What is 7th Grade
Science
Intended Learning
Outcomes (ILO’s) of 7th
Grade Science
• Use science process and thinking skills.
• Manifest science interests and attitudes
• Understand important science concepts
and principles.
• Communicate effectively using science
language and reasoning.
• Demonstrate awareness of the social and
historical aspects of science.
• Understand the nature of science.
What is Science?
• Science involves more than just gaining
knowledge by memorizing facts. It is a
systematic and organized inquiry into the
natural world and how it works.
• For Example:
– How did the fish get 2 heads?
– Why did Mr. Lowe and I find ancient
relatives of the starfish in fossil form on
top of the mountains near SLC?
– How does the Tornado Tube work?
– How does the Ocean in the Bottle work?
– How does the Density Bead Bottle work?
What is Science?
• Science is a way of knowing, a process for
gaining knowledge and understanding of the
natural world.
– It involves gathering evidence.
• Evidence is not information acquired through personal
experience or from others. It is based on real observations
or the results of experiments.
– Science involves making inferences.
• Inference is using evidence to draw conclusions about the
unknown. It is similar to a hypothesis, but a hypothesis
can be tested.
Inference Example
•
Inference is just a big word that means a conclusion or judgment.
If you infer that something has happened, you do not see, hear,
feel, smell, or taste the actual event. But from what you know, it
makes sense to think that it has happened. You make inferences
everyday. Most of the time you do so without thinking about it.
Example - Suppose you are sitting in your car stopped at a
red signal light. You hear screeching tires, then a loud crash
and breaking glass. You see nothing, but you infer that there
has been a car accident. We all know the sounds of
screeching tires and a crash. We know that these
sounds almost always mean a car accident. But there could be
some other reason, and therefore another explanation, for
the sounds. Perhaps it was not an accident involving two
moving vehicles. Maybe an angry driver rammed a parked car.
Or maybe someone played the sound of a car crash from a
recording. Making inferences means choosing the most likely
explanation from the facts at hand.
The Amazing Cube
• Introduction: You are going to use
science inquiry skills to make
inferences about the nature of names
on a cube.
• Materials: Per table of 4 students
– 1 Colored Cube With Numbers Web Link
– Directions on Power point
Science Investigations
• How do scientists do their work?
• How would you describe a scientific
investigation?
Amazing Cube Rules
1. Place the numbered cube in the
center of your table. You may not
touch, turn, lift, or open the cube to
reveal what is on the bottom.
2. You may not use the help of another
group until the teacher says so.
Amazing Cube
What name is on the bottom of the
cube?
You must discover the answer
WITHOUT LOOKING at the bottom
of the cube.
Amazing Cube
1. Make Careful Observations until you
reach an Inference/Hypothesis to what
is on the bottom of the cube.
2.Write down at least 2 of your
observations that led you to your
inference. You will share these with the
class.
Ideas and Evidences Examples:
1. The number on the top right of each
side = # of letters in the name.
2. Names on opposite sides begin with the same
letters.
Hints
Amazing Cube
Pretend as if you are now attending a
professional conference of scientists
with your team.
Share your team’s Hypothesis with
everyone else.
Amazing Cube
Analyze the Inferences or Hypotheses
made by others.
Is there anything that you would like
to change about your hypothesis? Is
it ok to gather ideas from others?
How could you test your hypothesis?
Amazing Cube
6. What is the difference between
evidence and inference in this
activity?
Amazing Cube
7. Test your hypothesis! Turn the
cube over to reveal what is on the
bottom.
Was your hypothesis correct?
What if the teacher collected the cubes without ever letting you see
what was on the bottom. Would you ever know the answer? How
is that like real science? Is it always possible to test a
hypothesis? We apply evidence to make inferences in science. The
unknowns in science are explained through evidence
and experimentation. We cannot always see the
exact answer.
7th Grade Core Learning
Standards
•
STANDARD I Structure of Matter: Students will understand
the structure of matter.
• STANDARD II Structure of Earth: Students will understand
the relationship between properties of matter and Earth’s
structure.
• STANDARD III Structure of Cells and Organisms: Students
will understand that the organs in an organism are made of cells
that have structures and perform specific life functions.
• STANDARD IV Heredity and Adaptations: Students will
understand that offspring inherit traits that make them more or
less suitable to survive in the environment.
• STANDARD V Classification of Living Things (Structure):
Students will understand that structure is used to develop
classification systems.
Can you guess the theme for this years learning?
Theme
• The theme for Seventh Grade Science is structure.
– The concept of density is used to help understand the sorting and
distribution of matter on the structuring of Earth.
– Seventh graders should begin to relate the structure of Matter to the
properties of materials.
– The seventh grade core emphasizes “structure” as an organizing
concept to understand Matter.
– All substances are structured or made of smaller parts and are
themselves parts of larger wholes. When parts come together, the
whole often has properties that are very different from its parts
(Cells).
– Inherited traits are carried on structures called genes (Heredity).
– Structure is used to classify plants, animals, rocks, stars, and other
things. Classification is a way to give a unique description to all things.
Cool Projects (see examples)
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Term 1: Classification Project
Term 2: Mass the Gas Model
Term 3: Earth Model
Term 4: Cell Model
Term 5: DNA Bead Model, Super
Species Project
• Term 6: None
Cool Classification
Labs/Activities
• Classification
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Life non/life scavenger hunt
Trees of MLMS
Crayfish Dissection
Is it Alive?
Vertebrate/Invertebrate Exploration
Smarty You!
Cool Structure of Matter
Labs/Activities
• Spaghetti or Snickers Tower
• Penny Lab
• Homemade Root beer and Popcorn
States of Matter)
• Penny Boat Lab
• Volume/Density Labs
• Mass/Weight Labs
• Density Manipulative and Demos
• Experiments
Cool Structure of Earth
Labs/Activities
• Welcome to Earth Foldable
• Clay Model of Earth
• Journey to the Center Writing and
Movie.
Cool Structure of Cells and
Organisms Labs/Activities
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Levels Drawing
Squid Dissection
Sheep Eye (Mammal) Dissection
Onion and Cheek Cell Lab
The Classroom Cell
Organelle Commericial
Group Systems Powerpoint.
Cool Heredity and Adaptations
Labs/Activities
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DNA Extraction
Oh Baby Inherited Traits Lab
Peppered Moth
Hidden Butterfly
Puzzle Activity
DNA Bead Model
You and Your Genes