3-5-ETS1-3
The standard
Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
Next Generation Science Standards
What this standard means
Students need to test a design in a fair way. They should change only one thing at a time, keep the rest the same, collect results, and notice where the model fails. They are not just building. They are using evidence from tests to decide what to improve.
Mastery looks like a student saying, “We changed the bridge material, but kept the length and weight the same.” They can point to the weak spot and suggest a fix. Students often get stuck by changing too many parts at once, calling a test “better” without data, or treating failure as the end instead of useful information.
Ways to teach it
- Have teams build paper bridges, test one material at a time with pennies, and record the weight held before failure.
- Ask students to write: What failed first in your prototype, and what evidence shows the best change to make next?
- Give a test plan with three changed variables and ask students to circle the problem and rewrite it as a fair test.
- Show a bicycle helmet or lunch container and discuss how engineers test weak points before improving the design.
Plan a lesson for 3-5-ETS1-3
Generate a complete lesson plan aligned to this standard, with objectives, activities, and materials. Free, no account needed.
Related standards
- MS-ETS1-4
Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.
- MS-ETS1-3
Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combin...
- MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
- K-2-ETS1-1
Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the devel...