MADISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Grade 7 Science
Authored by: Kate Russo and Laura Perry
Reviewed by: Mr. Lee S. Nittel
Director of Curriculum and Instruction
Mr. Tom Paterson
K12 Supervisor of Science and Technology
Approval Date: Fall 2012
Members of the Board of Education:
Lisa Ellis, President
Patrick Rowe, Vice-President
Kevin Blair
Thomas Haralampoudis
Linda Gilbert
James Novotny
David Arthur
Shade Grahling
Superintendent: Dr. Michael Rossi
Madison Public Schools
359 Woodland Road, Madison, NJ 07940
www.madisonpublicschools.org
I. OVERVIEW
The seventh grade science curriculum is designed to provide the middle school student with experiences
in life science and environmental studies. The topics studied include introduction to life science; ecology and the
Biosphere; classification of living organisms and their means of reproduction; cell structure, function, and
diversity; and genetics. Although not a unit of study, evolution is a common strand through many of the units. In
addition, the importance of environmental stewardship is reinforced.
The science curriculum is aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and is taught
with an awareness of its connection to other subjects and the needs of society. Within each topic, activities are
provided for students to develop an understanding of fundamental scientific principles as well as the skills
necessary to perform scientific investigations. Also important are the attitudes students display such as curiosity,
skepticism, and open-mindedness when interpreting observations. This curriculum is designed to prepare
seventh grade students to meet future challenges with both an inquiring mind and scientific literacy.
II. RATIONALE
Science is gaining knowledge through investigation and experimentation. Society is increasingly becoming
aware of the true impact humans have on the environment, and it is important to arm the youth of today with
general and specific science knowledge. This course will not only help students understand the form and function
of all life, from the simplest bacterium to the large and complex Blue Whale but also help students in the future
make well-informed decisions in all aspects of life affected by science.
III. STUDENT OUTCOMES
NJ Core Curriculum Standards (https://www13.state.nj.us/NJCCCS/search.aspx)
5.1 Science Practices
All students will understand that science is both a body of knowledge and an evidence-based,
model-building enterprise that continually extends, refines, and revises knowledge. The four Science
Practices strands encompass the knowledge and reasoning skills that students must acquire to be
proficient in science.
A. Understand Scientific Explanations: Students understand core concepts and principles of
science and use measurement and observation tools to assist in categorizing, representing, and
interpreting the natural and designed world.
B. Generate Scientific Evidence through Active Investigations: Students master the conceptual,
mathematical, physical, and computational tools that need to be applied when constructing and
evaluating claims.
C. Reflect on Scientific Knowledge: Scientific knowledge builds on itself over time.
D. Participate Productively in Science: The growth of scientific knowledge involves critique and
communication, which are social practices that are governed by a core set of values and norms.
5.3 Life Science
All students will understand that life science principles are powerful conceptual tools for making
sense of the complexity, diversity, and interconnectedness of life on Earth. Order in natural systems
arises in accordance with rules that govern the physical world, and the order of natural systems can be
modeled and predicted through the use of mathematics.
A. Organization and Development: Living organisms are composed of cellular units (structures)
that carry out functions required for life. Cellular units are composed of molecules, which also
carry out biological functions.
B. Matter and Energy Transformations: Food is required for energy and building cellular
materials. Organisms in an ecosystem have different ways of obtaining food, and some
organisms obtain their food directly from other organisms.
C. Interdependence: All animals and most plants depend on both other organisms and their
environment to meet their basic needs.
D. Heredity and Reproduction: Organisms reproduce, develop, and have predictable life cycles.
Organisms contain genetic information that influences their traits, and they pass this on to their
offspring during reproduction.
E. Evolution and Diversity: Sometimes, differences between organisms of the same kind provide
advantages for surviving and reproducing in different environments. These selective differences
may lead to dramatic changes in characteristics of organisms in a population over extremely long
periods of time.
IV. COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND LITERACY IN SCIENCE
(Grades 6-8)
Reading
Students will:
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
2. Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct
from prior knowledge or opinions.
3. Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or
performing technical tasks.
4. Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they
are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6–8 texts and topics.
5. Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute
to the whole and to an understanding of the topic.
6. Analyze the author’s purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an
experiment in a text.
7. Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that
information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
8. Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text.
9. Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia
sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
10. By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6–8 text
complexity band independently and proficiently.
Writing
Students will:
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from
alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that
demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument
presented.
V. ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS & CONTENT
A. Introduction to Life Science
 What is Life Science?
 What are the tools of a scientist?
B. Ecology and the Biosphere
 What is life?
 What is the Biosphere?
 What is Ecology?
- What is natural selection and its role in evolution?
 What is a Biome?
 What environmental impact do organisms have?
C. Classification of Living Things
 What is classification?
 What individuals contributed to the modern system of classification?
 What is the argument for a 6-kingdom system vs. a 5-kingdom system?
 What are the 6 kingdoms and each kingdom’s characteristics?
- What means of reproduction is/are predominant in each of the kingdoms?
 What are the seven levels of classification of organisms?
 What is binomial nomenclature?
 How is an organism’s scientific name derived?
D. Cell Structure, Function, and Diversity
 What is a cell?
 What individuals contributed to general cell information and the Cell Theory?
 What is the Cell Theory?
 What are the structures and functions of organelles?
 What are the levels of cellular organization?
 How do cells perform everyday functions?
E. Genetics
 Who is the “father of genetics?”
 What is genetics?
 What is a Punnett Square and how do scientists use it to determine probability?
 What is a mutation?
 How do humans influence genetics?
VI. STRATEGIES
Instructional strategies may include:
 Power Point Presentations
 Teacher-guided class discussions
 Overhead transparencies
 Examples from websites
 Hand-outs
 Teacher lecture





Web quests
Small group discussions & activities
Videos
Research
Labs


Projects
Presentations
VII. EVALUATION
Assessments may include:
 Quizzes/Tests
 Homework
 Class work
VIII. REQUIRED RESOURCES
Textbook: Science Explorer Life Science. Needham, MA: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Supplemental Textbooks:

American Forest Foundation. Project Learning Tree: Environmental Education PreK-8 Activity Guide.
Washington, D.C.: American Forest Foundation, 2004. Print.

Archie, Michele, et al. Flying WILD: An Educators Guide to Celebrating Birds. Houston, TX: Council for
Environmental Education, 2006. Print.

Kane, Patricia F, et al. Bridges to the Natural World. Bernardsville, NJ: New Jersey Audubon Society,
2003. Print.

Nelson, Dennis, et al. Project WET: Curriculum and Activity Guide. Bozeman, MT: The Watercourse and
Council for Environmental Education, 2003. Print.

Project WILD: K-12 Curriculum and Activity Guide. Houston, TX: Council for Environmental Education,
2004. Print.

Rosen, Seymour. Biology Workshop 1. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Globe Book Company, 1998. Print.

Rosen, Seymour. Biology Workshop 3. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Globe Book Company, 1998. Print.
IX. SCOPE AND SEQUENCE
A. Introduction to Life Science
1. Life Science
a.
Science and technology
b.
Fields of Life Science
2. Tools of a Scientist
a.
Scientific Method
i.
Use
ii.
History
(6 weeks)
a. Redi
b. Pasteur
iii.
Controls and Variables
iv.
Theories and Laws
b.
The Metric System
i.
Use
ii.
History
iii.
Units and prefixes
c. Microscopes
i.
Types
ii.
Use
iii.
History
B. Ecology and the Biosphere
(16 weeks)
1. What is life?
a.
Theory about the origin of life on Earth
b.
The Miller and Urey experiment
c.
6 characteristics of all living things
d.
The “chemicals of life”
2. The Biosphere
a.
Name and describe the 3 components
b.
How many Biospheres exist?
3. Ecology
a.
Levels of organization of an ecosystem
i.
Organism
ii.
Population
iii.
Community
iv.
Ecosystem
b.
Adaptations and their influence on Evolution
i.
Facilitation of survival
ii.
Theories of Evolution
a. Darwin vs. LeMarck vs. Intelligent Design
b. Natural Selection
c.
Relationships between organisms
i.
Competition
1.
Interspecies
2.
Intraspecies
ii.
Predatory/prey
iii.
Symbiosis
1.
Mutualism
2.
Commensalism
3.
Parasitism
d.
Energy and resource flow through an ecosystem
i.
Food webs and food chains
ii.
Energy pyramids
iii.
Roles of organisms
1.
Autotroph (producer)
2.
Heterotroph (consumer)
a.
Herbivore
b.
Omnivore
c.
Carnivore
i.
Scavenger
3.
Decomposer (consumer)
iv.
Nutrient Cycles
1.
Water Cycle
2.
Carbon/Oxygen Cycle
3.
Nitrogen Cycle
4.
Human influences
e. Succession – ecosystems changing over time
i.
Primary Succession
1.
Pioneer species
ii.
Secondary Succession
4. Biomes
a.
What is a biome?
b.
8 largest biomes in the world
c.
Determination of biome classification
i.
Location of biomes in reference to the equator
ii.
Weather and climate
iii.
Common species
d.
Natural and unnatural influences
5. Environmental Issues
a.
Natural resources
b.
Limited resources
c.
Global Warming
d.
Biomagnification
e.
Natural and unnatural events and their influence on NJ
i. Habitat fragmentation
f.
Environmental stewardship
C. Classification of Living Things and their Means of Reproduction
1. What is classification
2. Contributors to the modern system of classification
a.
Aristotle
b.
Carolus Linnaeus
3. 6-kingdom system vs. a 5-kingdom system
4. Characteristics of the 6 kingdoms
a.
Prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes
b.
Unicellular vs. multicellular
c.
Autotrophic vs. heterotrophic
d.
The evolution of more complex life
5. Seven levels of classification of organisms
a.
Kingdom
b.
Phylum (plural = phyla)
c.
Class
d.
Order
e.
Family
f.
Genus (plural = genera)
g.
Species
6. Binomial nomenclature
a.
Language used
b.
Derivation of an organism’s scientific name
7. Means of Reproduction
1. Asexual
a. Binary fission
b. Budding
(10 weeks)
c. Reproduction by spores
d. Reproduction by regeneration
e. Vegetative propagation
2. Sexual Reproduction
a. Plants
i.
Cross pollination
ii.
Self-pollination
b. External fertilization
i.
Fish
ii.
Frogs
c. Internal fertilization
i.
Insects
d. Metamorphosis
i.
Complete
ii.
Incomplete
D. Cell Structure, Function, and Diversity
(6 weeks)
1. What is a cell?
2. Contributors to general cell information and the Cell Theory
a.
Hooke
b.
Leuweenhoek
c.
Schleiden
d.
Schwann
e.
Virchow
3. The Cell Theory
a.
All living things are made of cells.
b.
Cells are the basic unit of structure and function of all living things.
c.
Cells can only arise from previously existing cells.
4. Organelles – cell structure and function
5. Levels of cellular organization
a.
Cell
b.
Tissue
c.
Organ
d.
Organ system
e.
Organism
6. Everyday cell functions
a.
Cell Transport
i.
Passive Transport
1.
Diffusion
2.
Osmosis
ii.
Active Transport
1.
Transport proteins
2.
Transport by engulfing
b.
The Cell Cycle
i.
Interphase
ii.
Mitosis
1.
Prophase
2.
Metaphase
3.
Anaphase
4.
Telophase
iii.
Cytokinesis
E. Genetics
1. What is genetics?
a.
Gregor Mendel and pea plants
b.
Heredity
c.
Genes, alleles, and traits
d.
Genotypes vs. phenotypes
e.
Dominance
i.
Dominant vs. recessive
ii.
Incomplete dominance
iii.
Codominance
iv.
Human examples
f.
Punnett Squares and probability
g.
Mutations
h.
Human influences
i.
Selective breeding
ii.
Biotechnology
(2 weeks)