Welcome to Grade 3

BACK TO MAIN TK–5 PAGE

Amplify Science California is so effective you can cover 100% of the NGSS in half the time of other programs.

You can breathe a sigh of relief knowing all you need is:

  • 88 days per year
  • 2-3 lessons per week
  • 45 minutes per lesson

What students learn

When you’re ready:

  • Find a summary of each unit below including each unit’s student role and anchor phenomenon.
  • Click on the orange “See how the unit works” link to download a helpful Unit Guide. These guides make great companions to busy reviewers looking for a big-picture understanding of how each unit works.

Unit 1

Balancing Forces


Student role: Engineers

Phenomenon: The fictional town of Faraday is getting a new train. Unlike typical trains, this one floats, which is causing some concern among the town’s citizens.

See how this unit works

Unit 2

Inheritance and Traits


Student role: Wildlife biologists

Phenomenon: An adopted wolf in Graystone National Park has some traits in common with one wolf pack in the park and other traits in common with a different pack.

See how this unit works

Unit 3

Environments and Survival

Student role: Biomimicry engineers

Phenomenon: Over 10 years, a population of grove snails has changed. Populations with yellow shells have decreased, while those with banded shells have increased.

See how this unit works

Unit 4

Weather and Climate


Student role: Meteorologists

Phenomenon: Three different islands, each a contender for becoming an orangutan reserve, experience different weather patterns.

See how this unit works

How teachers teach

When you’re ready:

  • Scroll down and take a closer look at your classroom resources.
  • Click on the orange links below each component to see grade-specific samples.

Classroom Slides

These customizable PowerPoints are available for every lesson of the program and make delivering instruction a snap with visual prompts, colorful activity instructions, investigation set-up videos and animations, and suggested teacher talk in the notes section of each slide.

Video introduction to Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides

Sample Classroom Slides (Spanish)

A spiral-bound teacher's guide titled "Plant and Animal Relationships" and a laptop displaying related digital content about ecosystems in a Bengali forest.

Teacher’s Reference Guide

Available digitally and in print, our unit-specific reference guides are chock full of helpful resources, including scientific background knowledge, planning information and resources, color-coded 3-D Statements, detailed lesson plans, tips for delivering instruction, and differentiation strategies.

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Materials Kits

Our kits include enough non-consumable materials to support a class of 36 students and enough consumable items to support 72 students. In other words, each kit can last two years! Plus, our unit-specific kits mean you just grab the tub you need and then put it all back with ease.

List of investigations by unit

List of materials by unit

Student Books

Our award-winning Student Books include content-rich nonfiction and informational texts designed to introduce concepts and also deepen understanding. Books are read to, with, and by students with ample scaffolding and support provided by the teacher in whole-class, small-groups, and student pairs.

List of Student Books by unit

Sample Student Book

Sample Student Book (Spanish)

Practice Tools

Our digital Practice Tools feature easy-to-use drag-and-drop and data-entry activities that support the practice of important SEPs like sorting, modeling, or visualizing information. Practice Tools can be used as a whole group, in small groups, or with a partner.

Video overview of digital tools

List of digital tools by unit

Device calendars by unit

Consumable Notebooks

Available for every unit, our Student Investigation Notebooks contain instructions for activities and space for students to record data and observations, reflect on ideas from texts and investigations, and construct explanations and arguments.

Sample Student Investigation Notebook

Sample Student Investigation Notebook (Spanish)

Mystery Science

Our exclusive partnership with Mystery Science means you get our NGSS core curriculum plus two years of free access to Mystery Doug and his extensive library of captivating videos that deepen students’ understanding of each unit’s phenomenon.

Mystery Science lesson alignment


Coming Soon

Unlike other publishers, we don’t make you wait until your next adoption to get the latest and greatest from Amplify. We’re always launching new and exciting features. What’s more, we’ll push them out to you even after you adopt us!

See what’s coming for 2020-2021