Grade 3 science worksheets
Grade 3 science worksheets on LessonPrint cover physical science, life science, earth & space and engineering design. There are 37 free printable sheets across 18 NGSS performance expectations, each with its own answer key and 25 versions so every student in the class gets a different paper. They are aimed at ages 8-9, print straight from the browser, and need no account.
37 worksheets18 standards18 with a lesson plan25 versions each
Physical Science
9 worksheets3-PS2-1Show what balanced and unbalanced forces do to how something moves.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Balanced, or Not — evidence of balanced and unbalanced forces on motion
- Testing a Push Fairly — planning an investigation into how forces change motion
3-PS2-2Use a pattern in an object's motion to predict where it goes next.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Using a Pattern to Predict — using a pattern in motion to predict future motion
- Where Will It Be Next? — using measured positions over time to predict where something will be
3-PS2-3Ask what causes two objects to attract or repel without touching.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Acting Across a Gap — cause and effect in electric and magnetic interactions without contact
- What a Magnet Will Pull — which objects a magnet pulls across a gap and which it does not
- Coils, Batteries and Paperclips — measuring cause and effect in electromagnets and other non-contact forces
3-PS2-4Define a problem that magnets could solve.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- A Job for a Magnet — defining a design problem that magnets could solve
- Could a Magnet Solve It? — using what magnets pull to decide whether a problem is one they could solve
Life Science
19 worksheets3-LS1-1Model how life cycles differ, and what every one of them has in common.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Egg, Growth, Eggs Again — modeling life cycles that differ but share four stages
- Complete or Incomplete? — comparing insect life cycles with and without a pupa stage
- From Seed to Fruit — ordering the stages of flowering plants' life cycles
- Mealworms and Stick Insects — using an insect log to compare complete and incomplete metamorphosis
- Caterpillars and Frogspawn — using eight weeks of observations to compare two animal life cycles
3-LS2-1Argue that some animals form groups because it helps them survive.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Better Together — arguing that some animals form groups that help them survive
3-LS3-1Use data to show traits are inherited and still vary within a group.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Passed On, and Not Quite the Same — evidence that traits are inherited and vary within a group
- Passed Down, or Picked Up? — using evidence to tell traits passed down from parents from things learned
3-LS3-2Show with evidence that surroundings can change a trait.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- What the Surroundings Change — evidence that traits can be influenced by the environment
- Born With It, or Learned? — telling inherited traits from characteristics learned from the surroundings
- Sunflowers in Sun and Shade — using measured heights as evidence that surroundings change a trait
3-LS4-1Use fossils as evidence of what lived where, long ago.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- What the Rock Remembers — using fossils as evidence of past organisms and environments
- What the Quarry Held — comparing fossil organisms with living ones to infer a past environment
3-LS4-2Explain how differences between individuals help them survive and reproduce.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- A Small Difference That Helps — how variation among individuals can give an advantage
3-LS4-3Argue that a habitat suits some living things, suits others less, and suits some not at all.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Well, Less Well, Not at All — arguing that a habitat suits some organisms and not others
- Shallows, Open Sea, Deep Dark — arguing which ocean habitats suit a sea organism and which do not
- Three Rock Pools — using rock-pool counts to argue which sea creatures survive well where
3-LS4-4Judge a solution for what happens to living things when their environment changes.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- When the Habitat Changes — judging a solution for living things when the environment changes
- When the Sea Changes — judging a solution when people change an ocean habitat
Earth and Space Science
6 worksheets3-ESS2-1Put weather data into tables and graphs to describe a season.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- What a Season Usually Does — representing weather data to describe a season
- Two Towns, One Week — recording and comparing weather readings from two places at the same time
3-ESS2-2Gather information to describe climates in different parts of the world.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Climates Around the World — combining information to describe climates in different regions
- Weather or Climate? — telling one day's weather from a region's climate over many years
- One Day, or Many Years? — reasoning about what evidence shows weather and what shows climate
3-ESS3-1Judge a design meant to reduce the damage from a weather hazard.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Is That Design Worth It? — judging the merit of a design that reduces a weather hazard
Engineering Design
3 worksheets3-5-ETS1-1Define a design problem, with what counts as success and what limits you.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Success and Limits — defining a design problem with criteria and constraints
3-5-ETS1-2Compare several possible solutions against the criteria and the constraints.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Weighing Up Several Ideas — comparing solutions against criteria and constraints
3-5-ETS1-3Run fair tests, controlling the variables, to find what to improve.
55-minute lesson plan for this standard
- Keeping the Test Fair — planning fair tests with variables controlled
Grade 3 science worksheets — questions teachers ask
What science topics do the Grade 3 worksheets cover?
Physical Science, Life Science, Earth and Space Science and Engineering Design — the NGSS disciplines taught in Grade 3. That is 37 worksheets across 18 performance expectations, grouped on this page by the performance expectation each one practices rather than by topic name, so a sheet can be matched to the code you are teaching to.
How many free Grade 3 science worksheets are there?
37, each one practicing a distinct sub-skill rather than repeating a sibling under another title. Every sheet is published in 25 versions, so Grade 3 has 925 printable papers in total, all free and all with an answer key.
What age are Grade 3 science worksheets for?
Grade 3 is typically ages 8-9 in the United States. The sheets are grouped by NGSS performance expectation rather than by age, so a student working above or below their grade level can be given the sheet that matches the performance expectation they are on.
Do the Grade 3 worksheets include answer keys?
Every one. The key is generated from the same problems as the questions and prints on its own sheet of paper, after them, so it does not go out with the class. That holds for all 25 versions of every Grade 3 sheet, not only the first.
How do I give each student a different Grade 3 worksheet?
Open any sheet and pick a set number from 1 to 25, or download set 1's class PDF, which contains all 25 versions in one file. The problems are fixed to each address, so the key you photocopied on Monday still matches on Friday.
Are the Grade 3 worksheets really free?
Yes. Every Grade 3 worksheet, answer key and PDF here is free to print and photocopy for your class. There is no account, no email capture before a download, and no sheet that turns out to need a subscription at the last step.
Are there Grade 3 lesson plans as well as worksheets?
18 of the 18 Grade 3 performance expectations on this page have a full lesson plan written — timed section by section, with the exact wording where it matters, the misconceptions to expect and an exit ticket. Each one is linked beside its standard above.