Year 7 Science is a varied and interesting subject that is often well-liked and sparks curiosity in students. It involves hands-on and investigative work, with model making and experiments undertaken both in the science lab and out in the field (which may be the wider school, community or natural environment). Depending on the school, students are often able to follow their own interests to a degree, picking topics to explore within the realms of the curriculum. Their work is assessed in class and through assignments and short in-school tests.
The learning for Year 7 Science students is primarily environmentally focused, with students investigating and exploring the diversity of life on Earth and using this learning to expand their scientific knowledge. They will begin to develop an understanding of the role of classification to order and organise information, and the ways in which systems – both natural and man-made – work within our environment and society.
The idea of renewable and non-renewable resources and their relationship within a timescale are investigated and explored through the Year 7 Science curriculum, as well as the repercussions of the use and abuse of such resources.
Year 7 students will explore forces in nature, including the relationships between the Earth, Moon and Sun. Students can expect to use modelling to explore theories and make measurements, as well as to look into such systems as food chains and water cycles.
There are three content strands in the Year 7 Science curriculum: Science understanding; Science as a human endeavour; and Science inquiry skills. Here’s what’s included in each of these strands:
Science understanding includes:
Biological sciences, which looks at the interactions between organisms and the effects of human activities, as represented by food chains and food webs.
Chemical sciences, namely mixtures and solutions and how they contain a combination of pure substances that can be separated using a range of techniques.
Earth and space sciences, which looks into phenomena on Earth, such as seasons and eclipses, and how they are caused by the relative positions of the sun, Earth and moon. Also students will investigate the distinction between Earth’s non-renewable resources, such as oil, and its renewable ones, such as water.
Physical sciences, including how a change to an object’s motion is caused by unbalanced forces, such as Earth’s gravitational attraction, acting on the object.
Science as a human endeavour includes:
Nature and development of science, or how scientific knowledge has changed peoples’ understanding of the world and can change with new evidence. Also how science knowledge can develop through collaboration across disciplines and with contributions from a range of cultures.
Use and influence of science investigates how solutions to contemporary issues found using science and technology impact on other areas of society, with ethical considerations. This looks into how people use science understanding and skills in their jobs.
Science inquiry skills include:
Questioning and predicting is about identifying questions and problems that can be investigated scientifically and making predictions based on scientific knowledge.
Planning and conducting as a skill involves collaboratively and individually planning and running a range of investigation types, including fieldwork and experiments, while ensuring safety and ethical guidelines are followed. Also, students learn to measure and control variables, and select equipment appropriate to the task and later, collect data with accuracy.
Processing and analysing data and information includes constructing and using a range of representations, including graphs, keys and models to represent and analyse patterns or relationships in data using digital technologies as appropriate. Also, summarising this data, with students doing their own investigations and using secondary sources, and using scientific understanding to identify relationships and draw conclusions based on evidence.
Evaluating is reflecting on scientific investigations including considering the quality of the data collected, and identifying where improvements could be made. It’s also about using scientific knowledge and findings from investigations to evaluate claims based on evidence.
Communicating is the ability to communicate ideas, findings and evidence based solutions to problems using scientific language and representations, along with the use of digital technologies where appropriate.
Science is a hands-on, investigative subject, making it difficult to complete through bookwork alone, and to test through written examinations. Instead, most schools will assess a Year 7 student’s learning through the year, taking examples of their experiments, questioning, explanations, investigations and scientific analysis to form a portfolio of work, which will determine the breadth, depth and wealth of their learning.
Fortunately, there are a wealth of online teaching resources these days, written by curriculum experts, that support students to achieve excellent results in their school assessments.
While much of the Science curriculum is practical, students may have some in-class tests to check their knowledge of certain topics. This could include labelling a diagram with the names of scientific equipment, labelling the body parts of an animal, or the different parts of a cell. This learning can be practised to ensure this knowledge is retained.
Vocabulary can also be studied. For students, having a good knowledge of the language used in the lab and the field will help make you a more efficient and adept scientist. This can be done through practice online tests or by creating flashcards of key terminology.
Year 7 is the first year when most students will realise the value and scope of science, and begin to work with the subject in a hands-on manner. For many students, this is an exciting step into a world that holds promise for the future, while others may not find their niche within the curriculum. Whether they are future scientists or just here to absorb knowledge of the world around them, there is great value in the Year 7 curriculum for understanding the systems that make life work.
There is plenty of crossover from science into other areas of their learning, particularly critical thinking and inquiry skills.
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