# What your child will learn in Grade 3 Science

## Matter

Your child will explore how materials can change. You can ask your child to describe what happens when you heat, cool, mix, or bend everyday things around the house, melting butter, freezing water, tearing paper, or stretching a rubber band. These investigations help your child understand that materials have the power to transform. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36276).

## Energy

Your child will learn how forces, pushes and pulls, make things move faster, slower, or in a different direction. You can ask your child to predict what happens when you push a toy car harder, or how a ramp changes the way a ball rolls down it. Understanding forces helps your child see how movement is connected to the strength and direction of a push or pull. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36303).

## Earth Systems

Your child will look at changes on Earth's surface, like rocks, soil, and layers underground. You can ask your child to notice hills, valleys, or exposed soil after rain, and talk about what those shapes tell us about Earth's history. Earth's layers hold clues about what happened long ago. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36314).

## Living Systems

Your child will discover how plants and animals depend on each other and their surroundings. You can ask your child to watch insects visiting flowers, birds eating seeds, or how a plant needs soil and water. Plants and animals live together in communities where each one plays a role. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337).

## Computer Science

Your child will explore how creative thinking helps solve problems with computers and technology. You can ask your child to imagine new ways to design or build something, and talk about how trying different ideas is part of thinking like a computer scientist. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36356).

## Scientific Methods

Your child will learn that asking questions and testing ideas is how scientists build knowledge. You can ask your child to wonder "what if?" about something they see, make a guess about what will happen, and then try it out to see if they were right. This cycle of asking, guessing, and testing is the heart of science. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36367).

## How to help at home: Matter

- Let your child mix ingredients while cooking or baking and talk about how they change shape or texture. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36276).
- Freeze water in different containers, then watch it melt on a warm windowsill and describe what happened. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36276).
- Tear, fold, and crumple paper together and ask your child which changes can be undone and which cannot. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36276).

## How to help at home: Energy

- Roll a ball down a ramp made from a book or cardboard tube and change the angle to see how it moves differently. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36303).
- Play with toy cars or blocks and experiment with pushing them gently and hard to see how the force changes their movement. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36303).
- Use a stick or spoon as a lever to lift small objects and talk about how the push or pull makes it easier. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36303).

## How to help at home: Earth Systems

- Take a walk and look for rocks, soil, sand, or clay; collect samples and compare their colours, textures, and sizes. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36314).
- After rain, look for puddles, erosion, or changes in soil and ask your child what Earth's surface tells us. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36314).
- Visit a park or garden and dig a small hole to see the layers of soil, then talk about what each layer might show about time. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36314).

## How to help at home: Living Systems

- Watch insects in your garden or yard and ask your child what the insect is eating and where it lives. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337).
- Grow a plant from seed indoors and observe how it needs water, light, and soil to survive. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337).
- Look for animals and plants together, birds at a feeder, ants on a plant, or moss on a rock, and talk about how they help each other. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337).

## How to help at home: Computer Science

- Ask your child to draw or describe a new invention and explain how they came up with the idea. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36356).
- Play a game where you take turns coming up with different ways to solve a problem, like building the tallest tower with blocks. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36356).
- Talk about how trying new ideas, even ones that don't work, helps us learn and improve. [See the curriculum](https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36356).

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*AILI parent overview · language en · model claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · generated 2026-09-17 · id 619093eb-ab1b-4750-9422-2f8481d5cefd*

### Sources

- node:n1: Matter: Understandings of the physical world are deepened by investigating matter and energy. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36274)
- node:n2: How can materials change? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36275)
- node:n3: Students investigate and analyze how materials have the potential to be changed. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36276)
- node:n4: Energy: Understandings of the physical world are deepened by investigating matter and energy. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36301)
- node:n5: How can forces relate to changes in movement? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36302)
- node:n6: Students investigate and explain how forces affect the movement of objects. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36303)
- node:n7: Earth Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and th (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36312)
- node:n8: What visible changes can be identified by examining Earth's surface? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36313)
- node:n9: Students analyze changes in Earth's surface and explain how its layers hold stories of the past. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36314)
- node:n10: Living Systems: Understandings of the living world, Earth, and space are deepened by investigating natural systems and t (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36335)
- node:n11: How do plants and animals interact? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36336)
- node:n12: Students analyze and describe how plants and animals interact with each other and within environments. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36337)
- node:n13: Computer Science: Problem solving and scientific inquiry are developed through the knowledgeable application of creativi (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36354)
- node:n14: How does creativity contribute to computational thinking? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36355)
- node:n15: Students investigate creativity and its relationship to computational thinking. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36356)
- node:n16: Scientific Methods: Investigation of the physical world is enhanced through the use of scientific methods that attempt t (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36365)
- node:n17: How can investigation help to deepen understanding in science? (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36366)
- node:n18: Students relate investigation to building knowledge. (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/explore/node/36367)
- resource:r1: Wind Turbine Kit: Tips and Tricks (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/_7MZyDjw3kuCkDwpW_Sa2Q)
- resource:r2: Analyze It! (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/UgOKCehzTUaOwPHoWmcm-Q)
- resource:r3: Animal Senses (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/jVfkpszFKEePZaQuPojttQ)
- resource:r4: Animal Senses: Sight and Hearing (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/K02QJngb-EW_7CMdzcxeeA)
- resource:r5: Animal Senses: Smell, Taste, Touch (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/Q4OCtC0l8kyXY5kswzjbCg)
- resource:r6: Ants on a Slant (Inclined Plane) - Gizmos (Student) (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/oppPuen1Hk2K1OroDt6ENg)
- resource:r7: Ants on a Slant (Inclined Plane) - Gizmos (Teacher) (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/5aGOqy5X5kKoNbKJqZ7k7w)
- resource:r8: Au pays des dinosaures (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/9JIf8jTEmUm0OfJ3cAVsUw)
- resource:r9: Wind Turbine Toolkit (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/25t2RMqx20ONOGhq4IVuNg)
- resource:r10: Awesome Jobs in STEAM: Canadians at Work (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/vsn3LWn6dk2OVogNFPQxew)
- resource:r11: Backyard Battles (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/6dUMzmp7kUOmdPd8KJrAVA)
- resource:r12: À marée basse (https://goa-cc-uat-aili-app-001.azurewebsites.net/library/resource/LqIOBypo-UKnt7EnbojUbA)