3rd Grade Gifted Life & Physical Science With Lab Component-Semester 2: 15 Weeks

The focus will be on Life Science and Physical Science. Students will focus on types of energy, learn how to take data, create a graph, recreate mini habitats, and research how pollution affects Earth. As students learn scientific facts, they will also be expanding their vocabulary and strengthening their reading fluency and comprehension skills. 

This course will be semester 2 in a full year of third grade science credit. Semester 1 covers Earth Science, with semester 2 covering Life and Physical Science. The student can enroll in both for a full year of credit, or just one semester. 

Format: This class features a flex format, which means no live classes but instead the lessons are on the class wall.
Learning will occur from teacher lessons, videos, diagramming, discussion questions, and more. Flex works great for families looking for a no stress atmosphere. With flex, students complete 5 mini assignments on the class wall each week. With flex students can join anytime, and begin with week 1 working at a pace that works for the student. This is great for families that travel, will be vacationing during the session or just families who enjoy low stress learning environments. 

Course Instruction: Each Sunday the week's worth of the lesson will be uploaded by 10pm EST.  This will include sections to read (pdf uploads), pre-recorded videos, assignments and labs to complete at home. Students are encouraged to log in on Monday to view the week's assignments with a parent. Because of the class age level, it is recommended that a parent sit with the child and go over the week's work and expectations so then the student can work independently. Normally students log in twice a week to work on science to complete 5 mini assignments a week. The goal is to finish the week's lessons by Friday night. Then the parent logs into the class wall to make sure the student has completed the tasks and is following a pace that works for the family. Then on Sunday a new week of lessons are uploaded so the student can begin again on Monday. The parent and teacher partner together to provide the needed science curriculum experience. 

Course Interaction: Students will engage by responding to questions on the class wall, uploading video responses, trying labs at home, and more. 


Themes/Topics : (order may vary)
Physical Science
Introduction Week/Careers In Physical Science/Types Of Energy
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the ways heat energy is
transferred and measured.
Ask questions to identify sources of heat energy.
Plan and carry out an investigation to gather data using thermometers to produce tables and
charts that illustrate the effect of sunlight on various objects.
Use tools and every day materials to design and construct a device/structure that will
increase/decrease the warming effects of sunlight on various materials.

Life Science 
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the similarities and
differences between plants, animals, and habitats found within geographic regions 
Ask questions to differentiate between plants, animals, and habitats found in regions. Construct an explanation of how external features and adaptations (camouflage, hibernation, migration, mimicry) of animals allow them to survive in their habitat.
Use evidence to construct an explanation of why some organisms can thrive in one habitat
and not in another.
Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air,
land, and water) and humans on the environment. Ask questions to collect information and create records of sources and effects of pollution on the plants and animals.


Objectives & Goals:
The Third Grade Standards of Excellence for science engage students in making observations and using information they obtained to answer questions. Their communication skills allow them to record findings, analyze data, and recognize the importance of keeping records of observations without making alterations. Third graders add and subtract whole numbers mentally, on paper, and with a calculator. They observe, construct, and measure objects using ordinary hand tools. They observe things with many parts and describe the ways in which the parts influence or interact with one another. They represent objects in the real world with geometric figures, number sequences, graphs, diagrams, maps, and stories. The students will use this information to explain physical attributes of rocks and soils, understand how fossils provide evidence of organisms that lived long ago, describe ways in which heat energy is transferred and measured, identify features of plants and animals within the geographical regions of the world, and recognize the effects of pollution on the environment.
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This class is geared for gifted learners. I do have a regular 3rd grade science class. Please compare the two below:
Regular Third Grade Science
Length: 17 weeks
Pace: Regular Third Grade Level
and 
Gifted Third Grade Science
Length: 15 weeks
Pace: Gifted Track Level (3-4th Grade Reading Level Material), faster pace with 2-3 weeks of work uploaded at a time. This allows the gifted learner to work at a faster pace or work ahead at times. In addition, this class features more written responses, more detailed diagrams/drawings, and more project based learning. 


Science With Mrs. Collins offers her Outschool families the following educational incentives:
💰Discounts towards over 155 flex courses taught by Mrs. Collins. Mrs. Collins has personally created science courses for grades 2-12th grade. This means your child can enjoy having the same science teacher each year to provide more education stability. 
👩‍👦 Sibling discounts are available, by request. 
💸Gain access to her returning family tiered discount program. Learners who complete semester/session 1 courses are offered a $35 off coupon to use towards semester/session 2 classes.
🦉Enjoy access to Mrs. Collins' interactive assessments, where students can test when its convenient for the family, retake test multiple times, and print off assessment reports. 
🙋Enjoy access to Mrs. Collins' personal class Newsela reading comprehension articles/questions on many science topics.Science themed articles are provided with reading comprehension goals in mind. The short article, four comprehension questions, and the key is provided for various topics covered several times during the class session for additional reading practice. 
👩🏻‍💻Gain access to Mrs. Collins' support on assignments weekdays 10am-4pm EST. She is quick to respond within an hour on most assignment needs. 
📃Mrs. Collins' class wall is provided in an easy-to-follow format unlike most flex classes. She provides 5 weekly tasks each week to work on with clear labels for easy progression on the class wall. (Week 1 Task 1, Week 1 Task 2...) 
⭐ Ask for your discount to her Outschool groups, where subscribers can chat with one another, share ideas, help with homework, and contribute to an easygoing, educational atmosphere with their peers.