Science with Julie

For the opening weeks of 3rd grade science, students focused on creating individual scientific notebooks and doing a variety of introductory activities before delving into our first topic, Rocks and Minerals.  We discussed what it means to be a scientist, and heard firsthand from a number of different scientists about what they do from Scientists @ the Smithsonian online. Students were given science partners, and learned the steps of the Scientific Method through games and song.  They put the method into practice by conducting a few “awesome” experiments involving for instance, milk and food coloring,

We moved on to thinking about rocks, what the students already knew about them, where they come from and how they are used.  We read the book, If You Find a Rock, about the variety of rocks that can be found, and students were encouraged to bring in rocks they have found or rock collections to share with the class (this is an ongoing activity, so feel free to encourage your child to contribute).  Students sharpened their observational skills by examining three rock specimens, and recording as many observations as possible in their notebooks about their properties in terms of four senses, as we excluded taste. Next, students explored 12 rocks by sorting them according to different properties, and shared their sorts with classmates to compare their groupings.  They wrote questions that they have about rocks, which we are answering and refer to as we continue our study.

Students connected their understanding of different properti

es of rocks to learn about various ways rocks are formed.  They read an article, “Rocks—Here, There, Everywhere” which introduced them to the three types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic, and the formation of rocks under water, underground, through pressure, and heat.  Within a week or two, students learned the names of the 12 rocks they have been working with, and are becoming very adept at also putting the rocks into categories according to type, and without referring to their notebooks. They do love a good challenge!  Each student made an individual ROCK board – a take off on BINGO – and we have played as a class group and partners to reinforce rock identification.

We have been focusing more recently on the rock cycle, learning about it through videos, Brain Pop, and a Reader’s Theater Rock Cycle play.  We will also be conducting edible and inedible rock cycle demonstrations to further understand the cycle of rock formation. Our next area to focus in on will be fossils which the students know are found in sedimentary rocks.  They will read about fossils, examine a number of specimens, and create fossil replicas. We are lucky to be based in the art room which makes it easier to integrate art and science.

Looking ahead, we will move on to learning about minerals, and their relation to rocks.  If possible, there will be a science related field trip in the future.

Stay tuned for details!