Year 3 Science

Explore the Three States of Matter

Our Year 3 students have made an exciting start to their new Science unit, exploring the  world of solids, liquids and gases and developing their understanding of how matter makes up everything around us.

From the very first lesson, students demonstrated curiosity and enthusiasm, asking thoughtful questions and engaging in rich discussions about the properties of different materials. It was particularly pleasing to see students making strong connections to their prior learning in STEM, drawing on their existing knowledge and applying this to explain their thinking. These connections highlighted the value of building knowledge over time and providing opportunities for students to revisit and extend their understanding.

Throughout the lesson, students explored the characteristics of solids, liquids and gases, learning how the arrangement and movement of tiny particles influence the way different materials behave. Students were particularly interested to discover that not all solids are hard, that liquids take the shape of their containers, and that gases, although often invisible, still have mass and take up space. These discoveries prompted some fantastic questions and encouraged students to think more deeply about the everyday materials they encounter.

A highlight of the lesson was our hands-on 'Matter Detectives' investigation, where students worked collaboratively in small groups to examine a range of everyday materials. Using their observation skills, students investigated the physical properties of each item, carefully describing what they could see and feel before identifying whether it was a solid, liquid or gas. Students were encouraged to justify their classifications using observable evidence rather than simply relying on what they already knew about an object.

It was wonderful to see the level of engagement throughout this investigation, with students eagerly sharing their observations and discussing their reasoning. 

We look forward to building on this enthusiasm as students continue to investigate the properties of matter and explore how materials can change through a range of engaging, hands-on experiments.

Dean Butler

Deputy Principal