This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 3rd grade Science content.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 3rd Grade Science course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

Students will work in groups to design a wheel-less vehicle that will be sent across different surfaces to test what friction does to materials. The goal of the build will be to make a vehicle that will move as quickly as possible over different surfaces. By using different types of surfaces the student will have to test and decide which building materials are best to cause the best movement.

This scientific article explains the historic, social, and economic implications of the invention of the steam engine. It also discusses how the industrial revolution made manufacturing plants independent from locations next to rivers. The last part describes the nostalgic use of historic steam engines. The text is in child-friendly language and appropriate for children age 8 and up.

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade Science. 

This course was created by the Rethink Education Content Development Team. This course is aligned to the NC Standards for 3rd Grade Science.

In this series of quick hands-on activities, students will demonstrate that heat is produced when objects are rubbed together. As assessment, students will identify and draw examples that illustrate this concept.

The Heat Energy unit helps students understand what heat energy is, how it is transferred, how it is measured, and how insulation can keep heat in or out. In the introductory activity, students will investigate how heat energy is generated when they rub two things together.

In this lesson, students learn that heat is produced from mechanical and electrical machines and human activities.

Students will investigate heat through demonstrations, discussions, and simple examples. Students will understand that the source of all energy for the earth comes solely from the sun. They will also be able to distinguish mechanical and electrical sources of energy in everyday life activities.