Category: Grade 7 Science

Students explore the history of Planet Earth, Earth’s materials and systems, plate tectonics and large-scale interactions, and the roles of water in Earth’s surface processes.

Download the complete Earth Science – History of Earth framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-ESS1-1: Develop and use a model of the Earth-Sun-moon system to describe the cyclic patterns of lunar phases, eclipses of the Sun and moon, and seasons.  
• MS-ESS1-2: Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.  
• MS-ESS1-3: Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.

Essential Questions and Big Ideas of the Unit

• How has our Earth changed over time?
  • The geologic time scale interpreted from rock strata provides a way to organize Earth’s history. Analyses of rock strata and the fossil record provide only relative dates, not an absolute scale. (MS-ESS1-4)  
  • Tectonic processes continually generate new ocean sea floors at ridges and destroy old seafloors at trenches. (secondary to MS-ESS2-3)
  • The planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years.
  • These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future. (MS-ESS2-2) 
  • Maps of ancient land and water patterns, based on investigations of rocks and fossils, make clear how Earth’s plates have moved great distances, collided, and spread apart. (MS-ESS2-3) 
  • Water’s movements—both on the land and underground—cause weathering and erosion, which change the land’s surface features and create underground formations. (MS-ESS2-2)

Download the complete Earth Science – History of Earth framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore how organisms reproduce and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. They learn how traits are inherited, variation of traits, how mutations may result in changes to living things that can be harmful or beneficial, and how humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding (natural vs. artificial selection).

Download the complete Life Science – Growth, Development & Reproduction of Organisms framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.   
• MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• MS-LS3-1. Develop and use a model to explain why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe how asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation. 
• MS-LS4-5. Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.    

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• How do plants and animals reproduce and why do some offspring look similar to and/or different from their parents?
  • Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to their offspring. (secondary to MS-LS3-2)
  • Animals engage in characteristic behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction. (MS-LS1-4)  
  • Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and specialized features for reproduction. (MS-LS1-4)  
  • Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the growth of the adult plant. (MS-LS1-5) 
  • Genes are located in the chromosomes of cells, with each chromosome pair containing two variants of each of many distinct genes. Each distinct gene chiefly controls the production of specific proteins, which in turn affects the traits of the individual.  Changes (mutations) to genes can result in changes to proteins, which can affect the structures and functions of the organism and thereby change traits. (MS-LS3-1)  
  • Variations of inherited traits between parent and offspring arise from genetic differences that result from the subset of chromosomes (and therefore genes) inherited. (MS-LS3-2) 
  • In sexually reproducing organisms, each parent contributes half of the genes acquired (at random) by the offspring. Individuals have two of each chromosome and hence two alleles of each gene, one acquired from each parent. These versions may be identical or may differ from each other. (MS-LS3-2) 
• Why do some plants and/or animals survive better than others?
  • In addition to variations that arise from sexual reproduction, genetic information can be altered because of mutations. Some changes are beneficial, others harmful, and some neutral to the organism. (MS-LS3-1) 
    Mutations may result in changes to the structure and function of proteins. (MS-LS3-1) 
  • In artificial selection, humans have the capacity to influence certain characteristics of organisms by selective breeding. One can choose desired parental traits determined by genes, which are then passed onto offspring. (MS-LS4-5)

Download the complete Life Science – Growth, Development & Reproduction of Organisms framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore evidence of common ancestry and diversity of living things, such as the fossil record, anatomical similarities and differences between various organisms living today compared to those in the fossil record, and comparisons of embryological development of different species.  They learn about adaptations and natural selection, and how traits that support successful survival and reproduction in an environment become more common.

Download the complete Life Science – Natural Selection & Adaptations framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-LS1-4. Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants, respectively.   
• MS-LS1-5. Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
• MS-LS3-1. Develop and use a model to explain why structural changes to genes (mutations) located on chromosomes may affect proteins and may result in harmful, beneficial, or neutral effects to the structure and function of the organism.
• MS-LS3-2. Develop and use a model to describe how asexual reproduction results in offspring with identical genetic information and sexual reproduction results in offspring with genetic variation.  
• MS-LS4-5. Gather and synthesize information about the technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.    

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• Did plants and animals always look the way they do now?
  • The collection of fossils and their placement in chronological order (e.g., through the location of the sedimentary layers in which they are found or through radioactive dating) is known as the fossil record. It documents the existence, diversity, extinction, and change of many life forms throughout the history of life on Earth. (MS-LS4-1) 
  • Anatomical similarities and differences between various organisms living today and between them and organisms in the fossil record, enable the reconstruction of evolutionary history and the inference of lines of evolutionary descent. (MS-LS4-2)  Comparison of the embryological development of different species also reveals similarities that show relationships not evident in the fully-formed anatomy. (MS-LS4-3)
• Why are some plants and/or animals no longer in existence?
  • Natural selection can lead to an increase in the frequency of some traits and the decrease in the frequency of other traits. (MS-LS4-4)
  • Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes. (MS-LS4-6)

Download the complete Life Science – Natural Selection & Adaptations framework to customize for your own planning.

Students apply their understanding of physical and chemical properties of matter to explore chemical reactions, how substances react chemically in characteristic ways and how mass is conserved

Download the complete Physical Science – Chemical Reactions framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• 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 during a chemical and/or physical process.

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• How can you identify substances?
  • Each substance has characteristic physical and chemical properties (for any bulk quantity under given conditions) that can be used to identify it. (MS-PS1-2) 
• What happens during a chemical reaction?
  • Substances react chemically in characteristic ways.  In a chemical process, the atoms that make up the original substances are regrouped into different particles and these new substances have different properties from those of the reactants. (MS-PS1-2),(MS-PS1-5) 
  • The total number of each type of atom is conserved, and thus the mass does not change. (MS-PS1-5)  
  • Some chemical reactions release energy, others absorb energy. (MS-PS1-6)
  • A solution needs to be tested, and then modified on the basis of the test results, in order to improve it. (secondary to MS-PS1-6) 
  • Although one design may not perform the best across all tests, identifying the characteristics of the design that performed the best in each test can provide useful information for the redesign process—that is, some of the characteristics may be incorporated into the new design. (secondary to MS-PS1-6)
  • The iterative process of testing the most promising solutions and modifying what is proposed on the basis of the test results leads to greater refinement and ultimately to an optimal solution. (secondary to MS-PS1-6)

Download the complete Physical Science – Chemical Reactions framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore how relationships are interdependent in ecosystems, the dynamics, functioning, and resilience of an ecosystem, how changes in biodiversity can influence human’s resources, how humans impact the biodiversity of an ecosystem, and ways we can develop solutions to preserve the ecosystem services humans rely on.

Download the complete Life Science – Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-LS2-2. Construct an explanation that predicts patterns of interactions among organisms in a variety of ecosystems.
• MS-LS2-5. Evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and protecting ecosystem stability.   

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• What happens when an ecosystem is disrupted and what are some things humans can do to protect ecosystems?
  • Similarly, predatory interactions may reduce the number of organisms or eliminate whole populations of organisms. Mutually beneficial interactions, in contrast, may become so interdependent that each organism requires the other for survival. Although the species involved in these competitive, predatory, and mutually beneficial interactions vary across ecosystems, the patterns of interactions of organisms with their environments, both living and nonliving, are shared. (MS-LS2-2) 
  • Biodiversity describes the variety of species found in Earth’s ecosystems. The completeness or integrity of an ecosystem’s biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health. (MS-LS2-5) 
  • Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling. (secondary to MS-LS2-5)
  • Humans impact biodiversity both positively and negatively. (secondary to MS-LS2-5)
  • There are systematic processes for evaluating solutions with respect to how well they meet the criteria and constraints of a problem. (secondary to MS-LS2-5) 

Download the complete Life Science – Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore the organization of matter and energy flow in organisms, interdependent relationships in ecosystems, the cycle of matter and energy transfer that occurs in ecosystems, ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience, and energy in chemical processes and everyday life.

Download the complete Life Science – Matter & Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• 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 molecules are rearranged through chemical reactions to release energy during cellular respiration and/or form new molecules that support growth as this matter moves through an organism.
• 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-LS2-3. 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. 

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• How do living things depend on each other to grow and survive?
  • Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (MS-LS1-6)  
  • Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth, or to release energy. (MS-LS1-7)  
  • Organisms, and populations of organisms, are dependent on their environmental interactions both with other living things and with nonliving factors. (MS-LS2-1)  
  • In any ecosystem, organisms and populations with similar requirements for food, water, oxygen, or other resources may compete with each other for limited resources, access to which consequently constrains their growth and reproduction. (MS-LS2-1)  
  • Growth of organisms and population increases are limited by access to resources. (MS-LS2-1) 
  • Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. (MS-LS2-3) 
  • Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. (MS-LS2-4) 
  • The chemical reaction by which plants produce complex food molecules (sugars) requires an energy input (i.e., from sunlight) to occur. In this reaction, carbon dioxide and water combine to form carbon-based organic molecules and release oxygen. (secondary to MS-LS1-6)
  • Cellular respiration in plants and animals involves chemical reactions with oxygen that release stored energy. In these processes, complex molecules containing carbon react with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide and other materials. (secondary to MS-LS1-7)

Download the complete Life Science – Matter & Energy in Organisms & Ecosystems framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore the roles of water in Earth’s surface processes, variables that influence weather and climate, and human activities that cause global climate change.

Download the complete Earth Science – Weather & Climate framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-ESS2-5. Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions. 
• MS-ESS2-6. Develop and use a model to describe how unequal heating and rotation of Earth cause patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation that determine regional climates. 
• MS-ESS3-5. Ask questions to clarify evidence of the factors that have caused the rise in global temperatures over the past century. 

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• Why is the weather and climate different around the world?
  • The complex patterns of the changes and the movement of water in the atmosphere, determined by winds, landforms, and ocean temperatures and currents, are major determinants of local weather patterns. (MS-ESS2-5)  
  • Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents. (MS-ESS26)  
  • Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns. (MS-ESS2-6)  
  • Because these patterns are so complex, weather can only be predicted probabilistically. (MS-ESS2-5)  
  • The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents. (MS-ESS2-6)
• How do human activities impact our global climate?
  • Human activities, such as the release of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in the current rise in Earth’s mean surface temperature (global warming). Reducing the level of climate change and reducing human vulnerability to whatever climate changes do occur depend on the understanding of climate science, engineering capabilities, and other kinds of knowledge, such as understanding of human behavior and on applying that knowledge wisely in decisions and activities. (MS-ESS3-5)

Download the complete Earth Science – Weather & Climate framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore the concepts of wave properties, electromagnetic radiation and the models used to explain how light behaves and travels. Students learn about related information technologies and instrumentation.

Download the complete Physical Science – Waves & Electromagnetic Radiation framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-PS4-1. Develop a model and use mathematical representations to describe waves that includes frequency, wavelength, and how the amplitude of a wave is related to the energy in a wave. 
• MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.  
• MS-PS4-3. Integrate qualitative scientific and technical information to support the claim that digitized signals are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information than analog signals. 

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• How do we use what we know about wave properties and light in everyday life?
  • A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. (MS-PS4-1)  
  • A sound wave needs a medium through which it is transmitted. (MS-PS4-2)
  • When light shines on an object, it is reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through the object, depending on the object’s material and the frequency (color) of the light. (MS-PS4-2)  
  • The path that light travels can be traced as straight lines, except when it hits a surface between different transparent materials (e.g., air and water, air and glass) obliquely where the light path bends. (MS-PS4-2)  
  • A wave model of light is useful for explaining brightness, color, and the frequency-dependent bending of light at a surface between media. (MS-PS4-2) 
  • However, because light can travel through space, it cannot be a mechanical wave, like sound or water waves. (MS-PS4-2)
  • Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information. (MS-PS4-3) 

Download the complete Physical Science – Waves & Electromagnetic Radiation framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore Earth’s materials and systems, the roles of water in Earth’s surface processes, and how humans depend on and use Earth’s natural resources.

Download the complete Earth Science – Earth’s Systems framework to customize for your own planning.

Standards

• MS-ESS2-1. Develop a model to describe the cycling of Earth’s materials and the flow of energy that drives this process. 
• MS-ESS2-4. Develop a model to describe the cycling of water through Earth’s systems driven by energy from the Sun and the force of gravity. 
• 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 geologic processes. 

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• How does Earth provide us with the things we need to live?
  • All Earth processes are the result of energy flowing and matter cycling within and among the planet’s systems. This energy is derived from the sun and Earth’s hot interior. The energy that flows and matter that cycles produce chemical and physical changes in Earth’s materials and living organisms. (MS-ESS2-1)
  • Water continually cycles among land, ocean, and atmosphere via transpiration, evaporation, condensation, sublimation, deposition, precipitation, infiltration, and runoff. Global movements of water and its changes in form are driven by sunlight and gravity. (MS-ESS2-4) 
  • Humans depend on Earth’s land, ocean, atmosphere, and biosphere for many different resources. Minerals, fresh water, and biosphere resources are limited, and many are not renewable or replaceable over human lifetimes. These resources are distributed unevenly around the planet as a result of past geologic processes. (MS-ESS3-1)

Download the complete Earth Science – Earth’s Systems framework to customize for your own planning.

Students explore natural hazards, and how human activities have both a negative and positive impact on Earth Systems.

Standards

• 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. 
• MS-ESS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design a method for monitoring and minimizing a human impact on the environment.
• 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.  

Essential questions and big ideas of the unit

• What can we do to plan and prepare for natural hazards?
  • Mapping the history of natural hazards in a region, combined with an understanding of related geologic forces can help forecast the locations and likelihoods of future events. (MS-ESS3-2) 
• What can humans do to care for and protect the Earth?
  • Human activities have significantly altered the biosphere, sometimes damaging or destroying natural habitats and causing the extinction of other species. But changes to Earth’s environments can have different impacts (negative and positive) for different living things. (MS-ESS3-3)  
  • Typically as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise (MS-ESS3-4).

Download the complete Earth Science – Human Impacts framework to customize for your own planning.