7th Grade Science

Topics Covered in 7th Grade Science

1 - Thinking Like A Scientist - A foundational toolkit of NGSS Science and Engineering Practices.

• • Study the structures and functions of the brain, and nervous system. Analyze the developmental changes taking place in the teenage brain.

  • Analyze safety hazards present in the science lab. Develop and demonstrate a comprehensive safety plan for collaborative group work in a lab environment.

  • Practice gathering information about phenomena through the use of scientific observation. Differentiate qualitative and quantitative observation. Introduce metric system and practice gathering quantitative observation through measurement.

  • Design an investigation and implement scientific practices of gathering information from research, controlling an experiment, and gathering and analyzing data. Students develop a hypothesis, write procedures, identify independent and dependent variables, and analyze and interpret data using graphs. Students construct a scientific argument supported by evidence and reasoning.

2 - Structure & Properties of Matter

• • MS-PS1-1. Develop models to describe the atomic composition of simple molecules and extended structures.

  • MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

3 - Molecules in Motion

• • MS-PS1-4. Develop a model that predicts and describes changes in particle motion, temperature, and state of a pure substance when thermal energy is added or removed.

4 - Chemical Reactions

• • MS-PS1-2 Analyze and interpret data on the properties of substances before and after the substances interact to determine if a chemical reaction has occurred.

  • MS-PS1-5. Develop and use a model to describe how the total number of atoms does not change in a chemical reaction and thus mass is conserved.

  • MS-PS1-6. Undertake a design project to construct, test, and modify a device that either releases or absorbs thermal energy by chemical processes.*

  • Implement the Engineering Design Process. Students conduct research, prototype, conduct a sensitivity analysis (documenting their Think, Do, Test process), and build a final model.

5 - Ecosystems

• • MS-LS2-1. Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

  • MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms across multiple ecosystems.

  • MS-LS2-3. Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

  • MS-LS2-4. Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

  • MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.*

  • MS-ESS3-4. Construct an argument supported by evidence for how increases in human population and per-capita consumption of natural resources impact Earth’s systems.

6 - Photosynthesis

• • MS-LS1-6. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy into and out of organisms.

  • MS-LS1-7. Develop a model to describe how food is rearranged through chemical reactions forming new molecules that support growth and/or release energy as this matter moves through an organism.

7 - Earth History 

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. 

• MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales. 

• MS-ESS2-3. Analyze and interpret data on the distribution of fossils and rocks, continental shapes, and seafloor structures to provide evidence of the past plate motions. 

• MS-ESS3-1. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how the uneven distributions of Earth’s mineral, energy, and groundwater resources are the result of past and current geoscience processes. 

• MS-ESS3-2. Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects. 

8 - Health

• • Positive Prevention Plus Curriculum *Permission slips will be sent home prior to this unit.