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Science Standards

3rd Grade Science Standards (NGSS*)

All 15 3rd grade performance expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards, each explained in plain English. The official wording of each one is a click away.

15 standards

Forces and Interactions

4 standards
3-PS2-1
Plan and run tests showing how balanced and unbalanced forces affect motion, like a push on one side moving a ball while equal pushes keep a box still.
Official wording
Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
3-PS2-2
Observe or measure how an object moves to show that its pattern of motion can predict what it does next, like a swing going back and forth.
Official wording
Make observations and/or measurements of an object’s motion to provide evidence that a pattern can be used to predict future motion.
3-PS2-3
Ask questions to find cause and effect in electric or magnetic pushes and pulls between objects that are not touching, like a charged balloon lifting hair.
Official wording
Ask questions to determine cause and effect relationships of electric or magnetic interactions between two objects not in contact with each other.
3-PS2-4
Define a simple design problem that magnets could help solve, like a latch that keeps a door shut, using what you know about how magnets work.
Official wording
Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying scientific ideas about magnets.

Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems: Environmental Impacts on Organisms

4 standards
3-LS2-1
Make an argument that living in groups helps some animals survive, like wolves hunting as a pack or fish staying safe in a school.
Official wording
Construct an argument that some animals form groups that help members survive.
3-LS4-1
Analyze fossil data to find evidence of the living things and environments of long ago, like sea shell fossils found on dry land today.
Official wording
Analyze and interpret data from fossils to provide evidence of the organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago.
3-LS4-3
Argue with evidence that in a given habitat some living things thrive, some barely get by and some cannot live at all, based on what each one needs.
Official wording
Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
3-LS4-4
Make a claim about how well a fix works when a change in a habitat, like a pond drying up, affects which plants and animals can live there.
Official wording
Make a claim about the merit of a solution to a problem caused when the environment changes and the types of plants and animals that live there may change.

Inheritance and Variation of Traits: Life Cycles and Traits

4 standards
3-LS1-1
Make models showing that living things have different life cycles but all are born, grow, reproduce and die, like a frog or a flowering plant.
Official wording
Develop models to describe that organisms have unique and diverse life cycles but all have in common birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
3-LS3-1
Analyze data to show that plants and animals inherit traits from their parents and that those traits vary within a group, like puppies in one litter.
Official wording
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.
3-LS3-2
Use evidence to explain that surroundings can change traits, like a plant staying short without enough water or a dog gaining weight from too much food.
Official wording
Use evidence to support the explanation that traits can be influenced by the environment.
3-LS4-2
Use evidence to explain how differences among members of one species can help some survive, find mates and reproduce, like a better camouflaged moth avoiding birds.
Official wording
Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals of the same species may provide advantages in surviving, finding mates, and reproducing.

Weather and Climate

3 standards
3-ESS2-1
Show weather data in tables, pictographs and bar graphs to describe the typical temperature, rain and wind expected in a season.
Official wording
Represent data in tables and graphical displays to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season.
3-ESS2-2
Gather and combine information to describe the climates of different regions around the world, like hot deserts and cold polar areas.
Official wording
Obtain and combine information to describe climates in different regions of the world.
3-ESS3-1
Judge and defend how well a design protects people from a weather hazard, like a flood barrier, a wind resistant roof or a lightning rod.
Official wording
Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.

The official document

Official wording from NGSS Lead States. 2013. Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. The plain-English lines and everything else on this page are EMStudio’s own explanations, written beside the official wording. They are not part of the standards.

*NGSS is a registered trademark of WestEd. Neither WestEd nor the lead states and partners that developed the Next Generation Science Standards were involved in the production of this product, and do not endorse it.