling of household chemicals. Physics states all three of Newton's laws, then magnetism, static and current electricity, series and parallel circuits, reflection and refraction, and waves. The last unit is stewardship: air, water, soil, forests, wildlife, oceans, renewable and nonrenewable energy, and recycling.

The course is 108 lessons in 9 units of 12, each planned for about 30 minutes. The ninth unit teaches the life science topics from unit one over again in freshly written lessons, so it reads as a genuine second pass rather than a reprint. The lesson structure is a short prayer, a wonder question, the teaching, an observation or experiment, and a record-and-share step, closing with a ten-question multiple-choice quiz that grades itself. Each lesson includes a King James verse.

The shift you will notice most is who the text talks to. In the earlier grades it addresses you; here it addresses your student directly and the parent note says to encourage independent work while staying available for questions. Listed materials are still pencil, paper, and crayons, and most activities use what is on hand, such as hunting all six simple machines around the house or comparing traits in family photos. A few lessons suggest an optional extra (a microscope slide of onion skin, a 9V battery with an LED and foil) but always give a drawing alternative for families without the supplies. The course teaches from a creation perspective and says so plainly; the lesson on inherited traits, for instance, teaches reproduction after its kind and states that this differs from one kind of creature becoming another.

What the course covers

• Classification, cells, and plant systems
• Photosynthesis, food chains, ecosystems, and adaptations
• Inherited traits and variation within a kind
• Rocks, minerals, soil, fossils, weathering, and erosion
• The water cycle, clouds, weather, and climate
• Matter, changes of state, mixtures, and solutions
• Forces, friction, gravity, energy, and the six simple machines
• Atoms, elements, the periodic table, compounds, acids and bases
• Newton's three laws, magnetism, electricity, and simple circuits
• The solar system, seasons, constellations, and galaxies

What your student will be able to do

• Identify cell parts and explain what each one contributes
• Trace energy through a food chain or food web
• Name the six simple machines and find examples around the house
• Diagram an open and a closed circuit and label its four parts
• Use cloud types and weather signs to make a forecast
• Explain each of Newton's three laws with an everyday example

Scope and sequence

All 9 units of Science for Grade 3, in the order they are taught.

Inside the course

These photographs appear in the lessons themselves, not just on this page. Every one is freely licensed and credited to its photographer at the foot of this page.

Every lesson, by title

All 108 lesson titles are listed here — nothing is withheld until you download. Open a unit to read its contents.

One whole lesson, exactly as it comes

This is a real lesson taken from the middle of the course — the teaching text, the practice, the homework, and the first three quiz questions with their answers. It is not a marketing excerpt.

Unit 5: Human Body · Lesson 9

Human Body - Lesson 9

30 minutesPencilPaperCrayons

What this lesson is for

• Students will explore and observe Human Body - Lesson 9
• Students will describe what they learned about God's creation

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible.

Colossians 1:16

The Senses

Close your eyes and listen. What do you hear? Now open them. What do you see? God gave you five senses so you could experience and enjoy His amazing world.

Key Verse: "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the LORD hath made even both of them." — Proverbs 20:12

Teaching: God gave us five senses to experience the world He created: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Each sense has a special organ that collects information and sends it to the brain. Sight: Your eyes detect light. The cornea and lens focus light onto the retina at the back of the eye, where light-sensitive cells called rods (detect light and dark) and cones (detect color) convert light into nerve signals sent to the brain. Hearing: Your ears collect sound waves. The eardrum vibrates; tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup — the smallest bones in the body) amplify the vibration; fluid in the inner ear converts it to nerve signals. Smell: Your nose detects chemicals in the air. Smell receptors in the upper nose send signals directly to the brain's memory and emotion centers — that is why smells can instantly bring back memories. Taste: Your tongue has about 10,000 taste buds that detect sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory (umami). Taste and smell work together — most of what we "taste" is actually smell. Touch: Your skin is the largest sensory organ. It detects pressure, temperature, pain, and texture through millions of nerve endings. These senses let us enjoy beauty, stay safe, connect with others, and worship God through all He has made.

What organ do we use for each of the five senses? How do eyes detect color? Why do smell and taste work together?

Activity: Blindfolded taste test! Blindfold yourself, hold your nose, and taste three foods (apple, potato, and pear all taste similar without smell). Then release your nose and taste again. Observe how much smell changes flavor. Discuss how God designed taste and smell to work together.

Homework

Write a short paragraph about Human body - lesson 9.

Note for the parent

Today's lesson covers Human Body - Lesson 9. Estimated time: 30 minutes. Encourage independent work but be available for questions.

The first three of this lesson's 10 questions

God gave humans five senses — they are sight, hearing, smell, taste, and ___.

1. Pain
2. Balance
3. Touch
4. Proprioception

Show the answer

Answer: Touch

The part of the eye that focuses light onto the retina is the ___.

1. Iris
2. Cornea
3. Pupil
4. Lens

Show the answer

Answer: Lens

The colored part of the eye that controls how much light enters is the ___.

1. Retina
2. Pupil
3. Lens
4. Iris

Show the answer

Answer: Iris

Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.

What you will need

Drawn from the materials named across all 108 lessons of this course. Most families already own most of it.