We have a very exciting and interesting science curriculum in Year 3. 

Our topics include 'How does your garden grow?', 'Seeds!' ,  'Let there be light' , 'May the force be with you!', 'Rock stars' and 'Keeping healthy.'  

We encourage all of our children to think scientifically through: designing experiments, thinking about fair testing,  observing carefully, measuring with increasing accuracy, recording results , making conclusions and making links with their learning. 

In the Autumn term:

We explore a sample of rocks and look in depth at their physical properties. An experiment is created where the children test the buoyancy, whether they are permeable or impermeable, resistance to acid and if the rock is hard or soft. We then move on to look at how rocks weather overtime, how fossils are formed in rocks and finally we identify the differences in soils and investigate these. 

In the Autumn term:

We then move onto exploring light. The children will explore how light helps us see everyday objects and they will set up experiments to test different materials. The key vocabulary we will look at for this topic is transparent, translucent and opaque. 

At the start of the Spring term:

We explore magnets and the children will observe that magnetic forces can act without direct contact, unlike most forces. They will also explore the use of different magnets (bar, ring, button, horseshoe).

Our experiment will involve looking at the strength of magnets and how far away from an object they work. 

In the Spring and Summer term:

We explore plants and understand their needs to thrive. Through designing experiments and ensuring that they are fair tests, the children will look at the roles of different parts of plants. We explore how photosynthesis is used to create food and how plants use pollination to reproduce.

Our experiment will involve looking at the role of light in plant growth by creating mazes for seeds to follow to the light.