Science in Year 3: what Lärkompis practises
In Year 3 of Swedish school (around age 9), Lärkompis practises 14 skills in science (biology, physics and chemistry), linked to 31 of 39 items in the core content of Lgr22, the Swedish national curriculum, for Years 1–3. The areas are force and motion; body and health; materials and substances; nature through the year; and systematic investigations. Each skill has five difficulty levels, and the skills are practised in 5 mini-games, including Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt), Labbet (The Lab) and Vändspelet (The Flip Game).
Lgr22 sets out core content for each stage (Years 1–3), not for each year. So Lärkompis spreads the skills across the years using its own time windows, and these are estimates. For Year 3, this means that 3 skills start this year and 11 skills started earlier and are still being practised. The figure 31 of 39 counts the items in the core content from Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education) that at least one skill links to; it does not mean the whole item is covered.
What Lärkompis practises in Year 3
The 14 skills in science in Year 3 are grouped into 5 areas following Skolverket's syllabus. Under each skill you can see the first and the last difficulty level, so you know how far the exercises go.
Force and motion
- Centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- The bodies of the solar system and how they move, and humans in space (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
Body and health
- Food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends (already starts in Year 1) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Some organs, their names and what they do (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch (already starts in Year 1) Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Materials and substances
- Mixtures and how to separate them by filtering, evaporation and magnets Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions.
- Forms of water: evaporation, boiling, condensation, melting and freezing (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Ice, water and steam – melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
Nature through the year
- Seasons and months in the right order (already starts in Year 1) Level 1: Choose from three options. Level 5: Mixed, in all formats.
- Animals, plants and trees in the local area (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
- Simple food chains in the woods and fields (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Seasons, clouds, wind and precipitation (already starts in Year 2) Level 1: Questions with at most three clearly different options. Level 5: Match four question–answer pairs, plus mixed yes/no questions.
Systematic investigations
- Simple investigations: guess, test, observe and record (already starts in Year 1) Level 1: Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud. Level 5: Match five pairs, put five steps in order and answer harder guess-first questions.
- Stories of how scientific knowledge has developed Level 1: Who did what? Three options. Level 5: Match five pairs and put five discoveries in the order they happened.
What the syllabus says, in short
The Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3 in science, summarised in our own words for the parts Lärkompis practises in Year 3. Read the full text in Skolverket's English translation of Lgr22.
- The changing seasons, the life cycles of some animals and plants, and which animals, plants and fungi live near home.
- Simple food chains, meaning who eats whom in nature.
- The body and health, for example parts of the body, food, sleep and exercise.
- Force and motion, such as gravity, friction and how things balance.
- Materials and substances around us, for example how water freezes, melts and evaporates.
- Simple investigations and recording them with pictures and text.
How to help at home with science in Year 3
Year 3 is the last year of the first stage (Years 1–3). Schools use national tests in maths and Swedish in Year 3 to support the assessment against the criteria, and no grades are given. Before the tests, sleep, breakfast and a calm tone help more than extra drilling. Ask curious questions (“why do you think that happens?”) and try small experiments at home, for example in the kitchen or on a walk.
- Offer choices within limits. Ask “do you want to do your homework before or after your snack?” instead of “sit down now”. Choices within limits strengthen a sense of control without the rules disappearing. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
- Write to the teacher when homework isn’t working. If homework often takes an unreasonably long time, ends in tears or can’t be done without you, write a few lines about what happened. The school needs that information to be able to adapt. When it is hard going: about 5 minutes.
- Talk maths and language in everyday life. Count kronor in the shop, measure in the kitchen, read signs and talk about the time of day. Short, cheerful moments in everyday life seem to help more than taking over the homework, especially if you feel unsure about maths yourself. Works in everyday life: about 10 minutes.
- Watch how you talk about maths and school. Avoid “I was bad at maths too”. Say instead “I never got to learn it properly, let’s find out together”. It shows that hard things can be learned. As a conversation: about 5 minutes.
How you can tell it has clicked in Year 3
- Centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play: Your child guesses first and then tries it out with balls and ramps.
- Food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends: Your child can explain why we wash our hands.
- Some organs, their names and what they do: Your child can say what the brain does.
- Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch: Your child can say which sense goes with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and skin.
Common pitfalls in Year 3
- Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch: Mixes up taste and smell.
- Forms of water: evaporation, boiling, condensation, melting and freezing: Thinks steam is smoke.
- Seasons and months in the right order: Thinks the calendar year starts with spring.
- Animals, plants and trees in the local area: Thinks everything that crawls is an insect.
If science practice in Year 3 often ends in tears or takes far too long, stop for the day and write a few lines to the teacher about what was hard. That is useful information for the school, not a failure.
Games that practise it
In Year 3 science, Lärkompis uses 5 mini-games. In these games, playing is the practice, so your child learns while they play. There are no points or streaks, and no ads.
Kunskapsjakten (Knowledge Hunt)
A quiz show in a TV studio, where Vera leads the questions up a ladder. There are lifelines but no points: the ladder fills up with the questions your child has worked through. In Year 3, the game practises 14 skills: centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play; food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends; some organs, their names and what they do; sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch; and more.
Labbet (The Lab)
Guess first, then find out. The tasks are based on checked facts. In Year 3, the game practises 14 skills: centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play; food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends; some organs, their names and what they do; sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch; and more.
Vändspelet (The Flip Game)
A memory game where two cards that go together stay face up, for example 3 + 4 and 7. In Year 3, the game practises 9 skills: centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play; food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends; some organs, their names and what they do; mixtures and how to separate them by filtering, evaporation and magnets; and more.
Tidslinjen (The Timeline)
Your child puts cards on a line in the right order, for example events, steps or numbers. A card in the right place turns over and shows the answer. In Year 3, the game practises 7 skills: forms of water: evaporation, boiling, condensation, melting and freezing; seasons and months in the right order; simple food chains in the woods and fields; seasons, clouds, wind and precipitation; and more.
Sorteringsbandet (The Sorting Belt)
A calm conveyor belt of things that your child puts in the right box by following a rule. In Year 3, the game practises 1 skill: mixtures and how to separate them by filtering, evaporation and magnets.
Questions about science in Year 3
What does Lärkompis practise in science in Year 3?
Lärkompis has 14 skills in science in Year 3, for example “Centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play”; “Food, sleep, hygiene, exercise and friends”; “Some organs, their names and what they do”; “Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch”; and “Mixtures and how to separate them by filtering, evaporation and magnets”. Each skill has five levels. In “Centre of gravity, equilibrium, balance and friction in play”, for example, level 1 is “Choose the right word from three options, with pictures and read-aloud” and level 5 is “Match five pairs, plus harder guess-first questions”. The app adjusts the level to how your child is doing.
What is expected in science in Year 3 by the end of the year?
Skolverket's criteria at the end of Year 3 say, in plain words: your child knows the basics about nature, the body, forces and materials, can talk about simple connections based on what they have seen themselves, and can carry out simple experiments and observations when someone shows them how. Lärkompis does not replace the teacher's assessment, but it shows you which skills your child is practising in Year 3.
Which mistakes are common in science in Year 3?
Common mistakes that Lärkompis covers include “Mixes up taste and smell” in “Sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch” and “Thinks steam is smoke” in “Forms of water: evaporation, boiling, condensation, melting and freezing”. When an answer is wrong, the app shows how to think it through instead of just marking it wrong, and the parent panel shows what your child is practising right now.
Does Lärkompis follow Lgr22 in science in Year 3?
Yes. Every exercise in science in Year 3 is linked to an item in the Lgr22 core content for Years 1–3; 31 of 39 items in science (biology, physics and chemistry) have at least one linked skill. Lärkompis is a complement at home and does not replace teaching.
How much does it cost to practise science in Year 3 with Lärkompis?
Lärkompis costs SEK 49, once, for all subjects and every child in the family, with future updates included. You can try science in Year 3 for free first, without an account.
More years and subjects
The same year in other subjects:
