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Topic 24 — Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslides — blueprint (28 September 2026)

What I need from you: 2 decisions

1

Do the three "how fast" values stand as typical, or do they soften to "about"?

the topic's point is FAST change. The lessons say lava covers a field "in one day" (Kilauea's 2018 flows crossed roads in hours to a day), an earthquake shakes "for about twenty seconds" (a large quake's strong shaking), a landslide takes "less than a minute" (a soil slide on a steep hillside). Each is typical, none is a record; each appears on the before / after strip's event chip.

My recommendation: keep them, spoken as "in one day", "about twenty seconds", "less than a minute" — a child needs a number to feel the speed.

2

Does L03 keep its one line saying the cause of the shaking comes in a later grade?

EAR3-008's cross note gives the cause (rock slipping, waves through the crust) to Grade 4 (EAR4-046). You had Topic 3 name gravity as "later in the course" rather than leave the question hanging. This line does the same for the cause of the shaking, without teaching it. The non-author reviewer agrees it should stay.

My recommendation: keep.

Topic 24 at a glance — 6 lessons

LessonOpens onFormat
L01What a volcano isHere is a mountain in Washington called Mount Saint Helens.video + article
L02Volcanoes change the land fastSienna lives near Kilauea, in Hawaii.video + article
L03What an earthquake isHazel is eating breakfast in her kitchen in California.video + article
L04Earthquakes change the land fastCamila lives in California.video + article
L05What a landslide isElliot and his dad walk on a path below a steep hillside in California.video + article
L06Landslides change the land fastJavier and his mom drive to school along a valley road in California.video + article
What this topic is, in five lines

Six short lessons, one per atom, in the architecture's order: what a volcano is, then how a volcano changes the land; what an earthquake is, then how it changes the ground; what a landslide is, then how it changes a slope. The three "what it is" lessons (L01, L03, L05) are categorical example sequences, one frame each, the verdict mark carrying its question on every card. The three "how it changes the land" lessons (L02, L04, L06) share ONE frame — a before panel, the event with how long it took, an after panel — so the three changes sort against each other, which is the summary's three questions and the PP100's hard type (name the event from the change).

Real places: Kilauea (Hawaii) pours out lava; Mount Saint Helens (Washington) erupted in 1980 and is quiet; Pikes Peak (Colorado), Mount Mitchell (North Carolina) and a hill in Ohio are not volcanoes; Old Faithful (Wyoming) is the boundary case — an opening, but hot water; Mount Hood (Oregon) and Mount Redoubt (Alaska) are volcanoes; a California street cracks in a twenty-second earthquake; a California hillside slides after three days of rain.

Every drawing an item is answered from is SVG; children and their scenes are cartoons; the real things are photographs. Nothing draws "the layers of the Earth": the cut-through shows the ground, an opening and melted rock deep inside Earth.

Applied without asking (rulings you have already given): hard PP100 items are typed (two of ten exemplars, both text entry — the topic is not numerical); every attached question stands alone with its own drawing or scene; no option bundles a verdict with a reason (thirteen claims, all bare yes / no); every stem a positive question; colour in figures, captions matching the render; "let's" at scene changes and never an imperative aimed at the student; the intro ends on a ready line and a poll and names no lesson; three questions on the summary; a prediction item never animates its answer (only L03's teaching figure animates); one lesson per atom, six lessons; the misconceptions this age holds are met by name (lava is fire; land only changes slowly; earthquakes only happen far away; the ground swallows houses; a landslide needs rain; a volcano must be erupting to be one); US spelling; lava is melted rock in Topic 21's words.

What a volcano is L01

Here is a mountain in Washington called Mount Saint Helens.

Here is another mountain, in Colorado, called Pikes Peak.

Both are tall, and both have snow on top for part of the year.

One of them is a volcano, and the other is not.

What makes a mountain a volcano?

The point, stated first

Deep inside Earth, some rock is so hot that it has melted.

In some places there is an opening in the ground, and the melted rock comes up through it and out.

The melted rock that comes out is called lava.

An opening in the ground where melted rock from deep inside Earth comes out is a volcano.

Pikes Peak has no opening and no melted rock, so it is not a volcano.

Video: the red pool glowing under the ground and the pipe filling; each card's tick or cross appearing on the verdict word — video and article.

Part 1 — EAR3-007 — State that a volcano is an opening in the ground where melted rock from deep inside Earth comes out

Check: fluency (type a): one recall, drawn and described cases yes / no, what comes out of the opening, Desmond's fire claim, where it comes from, two term items last

Figure: the cut-through; the four verdict cards; three photos

Leans on: Topic 21 L01 (a solid that warms up enough melts into a liquid)

Part 1q — quiz, 12 items

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Volcanoes change the land fast L02

Sienna lives near Kilauea, in Hawaii.

Yesterday a road ran past the end of her street.

This morning the road is gone.

A layer of dark rock lies where the road was.

What happened in one night?

The point, stated first

When a volcano erupts, lava pours out of the opening.

Lava is a liquid, so it flows downhill over the land.

Out in the air, the lava cools and turns into solid rock.

New solid rock lies where the field and the road were.

The lava covered the field in one day.

Video: the red tongue running across the field, the trees darkening, the red fading to dark gray — video and article.

Part 1 — EAR3-010 — Predict how the land changes when a volcano erupts

Check: what · why · misconception · transfer (type c): a drawn field, the reason the lava is hard, Marcus's slow claim, a forest in Alaska, how fast, which way lava flows, Ramona's true claim

Figure: the field before / during / after; the before / after strip

Leans on: L01; Topic 21 L02 (a liquid that cools turns into a solid)

Part 1q — quiz, 10 items

Check: type c + fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

What an earthquake is L03

Hazel is eating breakfast in her kitchen in California.

Suddenly the floor shakes.

The pictures rattle on the wall, and a cup wobbles off the table.

Twenty seconds later, everything is still again.

What just happened?

The point, stated first

The floor did not shake on its own: the ground under the house shook, and the house shook with it.

A sudden shaking of the ground is called an earthquake.

It starts suddenly and lasts a few seconds, and then the shaking stops.

A truck rattling a window is not an earthquake, because the ground stays still.

Earthquakes happen in California, Alaska, Oklahoma and many other states.

Video: the ground band, the house and the lamp post rocking side to side together; the four cards — video and article (the article's teaching figure is a looping animation).

Part 1 — EAR3-008 — State that an earthquake is a sudden shaking of the ground

Check: fluency (type a): described cases yes / no, Lorenzo's faraway claim, Paloma's wind claim, how long, what shakes, which of three, the term item last

Figure: the shaking house (animated); the four verdict cards

Leans on: Topic 7 (a push changes things: the ground moves, so the house moves)

Part 1q — quiz, 11 items

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Earthquakes change the land fast L04

Camila lives in California.

Last night an earthquake shook her street for about twenty seconds.

This morning a crack runs right across the road.

One side of the road is a step higher than the other.

The shaking is over, but the road has changed.

The point, stated first

As the ground shakes, it cracks in places.

One crack runs across the road, about as wide as a hand.

One side of the crack ends up a step higher than the other.

The shaking stops, but the crack and the step stay.

The road changed in about twenty seconds.

Video: the panel rocking, the zigzag drawing across the road, the right side rising a step, the rocking stopping — video and article.

Part 1 — EAR3-011 — Predict how the ground changes when an earthquake strikes

Check: what · why · misconception · transfer (type c): a flat field in Nevada, why the road cracked, Fletcher's swallow claim, a drawn road (which event), how long, how big a step, Wendell's closes-up claim, the rocky hill, Jasmine's true claim

Figure: the road before / after; the strip

Leans on: L03

Part 1q — quiz, 10 items

Check: type c + fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

What a landslide is L05

Elliot and his dad walk on a path below a steep hillside in California.

It has rained for three days.

Dad stops and says, "Listen."

There is a rumble, and then the whole side of the hill slides down onto the path ahead, trees and all.

In less than a minute, it is over.

The point, stated first

Ground that goes downhill is a slope.

Most days, the soil and rock on a slope stay where they are.

After days of heavy rain, a whole mass of soil, rock and trees slid down the slope, suddenly.

A mass of rock or soil suddenly sliding down a slope is a landslide.

Heavy rain can start one, and so can the ground shaking.

Video: the slope's surface sliding down as one mass; the four cards, the flat field first — video and article.

Part 1 — EAR3-009 — State that a landslide is a mass of rock or soil suddenly sliding down a slope

Check: fluency (type a): drawn and described cases yes / no, Emmett's rain-only claim, what a landslide needs, a few pebbles, which of three, Rosalie's true claim, the term item last

Figure: the rainy hillside; the four verdict cards (NE → E → E → NE); the photo of a real hollow

Leans on: L03 (the ground shaking, as one thing that starts a slide)

Part 1q — quiz, 10 items

Check: fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Landslides change the land fast L06

Javier and his mom drive to school along a valley road in California.

This morning the road is blocked.

A heap of soil, rocks and broken trees lies right across it.

Above the road, the hillside has a bare brown hollow.

Where did all that soil come from?

The point, stated first

A mass of soil and rock slides down the slope in less than a minute.

Where the soil was, the slope is left with a bare hollow.

Where the soil went, a heap of soil and rock lies on the valley floor.

Whatever was at the bottom is under the heap.

A landslide changes the top of the slope and the bottom at the same time.

Video: the slide as one mass, then the hollow chip and the heap chip appearing on their words; the stream widening into a pond — video and article.

Part 1 — EAR3-012 — Predict how a slope changes when a landslide happens

Check: what · why · misconception · transfer (type c): a drawn hillside (what lies on the road), the top of the slope, why the soil is on the road, Tobin's slow-heap claim, a stream, how long, a drawn hillside (which event), Bernadette's true claim, a cornfield

Figure: the hillside before / after; the strip

Leans on: L05; L02 and L04 (the shared before / after frame)

Part 1q — quiz, 10 items

Check: type c + fluency

Figure: —

Leans on: —

Language decisions

- The atoms' words: "volcano", "lava" (the melted rock that comes out) in L01; "erupts" in L02; "earthquake"; "landslide"; "slope" arrives as its plain meaning (ground that goes downhill) and is not tested as a term; "the ground" is the soil and rock under everything.

- Lava is melted rock, a liquid, that cools and turns into solid rock (Topic 21's words: melts, liquid, solid, cools, turns into). Lava is never "fire"; it glows because it is so hot; grass and trees burn because it is so hot.

- An earthquake is the ground shaking (Topic 7: the ground moves, and the house moves with it). Never a monster, never a wind. The cause is named as "a later grade".

- A landslide "slides"; nothing "lets go", "leaks" or "lifts". Rain is one thing that starts a landslide; the ground shaking is another.

- FAST is said with numbers: in one day; about twenty seconds; less than a minute. Slow changes (Grade 4's weathering and erosion) are not named.

- Not said: "crater", "geyser", "magma", "crust", "plates", "layers of the Earth", "fault", "ash", "tsunami", "mudslide", "gravity", "force", "matter", "weathering", "erosion".

- Openers vary: L01 "Here's a mountain…", L02 "Sienna lives near…", L03 "Hazel is eating breakfast…", L04 "Camila lives in California.", L05 "Elliot and his dad walk…", L06 "Javier and his mom drive…"; contractions in scripts and headaches.

PP100 type sheet (TYPE_SHEET_ONLY; James's 28 Sep night ruling: hard items are typed)

Ten types, ten exemplars, at most two alone-types per atom; eight four-option MCQs (easy and medium) and two typed hard items (both text entry: the name of the event from a drawn change; the word for what comes out of a volcano). Coverage table in records/TYPES_G3T24.md.

Figures

74 figures: 60 SVG (the cut-through, the verdict cards, the before / after panels and strips, the rule cards, every item drawing), 7 photos (Mount Saint Helens; Kilauea's lava; Pikes Peak; Old Faithful; a Hawaii road under lava rock; a cracked California road; a California landslide scar), 7 cartoons (Sienna at the window; Hazel's kitchen; Miles on the bench; Camila at the crack; Elliot and his dad; Javier and his mom; the wall map). Every figure has an IMAGE_BRIEFS entry and an IMAGE_KINDS entry; people and hands are never drawn as glyphs. Item figures carry no verdict mark, no event chip and no question chip. Only the L03 teaching figure animates (asserted in figures.py). Every figure the review changed was re-rendered and opened (records/FIGURES_G3T24_2026-09-28.md, second round).

Deliberately not taught

Why rock deep inside Earth is hot; what makes the ground shake (EAR4-046); why wet soil slides (one what-line: wet soil is heavy and slides more easily); ash, gas and explosive eruptions; tsunamis; floods and mudflows; slow changes to land (Grade 4's weathering and erosion); how people stay safe in an earthquake; magnitudes and measuring; the rock cycle (6-8).

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)

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.

StrandTopicsAtomsWhy it sits here
Physics1-1564Motion first: what you can see, before the invisible cause. Energy last: "faster means more energy" needs speed.
Matter16-2122 (+7 Scientific Reasoning)Uses the measuring tools and feeds Earth's water cycle in Grade 4.
Earth & Space22-3141 (+4 Scientific Reasoning)Weather uses tables and graphs; "the Sun powers Earth" must precede food chains.
Life32-4243Ends 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)LessonsThe big idea it serves
Physics
1Where is it? Did it move?MOT3-001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 006, 007, 008 (+ SR3-020, 021 inside L07/L08)8You say where something is with a landmark; moving means its position changed; motions can repeat
2Fast and slowMOT3-020, 021, 022, 023, 024, 025, 0267Faster means farther in the same time, or the same distance in less time
3Earth pulls things downFOR3-021, 029, 030, 028, 022 (+ a closing lesson naming gravity)6Earth pulls every object, all the time, straight down, on every part of it, without touching; a strong enough pull can beat it; the pull's name is gravity (JM 28 Sep 2026; no word "force" yet)
4MagnetsFOR3-023, 024, 0253A magnet pulls steel without touching; two magnets pull or push; use a magnet to solve a problem (no word "force" yet)
5What a force isFOR3-012, 001, 008, 0064Earth's pull, a magnet's pull and your push are all forces; push or pull; on one object; in one direction
6Forces that touch, and forces that don'tFOR3-020, 027, 0263Some forces act without touching: Earth, magnets, a rubbed balloon; most pushes touch
7Pushes and pulls change thingsFOR3-002, 003, 004, 005, 0075A push or pull starts, stops, turns or squashes; you can test it
8Strong or weak: drawing a forceFOR3-009, 010, 0113A stronger push makes a bigger change; an arrow shows a force's direction and strength
9Balanced forcesFOR3-040, 041, 042, 043, 0455Several forces act at once; balanced forces leave motion as it is, still or steady
10Unbalanced forcesFOR3-044, 046, 0473Unbalanced forces speed up, slow down or turn
11Energy: what has it, how it travelsENE3-001, 002, 003, 004, 005, 0346Energy makes things happen; light, sound and electricity carry it; faster means more
12SoundENE3-030, 031, 0323Sound comes from vibration and travels to your ear
13Light: sources, straight lines, shadowsENE3-010, 011, 012, 0174Light comes from a source, travels straight, makes shadows, must reach the eye
14Light bounces, bends or soaks inENE3-013, 014, 015, 0164Reflection, refraction, absorption, sorted
15Light and heatENE3-020, 021, 0333Light-givers give heat; rubbing makes heat; light carries energy
Matter
16Describe it, sort itSR3-001, 002, MAT3-001, 002, 0035Observe with more than your eyes; describe an object by its properties; sort and order
17Measuring toolsSR3-003, 004, 005, 006, 0075Thermometer, scale, measuring jug; pick the right one; two groups can disagree
18Which has more?MAT3-004, 062, 005, 0064More mass, more space, warmer, decided by a measurement; MAT3-062 "everything takes up space" (JM ruling on Olivia's comment, 28 Sep 2026) sits before the space comparison
19Sinks, floats, sticks to a magnet: choosing materialsMAT3-007, 008, 060, 0614Test a property, then pick the material for the job
20Solids, liquids and gasesMAT3-063, 064, 065, 022, 023, 021, 020, 0248Air first (Olivia's order): air is something you can feel; it is made of tiny pieces too small to see; so is every kind of matter; air takes up space; gases spread out to fill their space; liquids take their container's shape; solids keep theirs; then the sort with the awkward cases. MAT3-063, 064, 065 were added on 28 Sep 2026 (JM's rulings on Olivia's comments) before MAT3-022 in the chain; eight lessons is over JM's 3–6 size, so the Topic 20 build record (decision 1) proposes a split after MAT3-022 into "Air is something" (4) and "Solids, liquids and gases" (4), renumbering Matter to 16–22, Earth & Space 23–32, Life 33–43 — nothing after Topic 19 is authored, so the renumbering costs nothing now
21Heating and coolingMAT3-040, 041, 042, 043, 044, 045, 0467Heating and cooling change the state but it is the same water (split candidate: melting/freezing vs evaporating/condensing)
Earth & Space
22Measuring the weatherEAR3-017, 018, 019, SR3-010, EAR3-020, SR3-0116Three instruments, a weather diary, reading it back
23Weather over a season, and far awaySR3-012, EAR3-022, 023, 021, 0245A season's records make a chart; the chart predicts; other places differ
24Volcanoes, earthquakes, landslidesEAR3-007, 010, 008, 011, 009, 0126What each one is, then how it changes the land fast
25Dangerous weatherEAR3-013, 014, SR3-0223Weather can do damage; a defence holds it back; pick the sensible cause
26SoilEAR3-001, 002, 003, 0044Soil is broken rock plus dead things
27FossilsEAR3-029, 030, 031, 032, 0335A few dead things last as fossils and tell of the past
28Using and conserving natural resourcesEAR3-040, 041, 042, 0434Everything you own started as a natural resource; some run short
29The SunSPA3-001, 007, 0023A huge glowing ball of gas; a star; the source of Earth's energy
30The starsSPA3-003, 004, 005, 0064Stars differ; they look like dots because they are far; telescopes show more
31The solar systemSPA3-010, 011, 012, 013, 0145Earth orbits the Sun with seven other planets; the Moon orbits Earth
Life
32Alive or notLIF3-001, 007, 008, 009, 0025Living things grow, feed, move and make more; sort living from non-living
33What living things needLIF3-003, 004, 005, 0064Food, water, air and a place that suits them
34Backbone or no backboneLIF3-010, 011, 0703Grouping by shared features; vertebrates, invertebrates, arthropods
35The five vertebrate groupsLIF3-015, 016, 017, 018, 019, 0126Mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish, then the sort
36Eggs, body parts and sensesLIF3-013, 020, 0273Egg-layers or live birth; body parts do survival jobs; animals sense, then respond
37How plants make new plantsLIF3-071, 072, 014, 0244Seeds, spores, the sort, the flower's job
38Plant parts and their jobsLIF3-021, 022, 0233Roots, stem, leaves
39Plants respondLIF3-025, 026, 0283Stems grow to the light, roots grow down; plants respond by growing, animals by moving
40Life cycles and family likenessLIF3-030, 031, 040, 041, 0425Every life runs in a cycle; offspring take after their parents but differ
41Food chainsLIF3-050, 051, 0523Every food chain starts with the Sun; remove a link and the rest changes
42Living together and coping with changeLIF3-060, 061, 062, 0634Groups, 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

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.


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 atomHost topicWhy there
SR3-001 Observe with more than your eyes; SR3-002 Observation or idea about it?16 Describe it, sort itdescribing 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 answers17 Measuring toolsthe tools before "which has more?" uses them
SR3-010 Record results in a table; SR3-011 Find a value in a table22 Measuring the weatherthe weather diary is the first table students fill and read back
SR3-012 Read a pictograph or bar graph23 Weather over a seasonthe graph before the graphing routine
SR3-020 Spot the pattern; SR3-021 Use the pattern to predict1 Where is it? Did it move? (inside L07 and L08)the swing's repeat is the pattern
SR3-022 Choose the sensible cause25 Dangerous weatherfirst 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.


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.