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3rd Grade Energy Resources

13 3rd grade energy resources: 11 worksheets and 2 activities. How teachers use these

3rd Grade Energy Resources

13 3rd grade energy resources: 11 worksheets and 2 activities. How teachers use these

Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeLabeling Force and Motion Worksheet

The Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet has 3rd graders label six pictures with push, pull, gravity, friction, fast, and slow from a word bank. Includes an answer key for easy, no-prep science practice.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeDrawing Friction Worksheet

This drawing friction worksheet lets 3rd graders explore force and motion by answering questions and drawing arrows to show which way friction pushes. Answer key included for quick, no-prep science practice.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeEnergy Wordsearch Worksheet

A ten-word Energy Wordsearch Worksheet that helps 3rd graders name the forms and sources of energy, then use one in a sentence of their own. Answer key included for fast, no-prep science review.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeDrawing Heat Energy Worksheet

This Drawing Heat Energy Worksheet gives 3rd Grade students four picture cards for tracing where heat energy comes from and where it goes, plus an answer key, so heat transfer practice is ready to print.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeSound Pitch Worksheet

This Sound Pitch Worksheet helps 3rd grade students use sound waves and real instruments to tell whether a vibration makes a high or low pitch. An answer key is included, so science practice takes minutes to set up.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeShadows Drawing Worksheet

A shadows drawing worksheet where 3rd graders study four light sources, draw the shadow each object casts, and explain why it falls where it does. Answer key included for quick, no-prep science practice.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeFriction Worksheet - Draw

This friction drawing worksheet sends 3rd graders hunting for four real places where surfaces rub together. They sketch each one and write about it, turning an abstract force into something they can point to.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeConductors and Insulators Heat Energy Worksheet

This Conductors and Insulators Heat Energy Worksheet helps 3rd grade students sort everyday objects, answer applied questions, and explain their thinking. Answer key included, so checking work takes seconds.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeIs it Magnetic Worksheet

This Is it Magnetic Worksheet has 3rd Grade students sort six classroom objects by the material they are made of, then explain two predictions in writing. Answer key included, so checking work takes seconds.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Activity
Activity3rd GradeMotion Activity

This motion activity helps 2nd to 5th grade students sort everyday actions into pushes and pulls, with 14 sorting cards, a practice page, and an answer key included.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyActivities
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeShadows Movement Worksheet

This shadows movement worksheet asks 3rd graders to sort eight light positions into longer and shorter shadows, then name what the light and the shadow did. Answer key included for no-prep science practice.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
Activity
Activity3rd GradeMagnet Activity

This magnet activity has kindergarten to 3rd grade students sort picture cards into things a magnet will pull and things it will not, with a sorting mat, practice page and answer key.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyActivities
Worksheet
Worksheet3rd GradeMagnetism Experiment Worksheet

This magnetism experiment worksheet has 3rd graders sort eight objects by material, decide whether magnet poles attract or repel, and explain why steel is pulled and plastic is not. Answer key included for fast, no-prep science practice.

3rd GradeScienceEnergyWorksheets
From our teachers' playbook

Heat, light, sound and motion, oh my!

What do 3rd graders learn about energy?

Third graders learn that energy comes in different forms they can sense every day: heat from the Sun, light that makes shadows, sound from things that vibrate, and the energy of things in motion. They test which materials let heat pass through easily (conductors like metal) and which slow it down (insulators like wool). They discover that a faster vibration makes a higher pitch, and that shadows change as the light source moves. Many classes pair this with forces, friction and magnets. The click comes when kids realize energy is everywhere, they just have to notice it.

Our favorite ways to teach energy in 3rd grade

Energy is invisible, so third graders need to feel it, hear it and see what it does.

Test the spoons

Put a metal spoon, a plastic spoon and a wooden spoon in a cup of warm water and have kids feel the handles after a minute. The metal one warms up fastest! Then they sort materials into conductors and insulators. Feeling it first makes the vocabulary stick.

Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.

Conductors and Insulators Heat Energy WorksheetTry it withConductors and Insulators Heat Energy WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Which energy is it?

Show a quick picture, like a campfire, a drum or a rolling wagon, and ask, "What forms of energy do you see?" Kids answer on a whiteboard. Fast daily checks keep all the forms fresh.

Why it works: pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than rereading it, one of the strongest findings in learning research (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Drawing Heat Energy WorksheetTry it withDrawing Heat Energy WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Shadow check-ins

Trace a shadow on the playground in the morning, at lunch and before home time. Kids see it move and change size as the Sun moves. Coming back to it across the day shows energy changing over time.

Why it works: the brain holds on to what it meets again and again over time; spaced practice was rated among the very best methods (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Shadows Drawing WorksheetTry it withShadows Drawing WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Make energy hands-on

Third graders learn best when science gets a little noisy.

Sound Pitch WorksheetWorksheets

Rubber band guitars

Stretch rubber bands over a box and pluck. Tighter bands vibrate faster and sound higher!

Open Sound Pitch Worksheet →Motion ActivityActivities

Ramp races

Roll cars down ramps of different heights and measure how far they travel.

Open Motion Activity →Energy Wordsearch WorksheetWorksheets

Energy word hunt

Find and circle energy words, then use three of them to describe something at home.

Open Energy Wordsearch Worksheet →

What's on this page

11 Worksheets2 Activities

Teacher favorites right now: Labeling Force and Motion Worksheet, Drawing Friction Worksheet and Energy Wordsearch Worksheet.

Questions parents and teachers ask about 3rd grade energy

What forms of energy do 3rd graders learn?

Third graders usually study heat, light, sound and motion energy. Many classes also explore forces, friction and magnets in the same unit.

What is the difference between a conductor and an insulator?

A conductor lets heat or electricity move through it easily, like metal. An insulator slows heat down, like wood, plastic or wool. That is why pot handles are often plastic.

How do you explain sound energy to kids?

Sound happens when something vibrates, or shakes back and forth very fast. Those vibrations travel through the air to your ears. Faster vibrations make higher sounds.

What is a simple energy experiment for 3rd grade?

Place metal, plastic and wooden spoons in warm water and feel which handle heats up first. It shows conductors and insulators in about two minutes.

Keep exploring

3rd Grade Science ResourcesEnergy Resources4th Grade Energy Resources

Written by the Have Fun Teaching team of elementary teachers and homeschoolers. Research: U.S. Department of Education, What Works Clearinghouse (2021). Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1).