7th+Science

7th Grade Science Teachers Page

[|Flickr: Science]

GRADE SEVEN Science - Grade 7 Learners will study natural and technological systems. All goals should focus on the unifying concepts of science defined by the //National Science Education Standards//: Systems, Order, and Organization; Evidence, Models, and Explanation; Constancy, Change, and Measurement; Evolution and Equilibrium; and Form and Function. The skills of inquiry and technological design are targeted for mastery. The concepts for which in-depth studies should be designed at sixth grade level include: Scientific Inquiry, Technological Design, Lithosphere, Cycling of Matter, Solar System, Energy Transfer/Transformation, and Population Dynamics.


 * Strands**: The Nature of Science, Science as Inquiry, Science and Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Strands provide the context for content goals.

Click here for activities
 * Goal 1**: The learner will design and conduct investigations to demonstrate an understanding of scientific inquiry

Click here for activities
 * Goal 2:** The learner will demonstrate an understanding of technological design.

Click here for activities
 * Goal 3:** The learner will conduct investigations and utilize appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of the atmosphere.

Click here for activities
 * Goal 4:** The learner will conduct investigations, use models, simulations, and appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of the complementary nature of the human body system.

Click here for activities
 * Goal 5:** The learner will conduct investigations and utilize appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of heredity and genetics.

Click here for activities
 * Goal 6:** The learner will conduct investigations, use models, simulations, and appropriate technologies and information systems to build an understanding of motion and forces.

Seventh grade science builds on the concepts and skills acquired in kindergarten through sixth grade. Instructional design should provide opportunities for understanding: the unifying concepts of science, the strands, conceptual goals and objectives. Connections to mathematics, technology, social science, and communication skills should be considered for instructional design. To assist teachers with instruction, materials explaining Unifying Concepts, Strands, Goals and Objectives with specific recommendations for classroom, laboratory, and/or field experiences are available through the Department of Public Instruction.

It is important that the nature of the adolescent be at the core of all curricula. Middle school students are undergoing extensive psychological, physiological, and social changes, which make them curious, energetic, and egocentric. Middle school science provides opportunities to channel the interests and concerns of adolescents, provided it maximizes their exposure to high interest topics. Middle school learners need to see a direct relationship between science education and daily life. Investigations designed to help students learn about themselves and their world motivate them. Designing technological solutions and pondering benefits and risks should be an integral part of the middle school science experience. As students take the initiative to learn science and technology, they will learn about themselves, their community and potential career paths. The confidence to pursue such personal goals can be instilled through successful science experience.

Nature of Science Science is a human endeavor that relies on reasoning, insight, skill, and creativity. A parallel reliance on scientific habits of mind such as intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and openness to new ideas is crucial to the advancement of science and technology. Science would be a stagnant body of knowledge, were it not for humans continually seeking to understand and explain the natural world and their role in it. Capitalizing on the continuous public review of science and technology, middle school students should understand that the very nature of science is for some ideas to be constant yet tentative, probabilistic, historic, and replicable. Many of science's universal laws are very old ideas that still apply today. In addition, using history to trace the technology evolution that led us from an agricultural to an industrial to an information and communication-based society exemplifies the nature of science. Public acceptance of modified or new ideas exemplifies the struggle of scientists who attempt to advance scientific knowledge or make breakthroughs. The learner should appreciate the efforts of past scientists that have given rise to modern science and technology.

A solid conceptual base of scientific principles, as well as knowledge of science safety, is necessary for inquiry. Students should be given a supportive learning environment based on how scientists and engineers work. Adherence to all science safety criteria and guidelines for classroom, field, and laboratory experiences is imperative. Contact the Science Section at DPI for information and professional development opportunities regarding North Carolina specific Science Safety laws, codes, and standards. The Science Section is spearheading a statewide initiative entitled //NC-The Total Science Safety System//.

Science as Inquiry Traditional laboratory experiences provide opportunities to demonstrate how science is constant, historic, probabilistic, and replicable. Although there are no fixed steps that all scientists follow, scientific investigations usually involve collections of relevant evidence, the use of logical reasoning, the application of imagination to devise hypotheses, and explanations to make sense of collected evidence. Student engagement in scientific investigation provides background for understanding the nature of scientific inquiry. In addition, the science process skills necessary for inquiry are acquired through active experience. The process skills support development of reasoning and problem-solving ability and are the core of scientific methodologies. Students should:
 * Structure questions that can be answered through scientific investigations.
 * Clarify ideas that guide and influence the inquiry.
 * Design and conduct scientific investigations to test ideas.
 * Apply safe and appropriate abilities to manipulate materials, equipment, and technologies.
 * Control and manipulate variables.
 * Use appropriate resources and tools to gather, analyze, interpret, and communicate data.
 * Use mathematics to gather, organize, and present data.

Students should:
 * Make inferences from data.
 * Use evidence to offer descriptions, predictions and models.
 * Think critically and logically to bridge the relationships between evidence and explanations.
 * Recognize and evaluate alternative explanations.
 * Review experimental procedures.
 * Communicate scientific procedures, results, and explanations.
 * Formulate questions leading to further investigations.

Science and Technology

Science is the foundation of technology and new technology is necessary for the advancement of science. This reciprocity of science and technology should be emphasized with middle school learners. Current media topics, emerging technologies, and research issues provide a real-world context for understanding and applying targeted grade-level skills and concepts. A single problem often has both scientific and technological aspects. For example, investigating the salinity of the water in North Carolina's sounds is the pursuit of science, while creating a way to make this salt water drinkable is the pursuit of technology. In other words, while science tries to understand the natural world, technology tries to solve practical problems. Technology expands our capacity to understand the world and to control the natural and human-made environment. Technology asks questions like "How does this work?" and "How can it be improved?"

The word "technology" has many definitions. It may, for example, mean a particular way of doing things, and or it may denote a specific object. Stephen Kiln, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University has four definitions of technology (Kiln, 1985):
 * artifact or hardware. (e.g., an aspirin, chair, computer, or video tape)
 * methodology or technique. (e.g., painting, using a microscope or calculator)
 * system of production. (e.g., the automobile assembly line, a process for manufacturing a product or an entire industry)
 * social-technical system. (an airplane, for example, suggests a plethora of interrelated devices, human resources, and artifacts such as airports, passengers and pilots, fuel, regulations and ticketing).

Technology provides tools for understanding natural phenomena and often sparks scientific advances. It has always played a role in the growth of scientific knowledge. The techniques for shaping, producing or manufacturing tools, for example, are seen as the primary evidence of the beginning of human culture. Applying scientific knowledge of materials and processes to the benefit of people has been a determining factor in shaping our culture.

While understanding the connection of science and technology is critical, the ability to distinguish between the work of engineers and scientists also should be explored. Scientists propose explanations for questions about the natural world, and engineers propose solutions relating to human problems, needs, and aspirations. Technology design skills are parallel to inquiry skills in science. It is critical that students understand that technology enables us to design adaptations to the natural world but not without both positive and negative consequences. The limits on science's ability to answer all questions, and on technology's ability to design solutions for all adaptive problems, also must be stressed. Design requires that technological solutions adhere to the universal laws of nature. Constraints such as gravity or the properties of the materials to be used are critical to the success of a technological solution. Other constraints, including cost, time, politics, society, ethics, and aesthetics, also define parameters and limit choices. Students should analyze benefits and costs of technological solutions. Fundamental abilities of technological design include the ability to:
 * Identify problems appropriate for technological design.
 * Develop criteria for evaluating the product or solution.
 * Identify constraints that must be taken into consideration
 * Design a product or solution.
 * Apply safe and appropriate abilities to manipulate materials, equipment, and technologies.
 * Implement a proposed design.
 * Evaluate completed design or product.
 * Analyze the risks and benefits of the solution.
 * Communicate the process of technological design.
 * Review the process of technological design.

Personal and Social Perspectives The ultimate goal for a scientifically literate person is the ability to use appropriate scientific principles and processes in making personal decisions. Therefore, making personal and societal connections to scientific challenges is imperative for middle school learners. Concepts, skills and theories for middle school science afford opportunities to develop scientific understanding for many aspects of personal and societal health. Opportunities that nurture students' abilities to think creatively and scientifically abound, as students connect science to personal decision making. Personal and societal connections can be made as sixth grade students conduct in-depth investigations which:
 * analyze the role of humans in the natural world using issues that concern the lithosphere.
 * interpret the interconnectedness of all organisms in an ecosystem and the effect of disturbing parts of a system.
 * evaluate the benefits and knowledge gained from space exploration.
 * investigate the importance of soil quality.