Topic 1 — Where is it? Did it move? — blueprint for James

What I need from you: 5 decisions

Do the two pattern atoms from Scientific Reasoning ride inside L07 and L08?

SR3-020 "spot the pattern" and SR3-021 "use the pattern to predict" say the same as MOT3-007 and MOT3-008, with any object in place of the swing.

inside L07 and L08 each becomes a closing part: "any motion that repeats has a pattern; a pattern lets you predict." Their checks sit in the same quiz.

My recommendation: ride inside; two extra lessons would teach the same idea twice. Agree / separate lessons.

Is "landmark" the word we teach for the object you measure from?

the standards say "position relative to a reference point"; a Grade 3 reader knows "landmark" from stories and maps.

the word is coined in L01 and used in every later lesson of the topic; Grade 4 and 5 keep it.

My recommendation: landmark. Agree / reference point.

Do students measure in centimetres from L05, with counted steps allowed only in L03?

L03 describes a position in steps ("two steps to the left of the door") because that is how a child talks; L05 measures how far a car rolled with a ruler.

the maths curriculum has rulers in centimetres by grade 2, so the unit is safe to use.

My recommendation: yes. Agree / steps throughout.

May the path quiz in L06 use four options, one per path shape?

fluency quizzes normally offer two or three options; here the four options are the four path names the lesson coined, not padding.

every item shows one drawn path and asks its name.

My recommendation: four, because the four names are the categories. Agree / three per item.

Which lessons could do without a video?

something moves in L04 to L08 (a car, a ruler laid down, four paths, a swing); L01 and L02 are about words.

L01 still gains from Sam walking to the wrong spot, then the right one; L02 is two sentences compared.

My recommendation: mark L02 "could do without a video"; all eight scripted. Agree / change.

Topic 1 at a glance — 8 lessons

	Lesson	Opens on	Format
L01	Say where it is	Suppose Mia hides a ball somewhere in the classroom.	video + article
L02	Spot the missing landmark	Suppose Sam says, "The ball is two steps away."	little; the two sentences side by side carry it — could do without a video (decision 5).
L03	Say how far and which way	Suppose a toy sits somewhere near the classroom door.	video + article
L04	Did it move?	Suppose a toy car sits by the wall.	video + article
L05	Measure how far it moved	Suppose a toy car rolls from a start line and stops.	video + article
L06	Name the shape of the path	Imagine a ball rolling straight across the floor.	video + article
L07	Spot the repeat	Suppose you sit and watch a swing for a whole minute.	video + article
L08	Predict the next move	Suppose you have watched the swing sweep forward and back four times.	video + article

What this topic is, in five lines

Eight lessons, one per atom: MOT3-001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008.

Terms coined here: landmark and position (L01), distance and direction (L03), straight, zigzag, circle, back and forth as path names (L06), pattern (L07).

Deliberately not taught: speed (Topic 2), forces (Topic 3), why a swing repeats.

All five answered (James, 25 September 2026, "otherwise, I think you're good to go"): the recommendations below stand as the rulings. Two further notes from his read: "A ruler will settle it" was vague wording of exactly the kind to outlaw for grade 3 (rewritten: "The only way to know is to measure the distance with a ruler"), and articles whose point is a motion (the swing) should carry a GIF.

Applied without asking: one atom, one lesson, video and article; the example sequence (non-example, examples, non-example, then the rule) for every sort; the rule stated last; qualitative only, no mechanism; a fluency quiz after every coining part; an attached easy question after "Okay, now your turn" on every video; about ten items per lesson quiz with varied surfaces; quiz scenes differ from lesson scenes; PP100 bank of at least fifty items tagged by depth of reasoning; the Grade 3 Forces feedback log read first; monochrome drawings for every figure.

Say where it is L01

Suppose Mia hides a ball somewhere in the classroom.

She tells Sam, "The ball is over there."

Sam looks all round the room and sees nothing.

Then Mia says, "The ball is under the teacher's desk."

Sam walks straight to it.

Which words helped Sam?

The point, stated first

How do you say where something is so that someone else can find it?

You name an object everyone can see, then say where your object is compared to it.

The ball is under the desk.

The desk is the object everyone can see.

An object you use like this is called a landmark.

Where something is, compared to a landmark, is called its position.

Video: Sam walks to the wrong spot, then straight to the desk — video and article.

Part 1 — MOT3-001 — Describe where an object is by naming what it is near, above, below, beside or behind; coin landmark, position

Check: fluency (type a): six items, each a drawing of a room with one object marked; three options per item, only one names a landmark ("the cup is on the shelf" / "the cup is over there" / "the cup is near"); then two items where the student picks the position word (under / on / beside) for a drawn pair

Figure: monochrome drawing: a classroom with a desk, a shelf, a door, one ball

Leans on: —

Part 1q — Fluency quiz: landmark, position

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Spot the missing landmark L02

Suppose Sam says, "The ball is two steps away."

Two steps away from what?

Does she mean from Sam, from the door, or from the window?

Sam has not said.

Nobody can find the ball.

The point, stated first

Why do some descriptions leave you lost?

A description that misses its landmark tells you nothing about where to look.

"Two steps away" has no landmark.

"Two steps away from the door" has one.

To check a description, ask one question: away from what?

Video: little; the two sentences side by side carry it — could do without a video (decision 5).

Part 1 — MOT3-002 — Identify when a position description is missing its landmark

Check: fluency (type a): six yes / no items, "Does this description name a landmark?", the first is the last case the part showed; then two items where the student picks the words that fix a broken description

Figure: table: six descriptions, two columns, has a landmark / does not

Leans on: L01 (landmark) — one recall question

Say how far and which way L03

Suppose a toy sits somewhere near the classroom door.

"Near the door" is not enough for your friend to find it.

There is a lot of floor near the door.

You need to say how far from the door, and which way.

The point, stated first

How do you pin down a position so there is only one spot it can mean?

You name the landmark.

You say how far from it: two steps.

You say which way: to the left.

The toy sits two steps to the left of the door.

How far is called the distance.

Which way is called the direction.

Video: the two steps counted out from the door, then the turn to the left — video and article.

Part 1 — MOT3-003 — Use a distance plus a direction from a landmark to describe an object's position; coin distance, direction

Check: scaffolded (type b): worked example on the page (door, toy, two steps left) → step items on a fresh drawing (which is the landmark? how many steps? which way?) → two bare items: describe the drawn object's position in one sentence from three offered → one item where two descriptions differ only in direction (left / right)

Figure: monochrome drawing: a door, a toy, a dotted line of two footprints turning left

Leans on: L01 (landmark) — one recall question; counting steps (maths, grade 2)

Part 1q — Fluency quiz: distance, direction

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Did it move? L04

Suppose a toy car sits by the wall.

You look away for a moment.

You look back, and the car sits nearer the door.

Nobody saw it roll.

Did it move?

The point, stated first

How can you tell whether something moved?

You compare where it is now with where it was before.

If its position changed, it moved.

If its position stayed the same, it did not move.

Even a slow mover changes its position: the minute hand of a clock moves, though you never see it go.

Video: the car in its first position, the look away, the car in its new position — video and article.

Part 1 — MOT3-004 — Decide whether an object has moved by checking whether its position changed

Check: fluency (type a): six before-and-after drawing pairs, moved / did not move; the first is the car; boundary cases: a shadow that crept (moved), a book picked up and put back in the same spot (did not move), a clock hand ten minutes later (moved); then two items in words with no drawing

Figure: monochrome drawing pairs: before and after, the landmark drawn in both

Leans on: L01 (position) — one recall question

Measure how far it moved L05

Suppose a toy car rolls from a start line and stops.

Two friends argue.

One says it rolled a long way.

The other says it rolled only a short way.

Who is right?

The only way to know is to measure the distance with a ruler.

The point, stated first

How do you measure how far something moved?

You mark where it started.

You mark where it stopped.

You lay the ruler from the start mark to the stop mark.

You read the length in centimetres.

The car rolled 40 cm.

Video: the ruler laid along the floor from mark to mark, the reading appearing — video and article.

Part 1 — MOT3-005 — Measure how far an object moved using a ruler or a metre stick

Check: scaffolded (type b): worked example on the page (start mark, stop mark, ruler, 40 cm) → step items on a fresh drawing (where did it start? where did it stop? read the ruler) → two bare items reading a drawn ruler, numeric entry in cm → one item where the ruler does not start at zero

Figure: monochrome drawing: a floor with a start line, a car, a ruler laid between marks with the centimetre scale legible

Leans on: L03 (distance), L04 (moved) — one recall question each; reading a ruler in cm (maths, grade 2) — one recall item

Name the shape of the path L06

Imagine a ball rolling straight across the floor.

Now a bee zips left, then right, then left again.

Now a toy train runs round and round its track.

Now a swing goes forward, then back, then forward again.

Each one moves, but each one leaves a different path.

The point, stated first

How do you describe the path a moving object takes?

You draw the line it travels along.

A path can be straight.

A path can zigzag.

A path can go round in a circle.

A path can go back and forth along the same line.

Video: each object moves and its path draws itself behind it — video and article; the strongest video in the topic.

Part 1 — MOT3-006 — Classify a moving object's path as straight, zigzag, circular or back and forth; coin the four path names

Check: fluency (type a): six items, one drawn path each, four options (the four names; decision 4); the first is the swing (the last case shown); then two items where the object is named and its path described in words

Figure: table: four path names, each with its small drawing; drawings: the four scenes with the path drawn as a dotted line

Leans on: L04 (moved) — one recall question

Part 1q — Fluency quiz: the four path names

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Spot the repeat L07

Suppose you sit and watch a swing for a whole minute.

It swings forward, then back, then forward, then back.

Each sweep takes the same time as the one before.

Something about this motion keeps happening again.

The point, stated first

What do you look for in a motion that repeats?

You look for the part that happens again in the same way.

The swing sweeps forward and back, again and again.

Each sweep takes the same time.

A part that happens again in the same way is called a pattern.

Video: the swing sweeping with a counter ticking the same time on every sweep — video and article; the article carries a GIF of the swing (James).

Part 1 — MOT3-007 — Identify the repeating pattern in observations of a moving object; coin pattern

Check: fluency (type a): six items, each a described or drawn motion, "What repeats?" with three options (the sweep / the colour of the seat / the child's hat); the first is the swing; then two items on a bouncing ball and a roundabout

Figure: monochrome drawing: the swing at forward, middle and back, a small clock beside each

Leans on: L06 (back and forth) — one recall question

Part 1q — Fluency quiz: pattern

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Part 2 — SR3-020 — Identify a pattern in a set of observations (any object, not only a motion) — closing part if decision 1 is agreed

Check: fluency (type a): four items, two motions and two non-motions (the tide, a traffic light)

Figure: —

Leans on: part 1

Predict the next move L08

Suppose you have watched the swing sweep forward and back four times.

Each sweep took the same time.

Now your friend closes her eyes.

She asks, "Where will the swing be after the next sweep?"

Can you answer without looking?

The point, stated first

What does a pattern let you do?

A pattern lets you say what happens next.

The swing sweeps forward and back in the same time, every time.

So after the next sweep it will be back where it is now.

You used the pattern to predict the next move.

Video: the friend's eyes close, the prediction is spoken, the swing arrives on cue — video and article; the article carries a GIF of the swing (James).

Part 1 — MOT3-008 — Predict where a moving object will be next by using its repeating pattern

Check: type (c): the what (where will the swing be after the next sweep? three positions offered); the why (because the pattern repeats in the same time — options are reasons); the misconception (a student says "you cannot know where it will be without looking"; is the student right? the key corrects: the pattern tells you); the transfer (a bouncing ball caught on every third bounce: where is it on the next?)

Figure: monochrome drawing: the swing's three positions numbered; the bouncing ball's bounces drawn as arcs

Leans on: L07 (pattern) — one recall question

Part 2 — SR3-021 — Use a pattern to predict the next observation (any object) — closing part if decision 1 is agreed

Check: fluency (type a): four items, the traffic light and the tide from L07 part 2, plus two fresh

Figure: —

Leans on: part 1

Questions the blueprint cannot settle alone

- The attached question after each video (the XP gate) is written with the script, not here; its form follows write-video-script.

- Whether the classroom scenes need a licensed photo anywhere: my call is drawings throughout, because every scene is a made-up room; you may want one real playground swing.

Addendum, 28 September 2026

Skill: atomise (6b addendum) @ 5c096e5

### L05 Measure how far it moved — keep, zero at the start only

Atom MOT3-005 (rebehavioured 28 Sep): the ruler's zero sits at the start mark; read the stop mark. The zero-not-at-start step leaves this lesson (its items held for L05b).

### L05b Measure how far it moved when the zero is not at the start — new

Atom MOT3-027 (new 28 Sep). James: "the first lesson is just measuring from zero, and then this lesson is like you're effectively subtracting one from the other. That needs its own lesson."

Headache (one sentence per line): The ruler is already taped to the shelf. Its zero is nowhere near the seashell. In the morning the shell sits at 12 cm. At bedtime it sits at 28 cm. How far did it move?

Forest: When the zero is not at the start, read both marks, then find the difference. That difference is how far it moved.

|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| 1 | MOT3-027 — read the start mark and the stop mark, then find the difference | MOT3-005 (zero at the start) | (b) scaffolded: read start → read stop → difference typed → bare typed → claim (Tom says 20 cm) | drawing: ruler with zero away from the start; the seashell on a shelf (fresh scene: not the toy car) | new |

Video adds: the two readings lighting up in turn, then the gap between them measured as one length. Items already written and held: L05 q7, q8; PP-31, 32, 43, 44 (Hana).

### L06 Straight or curved path — rewritten

Atom MOT3-006 (rebehavioured 28 Sep): a path is the line a moving object travels along; it is straight or curved. James: "back and forth is not a shape… save that for a periodic motion lesson"; "the easiest discrimination would be straight or curved". Downstream: only MOT3-021 (change of direction) for the word "path".

Headache: A ball rolls across the floor. A ball is thrown to a friend. Both balls move. Draw the line each one travels along. They are not the same kind of line.

Forest: The line a moving object travels along is its path. A path is straight or curved.

|---|---|---|---|---|---|

| 1 | MOT3-006 — classify a drawn or described path as straight or curved | MOT3-004 | (a) fluency: drawn paths, "Straight or curved?" two options, about ten; a circle and an arc are curved; a slide and a rolled ball are straight | drawings: six fresh paths (not the lesson's balls) | rewritten from four shapes |

Example sequence: E straight (rolled ball) → E curved (thrown ball) → E curved (train round the track: a curve that comes back) → E straight (sled down the hill) → rule. No "zigzag", no "back and forth" anywhere in the lesson; the swing appears only in L07 as a repeating motion. Held items to release or cut: L06 quiz, PR q9 (pony round the ring), PP-15, 16, 17, 34.

This grade’s course architecture — open only if you want the whole map

Skill: course-build → atomise (architecture, step 6b gate) → write-like-james @ acc4fb6

Grade 3 Science — course architecture v3 (James's rulings of 25 September, plus Olivia Mullins's sequencing)

Read this in five minutes. Grade 3 Science is ONE course with a fixed order; nobody picks strands. It arranges the 183 Grade 3 atoms into four strands and forty-two small topics, each with its own mixed practice, summary video and PP100. Nothing below writes a lesson sentence. The atoms stay where they are: the Science Knowledge Graph's 3-5 registers.

Rulings recorded (James, 25 September 2026)

Strand order: Physics, Matter, Earth & Space, Life. James: "I don't think it matters hugely … Happy to go with 1 Physics 2 Matter 3 Earth and space 4 Life. That works well." Strands may be intermingled later if a reason appears; none does yet.
Grade 3 is one course. "We're not going to allow students to pick any strand … we need to structure Grade 3 as we think Grade 3 should be structured best." v1's line about students choosing strands was wrong and is gone.
Topic 1 is the pilot. "That topic 1, I think, works as a good pilot."
Small topics. "3 atoms is fine for testing. PP100s on quite granular stuff is absolutely fine … A 4-atom topic and a 5-atom topic is great. 9 is too many, really … if something's got 9 atoms, we should be considering splitting it." So sound, soil, fossils and natural resources each stand alone, and every v1 topic of nine or more was split (Card 2). Topics 1 and 2 keep 8 and 7 lessons because James approved Topic 1 as it stands and Topic 2 is one chain about speed; both are flagged as split candidates once their PP100 data arrives.

Forces opens with Earth's pull and magnets, before the word "force" (Olivia Mullins call, 25 September; James: "I think I'll follow that"). Topics 3 and 4 teach the two non-touching pulls with no talk of forces; Topic 5 coins "force" on both of them and on the hand push together, so the hand push never becomes the whole category. Her two classroom misconceptions (Earth pulls only on your feet; "balanced" is a kind of force) are in the register and the lessons.
States of matter start with air (Olivia): air takes up space → gases spread → liquids → solids → the sort.

Applied from the earlier rulings: four strands; Motion before Forces before Energy; Scientific Reasoning atoms taught inside the topics that use them; one intro video per strand and per topic, each teaching nothing; one atom, one lesson, both video and article; a summary video before every PP100; PP100 banks of at least fifty items tagged by depth of reasoning; the Forces topics reuse the golden pack; the language rules (Earth's pull, carriers not forms, no "leak" or "lift").

Card 1 — The strands and their order

The call: Physics → Matter → Earth & Space → Life, each with its own intro video and its own end-of-strand test.

Strand	Topics	Atoms	Why it sits here
Physics	1-15	64	Motion first: what you can see, before the invisible cause. Energy last: "faster means more energy" needs speed.
Matter	16-21	22 (+7 Scientific Reasoning)	Uses the measuring tools and feeds Earth's water cycle in Grade 4.
Earth & Space	22-31	41 (+4 Scientific Reasoning)	Weather uses tables and graphs; "the Sun powers Earth" must precede food chains.
Life	32-42	43	Ends the year; leans on Space (the Sun), Forces (Earth's pull) and Matter (properties).

Scientific Reasoning's 13 atoms are spread through Topics 1, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 25 (Card 4). Total 183 lessons.

Card 2 — The topics

The call: forty-two topics, most of three to six lessons; a mixed mastery practice set, a summary video and a PP100 at the end of every one.

#	Topic (student-facing title)	Atoms (in teaching order)	Lessons	The big idea it serves
Physics
1	Where is it? Did it move?	MOT3-001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008 (+ SR3-020, 021 inside L07/L08)	8	You say where something is with a landmark; moving means its position changed; motions can repeat
2	Fast and slow	MOT3-020, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 026	7	Faster means farther in the same time, or the same distance in less time
3	Earth pulls things down	FOR3-021, 028, 022	3	Earth pulls every object toward the ground, on every part of it, without touching; a strong enough pull can beat it (no word "force" yet)
4	Magnets	FOR3-023, 024, 025	3	A magnet pulls steel without touching; two magnets pull or push; use a magnet to solve a problem (no word "force" yet)
5	What a force is	FOR3-012, 001, 008, 006	4	Earth's pull, a magnet's pull and your push are all forces; push or pull; on one object; in one direction
6	Forces that touch, and forces that don't	FOR3-020, 027, 026	3	Some forces act without touching: Earth, magnets, a rubbed balloon; most pushes touch
7	Pushes and pulls change things	FOR3-002, 003, 004, 005, 007	5	A push or pull starts, stops, turns or squashes; you can test it
8	Strong or weak: drawing a force	FOR3-009, 010, 011	3	A stronger push makes a bigger change; an arrow shows a force's direction and strength
9	Balanced forces	FOR3-040, 041, 042, 043, 045	5	Several forces act at once; balanced forces leave motion as it is, still or steady
10	Unbalanced forces	FOR3-044, 046, 047	3	Unbalanced forces speed up, slow down or turn
11	Energy: what has it, how it travels	ENE3-001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 034	6	Energy makes things happen; light, sound and electricity carry it; faster means more
12	Sound	ENE3-030, 031, 032	3	Sound comes from vibration and travels to your ear
13	Light: sources, straight lines, shadows	ENE3-010, 011, 012, 017	4	Light comes from a source, travels straight, makes shadows, must reach the eye
14	Light bounces, bends or soaks in	ENE3-013, 014, 015, 016	4	Reflection, refraction, absorption, sorted
15	Light and heat	ENE3-020, 021, 033	3	Light-givers give heat; rubbing makes heat; light carries energy
Matter
16	Describe it, sort it	SR3-001, 002, MAT3-001, 002, 003	5	Observe with more than your eyes; describe an object by its properties; sort and order
17	Measuring tools	SR3-003, 004, 005, 006, 007	5	Thermometer, scale, measuring jug; pick the right one; two groups can disagree
18	Which has more?	MAT3-004, 005, 006	3	More mass, more space, warmer, decided by a measurement
19	Sinks, floats, sticks to a magnet: choosing materials	MAT3-007, 008, 060, 061	4	Test a property, then pick the material for the job
20	Solids, liquids and gases	MAT3-022, 023, 021, 020, 024	5	Air first: it takes up space; gases spread; liquids take their container's shape; solids keep theirs; then the sort (Olivia's order)
21	Heating and cooling	MAT3-040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, 046	7	Heating and cooling change the state but it is the same water (split candidate: melting/freezing vs evaporating/condensing)
Earth & Space
22	Measuring the weather	EAR3-017, 018, 019, SR3-010, EAR3-020, SR3-011	6	Three instruments, a weather diary, reading it back
23	Weather over a season, and far away	SR3-012, EAR3-022, 023, 021, 024	5	A season's records make a chart; the chart predicts; other places differ
24	Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides	EAR3-007, 010, 008, 011, 009, 012	6	What each one is, then how it changes the land fast
25	Dangerous weather	EAR3-013, 014, SR3-022	3	Weather can do damage; a defence holds it back; pick the sensible cause
26	Soil	EAR3-001, 002, 003, 004	4	Soil is broken rock plus dead things
27	Fossils	EAR3-029, 030, 031, 032, 033	5	A few dead things last as fossils and tell of the past
28	Using and conserving natural resources	EAR3-040, 041, 042, 043	4	Everything you own started as a natural resource; some run short
29	The Sun	SPA3-001, 007, 002	3	A huge glowing ball of gas; a star; the source of Earth's energy
30	The stars	SPA3-003, 004, 005, 006	4	Stars differ; they look like dots because they are far; telescopes show more
31	The solar system	SPA3-010, 011, 012, 013, 014	5	Earth orbits the Sun with seven other planets; the Moon orbits Earth
Life
32	Alive or not	LIF3-001, 007, 008, 009, 002	5	Living things grow, feed, move and make more; sort living from non-living
33	What living things need	LIF3-003, 004, 005, 006	4	Food, water, air and a place that suits them
34	Backbone or no backbone	LIF3-010, 011, 070	3	Grouping by shared features; vertebrates, invertebrates, arthropods
35	The five vertebrate groups	LIF3-015, 016, 017, 018, 019, 012	6	Mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, then the sort
36	Eggs, body parts and senses	LIF3-013, 020, 027	3	Egg-layers or live birth; body parts do survival jobs; animals sense, then respond
37	How plants make new plants	LIF3-071, 072, 014, 024	4	Seeds, spores, the sort, the flower's job
38	Plant parts and their jobs	LIF3-021, 022, 023	3	Roots, stem, leaves
39	Plants respond	LIF3-025, 026, 028	3	Stems grow to the light, roots grow down; plants respond by growing, animals by moving
40	Life cycles and family likeness	LIF3-030, 031, 040, 041, 042	5	Every life runs in a cycle; offspring take after their parents but differ
41	Food chains	LIF3-050, 051, 052	3	Every food chain starts with the Sun; remove a link and the rest changes
42	Living together and coping with change	LIF3-060, 061, 062, 063	4	Groups, places and seasons decide who survives

Totals: 183 lessons, 42 practice sets, 42 PP100s (banks of at least 50 items each), 4 strand tests (after Topics 15, 21, 31, 42), 1 end-of-grade test.

Why this grouping

Every prerequisite edge points backwards in this order. Checked atom by atom in the assembled files; no forward reference.
Animal topics (33-35) and plant topics (36-38) are separate, as James asked; the plant-versus-animal response contrast (LIF3-028) closes Topic 38 because it needs both sides taught.
Topics 3 and 4 teach Earth's pull and magnets without the word force; Topic 5 coins it on all three kinds (Olivia's sequence). Topic 8 carries the two force-arrow atoms so Topics 9 and 10 can draw balanced and unbalanced forces.
Topic 24 puts "what a volcano is" straight before "volcanoes change the land fast", and the same for earthquakes and landslides: what it is, then what it does.

What changes: the folder gets grade3/topicNN_build/ per topic; Topic 1's blueprint is approved; Topic 1 is built first.

Card 3 — Topic 1 is the pilot (approved)

The call: pilot "Where is it? Did it move?" end to end — 8 lessons, an attached question per video, a ten-item quiz after each, mixed practice, summary video, PP100 — before any other topic starts.

It is the first thing a Grade 3 student meets, so the whole format ladder gets tried where the stakes are lowest.
It holds a fact, four sorts, two routines and a prediction. Every check type the course needs appears once.
Its quiz items are drawings of everyday scenes, so the figure pipeline for young grades gets tested too.
Topics 3 to 10 follow, reusing the golden Forces pack where its lessons match (push or pull, force on one object, strength, direction, more than one force, the balanced and unbalanced lessons).

Card 4 — Scientific Reasoning is taught where it is used

The call: each of the 13 Scientific Reasoning atoms is a lesson inside the topic that first needs it, with its check there; no separate strand, no separate test.

SR atom	Host topic	Why there
SR3-001 Observe with more than your eyes; SR3-002 Observation or idea about it?	16 Describe it, sort it	describing an object's properties is observing
SR3-003 Read a thermometer; SR3-004 Measure mass with a scale; SR3-005 Measure the volume of a liquid; SR3-006 Pick the right measuring tool; SR3-007 Two groups, two different answers	17 Measuring tools	the tools before "which has more?" uses them
SR3-010 Record results in a table; SR3-011 Find a value in a table	22 Measuring the weather	the weather diary is the first table students fill and read back
SR3-012 Read a pictograph or bar graph	23 Weather over a season	the graph before the graphing routine
SR3-020 Spot the pattern; SR3-021 Use the pattern to predict	1 Where is it? Did it move? (inside L07 and L08)	the swing's repeat is the pattern
SR3-022 Choose the sensible cause	25 Dangerous weather	first place students pick a cause for an event

Card 5 — Tests and benchmarks

The call: a PP100 per topic; a static end-of-strand test per strand (some free response); one static end-of-grade test; all Grade 3 tests are our own banks, seeded from released grade-5 items filtered to Grade 3 atoms.

No state tests science before grade 5 (D1 ruling). The released STAAR, Florida SSA and AZSCI grade-5 forms give the style and difficulty; items tagged to Grade 3 atoms seed the banks.
The strand tests fall after Topics 15, 21, 31 and 42.
The end-of-grade test samples all four strands with free-response items.

What happens next

Topic 1 is built as the first interactive version for James: the topic intro (video script and article), eight lessons each as a video script with animation guidance and an article with figures, one attached question per video, a ten-item quiz per lesson, mixed practice, the summary video script and the PP100 bank. Topic 3 follows, reusing the golden pack.