Create a free account now and get 3 full lessons, completely free. Get my 3 free lessons

Worldwide: choose your country
NGSS · Grade 3 · Life science

3-LS3-1 lessons

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.

The Next Generation Science Standards code 3-LS3-1 asks students to: “Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence that plants and animals have traits inherited from parents and that variation of these traits exists in a group of similar organisms.” These Fieldbook lesson teaches it hands-on, with everyday materials, a printable teacher guide and a student sheet.

Like Parent, Like Baby? Traits and Families Grades 1–3

  • Why don't puppies from the same parents look the same? 45–60 min

    Teams read family files on a Labrador litter, a cat litter and a pea pod, then the whole class becomes a living bar graph of 32 pea cards and compares it with the 8,023 peas Gregor Mendel counted. Students use the data to explain that young inherit traits from their parents and that brothers and sisters still vary.

NGSS is used as written in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, so the code 3-LS3-1 matches there. Other states word and number their own versions: see curriculum alignment for your state's codes.

More NGSS standards for Grade 3

All standards we teach · Curriculum alignment by state and province

Three full lessons, free

Make a free account and download any three Fieldbook lessons as printable PDFs. No card needed.