This Grade 3 STEM Projects resource provides 18 structured, hands-on STEM projects designed to move students beyond simply building and toward authentic investigation, data analysis, revision, and evidence-based communication. It pairs with the Grade 3 STEM Full-Year Curriculum and can be used for unit-ending projects, enrichment, STEM centers, or project-based learning.
What’s Included
The resource contains:
6 major capstone projects, each designed for five sessions
12 standalone mini-projects, designed for three sessions
Criteria, constraints, and data plans
Teacher directions and student planning pages
Data-recording and results pages
Rubrics and self-assessment opportunities
Individual and team investigation formats
Peer review, presentations, panels, and showcase activities
Major Capstone Projects
The six extended projects are:
The Engineering Challenge
The Vehicle Grand Prix
The Solar Cooker Challenge
The Ecosystem Investigation
The Hazard Summit
STEM Investigators Showcase
The capstones intentionally build on earlier investigations and reuse previous designs and data. The final showcase connects learning across the entire Grade 3 STEM year.
Mini-Projects
The 12 shorter investigations include replication studies, outlier analysis, bridge efficiency, paper airplanes, pendulums, insulation optimization, packaging, germination rates, biodiversity, shadow clocks, sound insulation, and energy audits.
STEM Skills
Students follow a structured process of questioning, research, planning, building or investigating, testing, collecting data, analyzing results, revising solutions, and communicating conclusions. Projects emphasize variables, repeated trials, graphs, measurements, claims, evidence, reasoning, and limitations.
Students learn to ask testable questions, control conditions, interpret data, identify patterns, support claims with evidence, and explain their reasoning.
Classroom Uses
Major projects work well as unit capstones, while mini-projects provide flexible options for spare weeks, extensions, or challenge replacements. Projects can support individual work, teams of three or four, peer review, presentations, and end-of-year STEM showcases.
Overall, the resource helps students develop progressively stronger engineering design, scientific investigation, data analysis, collaboration, and communication skills while making their learning visible through completed projects, data, graphs, presentations, and evidence-based conclusions
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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.
Bundle
K - 5 STEM Projects Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
K–5 STEM Projects Bundle | 108 Engineering Projects | Unit Capstones + Mini-Projects for Every Grade 36 multi-session capstone projects and 72 standalone mini-projects across Kindergarten through 5th Grade — the fairs, expos, grand prix races, summits, and showcases that turn a year of STEM challenges into something students build together and present to a real audience. Every grade follows the same pattern: six major projects, one to close each curriculum unit, that extend the unit's capstone challenge into a full team project with a data plan and a presentation, plus twelve mini-projects that stand alone and drop into any spare week. Materials are everyday classroom supplies. What's Included Six grade-level project collections (429 pages total, 108 projects): Kindergarten STEM Projects — Big Builds (59 pages) — 6 class projects in four short sessions each, where pairs build individual parts and combine them into one shared class creation, plus 12 twenty-minute Quick Builds. Picture-page recording for every project. Rubric included. 1st Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — 6 five-session major projects + 12 three-session mini-projects, each with criteria, constraints, a data plan, teacher directions, student planning and results pages, and reflection. 2nd Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — same structure; adds graphing and rubric-ready documentation. 3rd Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds project rubrics, self-assessment, peer review, and panel presentations; teams of 3–4. 4th Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds budgeting and costing challenges, source audits, and one shared rubric covering all 18 projects. 5th Grade STEM Projects (74 pages) — adds trade-off analysis, optimization, stakeholder thinking, and a capstone where students independently run the full engineering process for an authentic audience. The Capstones Each grade's six major projects deliberately reuse builds and data from earlier in the unit, so students see their learning accumulate. Every grade ends with a year-long showcase. K: Our Tallest Tower · The Big Bridge · The Great Marble Race · Our Class Garden · The Weather Station · Invention Convention 1st: The Design Challenge Fair · Build a Better Bridge · The Motion Machine · The Biomimicry Museum · The Weather Report · Young Engineers Showcase 2nd: The Engineering Fair · The Materials Expo · The Marble Run Grand Prix · The Living Systems Museum · The Earth Engineers Summit · STEM Problem Solvers Showcase 3rd: The Engineering Challenge · The Vehicle Grand Prix · The Solar Cooker Challenge · The Ecosystem Investigation · The Hazard Summit · STEM Investigators Showcase 4th: The Design Review · The Energy Challenge · The Communication Network · The Resilience Report · The Biomimicry Expo · STEM Designers & Innovators Showcase 5th: The Innovation Pitch · The Food Preservation System · The Energy Grid · The Mars Habitat · The Sustainability Audit · STEM Innovators Showcase The Mini-Projects Twelve per grade, three sessions each (20 minutes each in K), all new and standalone. A sample of the range: K: Cup Stack Race · Float or Sink · Magnet Hunt · Nest Test · Umbrella Test · Ice Watch 1st: The Great Egg Drop · Cardboard Arcade · Zip Line Challenge · Catapult Challenge · Straw Rocket Lab · Shadow Clock 2nd: Bridge Trials · Water Filter Lab · Seed Dispersal Trials · Recycled Robot · Waste Audit · Sound Barrier Test 3rd: The Replication Study · The Outlier Hunt · Bridge Efficiency Rematch · The Germination Rate Study · The Biodiversity Survey · The Energy Audit 4th: The Budget Squeeze · The Source Audit · The Signal Race · The Mirror Maze · The Payback Calculation · The Product Teardown 5th: The Trade-off Curve · The Replication Test · The Separation Challenge · The Demand Profile · The Decomposition Rate · The Pseudocode Relay How It Works in the Classroom Run a capstone at the end of each unit. Students work in teams (pairs in K, 3–4 in upper grades), plan before building, test and retest, collect data against a plan, and present to an audience — a buddy class, families, school leaders, or a panel that asks them to defend their evidence. Drop a mini-project into any spare week. Use one to replace a regular challenge, fill a short week, prep for a STEM night, or give a data-hungry class more practice. Nothing depends on what came before. What Students Practice, K–5 Counting, measuring, and combining parts into a shared build (K) → data plans, comparing results, and presenting to an audience (1st–2nd) → controlling variables, peer review, and claim–evidence–reasoning (3rd) → budgets, cost-benefit studies, and source reliability (4th) → trade-offs, optimization, and communicating a recommendation someone could act on (5th). Format 6 PDF files, 429 pages total Print-and-go teacher directions, student planning and results pages, and rubrics Teaching duration: 1 full school year per grade Pairs With the K–5 STEM Curriculum The six capstones in each grade are extended, project-based versions of the unit capstone challenges in the grade-level STEM Full-Year Curricula, available together in the K–5 STEM Curriculum Bundle. The 72 mini-projects are new and appear nowhere else. Every project works on its own — the criteria, constraints, and data plans are on the pages. Also available: the K–5 STEM Challenge Cards Bundle and the K–5 STEM Journal Bundle. The K–5 STEM Mega Bundle includes the projects, curricula, cards, journals, and every other grade-level STEM resource in the store. Why Buy the Bundle Six collections bought separately cost $46.94. This bundle is $32.86 — and gives a STEM specialist or a whole elementary building six unit finales and a year-end showcase at every grade, plus 72 ready-to-run projects for the weeks that don't go to plan. Build it together. Test it. Present it. Defend it.
$32.86
Bundle
3rd Grade STEM Bundle | Full-Year Engineering Activities
3rd Grade STEM Bundle | Full-Year STEM Curriculum | Engineering Activities, Projects, Task Cards & More Make STEM instruction engaging, hands-on, and easy to plan all year long with this comprehensive 3rd Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle! This collection brings together seven complementary STEM resources designed to give third grade students meaningful opportunities to explore engineering, solve problems, design solutions, test ideas, and reflect on their learning. With a full-year STEM curriculum, challenge cards, STEM journals, projects, task cards, early-finisher activities, and substitute plans included, this 3rd Grade STEM Bundle gives teachers a flexible collection of resources for daily instruction, enrichment, independent practice, and those unexpected classroom moments. What's Included This bundle includes 7 third grade STEM resources: • STEM Curriculum — 36 weekly challenges across 6 units, 5 sessions each • STEM Journal — 180 student recording pages • Challenge Cards — 96 student-facing cards including 36 Level Up extensions • STEM Projects — 6 unit capstones plus 12 standalone mini-projects • Task Cards — 80 math, science and coding skill cards • Early Finishers — 40 no-prep challenges with choice board and bin labels • Sub Plans — 12 emergency lessons with word-for-word scripts Together, these resources provide multiple formats for introducing, practicing, applying, documenting, and extending STEM and engineering learning throughout the school year. How It Works in the Classroom Use this 3rd Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle for: • Daily or weekly STEM instruction • Engineering design challenges • STEM centers and stations • Whole-group lessons • Small-group activities • Hands-on STEM projects • Independent STEM practice • STEM journals and reflection • Early-finisher activities • Substitute teacher plans • STEM enrichment and extension • Flexible classroom learning Use the curriculum for structured instruction, challenge cards and task cards for shorter STEM experiences, projects for hands-on application, journals for documenting and reflecting on learning, and early-finisher resources for meaningful extension. Standards & Learning Goals Students strengthen important STEM and engineering skills through engaging, age-appropriate activities, including: Engineering Design • Identifying problems and needs • Brainstorming possible solutions • Designing and building • Testing and evaluating ideas • Identifying improvements • Refining solutions Problem-Solving • Thinking creatively • Using logical reasoning • Exploring multiple solutions • Learning from mistakes • Applying strategies to new challenges STEM Thinking • Observing and investigating • Asking questions • Making predictions • Analyzing results • Applying knowledge to real-world challenges Communication & Reflection • Explaining ideas and solutions • Sharing designs and strategies • Recording observations • Reflecting on challenges • Communicating how solutions can be improved Why Teachers Love It * Uses common classroom and recycled materials — full materials list included * Complete third grade STEM resource collection * Seven complementary STEM resources in one bundle * Full-year engineering activities * Multiple formats for flexible STEM instruction * Supports hands-on learning and creativity * Builds problem-solving and critical-thinking skills * Includes curriculum, projects, task cards, challenge cards, and journals * Provides meaningful early-finisher activities * Includes substitute teacher plans * Flexible for whole-group, small-group, center, and independent learning * Saves valuable planning time Instead of searching for separate STEM resources throughout the year, teachers can use this 3rd Grade STEM Bundle as a flexible resource library for instruction, practice, projects, enrichment, early finishers, and substitute days. Download Today Add this 3rd Grade STEM Curriculum Bundle to your classroom and give students a full year of opportunities to explore, design, build, test, problem-solve, and think like engineers! Whether you need a structured STEM lesson, a quick challenge, a hands-on project, an independent activity, an early-finisher option, or a substitute plan, this bundle gives you resources to support STEM learning throughout the school year.
$49.00
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