7th Grade Science

 

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Lesson Plans / Units

  

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Read Alouds / Book Studies

(Teachers must read book prior to using it in the classroom to assure it is developmentally appropriate for their students)

 

Canyons (biology/forensics)

by Gary Paulsen

 

 

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Online Resources

 

General Life Science

 

Basic Biology Information

http://www.biology4kids.com/

 

Blood

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/redgold/

 

 

Forensics

 

http://www.courttv.com/forensics%5Fcurriculum/

 

Cells

 

 

Cell

http://www.cellsalive.com/

 

Bacterial Cells

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/bacteria_cells.htm

 

Diseases/Illnesses

 

History about the Flu

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/

 

Infections

http://www.amnh.org/nationalcenter/infection/

 

Flu symptoms

http://kidshealth.org/kid/ill_injure/sick/flu.html

 

Flu Information

http://whyfiles.org/049flu/

 

Body Systems

 

Human Anatomy

http://www.innerbody.com/index.html

 

Heart Information

http://kidshealth.org/kid/body/heart_noSW.html

 

 

 

 

Dissections

 

Virtual Frog Dissection

http://froggy.lbl.gov/virtual/

 

Virtual Frog Builder Game

http://froggy.lbl.gov/virtual/game/

 

The Whole Frog Project

http://froggy.lbl.gov/

 

Genetics

 

DNA

http://www.dnafiles.org/

 

 

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Teachers to Connect With

 

 

Ecological Footprint EducationHow many planets would we need if there were 6.5 billion people consuming like you do?

http://www.squidoo.com/EcologicalFootprint/

 

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Students will:

 

1. Describe characteristics common to living things, including growth and development, reproduction, cellular organization, use of energy, exchange of gases, and response to the environment.

 

• Identifying homeostasis as the process by which an organism responds to its internal or external environment

• Predicting how an organism’s behavior impacts the environment

• Identifying unicellular organisms, including bacteria and protists, by their methods of locomotion, reproduction, ingestion, excretion, and effects on other organisms

• Identifying the structure of a virus

 

2. Identify functions of organelles found in eukaryotic cells, including the nucleus, cell membrane, cell wall, mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles.

 

Example: mitochondria releasing energy for use in cellular respiration

 

• Identifying components of the cell theory

• Identifying cells as prokaryotic or eukaryotic

• Listing the sequence of the mitotic cell cycle

 

 

3. Relate major tissues and organs of the skeletal, circulatory, reproductive, muscular, respiratory, nervous, and digestive systems to their functions.

 

• Arranging in order the organizational levels of the human body from the cell through organ systems

 

4. Describe organisms in the six-kingdom classification system by their characteristics.

 

• Recognizing genus and species as components of a scientific name

• Identifying contributions of Aristotle and Linnaeus to the early history of taxonomy

 

5. Identify major differences between plants and animals, including internal structures, external structures, methods of locomotion, methods of reproduction, and stages of development.

 

• Describing the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration

 

6. Describe evidence of species variation due to climate, changing landforms, interspecies interaction, and genetic mutation.

 

Examples: fossil records over geologic time, rapid bacterial mutations due to environmental pressures

 

7. Describe biotic and abiotic factors in the environment.

 

Examples: biotic—plants, animals;

abiotic—climate, water, soil

 

• Classifying organisms as autotrophs or heterotrophs

• Arranging the sequence of energy flow in an ecosystem through food webs, food chains, and energy pyramids

 

8. Describe the function of chromosomes.

• Identifying genes as parts of chromosomes that carry genetic traits

 

9. Identify the process of chromosome reduction in the production of sperm and egg cells during meiosis.

 

10. Identify differences between deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).

 

Examples: DNA—double helix, contains thymine;

RNA—single stranded, contains uracil

 

• Identifying Watson and Crick as scientists who discovered the shape of the DNA molecule

 

11. Identify Mendel’s laws of genetics.

 

• Recognizing Down’s syndrome and sickle cell anemia as inherited genetic disorders

• Using a monohybrid Punnett square to predict the probability of traits passed from parents to offspring