Grade 7 Science Pacing Guide 2012-13
SOL
STRAND
LS.1
Scientific
Investigation
Unit 1: Scientific Investigations
- Independent and dependent variables
- Constants and control
- Metric measurement (length, volume,
temperature, time, & mass)
LS. 2 a-d
LS. 3 a-b
LS. 5 a-b
Life
Systems
- Compare and contrast plant and animal cells
- Identify the roles of cell organelles
- Differentiate between mitosis and meiosis
- Distinguish between active transport, passive transport (diffusion), and
osmosis
- Identify the raw materials and products of photosynthesis and cellular
respiration
LS. 12 a-f
Life Systems
Unit 2A: Cell Studies
-Cell Theory
-Cell parts
-Cell organization
Unit 2B: Part II – Cell Processes
- Mitosis
- Meiosis
- Active/passive transport (diffusion)
- Osmosis
- Photosynthesis
- Cellular Respiration
Unit 3: Genetics
- Role of DNA
- Function of genes & chromosomes
- Genotypes & phenotypes
- Dominate & recessive traits
- Homozygous vs. heterozygous
- Genetic engineering
- Historical contributions by notable
scientists
Unit 1, 2 &3
PMMS: week 12-13
LS. 13 a-c
Earth &
Space
Systems
- Investigate and understand the relationship b/t mutations,
adaptations, natural selection, and extinction
- Discuss how environmental influences can affect adaptation and
change
LS. 4 a-d
Life
Systems
Unit 4: Adaptation Over Time
-5 pieces of evidences for evolution
- Organisms change over time through
mutation, variation, adaptation, and
natural selection
- Understanding fossil evidence
- Extinction
- Contribution of Darwin
Unit 5: Classification
- 7 levels of classification
- Dichotomous key
- Binomial Nomenclature
-History of classification
- Six kingdoms survey
- Survey of Invertebrates/Vertebrates
Pre-test
Benchmark #1
CONTENT
SKILLS
All units
PMMS, SKMS & NFMS: week 1-2
Plan and Conduct Investigations
- Identify variables
- Collect data using the metric system
- Organize data into charts and graphs and interpret that data
- Discuss sources of experimental error
- Understand how genotypes influence phenotypes
- Use Punnett squares to predict possible reproductive outcomes
- Distinguish b/t dominant & recessive traits
- Distinguish b/t genotype & phenotype
- Discuss applications of genetic engineering, positive and negative
SKMS & NFMS: week 7-8, 25-26
- Classify organisms based on meaningful similarities
- Use a dichotomous key to identify an organism
- Analyze similarities and differences between organism groups
Benchmark #2
Post-test
LS. 5 d
LS.6 b,d
LS. 7 a,b
LS.8 a-e
LS. 9 c
LS. 10 a-c
Ecosystems
LS. 6 a,c
LS. 9 a-b
Ecosystems
LS. 11 a-e
Ecosystems
Unit 1-5
PMMS: week 27-28
Unit 6A: Ecology:
Structures and Interactions
in Ecosystems
- Biotic & a-biotic factors
- Interactions within a population
(competition, cooperation, social
hierarchy, territorial imperative)
- Interactions among populations of a
community (predator/prey, symbiotic
relationships)
- Organism responses to environmental
stressors (phototropism, hibernation,
dormancy)
Unit 6B: Ecosystems and
Biomes
- Land biomes
- Water biomes
- Water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles
- Ecological succession
Unit 6C : Human
Influences on the
Ecosystem
-Relationships between
ecosystems and human
activity (positive and negative)
- Diagram food chains and food webs
- Illustrate the flow of energy through a food chain
- Draw and interpret an energy pyramid
- Identify biotic and a-biotic components of an environment
- Discuss examples of competition, cooperation, social hierarchy,
territorial imperative
- Identify predator-prey relationships
- Distinguish between the 3 types of symbiosis
- Identify individual responses to environmental stressors
SKMS & NFMS: week 14-15, 30-31
All Units
PMMS, SKMS & NFMS: week 35-36
- Compare/contrast the different biomes in terms of temperature,
precipitation, vegetation, and species.
- Distinguish between a biome and an ecosystem.
- Explain/illustrate nature’s cycles
- Describe ecological succession for a temperate forest biome
Students will investigate and understand the effect of the
following on ecosystems:
- Food production and harvest
- Change in habitat size, quality, and structure
- Change in species competition
- Population disturbances and factors that threaten species survival
- Environmental issues including water supply and quality, air quality,
energy production, and waste management