Develop Critical Thinking with Discover! Science 3

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Are you looking to study science in a new way in your homeschool for third grade? Discover! Science 3 is written to develop critical thinking through challenging questions and a variety of creative projects. It is written with homeschoolers in mind, so parents will find the teacher's guide helpful. 

If you purchase this curriculum, you will receive three books: the two student texts (3a and 3b) and the teacher's guide (which is used for both texts). And while it is not faith-based, it doesn't appear to put down a Biblical worldview.

What Will Your Children Study in Discover! Science 3? 

The first six chapters focus on an introduction to science, animals, plants, and how they interact (food webs, ecosystems, etc.). As your child continues, they will be studying matter, sound, energy, water, and more. Here are a few specific topics studied: 

• Temperature of Cold-Blood Animals 
• Explore Birds' Beaks 
• Endangered Plants and Animals 
• Plants as Energy 
• Changing Matter 
• Sound Waves 
• Friction 
• Minerals 
• Weather Tools 
• Digestive System 

They will answer such questions as: "How do you think the cold would affect a cold-blooded animal? What about heat?" or "Describe how an animal or plant species becomes endangered." And they will complete boxes and charts that show the photosynthesis process, observations on science experiments, and more. There are also fill-in-the-blank and multiple choice questions to review topics. 

A Typical Day for Our Homeschool 

While it is recommended to do two lessons or a lesson and a review per week, we've been taking a slower approach as we have another science curriculum we are also using. When we first started out, I assigned pages to our daughter for completion and then checked her work afterward. We would then talk through questions. I found she wasn't retaining the information like I would have liked her to, so we changed things up.

While I still assign the vocabulary for her to complete on her own, I often read aloud the following pages either before she reads them or after she reads them. Her brother (fifth grade) joins us for the discussions and some of the activities. I find this helps her remember the information. For many of the questions, I just write down the answers they provide, or I will have her go back in fill the answers in later that week to reinforce the concepts.

Another way I have assigned the work is by asking her to read certain pages, and then we go over the answers together orally later. When we were completing the review on Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles, she read the review page in the morning. Then, after lunch, we compared and contrasted the features of the three, describing similarities and differences. 

My Thoughts 

One of the things I particularly like about this science curriculum is that it is NOT heavy on experiments. While our daughter LOVES experiments, I find them tedious and challenging at times. If a curriculum does not include all the materials, it is just one more thing for me to purchase and prepare. Discover! Science 3 incorporates other projects that allow our daughter to go beyond the text, and we've included a few ourselves. 

For example, we completed a reptile research notebooking project. It allowed me to use notebooking pages we already had so they could dig deeper into learning about three or four specific reptiles, including the Galapagos Tortoise, the chameleon, and the milk snake.

We also made a simple snake with pipe cleaners, noodles, and some construction paper. I love that this project had materials that we already had around the house and was simple to put together but had a high educational impact. We were able to discuss the way a snake's body moves, its skeleton, its organ placement, and how it smells. 

Since this curriculum is dependent on reading and writing, there is quite a bit of writing. Sometimes, it almost feels like too much for our daughter. Hence, the reason why I sometimes write down the answers. 

In a lot of ways, this curriculum also feels like it is written more for the classroom than a homeschool. The Instructor Guide definitely lends itself to being more of a classroom teacher guide than one for homeschool parents. I would have preferred to have had the student books reproduced but with answers and teaching instructions listed within it. I found myself having to open the student book and the instructor guide to line up objectives, information on supporting your student and learning styles, and extension activities. The instructor guide also has the assessment or chapter tests in it. So, you will need to either photocopy those pages or share the guide with your child. 

While we are enjoying Discover! Science 3, I don't think it is quite the right fit for our family. I encourage you to check out Timberdoodle to read more about this science program for yourself. 

Do You Want to Read More Timberdoole Reviews? 

• Adding Writing Into Our Curriculum: A Review of Daily 6-Trait Writing Grade 3
• Dice, Decks, and Boards: Penguins Huddle Up™ Game
• Including Geography in Your Homeschool: A Review of Skill Sharpeners Geography - Grade 2
• Supplementing Fifth Grade with a Geography Workbook