Grade 3 Science: how to help at home
What your child learns in Grade 3 science in the BC Curriculum, and simple things to try at home.
The Big Ideas this year
- Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact in their ecosystems.
- All matter is made of particles.
- Thermal energy can be produced and transferred.
- Wind, water, and ice change the shape of the land.
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
Grouping Living Things
Biodiversity (the variety of life in a place) and sorting living things into groups by their features: backbones, legs, fur, feathers, fins and more.
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.
Matter & Particles
All matter is made of tiny particles. How particles are arranged in solids, liquids and gases, and how heating and cooling cause melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation.
Thermal Energy
Where heat comes from (the sun, fire, friction, food), how heat moves from warmer things to cooler things, and which materials are conductors or insulators, including reading simple experiment graphs.
Landforms
Naming landforms such as mountains, valleys, plains, plateaus, islands, peninsulas, canyons and deltas, and how First Peoples' place names and knowledge describe the land.
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.
What the report card levels look like at home
- Emerging
- Just getting started with this idea. Short, regular practice with lots of support helps most.
- Developing
- Understands parts of it and is building confidence. Keep practising the tricky parts.
- Proficient
- Has it! Mixed review now and then keeps it strong.
- Extending
- 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 BC 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 BC?
The BC Curriculum Grade 3 science units include grouping living things, ecosystems & food chains, matter & particles, thermal energy, landforms, wind, water & ice.
Free printable Grade 3 science practice sheet
Questions from every unit, with an answer key.