Know your students: Nature of the student in
intermediate elementary
Students in grades 3, 4 and 5 range in age from 8 to 11 years. These are years of intellectual
expansiveness. Students transition from a time when concrete operations are solidifying, through a
time of trouble with abstractions, to an increasing ability to abstract. Third, fourth, and fifth grade
students are interested in the natural world, in how things are put together, and in how things work.
During these years, they also work well in groups.
Third grade students are full of ideas and like to explain their ideas. They enjoy working cooperatively
and become engrossed in the activity at hand. A primary focus of third grade students is discovery
and exploration. They are industrious, full of energy, and often exhibit curiosity. In addition, third
grade students are generally able to reason about the conclusions and implications of simple scientific
investigations.
Fourth grade students have intellectual curiosity but are often less imaginative than third graders.
They relate more to the subject matter than to the teacher. Fourth grade students look for
explanations of facts, how things work, and why things happen as they do. In addition, the ability to
deal with multiple variables emerges at this grade level. This is a good age for scientific exploration.
Fifth grade students want to be kept interested and motivated. They are actively receptive as learners
of factual information and often love to memorize. Perhaps because they like logic and like to
organize, collections are of particular interest at this age. Fifth grade students are capable problem
solvers and have an increasing ability to abstract. They work best when following a set schedule of
activities.
Know your students: Implications for instruction
Third, fourth, and fifth grade students need many opportunities to participate in group activities. They
like to work cooperatively and are most productive working this way. In addition, working on class
projects builds a sense of unity and cohesiveness during these years.
Activities for third grade students should build on their keen interest in the natural world. Activities
that integrate the ability to categorize are important. Centers at which students have opportunities to
take things apart, discover how they work, and put them back together can be an effective and
integral part of the third grade classroom.
Fourth grade students need teacher patience and understanding. During group work, fourth graders
may argue about rules and facts. They may need opportunities and guidance in looking for the
explanation of facts, how things work, and why things happen as they do. However, because these
students are developing the ability to deal with more than one variable, they are able to think in terms
of "if, then" questions. Activities that allow for scientific exploration provide fourth grade students the
basis for a more solid understanding of scientific process.
Fifth graders are fundamentally interested in categorizing, seriating, and ordering, as well as in
collections and their organization. Exactness and organization are fifth graders' strengths. This is a
prime time to teach about biological classification and simple genetics. At this age, the use of scientific
tools (balances, microscopes) can be successfully introduced. In addition, students can begin to
understand the value of repeating experiments, isolating variables, and using multiple attributes to
describe phenomena. Teachers can leverage fifth graders' enjoyment of memorization by selecting
facts for study that can be applied to broader understandings. Students should be given numerous
opportunities to apply this knowledge to solve problems.
Orcutt Science 2013
Know your students: Implications for student
learning about the nature and process of science
Students at this level are developing a knowledge base that can be used, in conjunction with their
increasing observational abilities, to generate expectations about the natural world. Learning
opportunities for third, fourth, and fifth grade students should focus on the skills of asking scientific
questions, constructing reasonable explanations based on evidence, and communicating about their
own and other students' ideas and investigations. In addition, the introduction of a historical
perspective can increase students' awareness of the diversity of the scientific community.
Teachers can build on third graders' curiosity about the natural world by having students ask
questions that can be answered using their scientific knowledge base and their own observations.
Students can work in cooperative groups to conduct investigations that begin with a question and
progress toward seeking information and communicating an answer to the question. Emphasis should
continue to be placed on making detailed observations and on generating descriptions and
explanations based on those observations. Interesting historical examples of the diversity of women
and men working in the scientific community can be introduced through stories and videos. These
examples can also provide information about what science is and how it works.
Opportunities to develop and conduct simple experiments in which only one variable at a time is
changed should be provided to fourth grade students—though students may need some guidance in
the process. Fourth graders should also engage in activities that help them reason about observations,
communicate with one another, and critique their own work and that of other students. Through
hands-on activities and discussions, fourth grade students can learn to differentiate between
observations and interpretations of those observations (inference). As they investigate questions,
students at this level need guidance in seeking reliable sources of information and integrating this
information with their own observations. They should read stories and view videos of historical
examples of men and women who have made contributions to science and, based on these,
participate in discussions about what science is, how it works, and who does science.
Fifth grade students need guidance in developing and implementing investigations that follow a logical
progression and in recognizing the relationship between an explanation and the evidence relevant to
it. Activities in which students refine and refocus their questions will help them develop the ability to
form testable scientific questions. Fifth graders should be provided with opportunities to interpret data
and to think critically about whether evidence does or does not support particular scientific
explanations. Historical examples can be used to help fifth grade students understand the nature and
process of science, that science is a human and community endeavor, and that people benefit from
knowledge gained through science.
Orcutt Science 2013