Third grade

Our purpose is to create an intentional learning experience. To ensure that each student in every grade experiences educational enrichment that corresponds to their classroom learning we have created videos, downloadable handouts, quizzes, and more that corresponds to classroom learning.

Third grade Science Content Standards

Grade 3 students are increasingly aware of their environment and have already discovered many patterns and processes in nature. Their capacity to process information is growing, making them eager to participate in scientific and engineering practices. Writing and mathematics skills are used when students communicate scientific information during varied instructional activities.

“Investigate, measure, and communicate in a graphical format how an observed pattern of motion (e.g., a child swinging in a swing, a ball rolling back and forth in a bowl, two children teetering on a see-saw, a model vehicle rolling down a ramp of varying heights, a pendulum swinging) can be used to predict the future motion of an object.”

Supporting Curriculum

A portion of the scientific method involves testing hypothesis. This is a very important step that can help determine the results of an experiment. In the short video clip below, we are going to watch as Golly Gee comes up with something he would like to try out, let’s see how his tests help him hypothesize whether he should go ahead with his experiment on a ramp inside the caverns!

“Analyze and interpret data from fossils (e.g., type, size, distribution) to provide evidence of organisms and the environments in which they lived long ago (e.g., marine fossils on dry land, tropical plant fossils in arctic areas, fossils of extinct organisms in any environment).”

Supporting Curriculum

Do you know what a fossil is? It’s the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock. Did you know that we can tell a lot about an animal from looking at its fossil?! And the better preserved the fossil is, the more we can tell about an animal. For instance, if we only found the teeth of an animal, we may be able to tell what kind of food it ate. But if we had the entire body, we may be able to tell more about where it lived, why it may have died, and even what its movements may have looked like by looking at its body structure and joints! Movies like Jurassic Park were created from looking at certain fossils and studying them to understand what it may have looked like to live at the same time as those animals. Now movies aren’t always built completely on scientific research, but a lot of research went into how some of the animals would appear, move and live. 

“Construct an argument from evidence to explain the likelihood of an organism’s ability to survive when compared to the resources in a certain habitat (e.g., freshwater organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in saltwater; desert organisms survive well, less well, or not at all in woodlands). a. Construct explanations that forming groups helps some organisms survive. b. Create models that illustrate how organisms and their habitats make up a system in which the parts depend on each other. c. Categorize resources in various habitats as basic materials (e.g., sunlight, air, freshwater, soil), produced materials (e.g., food, fuel, shelter), or as nonmaterial (e.g., safety, instinct, nature-learned behaviors).”

Supporting Curriculum

Have you ever tried living under water? If you answered yes, you know that it is pretty much impossible! If you answered no, then you may have already known that. Just like we are not able to survive in certain areas, the same goes for other animals as well! Golly Gee is going to share with you a little about animals and what habitats suit certain animals better than others.
 

“Display data graphically and in tables to describe typical weather conditions expected during a particular season (e.g., average temperature, precipitation, wind direction).”

Supporting Curriculum

Seasons affect everything! For instance, do you expect it to be hot or cold during summer? Hot of course! But did you know that even rainfall and wind direction can also be factors in what to expect during a season? Let’s watch this video to learn a little more about how weather conditions are affected by the seasons.

“Describe ways the environment is affected by humans in Alabama and the world

• Examples : crop rotation, oil spills, landfills, clearing of forests, replacement of cleared lands, restocking of fish in waterways

• Using vocabulary associated with human influence on the environment, including irrigation, aeration, urbanization, reforestation, erosion, and migration"

Supporting Curriculum

We can make a better world or we can harm our planet through many different ways. Some of the ways people harm the planet are not intentional, but simply take place because they don’t know what you are learning. For example, many people will tour living caverns and want to touch the different formations. They don’t realize that the oils on their hands leave behind deposits that stunt the growth of the formation. The minerals that used to get deposited on the formations now slide right off because the oils that were left from the hands of visitors. This is why on every tour of Majestic Caverns, you’ll hear the guide request that all visitors respect the beauty and not touch the formations. Other ways that humans can affect their environment for the better are crop rotation, oil spills, landfills, restocking fish in waterways and more! The environment can also be affected by reforestation, erosion and migration, these are other topics that will be covered in your quiz to test your knowledge below!

“Compare trading patterns between countries and regions.”

Supporting Curriculum

Do you know what a consumer is? Do you know what a producer is? Do you know what an import is? An export? These are all important participants of a healthy economy! For thousands upon thousands of years people have been exchanging goods for either other items, which is known as the barter system or exchanging money for goods. For instance, a long time ago, people would trade goats for sheep. And today we exchange money that has a value for items.

Well we’re going to share with you the story of an old tradesmen, who delivered goods to consumers in the 1700s. Did you know that there are old trading routes right here in Alabama. People would travel down the Charleston-Chickasaw trail which went right past Majestic Cavern. One such traveler was I.W. Wright. He was a fur trader from Charleston, South Carolina and had come down to Alabama to trade furs. It was a cold winter in Alabama when he came up past Majestic Caverns and went inside to find shelter. Many of these travelers in this day and time would go on horseback to bring goods across the country. We know I.W. Wright’s story because he carved his name on a rock he slept in front of inside of the caverns in 1796, and in the late 1700s George Stiggins mentions seeing I.W. Wright’s name carved on that rock. Let’s watch this video to learn more!

“Interpret various primary sources for reconstructing the past, including documents, letters, diaries, maps, and photographs.”

Supporting Curriculum

What do historians look at in order to better understand history? They look at maps, diaries, documents, photos, and any other kind of artifact they can find in order to learn more about the time surrounding what they are studying in order to know it better! With Majestic Caverns, we have multiple resources including photos, documents, diaries and even fossils to better understand how the caverns was used in the past what the old entrance looked like. Let’s watch this video to understand more about how we can review past materials in order to see the difference between then and now!

“Describe prehistoric and historic American Indian cultures, governments, and economics in Alabama.

• Examples

  • Prehistoric —Paleo-Indian, Archaic, Woodland, Mississippian”

Supporting Curriculum

Although the European history in America is only a few hundred years old, Native American culture dates back thousands of years in America! Years ago when we were digging in the caverns in order to create better walkways, we found several very well preserved Native American bodies that dated back over 2,000 years ago! These Native Americans were known as the Woodland Indians. The Woodland Indians had very important cultural customs for how they treated the dead. This specific group often created burial mounds for their dead to honor them. But the Woodland Indians also used Majestic Caverns as a burial ground. The are a plethora of reasons for why Majestic Caverns made such a great burial ground. There are very few animals that use a cave as a habitat, which means it is unlikely that animals will disturb the bones. The Caverns also stays at a constant temperature with no disturbances from wind and other harmful erosive elements, their ancestors would be preserved very well. With these excellent conditions combined with the beauty of the Caverns Native Americans used Majestic Caverns as a sacred burial ground. Their culture also believed that the Caverns had healing powers due to the peaceful sounds and clear air. The Native Americans that were buried in the caverns were first placed on racks outdoors and once there were only bones left, the Native Americans would place the bones in woven baskets and these baskets would be buried in the caverns.

“Identifying roles of archaeologists and paleontologists”

Supporting Curriculum

Have you heard of archeologists and paleontologists before? They are a little different, but they are both scientists. Paleontologists study fossils and Archaeologists study ancient and recent human past through material remains. At Majestic Caverns we have relied on insights from both paleontologists and archeologists. Archaeologists studied the Native American bones in order to date them and also help us understand more about the ancient Native American culture! We also found a Mastodon bone while drilling the tunnel entrance into the caverns. We had paleontologists come and study the fossil in order to understand its age and to identify what animal it came from.