5x5 Vocabulary Challenge

Science Vocabulary

Can edit the bank to fit your class needs.

Students will put up to 15 words randomly in the 5x5 grid.

Challenge: Make a sentence using each word in row 1. Challenge students to make sentences for each row and column in the 5x5 grid.

Can be done collaboratively, or individual. Nice to mix it up!

To add technology, have students find a resource or picture or article that supports their sentences.

This parent guide supports parents in helping their child at home with the 7th grade Science content.

This resource accompanies our Rethink 7th Grade Science course. It includes ideas for use, ways to support exceptional children, ways to extend learning, digital resources and tools, tips for supporting English Language Learners and students with visual and hearing impairments. There are also ideas for offline learning. 

CK-12's Life Science delivers a full course of study in the life sciences for the middle school student, relating an understanding of the history, disciplines, tools, and modern techniques of science to the exploration of cell biology, genetics, evolution, prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, the animal kingdom, the human body, and ecology. This digital textbook was reviewed for its alignment with California content standards.

Sample Learning Goals
Determine the factors which affect the period of oscillation
Find the value of g on Planet X
Design an experiment to determine the mass of an unknown object
Describe the relationship between the velocity and acceleration vectors, and their relationship to motion, at various points in the oscillation
Explain how the free-body diagram of the mass changes throughout its oscillation
Explain the Conservation of Mechanical Energy using kinetic, elastic potential, gravitational potential, and thermal energy

Students will watch introductory videos about paratroopers in WWII and how parachutes work, and be challenged to design, create, and improve, an original paratrooper with specific limited supplies.

Sample Learning Goals
Explain the Conservation of Mechanical Energy concept using kinetic energy (KE) and gravitational potential energy (PE).
Describe how the Energy Bar and Pie Charts relate to position and speed.
Explain how changing the Skater Mass affects energy.
Explain how changing the Track Friction affects energy.
Predict position or estimate speed from Energy Bar and Pie Charts.
Calculate speed or height at one position from information about a different position.
Calculate KE and PE at one position from information about a different position.
Design a skate park using the concepts of mechanical energy and energy conservation.

After reading the novel, “The Outsiders”, by S.E. Hinton, students will follow the engineering design process to build  fire truck vehicles that will transport water from a starting line, 20 feet, to a finish line to put the “fire” out.  The students' fire trucks will be powered by a Sphero robot and driven using the Sphero app. Students will work in groups of 3-4.  Students will be supplied with a 3 oz cup to represent a fire bucket and a 16 oz cup to represent the fire.  The cup that represents fire will have a high water mark drawn on it and students must fill their cup to the mark to successfully complete the challenge.

This project applies the concepts of Friction, Gravity, Newton's Laws, Potential and Kinetic Energy, Speed, Distance vs. Time Graphs, and integrates them into a culminating project. Students work in pairs to create a marble run using basic classroom supplies and a standard tri-fold board. The goal is to create a marble run that takes as long as possible for the marble to complete without getting stuck. The project includes a data analysis section and a content questions component. There is also a scoring rubric included. The standards that this project covers can be found on the final page of the document. No special materials or tools are necessary.

Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In this task, students assume the role of a xenobiologist and explain the motion of a fictional organism over a given time period. Students will then trade narratives and graphs and are challenged to identify the graph based on the information provided in the fictional narrative. Students will critique the accuracy of each other’s graph-based narratives. The interdisciplinary and writing aspects of this lesson allow students to build meaningful connections among curricula while promoting creativity and 21st Century Skills. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In this task, students will act as a car insurance company representative who is reviewing driving data from a vehicle’s diagnostic port and developing a personalized graph and written analysis for the customer to maximize good driving habits (and lessen the insurance company’s risk). Students will use the initial data and mathematical formulae to develop distance-time and velocity-time graphs through this activity. The real-world and interdisciplinary nature of this activity, as well as its inquiry basis, allows students to build meaningful connections while promoting 21st Century Skills. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Sample Learning Goals
Relate the gravitational force to masses of objects and distance between objects.
Explain Newton's third law for gravitational forces.
Use measurements to determine the universal gravitational constant.

Sample Learning Goals
Relate gravitational force to masses of objects and distance between objects.
Explain Newton's third law for gravitational forces.
Design experiments that allow you to derive an equation that relates mass, distance, and gravitational force.
Use measurements to determine the universal gravitational constant.

Sample Learning Goals
Describe the natural length and equilibrium position in your own words.
Find the relationship between the mass, spring strength (spring constant), and stretch (displacement).
Design an experiment to determine the mass of a mystery object
Develop a method to measure the period.
Determine the factors which affect the period of oscillation.
Compare the gravity on Planet X to known benchmarks.
Describe the relationship between the velocity and acceleration vectors, and their relationship to motion, at various points in the oscillation.

Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In this task, students will assume the role of school board members who must discuss and vote on the issue of including seatbelts in the district’s school buses. Students will read nonfiction passages regarding this issue to prepare for the board meeting that will take the form of a Socratic Seminar. Students will then individually cast their votes through written explanations of their decisions that reference the discussion and provided passages. The real-world and interdisciplinary aspects of this lesson allow students to build meaningful connections and promote the development of 21st Century Skills. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

The learner views several animations to study Newton's First Law of Motion, also known as "The Law of Inertia."

A complete introduction to scientific investigation and the scope of physical science. Includes: states of matter, atoms, periodic table, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, carbon chemistry, chemistry of solutions, nuclear chemistry, motion, forces, Newton's Laws of Motion, work and machines, energy, waves, sound, electromagnetic radiation, visible light, electricity, and magnetism.

This is a PBL lesson where students explore the Physics behind motion of objects. Students will collaborate and come up with a video showing the difference between distance and displacement, speed and velocity and acceleration.

Within the physical science strand of 7th grade science, students focus on the motion of objects. In this task, students assume the role of an animator who must convincingly demonstrate the motion of several objects using point of reference techniques. Students will then write fictional narratives to accompany their “flip book” animations. The interdisciplinary nature of this lesson allows students to creatively build meaningful connections between different science strands (physical and life) using written and visual expression while promoting 21st Century Skills. This lesson was developed by NCDPI as part of the Academically and/or Intellectually Gifted Instructional Resources Project. This lesson plan has been vetted at the state level for standards alignment, AIG focus, and content accuracy.

Sample Learning Goals
Explain the Conservation of Mechanical Energy using kinetic, gravitational potential, and thermal energy.
Describe how changing the mass, friction, or gravity affects the skater's energy.
Predict position or estimate speed from energy bar graph or pie chart.
Calculate speed or height at one position from information about a different position.
Describe what happens to the energy in the system when the reference height changes.
Design a skate park using the concepts of mechanical energy and energy conservation.