Access Point #: SC.3.N.1.Pa.1

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Explore, observe, and recognize common objects in the natural world.
General Information
Number: SC.3.N.1.Pa.1
Category: Participatory
Date Adopted or Revised: 02/08
Big Idea: The Practice of Science : 

A: Scientific inquiry is a multifaceted activity; The processes of science include the formulation of scientifically investigable questions, construction of investigations into those questions, the collection of appropriate data, the evaluation of the meaning of those data, and the communication of this evaluation.

B: The processes of science frequently do not correspond to the traditional portrayal of "the scientific method."

C: Scientific argumentation is a necessary part of scientific inquiry and plays an important role in the generation and validation of scientific knowledge.

D: Scientific knowledge is based on observation and inference; it is important to recognize that these are very different things. Not only does science require creativity in its methods and processes, but also in its questions and explanations.

Related Benchmarks

This access point is an alternate version of the following benchmark(s).

Related Courses

This access point is part of these courses.
5020040: Science - Grade Three
5010044: Language Arts - Grade Three
7720040: Access Science Grade 3
7710014: Access Language Arts - Grade 3
5011030: Library Skills/Information Literacy Grade 3
5020100: STEM Lab Grade 3

Related Resources

Vetted resources educators can use to teach the concepts and skills in this access point.

Lesson Plan

How the Seasons Affect Plants:

In this long-term lesson, students will put observation spots in a designated area at the school to observe how it changes throughout the school year.

Type: Lesson Plan

Unit/Lesson Sequences

Major Plant Structures and Their Functions:

In this series of lessons, students learn about the major plant structures and explore their functions.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

States of Matter | Inquiry in Action:

In the first activity of this unit, students consider how heating and cooling affect molecular motion. The subsequent activities extend this idea to explore the relationship between temperature and the state changes of water. After considering their own experiences with evaporation and condensation, students discover that adding heat to water increases the rate of evaporation and cooling water vapor increases the rate of condensation. Students then investigate what causes moisture to form on the outside of a cold cup. As an extension, students see that at even lower temperatures water vapor can condense on the outside of a container and then freeze to form ice.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Physical Properties & Physical Change in Solids | Curious Crystals | Inquiry in Action:

In this investigation, students will carefully look at four known household crystals. After observing and describing the crystals, students will be given an unknown crystal, which is chemically the same as one of the four known crystals but looks different. When students realize that they cannot identify this crystal by its appearance alone, they will suggest other tests and ways to compare the crystals to eventually identify the unknown crystal. The other activities in this investigation are examples of tests students can conduct on the crystals. After a series of these tests, students will gather enough evidence to identify the unknown crystal.

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence

Student Resources

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Parent Resources

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