Corvallis School district 509J

Hands on Science:
Science Kit Descriptions ~ 3rd Grade

>  Earth Materials:  Research and identify the characteristics of rocks and minerals.  Get practice with tools and methods geologists use to determine the minerals inside rocks and learn techniques for identifying several specific rocks and minerals including calcite, quartz, and granite.  Specific mineral tests included are scratch test, calcite test, and descriptions of color and luster. Includes FOSS Science Readers to supplement the hands on lessons.

>  Food Chains and Webs:  Set up experiments with rye grass to see the effect of different soils, amount of water, and sunlight.  Observe cricket behavior and determine their food preferences.  Observe chameleon physical characteristics and behavior.  Observe earthworms and their behavior.  Dissect owl pellets and identify bones.  Connect these organisms in a food chain as well as study more complex food webs including the role of decomposers.

>  Water:  Compare the way water interacts with four different surfaces, observe the property of surface tension and investigate how to change this property.  Compare rates of different amounts of water flowing downhill.  Observe the properties of water as it is heated, cooled, and frozen.  Make a water thermometer and learn that water expands as it is heated.  Compare the density of water at different temperatures.  Introduction to water vapor and evaporation.  Explore the effect of surface area on rates of evaporation.  Set up condensation chambers and relate to the water cycle.  Test water samples for hardness and evaporation rate. Includes FOSS Science Readers to supplement the hands on lessons.

>Water filters: Help Salila design a water filter system so she can keep the turtle she has rescued from the Ganges River.  Experiment the efficacy of a variety of materials (screen, coffee filter, sand and gravel) in cleaning water.  Design water filters using a variety of materials.  Use two tests to determine success:  color of filtered water compared to five sample bottles and time it takes for the water to go through the filter.  Combine success scores with cost scores based on materials used.  Redesign and test to improve.