Free Science Grading Rubric Grade 3

Grade 3 States of Matter Grading Rubric

About This Resource

A teacher assessment tool for the States of Matter topic, covering four criteria — identifying states, describing properties, explaining changes of state, and recording observations — across three performance levels. Built to be used alongside the worksheet, reading activity, and hands-on observation task in this collection, with a built-in class tracking grid so a teacher can assess a whole class without extra paperwork.

Overview

This rubric gives teachers a consistent, practical way to judge student understanding across the States of Matter topic, whether that's from the Sorting and Properties Worksheet, the Investigating Changes of State observation activity, the reading task, or classroom discussion. Each of the four criteria is described at three levels — Meets Expectations, Developing, and Needs Support — in plain, specific language rather than vague labels. A second page explains how to interpret each level, offers an optional simple point-scoring approach for schools that require a number, and includes a ready-to-use class tracking grid for recording every student's levels at a glance.

Resource Details

Subject: Science
Topic: States of Matter
Category: Materials & Matter
File Type: PDF
File Size: 75.1 KB
Published: 07 Sep 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 3 Grading Rubric States of Matter

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to identify solids, liquids, and gases from everyday examples.
Students will be able to describe the properties (shape and volume) of each state of matter.
Students will be able to explain changes of state using vocabulary such as melt, freeze, evaporate, and condense.
Students will be able to record predictions and observations clearly during a simple investigation.

How to Use This Resource

Pick one or two pieces of student work — for example the sorting worksheet plus the observation activity — that best reflect what a student can do. Read across each row of the Performance Levels table and decide which column best matches what you saw, then use the Class Tracking Grid on page two to record M, D, or N for each student across the four criteria. The Interpreting the Levels section explains what each level means for next steps, and the Teacher's Tip suggests a quick way to complete the rubric for a whole class during independent work time rather than after the lesson.

Additional Files

Grade 3 States of Matter Grading Rubric.docx

Grade 3 States of Matter Lesson Plan: Solids, Liquids, and Gases

Lesson Plan · State of Matter

A complete, ready-to-teach lesson plan introducing Grade 3 students to the three states of...

View Resource