What is 7What is 7thth Grade Grade ScienceScience

What is 7What is 7thth Grade Grade ScienceScience

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 Rules1. 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 CubeWhat name is on the bottom of

the cube?

You must discover the answer WITHOUT LOOKING at the bottom of the cube.

Amazing Cube1. 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 CubePretend as if you are now attending

a professional conference of scientists with your team.

Share your team’s Hypothesis with everyone else.

Amazing CubeAnalyze 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 Cube6. What is the difference between

evidence and inference in this activity?

Amazing Cube7. 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?

Structure

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)• 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– 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

• 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

• DNA Extraction• Oh Baby Inherited Traits Lab• Peppered Moth• Hidden Butterfly• Puzzle Activity• DNA Bead Model• You and Your Genes