Grade 3 students will assess the ways that plants have an impact on society and the environment, and ways in which human activity has an impact on plants and plant habitats. Students should demonstrate an understanding that plants grow and change and have different characteristics. Students should know that a structure has both form and function and understand that structures are affected by forces acting on them. They will explore how forces cause objects to speed up, slow down, or change direction through direct contact or through interaction at a distance. Finally, students will focus on the composition, characteristics and condition of soil and its capacity to store life. They will understand that soil is an essential component to the sustainability of many living things.