Grade 3 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 3 science in the Alberta Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Substances can change state, including water as it moves through the water cycle.
- Contact forces affect how objects move, and simple machines make work easier.
- Earth's surface changes over time through natural events and the activities of plants, animals and people, including farming.
- Layers of Earth's surface, including dinosaur fossils found in Alberta, hold information about the past.
- First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples have long-held relationships with, and intergenerational knowledge of, the land.
- Plants, animals, people and the environment depend on each other, and food chains show how.
- Creativity and computational thinking help solve problems, and careful data builds scientific knowledge.
Easy ways to practise science at home
- Try a kitchen experiment, such as what dissolves in water and what floats or sinks.
- Keep a simple weather or moon log for a month.
- Ask “What do you think will happen?” and then test it.
- Visit a park, beach or creek and look for living things and their habitats.
What each unit covers
Solids, Liquids & Gases
States of matter and the changes of state caused by heating and cooling, including melting and freezing points of water.
Materials & Changes
Natural and processed materials, and the difference between reversible and permanent changes.
The Water Cycle
The water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection, with Alberta examples such as glacier melt feeding rivers.
Pushes, Pulls & Forces
Forces as pushes and pulls, contact and non-contact forces (gravity, magnetism, static electricity), friction, how bigger forces change motion more, and helmets and seat belts as safety devices.
Simple Machines
How levers, wheels and axles, and inclined planes change the strength or direction of a force, including tools designed and used by First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.
How Earth's Surface Changes
Slow and fast changes to Earth's surface, with Alberta examples such as glaciers and rivers. Many First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities hold knowledge about the land passed down over generations.
Wind, Water & Ice
How wind, water and ice break rock down (weathering) and carry it away (erosion), slowly changing the shape of the land, and how plants and windbreaks protect soil.
Soil Is Alive
Soil as a mix of rock particles, air, water and once-living material, and as a habitat that plants and animals change.
Farming & Changing the Land
How farming, building, plants and animals change Earth's surface, and how stewardship protects it. Alberta examples include canola, wheat and ranching.
Fossils & Rock Layers
Fossils and rock layers as evidence of the past, with Alberta places such as Dinosaur Provincial Park and Drumheller.
Ecosystems & Food Chains
How energy from the sun moves through food chains (producers, consumers and decomposers), how living things in an ecosystem depend on each other, and how First Peoples' knowledge of local ecosystems is passed down.
Senses & Surviving
How plants and animals sense their surroundings and respond in ways that help them survive.
Caring for Plants & Animals
How plants and animals in local places depend on each other, and respectful, safe ways to watch and protect them.
Computational Thinking
Computational thinking: breaking tasks into steps, finding patterns, writing clear instructions, fixing mistakes, and thinking of several creative solutions. No screen or coding experience is needed.
Science Skills & Safety
Making predictions and observations, running a fair test that changes one thing, using simple tools safely, the engineering design steps, debugging a simple program, and how science helps solve real problems.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Beginning
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Approaching
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Meeting
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Exceeding
- Applies it confidently, even in new or harder situations. Try challenge mode and real-life problems.
Your child’s teacher decides the level on the report card. Read the Alberta report card guide.
Common questions
How can I help my Grade 3 child with science?
Try a kitchen experiment, such as what dissolves in water and what floats or sinks. Keep a simple weather or moon log for a month. Keep sessions short, about 10 to 15 minutes, and stop on a success.
What does my child learn in Grade 3 science in Alberta?
The Alberta Curriculum Grade 3 science units include solids, liquids & gases, materials & changes, the water cycle, pushes, pulls & forces, simple machines, how earth's surface changes.
Free printable Grade 3 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.