Grade 3 Lesson plan
Ferngate Flood Barrier: A Grade 3 Model Levee Design
A grade 3 engineering lesson where students build and test a clay-and-stick levee to keep model Ferngate dry when Otter Run floods, then judge the design.
NGSS · Grade 3
3-ESS3-1 Evaluate a design that reduces a weather-related hazard
Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
Clarification statement: Examples of design solutions to weather-related hazards could include barriers to prevent flooding, wind resistant roofs, and lightning rods.
Why water teaches this standard well
Flood barriers are the clarification statement's first example, which makes flooding the most standards-faithful hazard to study. Students can test a model levee or rain garden on a tray town, then argue from their results whether the design is worth building, the same case stormwater engineers make to city councils.
Materials tagged with this code are written to the full standard , including its clarification statement , and each carries a written note explaining the alignment. See how we review materials.
4 materials aligned to 3-ESS3-1
Lesson plans
Grade 3 Lesson plan
Foxhollow's Flooded Playground: A Grade 3 Rain Garden Design Lesson
A grade 3 lesson where students compare test data for two flood-reducing playground designs, a rain garden and packed bare dirt, and make an evidence-based claim.
Worksheets
Grade 3 Worksheet
Willow Creek's Flood Barrier: A Grade 3 Rain Data Worksheet
A grade 3 worksheet where students read a scaled rain graph for a fictional town and decide whether its wettest month fits a proposed flood barrier's design plan.
Labs & experiments
Grade 3 Lab / experiment
Barleyford Slope Ground Covers: A Grade 3 Fair Test
A grade 3 tray investigation comparing bare soil, a grass mat, and wood chips on a tilted slope, then adding a stone row and retesting the best cover.