Third Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 63)

Plant Cycles: Photosynthesis & Transpiration

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th

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What do plants need? Students examine the effects of light and air on green plants, learning the processes of photosynthesis and transpiration. Student teams plant seeds, placing some in sunlight and others in darkness. They make predictions about the outcomes and record ongoing observations of the condition of the stems, leaves and roots. Then, several healthy plants are placed in glass jars with lids overnight. Condensation forms, illustrating the process of… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

5-LS1-1. Support an argument that plants get the materials they need for growth chiefly from air and water.

Polymer Permeability: Which Plastic Wrap Prevents Evaporation Best?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

There are three different kinds of polymers used for kitchen plastic wrap: low density polyethylene (LDPE) (e.g., Handiwrap or Glad Wrap), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (e.g., Reynolds PVC Foodservice Wrap or Boardwalk PVC Food Wrap Film) and polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) (note: Saran Wrap used to be made with polyvinylidene chloride, but has switched to polyethylene. You will need to search for another brand that uses PVdC if you want to test it). Which of these materials is least permeable to… Read more

Polymer Permeability: Which Plastic Wrap Prevents Oxidation Best?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

There are currently two different kinds of polymers used for kitchen plastic wrap: low density polyethylene (LDPE) (e.g. Saran or Glad Wrap) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (e.g. Reynolds PVC Foodservice Wrap or Boardwalk PVC Food Wrap Film). Which of these materials is less permeable to oxygen? When you slice an apple, the surface of the slice turns brown as the apple is oxidized. Can plastic wrap seal out oxygen and prevent the apple from browning? Which plastic wrap works best? Do… Read more

Pop Goes the Metal: How Temperature Affects Snap Time of a Jumping Disc

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Jumping discs can be a fun toy to play with, and with their sudden POP!, they can even be a good way to startle people who have never heard them before. Jumping discs use a neat trick to jump. They are made of two different types of metal, and these metals expand when they heat up (or shrink when they cool down), but not by exactly the same amount. In this science project you will explore how temperature affects the reactions of your jumping discs— and how to get the timing right if you… Read more

Popping an Ollie: How Skateboarders + Physics = A Really Cool Trick

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Have you ever seen a skateboarder jump over an obstacle or slide down a railing? It looks like they are defying the laws of physics when they perform these tricks. It looks like it, but that's not the case. Physics describes the motion of objects and it is a skateboarder's best friend! All of these tricks can be explained by physics. In this sports science fair project, you will learn how speed affects "popping an ollie." The ollie is a basic skateboarding trick, and it's the first step to more… Read more

Printing Power! Save the Environment, One Printer Page at a Time

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Do your parents ever get upset with you for "wasting" paper and ink from your printer? Maybe you wanted to print a comic you found online, or a whole bunch of pictures of you and your friends being goofy, or all the instructions on how to put together that really awesome LEGO® castle. But 20 pages of text and pictures later, your mom or dad is yelling at you. Why do they even care how much you print? And why do people say it is a "waste" of paper? Try this printer-saving science project to… Read more

Program Drone Steering with an Arduino®

STEM Activity

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How do quadcopters (drones with four propellers) steer? Find out in this fun project as you program an Arduino to steer a mini popsicle stick drone! See this page for a complete list of our mini drone projects. You may wish to do the projects in order. Read more

Program Your Own COVID-19 or Flu Simulator with Scratch

STEM Activity

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Are you curious about how public health officials think about and model how diseases like flu and COVID-19 move from one person to another? In this activity, you will use the kid-friendly programming language Scratch to write a simulation that uses bouncing dots to represent healthy and sick people. The simulation will show how we can take measures to slow the spread of a transmissible disease. Read more

Pulley'ing Your Own Weight

Lesson Plan Grade: 3rd-5th

Using common materials (spools, string, soap), students learn how a pulley can be used to easily change the direction of a force, making the moving of large objects easier. They see the difference between fixed and movable pulleys, and the mechanical advantage gained with multiple/combined pulleys. They also learn the many ways engineers use pulleys for everyday purposes.Engineering Connection Thousands of years ago as well as today, engineers used pulleys to make everyday… Read more

NGSS Performance Expectations:

3-5-ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
3-PS2-1. Plan and conduct an investigation to provide evidence of the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

Respiration and Gills: What Factors Affect Respiration in an Aquatic Environment?

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

During metabolism, organisms experience physical and chemical changes. All animals need some way to exchange chemical waste generated during metabolism for fresh nutrients. One way that these metabolic chemicals are exchanged is during respiration, the process by which used carbon dioxide gas is exchanged with fresh oxygen and circulated throughout the body. How do organisms living underwater respirate? They use gills, which filter oxygen from the water and pass the oxygen into the… Read more

Third Grade Projects, Lessons, Activities (665 results)

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