Grade 3 Science Massachusetts standards Standards

Technology/Engineering

Physical Science

Life Science

Earth and Space Sciences

Massachusetts in the 18th century through the American Revolution

The Puritans, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Native Peoples, and Africans

The Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony, and Native Communities

European explorers' first contacts with Native Peoples in the Northeast

The geography and Native Peoples of Massachusetts

Massachusetts cities and towns today and in history

Grade 3: Massachusetts, Home to Many Different People

Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas

Comprehension and Collaboration

Speaking and Listening Standards

Range of Writing

Research to Build and Present Knowledge

Production and Distribution of Writing

Text Types and Purposes

Writing Standards

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

Craft and Structure

Key Ideas and Details

Reading Standards for Informational Text

History and Social Science and the Standards for Literacy (Pre-K - 5)

Standards for History and Social Science Practice

Use graphs and tables of local weather data to describe and predict typical weather during a particular season in an area.

Obtain and summarize information about the climate of different regions of the world to illustrate that typical weather conditions over a year vary by region.

Evaluate the merit of a design solution that reduces the damage caused by weather.

Use simple graphical representations to show that different types of organisms have unique and diverse life cycles. Describe that all organisms have birth, growth, reproduction, and death in common but there are a variety of ways in which these happen.

Provide evidence, including through the analysis of data, that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exist in a group of similar organisms.

Distinguish between inherited characteristics and those characteristics that result from a direct interaction with the environment. Give examples of characteristics of living organisms that are influenced by both inheritance and the environment.

Use fossils to describe types of organisms and their environments that existed long ago and compare those to living organisms and their environments. Recognize that most kinds of plants and animals that once lived on Earth are no longer found anywhere.

Use evidence to construct an explanation for how the variations in characteristics among individuals within the same species may provide advantages to these individuals in their survival and reproduction.

Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular environment some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive.

Analyze and interpret given data about changes in a habitat and describe how the changes may affect the ability of organisms that live in that habitat to survive and reproduce.

Provide evidence to support a claim that the survival of a population is dependent upon reproduction.

Provide evidence to explain the effect of multiple forces, including friction, on an object. Include balanced forces that do not change the motion of the object and unbalanced forces that do change the motion of the object.

Conduct an investigation to determine the nature of the forces between two magnets based on their orientations and distance relative to each other.

Define a simple design problem that can be solved by applying the use of the interactions between magnets.

Define a simple design problem that reflects a need or a want. Include criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost that a potential solution must meet.

Generate several possible solutions to a given design problem. Compare each solution based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the design problem.

Gather information using various informational resources on possible solutions to a design problem. Present different representations of a design solution.

Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.

Independently and proficiently read and comprehend informational texts, including history/social studies, science, mathematical, and technical texts, exhibiting complexity appropriate for at least grade 3.

Determine the main idea of a text; recount the key details and explain how they support the main idea.

Describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, mathematical ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language pertaining to time, sequence, or cause/effect.

Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases relevant to a grade 3 topic or subject area.

Use text features and search tools (e.g., key words, sidebars, hyperlinks) to locate information about a given topic efficiently.

Distinguish their own point of view from that of an author of a text.

Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words, numbers, and symbols in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).

Describe the logical connection between particular sentences and paragraphs in a text (e.g., comparison cause/effect, first/second/third in a sequence).

Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.

Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 3 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.

Come to discussions prepared, having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., gaining the floor in respectful ways, listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).

Ask questions to check understanding of information presented, stay on topic, and link their comments to the remarks of others.

Explain their own ideas and understanding in light of the discussion.

Determine the main ideas and supporting details of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Ask and answer questions about information from a speaker, offering appropriate elaboration and detail.

Report on a topic, text, or solution to a mathematical problem, tell a story, or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details, speaking clearly at an understandable pace and using appropriate vocabulary.

Create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems that demonstrate fluid reading at an understandable pace; add visual displays when appropriate to emphasize or enhance certain facts or details.

Speak in complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation in order to provide requested detail or clarification.

On a current map of Massachusetts, use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, and titles to locate and describe the city or town where the school students attend is located, its local geographic features and historic landmarks, and their significance.

Research the demographic origins of the town or city (e.g., the Native People who originally lived there or still live there, the people who established it as a colonial town, its founding date, and the free, indentured, and enslaved women and men who contributed to the well-being of the town). Explain that before the mid-19th century most of the settlers were of Native American, Northern European, or African descent; describe the current population and immigrant groups of the 20th and 21st centuries and interview family members, friends, and neighbors to obtain information about living and working there in the past and present.

Explain why classrooms, schools, towns, and cities have governments, what governments do, how local governments are organized in Massachusetts, and how people participate in and contribute to their communities.

classroom and school governments provide a way for students to participate in making decisions about school activities and rules

city and town governments provide a way for people to participate in making decisions about providing services, spending funds, protecting rights, and providing community safety

Massachusetts communities have either a city or a town form of government (e.g., cities are governed by elected mayors and city council members; towns are governed by an elected group of people, in many towns called a "select board," appointed town manager, and elected town meeting members or an open town meeting in which all citizens can participate; public schools are governed by elected or appointed school committees or boards of trustees)

people can participate in and influence their local government by reading and responding to news about local issues, voting, running for office, serving on boards or people can volunteer (give their time and knowledge) to the community and neighborhood by activities such as monitoring river water quality; growing and distributing produce from a school or community garden; running errands or shoveling snow for neighbors; welcoming newcomers and helping them learn English, helping new neighbors register to vote

people who own property, such as a house, condominium or commercial building, in a city or town contribute to community services by paying taxes, which fund services such as public schools and libraries, city/town/regional planning, street maintenance

On a physical map of North America, use cardinal directions, map scales, legends, and titles to locate the Northeast region and identify important physical features (e.g., rivers, lakes, ocean shoreline, capes and bays, and mountain ranges).

On a political map of the current United States, locate the New England states (Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine).

Explain the diversity of Native Peoples21, present and past, in Massachusetts and the New England region.

the names of at least three native groups (e.g., Abenaki/Wabanaki, Massachusett, Mohican/Stockbridge, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Wampanoag)

the locations of tribal territories in the state.

physical features and their influence on the locations of traditional settlements

contributions of a tribal group from the area of the school (e.g., language, literature, arts, trade routes, food such as corn, beans, and squash, useful items such as baskets, canoes, wampum, and useful knowledge of medicinal plants, words such as powwow and moccasin, and many names for waterways, hills, mountains, islands and place names, such as the Connecticut and Merrimack Rivers, Mount Wachusett, the Taconic Range, Nantucket, Natick, Seekonk, Agawam, Chicopee)

Locate North America, the Atlantic Ocean, and Europe on a map, explain how Native Peoples first came into contact with Europeans, and explain why Europeans in the 16th–17th centuries sailed westward across the Atlantic (e.g., to find new trade routes to Asia and new supplies of natural resources such as metals, timber, and fish).

Trace on a map the voyages of European explorers of the Northeast coast of North America (e.g., Giovanni Caboto [John Cabot], Bartholomew Gosnold, Giovanni de Verrazano, John Smith, Samuel de Champlain).

Explain how any one of the explorers described the Native Peoples and the new lands, and compare an early 17th century map of New England with a current one

Explain who the Pilgrim men and women were and why they left Europe to seek a place where they would have the right to practice their religion; describe their journey, the government of their early years in the Plymouth Colony, and analyze their relationships with the Wampanoag and Abenaki/Wabanaki people.

the purpose of the Mayflower Compact and the principle of self-government

challenges for Pilgrim men, women, and children in their new home (e.g., building shelter and starting farming, becoming accustomed to a new environment, maintaining their faith and keeping a community together through self-government)

contacts with the native leaders Samoset and Massasoit, events leading to a celebration to give thanks for the harvest, and subsequent relationships between Europeans and Native Peoples in southeastern Massachusetts.

Compare and contrast the roles and leadership decisions of early English leaders of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Pilgrims of the Plymouth colony (e.g., John Winthrop, Miles Standish, William Brewster, Edward Winslow, William Bradford, John Alden, John Cotton, Thomas Hooker) and the roles and decisions of the leaders of Native Peoples (e.g., Massasoit, Metacom, also known as King Philip).

Explain why Puritan men and women migrated in great numbers to Massachusetts in the 17th century, how they moved west from the Atlantic coast, and the consequences of their migration for the Native Peoples of the region (e.g., loss of territory, great loss of life due to susceptibility to European diseases, religious conversion, conflicts over different ways of life such as the Pequot War and King Philip's War).

Using visual primary sources such as paintings, artifacts, historic buildings, or text sources, analyze details of daily life, housing, education, and work of the Puritan men, women, and children of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, including self-employed farmers and artisans, indentured servants, employees, and enslaved people.

Explain that in the 17th and 18th century slavery was legal in all the French, Dutch, and Spanish, and English colonies, including Massachusetts and that colonial Massachusetts had both free and enslaved Africans in its population.

Explain the importance of maritime commerce and the practice of bartering – exchanging goods or services without payment in money—in the development of the economy of colonial Massachusetts, using materials from historical societies and history museums as reference materials.

the fishing and shipbuilding industries

trans-Atlantic and Caribbean trade, especially the Triangular Trade that included Africans to be sold as slaves in the colonies and goods such as sugar and cotton produced by slave labor to be sold in the colonies and in Europe

the development of seaport cities of New Bedford, Newburyport, Gloucester, Salem, and Boston

Using a historical map, explain the extent of the Province of Massachusetts in the 17th and 18th centuries (including territory which is now included in Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket). Explain reasons for the growth of towns and cities in Massachusetts in the 1700s.

Analyze the connection between events, locations, and individuals in Massachusetts in the early 1770s and the beginning of the American Revolution, using sources such as historical maps, paintings, and texts of the period.

the Boston Massacre (1770), including the role of the British Army soldiers, Crispus Attucks, Paul Revere, and John Adams

the Boston Tea Party (1773), a political protest against taxes on tea by patriots who called themselves the Sons of Liberty, dressed as Native Peoples

the Intolerable Acts (1774), laws passed by the British Parliament as a result of the Boston Tea Party, designed to punish colonists

the First Continental Congress (1774), a meeting of representatives from the 13 colonies in response to the Intolerable Acts

the beginning of the Revolution at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts (April, 1775) and the Battle of Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts (June, 1775) and the roles of Revolutionary leaders such as Paul Revere, John Hancock, John and Abigail Adams, Samuel Adams, and Peter Salem

the roles of Native Peoples and African Americans in the American Revolution, some serving as Loyalists, some as Patriots

the roles of colonial women in keeping households and farms, providing education for children, and, during the Revolution, boycotting English goods

Analyze how the colonists' sense of justice denied led to declaring independence, and what the words of the Declaration of Independence say about what its writers believed.

Explain how, after the Revolution, the leaders of the new United States had to write a plan for how to govern the nation, and that this plan is called the Constitution. Explain that the rights of citizens are spelled out in the Constitution's first ten Amendments, known as the Bill of Rights; explain that full citizenship rights were restricted to white male property owners over the age of 21 in the new Republic.

Explain that states as well as nations have plans of government; recognize that the Constitution of Massachusetts (1780) is the oldest functioning constitution in the world, that its primary author was John Adams, and that, in addition to outlining government, it gives basic rights to citizens of the Commonwealth.

Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting an opinion with reasons.

Introduce a topic or text they are writing about, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure that lists reasons.

Provide reasons that support the opinion.

Use linking words and phrases (e.g., because, therefore, since, for example) to connect opinion and reasons.

Provide a concluding statement or section.

Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences.

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

Introduce a topic and group related information together; include illustrations when useful to aiding comprehension.

Develop the topic with facts, definitions, and details.

Use linking words and phrases (e.g., also, another, and, more, but) to connect ideas within categories of information.

Provide a concluding statement or section.

Write narratives in prose or poem form to develop experiences or events using effective literary techniques, descriptive details, and clear sequences.

Establish a situation and introduce a speaker, narrator, and or characters; organize an appropriate narrative sequence.

Use dialogue and descriptions of actions, thoughts, and feelings to develop experiences or events or show responses to situations.

Use figurative language to suggest images.

Use temporal words and phrases to signal order where appropriate.

Provide a sense of closure.

For poems, use words and phrases that form patterns of sound (e.g., rhyme, repetition of sounds within words or within lines) to create meaning or effect.

Produce writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.

Demonstrate command of standard English conventions.

Demonstrate the ability to choose and use appropriate vocabulary.

Use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with others.

Conduct short research projects that build knowledge about a topic.

Recall information from experiences or gather information from print or digital sources; take brief notes on sources and sort evidence into provided categories.

Begins in grade 4.

Earth's Systems

Earth and Human Activity

Engineering Design

Demonstrate civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Develop focused questions or problem statements and conduct inquiries.

Organize information and data from multiple primary and secondary sources.

Analyze the purpose and point of view of each source; distinguish opinion from fact.

Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and relevance of each source.

Argue or explain conclusions, using valid reasoning and evidence.

Determine next steps and take informed action, as appropriate.

From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes

Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity

Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

Computational Thinking

Computing Systems

Digital Tools and Collaboration

Computing and Society

Safety and Security

Describe how to use proper ergonomics (e.g., body position, lighting, positioning of equipment, taking breaks) when using devices.

Describe the threats to safe and efficient use of devices (e.g., SPAM, spyware, phishing, viruses) associated with various forms of technology use (e.g., downloading and executing software programs, following hyperlinks, opening files).

Identify appropriate and inappropriate uses of technology when posting to social media, sending e-mail or texts, and browsing the Internet.

Explain the proper use and operation of security technologies (e.g., passwords, virus protection software, spam filters, popup blockers, cookies).

Describe ways to employ safe practices and avoid the potential risks/dangers associated with various forms of online communications, downloads, linking, Internet purchases, advertisements, and inappropriate content within constrained environments.

Identify different types of cyberbullying (e.g., harassment, flaming, excluding people, outing, and impersonation).

Explain that if you encounter cyberbullying or other inappropriate content, you should immediately tell a responsible adult (e.g., teacher, parent).

Ethics and Laws

Demonstrate responsible use of computers, peripheral devices, and resources as outlined in school rules (Acceptable Use Policy [AUP]).

Describe the difference between digital artifacts that are open or free and those that are protected by copyright.

Explain the guidelines for the fair use of downloading, sharing, or modifying of digital artifacts.

Describe the purpose of copyright and the possible consequences for inappropriate use of digital artifacts that are protected by copyright.

Explain that laws exist (e.g., Section 508, Telecommunication Act of 1996) that help ensure that people with disabilities can access electronic and information technology.

Interpersonal and Societal Impact

Explain the different forms of web advertising (e.g., search ads, pay-per-click ads, banner ads, targeted ads, in-game ads, e-mail ads).

Explain why websites, digital resources, and artifacts may include advertisements and collect personal information.

Define the digital divide as unequal access to technology on the basis of differences, such as income, education, age, and geographic location.

Use critical thinking to explain how access to technology helps empower individuals and groups (e.g., gives them access to information, the ability to communicate with others around the world, allows them to buy and sell things).

Identify resources in the community that can give people access to technology (e.g., libraries, community centers, education programs, schools, hardware/software donation programs).

Identify ways in which people with disabilities access and use technology (e.g., audio players and recorders, FM listening systems, magnifiers).

Identify the impact of social media and cyberbullying on individuals, families, and society.

Computing Devices

Identify a broad range of computing devices (e.g., computers, smart phones, tablets, robots, e-textiles) and appropriate uses for them.

Describe the function and purpose of various input and output devices (e.g., monitor, keyboard, speakers, controller, probes, sensors, Bluetooth transmitters, synthesizers).

Demonstrate an appropriate level of proficiency (connect and record data, print, send command, connect to Internet, search) in using a range of computing devices (e.g., probes, sensors, printers, robots, computers).

Identify and solve simple hardware and software problems that may occur during everyday use (e.g., power, connections, application window or toolbar).

Describe the differences between hardware and software.

Identify and explain that some computing functions are always active (e.g., locations function on smart phones).

Human and Computer Partnerships

Compare and contrast human and computer performance on similar tasks (e.g., sorting alphabetically, finding a path across a cluttered room) to understand which is best suited to the task.

Explain how hardware and applications (e.g., Global Positioning System [GPS] navigation for driving directions, text-to-speech translation, language translation) can enable everyone, including people with disabilities, to do things they could not do otherwise.

Explain advantages and limitations of technology (e.g., a spell-checker can check thousands of words faster than a human could look them up, however, a spell-checker might not know whether 'underserved' is correct or if the author's intent was to type 'undeserved').

Networks

Describe how a network is made up of a variety of components and identify the common components (e.g., links, nodes, networking devices).

Describe the need for authentication of users and devices as it relates to access permissions, privacy, and security.

Define and explain why devices are numbered/labeled in networks (e.g., the World Wide Web Uniform Resource Locator [URL], the Internet Protocol [IP] address, the Machine Access Code [MAC]).

Recognize that there are many sources of and means for accessing information within a network (e.g., websites, e-mail protocols, search engines)

Services

Identify common services (e.g., driving directions apps that access remote map services, digital personal assistants that access remote information services).

Abstraction

Use numbers or letters to represent information in another form (e.g., secret codes, Roman numerals, abbreviations).

Organize information in different ways to make it more useful/relevant (e.g., sorting, tables).

Make a list of sub-problems to consider, while addressing a larger problem.

Algorithms

Define an algorithm as a sequence of instructions that can be processed by a computer.

Recognize that different solutions exist for the same problem (or sub-problem).

Use logical reasoning to predict outcomes of an algorithm.

Individually and collaboratively create an algorithm to solve a problem (e.g., move a character/robot/person through a maze).

Detect and correct logical errors in various algorithms (e.g., written, mapped, live action, or digital).

Data

Describe examples of databases from everyday life (e.g., library catalogs, school records, telephone directories, contact lists).

Collect and manipulate data to answer a question using a variety of computing methods (e.g., sorting, totaling, averaging) and tools (such as a spreadsheet) to collect, organize, graph, and analyze data.

Programming and Development

Individually and collaboratively create, test, and modify a program in a graphical environment (e.g., block-based visual programming language).

Use arithmetic operators, conditionals, and repetition in programs.

Use interactive debugging to detect and correct simple program errors.

Recognize that programs need known starting values (e.g., set initial score to zero in a game).

Modeling and Simulation

Individually and collaboratively create a simple model of a system (e.g., water cycle, solar system) and explain what the model shows and does not show.

Identify the concepts, features, and behaviors illustrated by a simulation (e.g., object motion, weather, ecosystem, predator/prey) and those that were not included.

Individually and collaboratively use data from a simulation to answer a question.

Digital Tools

Type five words-per-minute times grade level (e.g., for Grade 5, type 25 words/minute).

Navigate between local, networked, or online/cloud environments and transfer files between each (upload/download).

Use digital tools (local and online) to manipulate and publish multimedia artifacts.

Collaboration and Communication

Communicate key ideas and details individually or collaboratively in a way that informs, persuades, and/or entertains using digital tools and media-rich resources.

Collaborate through online digital tools under teacher supervision.

Research

Identify digital information sources to answer research questions (e.g., online library catalog, online encyclopedias, databases, websites).

Perform searches to locate information using two or more key words and techniques to refine and limit such searches.

Evaluate digital sources for accuracy, relevancy, and appropriateness.

Gather and organize information from digital sources by quoting, paraphrasing, and/or summarizing.

Create an artifact that answers a research question and clearly communicates thoughts and ideas.

Cite text-based sources using a school- or district-adopted format.

Provide basic source information (e.g., Uniform Resource Locator [URL], date accessed) for non-text-based sources (e.g., images, audio, video).