Back to School Third Grade Science Activities

Teaching students about science tools, science safety, and the processes scientists use are ideal lessons for the beginning of the year. In this post, I’ll share fun third grade science activities to teach the first week of school as you start up science in your classroom. These high engagement lessons and hands-on labs will help you introduce science at the beginning of the year and lay the foundation for your future science lessons.

Back to School Third Grade Science Activities

Teaching PowerPoint source

Begin by defining science and talking about scientists. Familiarize your students with the areas of science they will learn about this year, the different types of scientists, and the jobs they do.

Teaching PowerPoint source

Identify how we use science and engineering

Students are often amazed at all the ways their lives are impacted by science and engineering. Hold a class discussion and create a class chart detailing the ways we use science. Ask students: “How was science used to design your gym shoes?” and “How were scientists and engineers involved in creating the materials that your backpack is made from?” Guide students to see that every man-made object we use in our daily lives was designed, tested, and developed using some form of science and engineering.

Click here to read about STEAM activities that teach the engineering design process and grab the free science and engineering poster pack in the post.

Teach science safety rules

Determine what your rules will be for safety in science class. Rules, routines, and procedures to create are:

Passing out materials
Using science materials
Science safety procedures
Using science tools
Lab routines
Partner procedures
Behavior rules
Science journal routines
Science processes students should follow

Teaching PowerPoint source

Teach the procedures for each of these situations and explain the importance of following each one. I tell my students that not only do I want them to think like scientists, but I also expect them to behave and follow procedures like scientists do.

Play safe or unsafe

Consider using science as a getting to know you game. Partner students to play Safe or Unsafe with task cards depicting various science class situations. Hang the cards around the room and let partners roam to find the cards and answer the questions.

Science Safety task cards source

Familiarize students with science tools

Introduce the science tools your students will use. Many tools are used for specific purposes, while others have multiple uses. I like to play a variation of “I have who has” using either science tool picture cards or the real tools. Find science tools picture cards in this science resource.

To play:

Pass out cards or tools to students. Hold up a card and call on students to describe how the tool is used. Then ask who else has a tool that can be used for the same purpose. For example, you might hold up a picture of a microscope. Call on a student to tell how it is used (to magnify objects). Ask “Who else has a tool for this purpose?”. The student with the hand lens would answer.

The dollar store has a multitude of items you can use for science. I’ve found hand lenses, magnets, items for teaching forces and motion, properties of matter, weather, plant needs, and all sorts of items for experiments. I’ve also put together a collection of harder to find items that you can get on Amazon.

Click HERE to see 3rd grade science materials on Amazon.

Teach science process skills

These basic skills, known as scientific process skills, are integrated together when scientists plan and conduct investigations and carry out experiments. These skills help make investigations and experiments reliable, repeatable, and meaningful.

Observation
Communication
Classification
Measurement
Inference
Prediction

Solubility lab source

Provide opportunities for students to practice science process skills by conducting a simple experiment. Marker Madness is a fun way to explore solubility and familiarize students with basic science practices.

Solubility lab source

During this investigation, students form a hypothesis, make predictions about the effectiveness of different liquids for dissolving the ink from a Sharpie marker, observe and measure the amount of time it takes, record data, and communicate their findings.

Click here to read more about the Sharpie Solubility Experiment

Digital third grade science activities

As you introduce technology use in your classroom, consider using science content to extend your lessons. These narrated lesson slides included audio files of the slides read aloud enabling all students to listen and learn independently no matter their reading level.

Digital science lessons source

Students can use the interactive slides as a center or extension activity to practice what they are learning in science.

Digital science tools activity source

Get a FREE Scientists Poster Pack

Back to School Science Videos

These videos are fun ones to add to your third grade science activities at the beginning of the year. They cover the scientific method, science tools, and science safety.

The Science of Lunch This is a fun science video for the first week of school that shows how even an empty lunch sack is useful to science. You might even use this one after teaching cafeteria rules and manners!

Science Tools Introduces science tools and their uses.

Lab Safety explains the general rules of safety for conducting experiments.

The Scientific Method for Kids This video is a fun and engaging way to introduce and learn the steps to the scientific method for kids.

Use science content to build reading skills

As you begin your reading lessons and small group instruction, use high-interest, leveled science readers with comprehension questions to reinforce science concepts, build vocabulary, and practice close reading and comprehension skills.

Habitats science readers source

Embedding science content into your literacy block is a good way to incorporate science when you have short amounts of time dedicated to science in your schedule. Science readers are high-interest for kids and a fun and effective way to build reading skills. These readers include both book and article formats AND digital versions on Google Slides.

Landforms & Earth Changes science readers source

Beginning with the basics is beneficial to all students and a great way to start the year in science. I hope these third grade science activities add fun to your first week of school and help you introduce science in your classroom.

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