3rd Grade STEM Sub Plans | Full-Year Engineering Activities

Be prepared for unexpected absences with 12 complete, ready-to-use Grade 3 STEM and engineering lessons designed for substitute teachers, including those without a STEM background. Simply print, organize, and place the lessons in a sub folder for quick access.

The resource pairs with the Grade 3 STEM Full-Year Curriculum, while all lessons are standalone and non-sequential, allowing substitutes to choose any activity without knowing what students have previously learned.

What’s Included

• 12 no-prep Grade 3 STEM lessons
• Word-for-word substitute scripts
• Minute-by-minute directions
• Materials lists
• Student recording pages
• Notes-back-to-teacher pages
• Prediction and testing components
• Repeated trials
• Data collection and analysis
• Clear success criteria
• Early-finisher options
• Safety directions
• Emergency 10-minute STEM fillers
• STEM sub-folder cover
• Classroom information page
• STEM Sub Tub setup guidance

12 Emergency Lessons

• The Variables Warm-Up
• Bridge Efficiency
• Ramp Pattern Prediction
• The Pendulum Surprise
• Friction Ranking
• Insulation Trials
• Paper Aeroplane Lab
• Material Strength Test
• The Outlier Problem
• Design a Fair Test
• Scale It Up
• Claim, Evidence, Reasoning

Authentic STEM Thinking

These lessons move beyond simple crafts by requiring students to identify variables, conduct fair tests, repeat trials, analyze data, calculate results, make predictions, and support claims with evidence.

Students practice:

• Variables and fair testing
• Predictions and repeated trials
• Measurement and data collection
• Data analysis and patterns
• Outlier identification
• Evidence-based reasoning
• Engineering design
• Scientific communication

For example, Ramp Pattern Prediction has students test three ramp heights, conduct three trials for each, predict a result for a fourth height, and calculate prediction error. The Pendulum Surprise investigates different variables separately through repeated timing. The Outlier Problem introduces students to evaluating unusual results within a data set.

Common Classroom Materials

No specialized STEM kit is required. Lessons use accessible materials such as paper, cardstock, cups, tape, books, paper clips, rulers, stopwatches, toy cars, string, washers, ice, trays, paper towels, graph paper, and calculators.

A labeled STEM SUB TUB can be prepared in advance with frequently used supplies.

Why It Works

The resource gives substitutes ready-to-read scripts, structured activities, testing procedures, student recording pages, data-analysis tasks, safety directions, and clear finish lines. Teachers can therefore prepare once and have a reliable collection of emergency STEM lessons available throughout the year.

Students are not simply asked to make something. They are expected to test ideas, collect evidence, identify patterns, analyze results, and explain what their data shows.