Unit Plans

Unit Plans 7th grade science (Student Expectations (SE) 7.# = 7 is for Seventh Grade)

1st semester

Students will learn to organize, analyze, infer, and predict based on data collected during descriptive, comparative and experimental investigations.

Unit 1 - Life on Earth

Students will learn characteristics for setting the stage for life on Earth and for manned space exploration (7.9A and 7.9B).

Unit 2 - Matter and Energy in Ecosystems

Students will learn energy transformations through the process of photosynthesis (7.5A).

Students will learn the flow of energy through living systems, including food chains, food webs, and energy pyramid (7.5C).

Students will learn the cycling of matter within living systems (7.5B).

Students will learn that organic compounds contain carbon and other elements such as

hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen or sulfur (SPONCH 7.6A)

Unit 3: Analyzing Ecosystems (2nd 6 weeks)

Part 1: Ecosystems and Biodiversity (7.10A and 7.10B)

Student will learn how different environments, including microhabitats in schoolyards and biomes, support different varieties of organisms and

describe how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem [supporting standard]

Part 2: Changes in Ecosystems (Students will learn the characteristics of ecosystems.)

Students will learn how

- to analyze the effects of weathering, erosion, and deposition on the environment in ecoregions of Texas (7.8B)

- different types of catastrophic events impact ecosystems such as floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes (7.8A).

Students will learn ecological succession such as in a microhabitat of a garden with weeds [7.10C supporting standard] and model the effects of human activity on groundwater and surface water in a watershed [7.8C supporting standard]

Unit 4 Genetics

Students will identify that sexual reproduction results in more diverse offspring (7.14B).

Students will distinguish between dominant and recessive traits and compare the traits that allow for survival and reproduction (7.14A and 7.14C).

2nd Semester

Students will learn to organize, analyze, infer, and predict based on data collected during descriptive, comparative and experimental investigations.

Unit 5 Natural Selection and Adaptations

Part 1: Natural Selection

Students will to learn identify some changes in genetic traits that have occurred over several generations [7.11C supporting standard]

Students will explain variation within a population or species by comparing external features, behaviors, or physiology of organisms that enhance their survival such as migration, hibernation, or storage of food in a bulb (7.11B)

Students will examine organisms or their structures such as insects or leaves and use dichotomous keys for identification [7.11A supporting standard]

Students will investigate and explain how internal structures of organisms have adaptations that allow specific functions such as gills in fish, hollow bones in birds, or xylem in plants (7.12A)

Part 2: Stimulus and Response

Students will investigate how organisms respond to external stimuli found in the environment such as phototropism and fight or flight (7.13A) and describe and relate responses in organisms that may result from internal stimuli such as wilting in plants and fever or vomiting in animals that allow them to maintain balance (7.13B)

Students will demonstrate and illustrate forces that affect motion in everyday life such as the emergence of seedlings, turgor pressure, and geotropism (7.7C).

recognize levels of organization in plants and animals, including cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms 7.12C

Unit 6 Cells and Levels of Organization

recognize that according to cell theory all organisms are composed of cells and cells carry on similar functions such as extracting energy from food to sustain life. [7.12F supporting standard]

differentiate between structure and function in plant and animal cell organelles, including cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondrion, chloroplast, and vacuole [7.12D supporting standard]

Unit 7 Body Systems

Students will identify the systems of the human body 7.12B and 7.12E) , describe their functions, and identify responses to stimuli (7.13A and 7.13B).

Students will learn to distinguish between physical and chemical changes in matter in the digestive system [7.6B supporting standard and 7.6A]

Students will learn to recognize how large molecules are broken down into smaller molecules such as carbohydrates can be broken down into sugars 7.6C [supporting standard]

Students will illustrate the transformation of energy within an organism such as the transfer from chemical energy to heat and thermal energy in digestion 7.7B)

Unit 8 Worth the Wait (7.12B)

Unit 9 Work

Students will learn to contrast situations where work is done with different amounts of force (7.7A).

Scientific Investigation and Reasoning (TEKS/SE taught throughout the year)

Safety and procedures

1A demonstrate safe practices during laboratory and field investigations as outlined in the Texas

Safety Standards; and

1B practice appropriate use and conservation of resources, including disposal, reuse, or recycling of materials.

Scientific investigation

2A plan and implement comparative and descriptive investigations by making observations, asking well-defined questions, and using appropriate equipment and technology;

2B design and implement experimental investigations by making observations, asking well-defined questions, formulating testable hypotheses, and using appropriate equipment and technology;

2C collect and record data using the International System of Units (SI) and qualitative means such as labeled drawings, writing, and graphic organizers;

2D construct tables and graphs, using repeated trials and means, to organize data and identify patterns; and

2E analyze data to formulate reasonable explanations, communicate valid conclusions supported by the data, and predict trends.

3A in all fields of science, analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, including examining all sides of scientific evidence of those scientific explanations, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student;

3B use models to represent aspects of the natural world such as human body systems and plant and animal cells

3C identify advantages and limitations of models such as size, scale, properties, and materials; and

3D relate the impact of research on scientific thought and society, including the history of science and contributions of scientists as related to the content.

4A use appropriate tools to collect, record, and analyze information, including life science models, hand lens, stereoscopes, microscopes, beakers, Petri dishes, microscope slides, graduated cylinders, test tubes, meter sticks, metric rulers, metric tape measures, timing devices, hot plates, balances, thermometers, calculators, water test kits, computers, temperature and pH probes, collecting nets, insect traps, globes, digital cameras, journals/notebooks, and other equipment as needed to teach the curriculum; and

4B use preventative safety equipment, including chemical splash goggles, aprons, and gloves, and be prepared to use emergency safety equipment, including an eye/face wash, a fire blanket, and a fire extinguisher.