Next Generation Science Standards - Grade 3

In third grade, students should develop an understanding of the effects of equal and unequal forces on the motion of objects; the properties and usefulness of magnets; the fact that organisms have diverse life cycles and a variety of physical and behavioral traits inherited from their parents that allow them to survive in the habitats where they live; how fossils can connect living things of the past to present-day organisms and environments; the impact of environmental changes on organisms; weather patterns at different times of year and in different parts of the world; and how people can take action to reduce the impact of weather-related events.