A 2-D map is a great guide here on Earth—and virtually worthless for finding your way around in outer space. Take a 3-D look at mapping our solar system and universe. This Moveable Museum article, available as a printable PDF file, looks at how astronomers use data to create 3-D models of the universe. Explore these concepts further using the recommended resources mentioned in this reading selection.

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 learn the relative sizes of the planets in the solar system, as well as Pluto, asteroids, and comets, by using a scale model. They will learn that different solar system bodies are made of different materials and will consider different ways to classify them.

In this activity, students will see the relative sizes of the planets and how far apart they really are. This activity will especially emphasize how large and empty of a place our solar system really is.

Students will create a beautiful piece of art while learning to recognize the geology on planetary surfaces. In this project-based activity, students use the elements of art - shape, line, color, texture, value - to make sense of images of planets, asteroids, comets, and moons, honing observation skills and inspiring questions.

In this lesson, students will learn how the moon shines so brightly in the night sky. Students will learn that the moon gets its light from the sun, just like we do on Earth. Students will do an experiment with an orange wrapped in aluminum foil and turning the lights on and off.

Students will use paper plates to demonstrate the size of the solar system by using a scale model to show relative distances from the sun.

This online module focuses on astronomy: changes in the day and night sky, orbits of the Sun, mooon, and Earth, and the phases of the moon.

With this resource, students will learn about the planets in our solar system and an easy way to remember them.

Students use a variety of fruits to construct a scale model of the Moon, Earth, and Sun. After determining the correct sizes and distances for their models, they remove the Moon and consider what it would be like if the Moon was not part of our solar system.

These pinhole projector eclipse postcards allow safe observations of the North American Total Solar Eclipse on August 21, 2017. The two sided postcard features a map of the contiguous US and what percentage of the eclipse you’ll see at different locations. The other side shows how to see the eclipse safely using projection through the hole in the center of the card (you can punch it out) and tips about the eclipse. Available in English and Spanish.

In this lesson, students will learn about the solar system and the planets that compose the solar system. Students will understand, through movement activities, the effect of light and heat of the sun on planets. Students will become familiaar with the concepts of rotation and translation. Finally, students will create models of the solar system to represent what they have learned.

This online lesson provides information about the solar system and the planets that make it up.

In this lesson, students move a flashlight around an object to make and experiment with shadows. The activity can be connected to a storybook about a little bear exploring his own shadow, and also has connections to the geometry of a solar eclipse as the Moon and Sun cast a shadow onto Earth.

In this lesson, students demonstrate how the particular alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon can cause an eclipse.

In this lesson, students research individual planets of the solar system in small groups to learn about the characteristics that make each planet unique and create a chart comparing their characteristics. Students will create a travel brochure advertising the most appealing aspects of Earth that would attract extraterrestrials to visit.

Students build a simple pinhole viewer and use it to determine the diameter of the Sun.

This is a scientific report with supporting links and audio files. The discussed sections are: Big Bang, the creation of the universe, creation of the solar system and the planet earth. Two audio files describe different creation stories in different traditions and the search for a second planet Earth. The two supporting files deal with the hypothetical questions of what is beyond the universe and what exactly the Big Bang was. The text is written and spoken in child friendly language for children 8 years and up.

This scientific article discusses two aspects about the sphere shape of our planet: the Earth concept through history of science and gravity as the source for ball-shaped structures in the universe. The text is written in child-friendly language for native readers age 9 and up.