Grade Three Science

​Students will develop an understanding of five general units: Rocks and Minerals, Building with a Variety of Materials, Testing Materials and Designs, Hearing and Sound, and ​Animal Life Cycles.

• Scientists
• Class activities
• Teacher Resources

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Children’s early experiences shape what they imagine to be possible. Study after study has shown the value of exposing children with positive role models. Representation, including in the hours spent consuming media within the classroom, shape what they imagine to be possible for people who look like them, live where they live, or come from where they came from. Simply put, kids determine what they can be based on the examples around them. Therefore, we highly recommend you take 2-5 minutes everyday in your science class to introduce scientists of colour. We've made this easy for you by creating a presentation that you can use with a slide a day to showcase a new scientist of diverse background. You could do this on a daily, weekly, bi-weekly or during a certain month. You could also make your own presentation and encourage this representation. 

K-6 Scientists of Colour by Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation

​Building with a Variety of Materials

3 States of Matter Science DIY Educational For Kids
A 9-minute video where Ryan explores the differences between a solid, liquid and gas. He and his mom explore the different states of matter, and find out what state of matter Oobleck is!

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 2.2: Appropriate material choice
• Suggested use: 
  - Introduction to different material composition 
  - Quiz students on compositions of liquids/solids and textures in-between
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students​

Aboriginal Science Education
The following resources were developed by student teachers in the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program (ATEP) at the University of Alberta. This was part of an EDEL 330 assignment to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives. They represent sample student lesson plans which utilize an Aboriginal science point of view.

• Curriculum connection:
  - 2.1: Using a variety of materials and techniques/ design/ construct and test structures
• Suggested use: 
  - Provides a further list of websites/resources and Indigenous perspectives in science for teachers to explore
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students

​The Learning Circle
Produced to help meet Canadian educators growing need for elementary-level learning exercises on the indigenous population in Canada. Composed of six themes, each unit contains its own activities.

• Curriculum connection:
  - 2.1: Using a variety of materials and techniques/ design/ construct and test structures
• Suggested use: 
  - Various lesson plans on constructing technologies (canoe, snowshoes, paddle, toboggans) and their connection to Indigenous communities
  ​- Research project on Indigenous dwellings in Alberta/Canada and comparing them to our dwellings we are familiar with
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal (accommodations required for discussions) 
  - Visually impaired students may benefit from a read aloud that includes descriptions of visual components of the story
  - Additional accommodations required for hard of hearing students​ ​

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival 
This website explains the Dragon Boat festival and has activities that can be incorporated into the classroom. 

• Curriculum connection:
  - 2.1: Using a variety of materials and techniques/ design/ construct and test structures
• Suggested use: 
  - Discussion on diverse ideas for traditional materials and methods used to build boats
  ​- Students could experiment by building their own boats from similar materials, or testing the materials shown in the video (wood, bark, and other natural materials found on the land)
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students 

Testing Materials and Designs

Indigenous Boats
This website shows the different boats used within Indigenous cultures, the materials collected to build, and where they were most commonly used. This video shows the history of various boats.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 2.1: Using a variety of materials and techniques/ design/ construct and test structures.
• Suggested use: 
  - Discussion relating to shape and function of boat size and intended use
  - Discussion on how environment and lifestyle cause a variation in structure
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal (accommodations required for discussions) 
  - Visually impaired students may benefit from a read aloud that includes descriptions of visual components of the story
  - Additional accommodations required for hard of hearing students

Animal Life Cycles
​
​Elephants and the Maasai Culture
Article discussing the importance of the elephant in the Maasai tribe of Kenya. The elephants play a big role in the symbols of the Maasai tribe.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.2: Observe and describe the growth and development of an animal/insect.
• Suggested use: 
  - Whole class research project on the elephant and its life cycle according to the Maasai tribe
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available​

Sacred Cow Facts
Website describing the importance of cows in Hinduism and how cows are honoured in India.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.2: Observe and describe the growth and development of an animal/insect.
• Suggested use: 
  - Whole class research project on the cow and its life cycle according to Hinduism
  ​- Compare and contrast use of the cow in Hinduism to how it is used in the Maasai tribe
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Traditional Maasai Food: Blood and Milk
Article discussing the diet of the Maasai tribe. 

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.2: Observe and describe the growth and development of an animal/insect
• Suggested use: 
  - Whole class research project on the cow and its life cycle according to the Maasai tribe
  ​- Compare and contrast use of the cow with the Maasai tribe and its role in Hinduism
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

China: Animals and Plants
A website describing what can be found in Chinese Wildlife, from animals to plants. A video is also included and it explores the forest life, investigating the golden-snub nosed monkey and more.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - 5.1: Animal Classification
• Suggested use: 
  - Introduction to Chinese plants and animals unique to their environment
  ​- Discussion of characteristics and basic ecology of Chinese flora and fauna
• Accessibility: 
  ​- Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students and hard of hearing as descriptive captioning is not available

Miscellaneous​
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Kujo's Kid Zone MiniEpisode 3 "Slime"
Kujo shows kids how to make slime.

• Curriculum connection:
  - Students will identify patterns and order in objects and events studied; and, with guidance, record observations, using pictures, words and charts; and make predictions and generalizations, based on observations
• Suggested use: 
  - Class experiment on making slime
  ​- Discuss characteristics of a scientist/expectations during an experiment (curiosity, careful around materials, making an educated guess)
  ​- Whole class write up to discuss hypothesis, procedure, materials, and conclusion to answer: How is slime made?
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing. Additional accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as descriptive captioning is not available 

Autumn Peltier I am Indigenous 
12 year old Autumn Peltier speaks about the impact of corporations on the Earth's water supply.

• Curriculum connection: 
  - Students will show growth in demonstrating respect for living things and environments, and commitment for their care
• Suggested use: 
  - Use in combination with other resources that introduce the concept of children and young people engaging in advocacy and activism in Canada and around the world (i.e. Malala Yousefzai, Bellen's Crayon Project, etc.)
  - Inspire a class discussion around concepts such as environmental care, Indigenous ways of knowing, fairness and equity, activism, the needs of humans, animals, and plants, empathy, community, and identity
• Accessibility: 
  - Accessible for nonverbal and hard of hearing additional. Accommodations may be required for visually impaired students as descriptive captioning is not available

Implementing meaningful STEM Education with Indigenous Students & Families
There are a set of strategies teachers can use to intentionally incorporate indigenous ways of knowing into STEM learning environments—both in and out of school and in relation to family and community.

• Suggested use: 
  - Use this document along with the Alberta Science Program of Study to create meaningful lessons

Steps to create an Anti-Racist Science Lesson
Choosing a meaningful and culturally responsive phenomenon is the cornerstone to teaching an equitable, anti-racist science lesson.

• Suggested use: 
  - Use this document along with the Alberta Science Program of Study to create meaningful lessons