NGSS 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
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students choose one prototype feature to change while keeping materials, testing steps, and other conditions the same. They run repeated trials, record results, locate weak spots, and use evidence to suggest an improvement.
What Mastery Looks Like
- Students can name the feature they will change, the result they will measure, and the conditions they will keep fixed. They repeat the test, use a table to compare results, and identify a weak spot to improve.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may change several design features at once, so they cannot tell which change affected the result. They may rely on one trial or treat a broken prototype as useless instead of examining where and why it failed.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: A student tests paper bridges using different paper, different spans, and different numbers of folds. Name two changes needed to make the test fair, then identify one failure point to observe.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build paper bridges, change only the number of folds, then test each bridge with pennies and mark where it bends or breaks.
Show two failed towers and ask, Which single feature should we change next, and what evidence supports that choice?
Play Fair Test Detective by sorting test cards into fair or unfair groups and correcting one uncontrolled variable on each unfair card.
Compare reusable lunch containers by testing one lid shape for leaks while keeping the water amount and shaking time fixed.
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Printable 3-5-ETS1-3 Worksheet
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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
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- 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...
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