P.3.5.2: Develop and use models to communicate the concept that matter is made…
Develop and use models to communicate the concept that matter is made of particles too small to be seen that move freely around in space (e.g., inflation and shape of a balloon, wind blowing leaves, or dust suspended in the air).
The Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science (2018) outcome P.3.5.2 (Physical Sciences) for Grade 3 says: “Develop and use models to communicate the concept that matter is made of particles too small to be seen that move freely around in space (e.g., inflation and shape of a balloon, wind blowing leaves, or dust suspended in the air).” These 4 Fieldbook units teach it hands-on, with everyday materials and a printable teacher guide and student sheet for every lesson. Official wording: Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Science (2018).
Earth and Sky at Home Grades K–5 · partly supports this outcome
Make a rainbow on the kitchen floor, grow crystals on a windowsill and build a cloud in a jar. Three classic home experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.
- How do crystals grow? 40 min to set up, then 5 min a day for 5 to 7 days
Children watch the grown-up make strong salt, Epsom salt and sugar solutions, set out dishes and a string, then check them every day for a week. They finish able to explain that crystals form when dissolved particles line up as the water leaves.
- How does a cloud form? 40 min
Children watch the grown-up set up two jars of hot water with ice on top, add a wisp of smoke to one, and compare the clouds. They finish able to explain that clouds form when moist air cools and water collects on tiny specks.
Kitchen Chemistry for Families Grades K–5 · partly supports this outcome
Four famous kitchen experiments, done properly: a homemade lava lamp, oobleck, a baking soda volcano and invisible ink. Each one starts with a real question, works with things from your cupboard, and leaves your child able to explain what happened.
- Why do the blobs in a lava lamp go up and down? 45 min
Kids layer oil and water in a glass, add food colouring and a piece of fizzy tablet, and watch coloured blobs rise and sink. Then they explain it with floating, sinking and gas bubbles, and test whether warm water changes the show.
- What makes a volcano erupt? 45 min
Kids test baking soda and vinegar to find out where the fizz comes from, build the classic kitchen volcano, then open bottles of sparkling water to see what really drives an eruption: gas trapped under pressure. They finish able to explain how the model is like a real volcano, and how it isn't.
Winter Science at Home Grades K–5 · partly supports this outcome
Make frost on the outside of a can, race ice cubes with salt and sugar, lift an ice cube with a piece of string, and look inside a real snowflake. Three kitchen-table winter experiments that actually work, with the real science explained for grown-ups.
- Can you make frost in a can? 40 min
Children crush ice, pack it into two cans, add salt to one, and watch water and then frost appear on the outside. They finish able to explain that the water and frost came out of the air, not through the can.
Living with Water: Salt, Rice and the Mekong Grades 4–5
Science and English together, for English learners (CEFR A2–B1). Three investigations from Vietnam: how salt farmers turn the sea into salt, how rice terraces stop a mountain washing away, and how a house in the Mekong Delta stays dry in the flood season.
- How do salt farmers turn the sea into salt? 60 min, plus a 10-minute check the next day
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR A2–B1. Teams paint salt water on dark paper to find the salt hiding in sea water, then set out wide and narrow dishes in sun and shade to see what makes water leave fastest. They use the evidence to advise a salt farm in Khánh Hòa.
- How do rice terraces stop a mountain washing away? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR A2–B1. Teams make model hillsides from soil in trays: a bare slope, a terraced slope and a slope with plant cover. They pour the same storm of rain on each, measure the muddy water that runs off, and use the evidence to advise a mountain village in northern Vietnam.
- How can a house stay dry when the Mekong floods? 60 min, or two 35-minute periods
Science and English together, for English learners at CEFR A2–B1. Teams design and build a model house on stilts or on a floating base, then test it as the teacher raises the water in a tub and makes waves. They use their results to advise a village in the Mekong Delta.
Printable practice for P.3.5.2
These pages practise a closely related idea; the match to P.3.5.2 is partial.
- Earth and Sky at Home workbook included with the unit
2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Kitchen Chemistry for Families workbook included with the unit
2 English-support pages, 1 practice page, 1 reading, with answer keys.
- Winter Science at Home workbook included with the unit
2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Living with Water: Salt, Rice and the Mekong workbook included with the unit
2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 practice page, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
- Solids, Liquids and Gases workbook included with the unit
2 English-support pages, 2 practice pages, 2 readings, 1 word wall, 1 unit review, 1 unit test, with answer keys.
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Compared with NGSS: 5-PS1-1 (partial).
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