Year 3
The science inquiry skills and science as a human endeavour strands are described across a two-year band. In their planning, schools and teachers refer to the expectations outlined in the achievement standard and also to the content of the science understanding strand for the relevant year level to ensure that these two strands are addressed over the two-year period. The three strands of the curriculum are interrelated and their content is taught in an integrated way. The order and detail in which the content descriptions are organised into teaching and learning programs are decisions to be made by the teacher.
Incorporating the key ideas of science
Over Years 3 to 6, students develop their understanding of a range of systems operating at different time and geographic scales.
In Year 3, students observe heat and its effects on solids and liquids and begin to develop an understanding of energy flows through simple systems. In observing day and night, they develop an appreciation of regular and predictable cycles. Students order their observations by grouping and classifying; in classifying things as living or non-living they begin to recognise that classifications are not always easy to define or apply. They begin to quantify their observations to enable comparison, and learn more sophisticated ways of identifying and representing relationships, including the use of tables and graphs to identify trends. They use their understanding of relationships between components of simple systems to make predictions.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 3, students use their understanding of the movement of Earth, materials and the behaviour of heat to suggest explanations for everyday observations. They group living things based on observable features and distinguish them from non-living things. They describe how they can use science investigations to respond to questions.
Students use their experiences to identify questions and make predictions about scientific investigations. They follow procedures to collect and record observations and suggest possible reasons for their findings, based on patterns in their data. They describe how safety and fairness were considered and they use diagrams and other representations to communicate their ideas.
(source: www.australiancurriculum.edu.au)
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Living & Non-Living Things - Picture Sort
Sort biotic vs. abiotic things and discuss their characteristics with a hands-on living vs. nonliving picture sort.
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Highlight the differences between living and non-living things with an illustrative Living vs. Nonliving Things Anchor Chart
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Solids, Liquids and Gases PowerPoint
A 31 slide editable PowerPoint template to use when teaching your students about solids, liquids and gases.
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Display these posters with information about the Earth, Sun and moon in your science classroom.
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Learn the facts of each of the planets in our solar system with these fact files and matching comprehension worksheets.
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Display this set of 18 mini-posters in your classroom when learning about Earth and space vocabulary.
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Animal Classes Word Search Pack - Upper Years
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States of Matter: Liquids – Poster
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States of Matter: Solids – Poster
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